On a night when many Super Late Model and NASCAR standouts converged at Berlin Raceway for the Battle at Berlin 250, the final crown jewel race at the track this year belonged to the regulars.

Nobody in the field had anything for Kulwicki Development Driver Evan Shotko and Berlin points leader Brian Campbell, who took advantage of a race dominated by attrition and tire management to pull away from their competition during the final 50 laps and settle the Battle at Berlin 150 amongst themselves.

RELATED: Follow the on-track action at Berlin Raceway all year

Youth ended up prevailing over experience Wednesday, as Shotko nudged Campbell out of the groove to score the victory in front of the Berlin crowd and add another accomplishment to his growing short track resume.

Below are the key takeaways from Wednesday’s Battle at Berlin 250.

Evan Shotko continues stellar week

The past few days have been nothing short of spectacular for the 19-year-old Shotko.

After earning his first major short track victory in the rain-shortened Motor Mountain Masters at Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday, Shotko carried the momentum in the Battle at Berlin 250 and notched his first win in one of Berlin’s crown jewel events.

“I grew up watching this race,” Shotko said. “I’ve wanted to be in this position my whole life. Me and my whole team have worked our tails off for the last few years trying to get to this point. We’re on a role here and I hope we can keep on winning.”

Win the Motor Mountain Masters at @jtownspeedway? ✅
Win the Battle at Berlin 250 at @BerlinRaceway? ✅

If you didn’t know who @EvanShotko22 was before, you do now! pic.twitter.com/UZd13F5jcj

— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) August 11, 2022

Shotko admitted Wednesday’s victory took away the sting from this year’s Money in the Bank 150, a race he finished 30^th after getting involved in a crash with Campbell on the second lap.

With the disappointment still fresh on their minds, Shotko and his team worked meticulously to ensure their car would be ready to survive 250 grueling laps at Berlin against talented drivers like Erik Jones, William Byron, Ty Majeski and many more.

Shotko was still in disbelief that he defeated many of the best Super Late Model competitors on Wednesday evening, but he added that the triumph in the Battle at Berlin 250 highlights the chemistry he and his team have developed over the past several years.

“Against a field like this, [winning the Battle at Berlin 250] is seriously unbelievable,” Shotko said. “This was a fantastic race car. I decided to tighten the car up a little bit to help with the longevity and I felt that when I fired off, I was a little too tight. The tires came in and everything turned out perfect.”

Brian Campbell comes up short

A bump from Shotko in the final laps of the Battle at Berlin 250 prevented Campbell from celebrating a third victory in the event.

Campbell was frustrated over the circumstances that resulted in him finishing second to Shotko, but he said he needed a different adjustment on his car for him to chase down and potentially return the favor to Shotko.

“We just made the wrong adjustment,” Campbell said. “Even with the contact, I couldn’t get back to [Shotko]. If I could get back to him, it would be a different story, but he had a faster car. We know what we did. We just screwed up in the pits.”

VIDEO: Highlights from the Battle at Berlin 250

Despite coming into the Battle at Berlin 250 with the points lead, Campbell had yet to win a race at the track this year.

Campbell believed all the changes he and his team have made throughout 2022 culminated in their best overall performance of the year on Wednesday. He patiently conserved his equipment early and enjoyed plenty of laps out front before Shotko took the lead.

The battle for the track championship is expected to get much tighter following Shotko’s victory, but Campbell now feels more confident in his ability to fend off the young driver through the final races after showcasing his strengths for 250 laps.

“Up until tonight, we haven’t felt like we’ve had [a strong] car,” Campbell said. “I felt that we had a good car in the Money in the Bank [150], but we still weren’t happy with it. We’ve been changing things and we got it better since we led a bunch of laps [on Wednesday], so this is something to build on.”

Erik Jones leads NASCAR brigade at Berlin

Wednesday’s Battle at Berlin 250 was an uncharacteristic evening for those representing the top levels of NASCAR.

The only NASCAR national series regular to finish within striking distance of the victory was the two-time Battle of Berlin winner in Jones, who was relieved to see how competitive his car was after struggling in the Money in the Bank 150 in June.

“I was the best of the rest,” Jones said. “[Shotko and Campbell] were pretty checked out during those last 50 laps, but I was happy with the improvements we made from the [Money in the Bank] 150. We just have to get a little bit better, but I’m proud of this group for getting better from the first race.”

Jones has seen significant strides in his Super Late Model program since the Money in the Bank 150, as he successfully fought off Byron for a victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 30.

With confidence on his side, Jones was eager to return to his home state of Michigan for the Battle at Berlin 250. But he could only muster a starting position of 15^th after being inside the top five during a practice session earlier in the day.

Jones struggled to get the car to his liking even as he climbed his way through the 27-car field. He was thrilled to come home third but admitted the Battle at Berlin provided him plenty of notes on what needs to be adjusted ahead of his next Super Late Model appearance.

