The first Saturday program in July leaves just six more points races for the 2018 season, and the points races are starting to solidify across the card. Points leaders and challengers were present on all the podiums.
Saturday’s clear skies and warm temperatures had the track prep crew working hard to keep moisture in the racing surface.
Modified feature winner, current points leader, Derek Losh said “it was a tail of two tracks.”
The track during the heat races in the bright sun quickly turned into a dry slick with only a minimum of cushion at the top of the racing groove.
But as the sun set during the track prep period the water the crew was putting down changed the surface to a tacky wet surface with plenty of grip at the top on the cushion.
The Modified feature would start Derek Losh, Frank Marshall on the front row with Dylan Woodling and DJ Streeter behind them.
Marshall would take advantage of the outside starting position to lead the first lap with Losh and Woodling close behind. That order would remain as those three checked out on the field getting to lapped traffic just short of the half way point. Losh would take advantage of lapped traffic to get past Marshall but a yellow on the same lap had him returning the spot on the restart. Again on the restart the top three checked out and raced nose to tail, door handle to door handle through the turns on the cushion until they reached lapped traffic again. This time as Marshall was sizing up which way the lapper was going to go, Losh went to the low inside line and passed both to take the lead that he wouldn’t relinquish. The final order at the checkers was Losh, Marshall and Woodling. The win by Losh adds to his point lead with Woodling third in points and Marshall in fourth separated by a narrow 19 points.
There has been a lot of interest locally in the Super Streets as racers travel to several tracks in the area battling for supremacy. Ron Wilkes had won four straight features at Plymouth Speedway and collected the big money race the previous week at Shady Hill Speedway.
The Super Street racers and the fans have organized the “Throw Down at the Playground” on July 28th at Plymouth Speedway. This 30 lap feature will pay $3,000 to win, $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third. It is no surprise that this class is attracting this type of attention and Saturday’s close feature was an example of why.
Randy Pleasant started along side eventual winner Kody Conner with Ron Wilkes and Joe Spiewak in third and fourth. After an extended pre-race to run the moisture into the track the wet slippery cushion collected several cars at turn one. On the restart the field was able to get a lap in before the next yellow. With almost the full field restarting in a single file it wasn’t long before the leaders were collecting lapped cars making for some interesting two and three wide racing. Conner would lead the way as a mishap with Wilkes hood had it bent backwards over the wind screen. Wilkes maintained his spot finishing second looking through and around the hood. Michael Clark grabbed the final spot on the podium from his fifth starting spot.
Pro-Sprints also put on an exciting feature with only a couple of yellows for stopped cars on the track it was a fast action packed event. Eric Saunders picked up another feature win from his second starting spot, sounds almost pedestrian but early in the event something was thrown through the body work of Saunders sprint car hitting him around the elbow. This caused Saunders to pull up bringing out the yellow. Saunders was restarted at the tail of the ten car field.
At the front of the field Eric Saunders’ brother Garrett was taking control of the race passing Eli Lakin to take the lead.
Eric Saunders was the first to move up high to the cushion looking for traction and it paid off big. Coming from the back to the front as the racers ahead were busy racing on the bottom of the track Saunders passed his brother Garrett with only a couple laps remaining. The final finishing order was Eric Saunders, Garrett Saunders and Lakin which is also how the points stand at this point.
The 600 Open Mini-Sprints had a first time winner, Kyle Gunkel of North Webster finished ahead of the points leader Chad Hartzell and Dylan Woodling, who also finished third in the modified race.
Kevin Kerlin picked up his sixth feature win in Thunder Stocks. Austen Hubbard came in second and Wade Clemmons was able to make a last lap pass to get a spot on the podium. Bryan Banta took the lead early and seem to have the 18 car field covered when his front right tire peeled off the rim ending his night early. Kerlin and Hubbard are one and two in the points with Chad Mclean in third and Banta in fourth. Clemmons is in fifth.
Next week is another points night for the five regular classes, it is also Starke County Night. Starke County residents should keep an eye out for discount tickets available at retailers in Starke County.
USAC Indiana Sprint Week kicks off at Plymouth Speedway Friday, July 20. Tickets can be purchased at www.usactickets.com. This will be a star studded event with the best sprint car teams looking to get into the lead the first night of the prestigious week long event. A Christmas in July event will feature the regular points racing Saturday, July 21 with the “Throw down at the Playground” Super Street event Saturday July 28.
