‘Best year ever’ leads to first national championship for Berlin Raceway’s Tim DeVos

It’s hard to believe Tim DeVos has been racing since the 1970s and this season was the best of his career. DeVos won 10 races and had 21 top-five finishes in 24 starts at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway. Not only did his 10th win give him 101 for his career at Berlin, tying him for the most victories in the history of the track, it also helped propel DeVos to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division II national championship. DeVos didn’t come into the season looking for a national title, or even a track title. He raced the same way he’s always raced – just looking to get as many wins as possible. It wasn’t until late in the summer he was told he should probably change his focus. “I hadn’t even thought about it before one of the gals that works in the tower came down and said, ‘You know you’re leading regionally and you’re only like six points out of the nationals?’ I said, ‘Really?’” DeVos said. “We were running harder, so we dedicated everything to qualifying as good as we could, starting as deep in the field as we could, because I had heard that helps points, too, and then racing as hard as we could to get up front.” DeVos’s stepson was the one who followed the points late in the season and kept him in the loop on how close the race was down the stretch. In the end, he won by two points ahead of David Greenslit, who raced across the Northeast at Claremont Motorsports Park, Hudson Speedway, Lee USA Speedway and Monadnock Speedway. The national championship was the cherry on top of a banner season for DeVos. He also won the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division II Midwest championship and the Limited Late Model track title at Berlin by 159 points. While DeVos said he felt comfortable in the car, he admitted a lot of his success this season simply came down to luck. Other than the first two races, when he was forced to drop out due to overheating, and another race when he got bumped and finished eighth, DeVos finished every other race in the top five. “No wrecks all season, which was surprising,” DeVos said. “We just got lucky. You can’t run 24 races and never have a wreck that takes you out of the race without a little bit of luck too.” DeVos never really shifted gears because he realized so late he was in the national title race, but he did drive a little less aggressively late in the season. “When you go for a championship, it’s just keep your head on your shoulders and drive smart,” he said. “There are passes you just bail on early and you let them go and try again later. If you’re running for a championship you have to finish the race and you have to finish up front. “We were just start in the back, qualify as hard as we could, and win the race as hard as we could. And not go hard the whole time, which leads to wrecks, and that can take you out of the championship hopes.” DeVos said winning put a feather in the camp of his crew: Richie Dygraph, Dave Avink and Bobby Mars. While he said “Winning is always good, winning always makes your day,” the national title hasn’t fully sunk in yet. “I don’t dwell on that stuff too much, but it probably was one of the best championships I’ve ever won because it was one of the best years I’ve ever had,” DeVos said. “That’s hard to believe when you get too old to drive and you start driving better. “There’s no way the reflexes are as quick as what they used to be. It’s experience, using your head, knowing how to drive.” This year was one to remember for DeVos, but, even with a national title, he isn’t done chasing history. He has at least one more win to get at Berlin. “Next year we’ll have to come back and finish it up,” he said.