By Dave Herrold
For The Daily Item
April 11, 2008 04:50 am
—
SELINSGROVE -- For a race car driver, having a good insurance policy makes a lot of sense.
For any of the drivers who compete each Saturday night at the Selinsgrove Speedway who feel they don't have a good policy, they don't have to go far to get one.
Nyle Berkes, who races a 358-cubic-inch sprinter at the track, has been a State Farm agent for several years.
Berkes grew up in Berwick, but now lives in Milton, where he has his business.
The 32-year-old began racing go-karts when he was 6. When he was 16, he climbed into a micro sprint. Ten years later, he moved up again, this time to 358 sprints.
"For as long as I can remember," Berkes said, "my Dad was taking me to Selinsgrove to watch the sprint cars. I always told him I would drive one some day. Someone wanted to buy my whole micro operation, so I sold it.
"I took the profits and, while I was teaching fourth grade, I day-traded the stock market. I doubled my money in about four months, sold all of my stocks and bought my first car and motor."
The father of a 5-year-old daughter, Alex -- who loves going to the races -- said he is "officially 100 percent single, and looking for Mrs. Right, who likes racing."
Berkes said that when he first drove a sprinter he was in awe with the speed.
"Going from a micro that went 65 miles per hour to a sprint car that goes 100 -- wow!" he said.
"I will never forget my first day in the car," he continued. "It was Bug Day at Selinsgrove. I went down the front stretch and thought I was just flying. Well, I heard the roar of an engine coming. I just held on. It was Jimmy Nace, one of my childhood heroes. He blew right by me and even gave me a little bump with his right rear, and like a ghost he was gone! That's when I knew I had a lot to learn."
Berkes believes there are at least 20 "excellent race cars at the track every night, then you have the three or four cars that are just one notch above everyone else right now.
"However, something needs to be done. The motors have gotten out of hand. There needs to be more motor rules and a way to enforce them. There are people spending $25,000 on a limited sprint car engine and racing for $1,500 to win. Thank goodness, (promoter) Charlie (Paige) upped our purse.
"With the price of things today and the way everything is going up -- fuel for the truck, race fuel and motors -- if it wasn't for Cole's Hardware coming on board (as a sponsor), we wouldn't even be on the track right now."
Cole's, Berkes' main sponsor, has stores throughout the Central Susquehanna Valley . Other sponsors are his State Farm Insurance office; Sign and Print, Allentown ; and Leisure Line Stove Co., Berwick.
Crew members are Tyrone Wynings, Joseph DiPippa Jr., Harry Eddy, Joseph Berkes (his father), and his daughter Alex.
Berkes said there are a few drivers that he talks to about advice. Tom Wise and his brother, John, who moved into the 358 sprint division at the end of last year, along with drivers Scott Flammer and Kevin Nagy, have been helpful.
He credits his uncle, Jerry; 410 driver Daryl Stimeling; and Wynings with helping him the most over the years.
Racing "is my relaxation away from everything else," Berkes said. "When you race, there isn't much time for other hobbies.
"People don't realize the time commitment it takes to get a car ready weekly. I upset a lot of friends, missed weddings and birthday parties ... but what can I say; it's my passion."
He's quite high in his praise for Paige.
"Charlie was the first to make the 358s a headline division," Berkes said. "He showed the rest of the local tracks that we put on just as good of a show as the 410s.
"I believe he has the nicest racing facility I have ever raced at, and that includes Williams Grove. The racing surface, as well as the rest of the facility, is the nicest around."
For this year, he said his goal is to win one race, "but on a big picture, have top 10 finishes."
With any kind of luck, Nyle Berkes just might get that elusive first win in 2008.
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