“We started so far back, so we have to work through the field,” Jones said. “It took until almost halfway through the race just to get some track position. We were still struggling with the same things at the end, but I think everybody was except for the front two. It was a good effort, but I just needed a little bit more.”

NOTES:

• Having racked up six Super Late Model victories so far in 2022, the Battle at Berlin 250 was a quiet affair for William Byron. He managed to lead laps early in the feature but faded as the night went on, ultimately settling for an eighth-place finish.
• Past Berlin Raceway track champion Carson Hocevar also enjoyed significant time out front before falling to the back of the pack. A mechanical issue took Hocevar out of contention, and he ended up placing 16^th.
• As with many drivers, Ty Majeski fought his car and the track during the Battle at Berlin 250. Majeski was never a factor in the event and finished 18^th after being sidelined by a mechanical failure with just more than 50 laps remaining.

Ricky Bly experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows on the race track last season. In 2021, he won 13 races, but was involved in a wreck and didn’t finish in every other race.

This season, it’s been seemingly nothing but highs for Bly. He has 10 wins between NASCAR-sanctioned Claremont, Monadnock, Hudson and Lee USA Speedways in New Hampshire.

Bly has a 78 point lead in the Late Model Sportsman division at Claremont, and he’s currently third in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III National standings.

“It’s definitely a season like I haven’t had in a long time,” Bly said in a phone interview last week. “I’ve won a lot of races, but not like this. It’s pretty good.”

RELATED: NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division III National standings

Bly can’t really explain what the difference has been for him in the car in his 22nd year racing. He and his crew built his car last year and said they figured out a lot of small changes to help. Everything else has simply been falling into place.

His worst finish this year was fifth, which came after he cut a tire on another car that had spun in front of him.

“We probably would have won that night, but who knows,” Bly said. “It just seems like everything is clicking the way you want it to go.”

The key for Bly every season, this one especially, is keeping fun at the forefront. In the beginning of his career, he came within two points of a track championship one year and one point short of another.

After those losses, which he said were devastating, Bly spent seven years refusing to points race. He would instead just hop from track to track and try to get wins wherever he could.

He chose Claremont as his home track in 2017, and has won two Late Model championships since, but he still prefers to not look at points until the season is over.

“This year we were like, we’re not even going to points race, we’re just going to go have some fun,” Bly said. “Next thing you know, we’re winning week after week after week. So it was like, well, I guess we’re going to race for points now.

“Points racing in my mind, you’re always worried about what’s going to happen when you’re on the race track. You’re always worried about getting wrecked, you’re constantly checking online to see where you are in the points standings and all that stuff.”

Bly didn’t even know he was in the national points discussion until a friend pointed it out.

“I was like, oh, that’s kind of interesting. I never had a clue. I didn’t even know where to find it,” he said. “Now I look at it frequently, but I never even looked at it before.”

He has no idea what his highest finish nationally is, but he’s positive this year will be his best. Even though he’s gotten in the habit of looking at the standings every so often, he insists he isn’t going to do anything differently the rest of the season.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, even if you wanted to go for all those points, I feel that the more you get involved with it, mindset-wise, the worse you’ll do,” he said. “I really feel that way. I race to go have fun.

“It’s definitely not about money, and I really could care less about the points, but if it ends up where we end up, that’ll be pretty cool.”

Racing is fun for Bly, and he’s also gotten the opportunity to share his love with many people around the racetrack, and at home. His 6-year-old daughter, Rowan, had her first go-kart race last week.

Rowan is at the track with Bly every time he races, which he said, “just makes it that much more fun.”

She’s even starting to build her own fanbase in the sport.

“She asks every day when we’re going back,” Bly said. “They’re going a lot faster than I thought they would. The first time she went out she looked like a little snail. Then when we actually went out to practice, she was like three times the speed she was. They were like, ‘Is that a different person in there?’ Every time she goes out she’s got more confidence, which is really cool.

“All the people there wanted to watch her. I think she’s got more followers than I do.”

RELATED: Katie Hettinger becomes winningest female racer at Hickory

Bly is happy to pass down his love of racing to his next generation after getting into the sport from his own elders in the same way. His mom and dad’s families were all in the sport, and he started helping his cousins in the pits when he was around nine or 10 years old.

It was those years that he said “gave me the itch,” to drive himself.

Bly is racing with something of a heavy heart this season. His mom passed away last year.

“This year, it’s like she’s definitely up there looking down and saying, ‘Do what you can do,’” he said. “She was there every week when I raced. She never missed a race. This has been a pretty cool year since she’s not been around.”

Bly considers everyone he races with a part of his family. Every time he goes to the track it’s feels like a family reunion, and he meets new friends every race.

No matter how many wins he finishes the season with, or where he is in any points standings, he’s going to make sure he enjoyed himself along the way.

“I’ve raced all over,” he said. “I’ve raced everywhere in the northeast and met so many cool people… That’s just made it that much more fun is the amount of people you meet. That’s what makes it fun is when everyone is having fun.”