Friday August 07, 2009, 8:00 AM

Johnny VanDoorn Leads Young Drivers to Watch

by Steve Kaminski

Coopersville's Johnny VanDoorn is atop the CRA Super Series points standings heading into Saturday's Radisson Hotel Riverfront Grand Rapids 125 at Berlin Raceway.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Johnny VanDoorn isn't surprised that his season on the traveling CRA Super Series is going as well as it is.

Neither is anyone else who has watched his career unfold.

Courtesy Photo | Kurt Dietrich

VanDoorn, 20, of Coopersville, has two wins and top-eight finishes in each of the season's first seven races, and he leads the point standings heading into Saturday night's race at the Berlin Raceway. He gives all the credit to his car owner, Jimmy TenBrink.

But VanDoorn deserves plenty of credit, too, because he and his family have been committed to racing for more than a decade. VanDoorn spent Saturday mornings tearing around Ravenna Motor Park in his go-kart.

The West Michigan area is filled with tracks and race shops with talented up-and-comers, and The Press is shining the spotlight on a handful of drivers to watch in the years to come.

VanDoorn is a good place to start that list because he is having a break-through season. He has a 44-point lead over Aaron Pierce of Daleville, Ind., with Saturday's 7 p.m. Radisson Hotel Riverfront Grand Rapids 125 up next.

"With the tools and equipment and resources that we have, there is no reason why we shouldn't being having this type of season," VanDoorn said. "Everything seems to be working out so far.

"I raced against Jimmy TenBrink on the dirt in early 2000 and 2001, and he decided to put together a CRA team. You couldn't ask for a better car owner."

VanDoorn also has received national attention. The Web site speed51.com has a panel that ranks the nation's top short-track drivers each month, and VanDoorn was up to 19th this spring.

His brother, Ben VanDoorn, 16, also is making a name for himself in the sport, but his talent is setting up cars. Ben VanDoorn serves as Johnny VanDoorn's crew chief.

"My brother would go with me to the races last year and started talking to different people about shocks, and then he went to a couple of seminars and started building his own," Johnny VanDoorn said. "I was a little leery on running these shocks. I tried them the first test sessions and I never felt anything like them before.

"I wanted him to be my crew chief because you can't be any closer than brothers. He knows how I think."

Other area young drivers to watch:

Seth Moody
• Age: 15
• Hometown: Middleville
• On the radar: He is sixth in Kalamazoo Speedway's Pure Stock points standings. Moody won three track championships at Ravenna Motor Park and a Young Guns title at Winston Motor Speedway. He has dabbled in the CRA Super Series and the ASA Late Model Series North Division. Moody, who is home schooled, will attempt to run Kalamazoo's Pure Stock feature and Berlin's CRA race Saturday night.

Alec Carll, 19, Grand Rapids, is sixth in Berlin Raceway's Late Model point standings and has won a Michigan Legends championship. He will also be competing in the CRA race at Berlin Saturday night.