Fans, Drivers Brave Heat to Watch Feature Racing at Plymouth Spwy

[rebelracewriter]

Fans, Drivers Brave Heat to Watch Feature
Racing at Plymouth Speedway

By: Anita Goodan

(Plymouth, IN) The outstanding heat couldn’t drive away fans and drivers from Plymouth Speedway Saturday night. Four classes of racing were featured that made for more heat on the track.

Warsaw’s Dylan Woodling drove in three of the four divisions and won two features. He started the night with the Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints win after a caution-free race. Chad Hartzell, of Granger, finished second while Trey Johnson, of Warsaw, cleaned up the podium spots in third.

Woodling then moved into the Swan Lake Resort UMP Modified feature which had a little more drama. Woodling started the feature in the lead but lost the lead to Frank Marshall, of Valparaiso, on lap seven. Dan Hamstra then passed Woodling for second on lap 10. The outlook of the frontrunners changed quickly when the leader, Marshall, spun coming out of turn three on lap 11 which put Hamstra to the lead. While leading, Hamstra cut a tire and took his car to the pits while the race was under caution. He later returned, but had to go to the tail of the field for exiting the track. That call put Woodling back into the lead. Steven Hogue and Derek Losh were running second and third, but connected when the race went back to green on lap 12, creating the last caution in the feature. Due to a time limit, the race was reduced to 14 laps from 20. Woodling came away with the win with Tim Walter, of Valparaiso, in second and Kyle Yocum, of Merrillville, in third.

Kevin Atkins, of Warsaw, saw another victory in the Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprints feature Saturday night. He took charge of the race on the opening lap after challenging pole-sitter Garrett Saunders for the position. Atkins set sail after taking the lead. Zane DeVault and Eric Saunders were side-by-side and traded track space for third for 10 laps before Saunders hit a tire barrier in between turns three and four on lap 18 and had to go to the tail of the field. Atkins went on to the top of the podium while Garrett Saunders, of Lakeville, finished second and DeVault, of Plymouth, in third. Woodling finished fourth.

The final race of the evening featured the WTCA Super Streets where Calvin Peek, Jr., of Hobart, drove his way to a win. Roger Duszynski, Jr., of Black Oak, worked his way through traffic from the ninth starting position to second and it took 15 laps to get it done. He worked his way by pole-sitter Ron Wilkes, of Lowell, who had been running second throughout the contest. Peek, Jr. was able to survive several cautions to claim the first place trophy, with Duszynski, Jr. in second and Wilkes in third.

Racing continues on Saturday, July 30 with the Swan Lake Resort UMP Modifieds, WTCA Super Streets, Walmart Thunder Stocks, Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprints and Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints. The gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing is at 7 p.m. ET. Autograph night with the drivers is set for Saturday, Aug. 6. For more information, visit www.plymouthspeedway.net.

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