Woodling wins Modified feature at Plymouith Speedway

[NickHolt]

Woodling Wins Modified Feature, Defeats NASCAR Great

 

by Anita Goodan

 

(Plymouth, IN) If a driver is going to get a first win in a racing division, it might as well be against a legend in NASCAR. Dylan Woodling, of Warsaw, has driven in the Swan Lake Resort UMP Modifieds division for five years and finally came away with a win against Ken Schrader Saturday night at Plymouth Speedway.

 

Woodling started on the outside pole and went three-wide with Kyle Yocum and Bradley Jameson for the lead out of turn two on the opening lap. Frank Marshall, of Valparaiso, was able to sneak into the second position by the end of the first lap. NASCAR great Ken Schrader, of Concord, North Carolina, moved his way to third by the third lap. Schrader used the high line and the low line to try and get around Marshall but couldn’t make the pass. The top three stayed that way through much of the contest. A green-white-checkered finish was the call after a late-race caution which bunched up the field. Schrader had some heat from Zeke McKenzie and Dan Hamstra rounding of turn four for the final podium spot in the closing laps, but Schrader beat them both at the line. Woodling took the win in the feature with Marshall in second and Schrader in third.

 

The Walmart Thunder Stocks event found a familiar driver leading the race after a side-by-side battle for the lead that stretched over several laps. Tony Bowman, of Wabash, snagged the lead from pole-sitter Tom Grall and soon saw John Rhoads, of Mentone, in his rearview mirror. Rhoads caught Bowman by lap seven and the two swapped the lead for two laps. Rhoads was able to secure the lead by lap 10. A late-race challenge set up for third place between Mishawaka’s Shane Sanders and Mike Hoagland but Sanders set sail out of the second turn on lap 16 and claimed the final podium spot. Rhoads came away the winner with Bowman in second and Sanders in third.

 

A young driver out of Angola took the feature win in the Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints race. Zeb Wise took advantage of pole-sitter Bud McCune’s misfortune when McCune had an issue with his race car and pulled it into the infield grass on the fifth lap. Wise took over the top spot while Kyle Burns, of Columbia City, quickly claimed second after the running order shuffled. The pair stayed in those positions for the remainder of the feature. Chad Hartzell, of Granger, put the heat on Keith Sheffer, Jr. for the third spot early on and couldn’t get around him. The two would fight for the same piece of the race track for several laps. Sheffer, Jr. received a penalty after jumping the restart following a mid-race caution. As a result, Sheffer, Jr. finished in the fifth position while Hartzell was able to finish on the third and last spot on the podium. Wise enjoyed his first win at Plymouth Speedway while Burns finished second and Hartzell third.

 

The Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprint race went Zane DeVault’s way Saturday night. Michael Summers held the lead for a handful of laps before DeVault began his hunt to the front. DeVault and Summers traded sports when Summers couldn’t negotiate his Pro Sprint around a lapped car. Summers would lose second when he spun attempting to make another pass around a slower car. That incident moved Garrett Saunders into the second position. Saunders, of Lakeville, had maneuvered his way back into podium contention after spinning on his own out of turn one early in the race. He restarted at the rear of the running order and was second near the end of the race. Eric Saunders, of Lakeville, held his own throughout the race and was able to follow his teammate onto the podium. DeVault claimed the win and remains undefeated on the season. Garrett Saunders finished second and Eric Saunders was third.

 

The WTCA Super Streets podium finishers couldn’t be determined until the final turn of the race. It was three-wide at the start/finish line to end lap one when Winamac’s David Short took the lead. Eric Hunter and CJ McLean took it side-by-side for the second spot which Hunter claimed. On lap six, Roger Duszynski, Jr., of Black Oak, joined the crowd and took away third from McLean. Hunter began hunting down Short halfway through the race and they were door-to-door at the line before a caution was called. Hunter was able to claim the lead but Short wasn’t too far behind. Even closer was Duszynski, Jr. who picked up second from Short in between turn one and turn two on lap 14. Duszynski, Jr. was able to claim the lead from Hunter after battling lapped traffic. Hunter, of Kokomo, didn’t give up and the pair traded spots for the lead. Hunter recaptured the lead coming out of turn three on lap 18 which set him up for the win. Short nearly upset Duszynski, Jr. coming out of the final turn, but Duszynski, Jr. beat Short to the line for second.

 

Join us on Wednesday, June 1 when the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series, presented by MAVTV, visits the Playground of Power. This is the first appearance of the national touring series locally where fans will get to see drivers Wayne Johnson, Aaron Reutel, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Johnny Herrera, Seth Bergman, and more. The gates will open at 4 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. ET. For ticket price information, visit www.plymouthspeedway.net.