Attached Photos:
Photos by Greg Hildebrand
Frank Marshall leads Derek Losh and Dylan Woodling in a close modified race Saturday, July 7 at the Plymouth Speedway.
Brothers Eric Saunders and Garrett Saunders finished one and two ahead of Eli Lakin in the feature Saturday. The points for the year currently stand in this order also.
Kody Conner picks up the Super Street feature ahead of Ron Wilkes and Michael Clark. Saturday July 28 will feature a $3,000 to win race at the Plymouth Speedway. Throw Down at the Playground has been organized by the racers and their fans for a can’t miss event.
7/7/2018 at Plymouth Speedway
Modifieds
A Feature 1: 1. 21-Derek Losh, [1]; 2. 28M-Frank Marshall, [2]; 3. 3W-Dylan Woodling, [3]; 4. 37-Devin Wright, [6]; 5. 08-DJ Streeter, [4]; 6. 10-Bradley Jameson, [11]; 7. 0-Garrett Jameson, [8]; 8. 58P-Jim Post, [7]; 9. J7-Joey Iliff, [9]; 10. 1JR-Brian Przeporia, [14]; 11. 74-Dan Deyoung, [12]; 12. 49S-Darek Snyder, [5]; 13. 21F-Brad Eitniear, [10]; 14. 00-Cameron Head, [13]
Heat 1: 1. 28M-Frank Marshall, [1]; 2. 3W-Dylan Woodling, [3]; 3. 37-Devin Wright, [6]; 4. 58P-Jim Post, [2]; 5. J7-Joey Iliff, [7]; 6. 10-Bradley Jameson, [5]; 7. 00-Cameron Head, [4]
Heat 2: 1. 21-Derek Losh, [3]; 2. 49S-Darek Snyder, [2]; 3. 08-DJ Streeter, [1]; 4. 0-Garrett Jameson, [7]; 5. 21F-Brad Eitniear, [6]; 6. 74-Dan Deyoung, [4]; 7. 1JR-Brian Przeporia, [5]
600 Open
A Feature 1: 1. 18K-Kyle Gunkel, [5]; 2. 57-Chad Hartzell, [2]; 3. 3W-Dylan Woodling, [8]; 4. 21-Brenton Lamb, [1]; 5. 35-Noah Miller, [6]; 6. 12-Jacob Ruppe, [11]; 7. 91A-Jason ormsby, [9]; 8. 10-Garrett Wagoner, [13]; 9. 45-Ed Cleveland, [4]; 10. 15-Andy Hall, [15]; 11. 0C-Andrew Cockman, [16]; 12. 6-Nick Schaefer, [3]; 13. 13-Rick Hahn Jr., [18]; 14. 88-Brian Kunze, [19]; 15. 07-Tyler Chalk, [14]; 16. 29-Kayla Cleveland, [10]; 17. 23-Kevin Hapner, [7]; 18. 38-Zack Clark, [20]; 19. 69-Blake Lamb, [17]; 20. 18-Austin Turner, [12]
B Feature 1: 1. 0C-Andrew Cockman, [6]; 2. 69-Blake Lamb, [4]; 3. 13-Rick Hahn Jr., [8]; 4. 88-Brian Kunze, [3]; 5. 38-Zack Clark, [5]; 6. 27J-Joseph Irons, [2]; 7. 76-Hailey Clark, [1]; 8. 91L-Alexis Adgate, [7]
Heat 1: 1. 45-Ed Cleveland, [6]; 2. 18K-Kyle Gunkel, [8]; 3. 23-Kevin Hapner, [7]; 4. 29-Kayla Cleveland, [2]; 5. 10-Garrett Wagoner, [1]; 6. 76-Hailey Clark, [3]; 7. 69-Blake Lamb, [4]; 8. 91L-Alexis Adgate, [5]
Heat 2: 1. 57-Chad Hartzell, [1]; 2. 35-Noah Miller, [2]; 3. 3W-Dylan Woodling, [4]; 4. 12-Jacob Ruppe, [6]; 5. 07-Tyler Chalk, [3]; 6. 27J-Joseph Irons, [7]; 7. 38-Zack Clark, [5]
Heat 3: 1. 21-Brenton Lamb, [1]; 2. 6-Nick Schaefer, [3]; 3. 91A-Jason ormsby, [4]; 4. 18-Austin Turner, [6]; 5. 15-Andy Hall, [8]; 6. 88-Brian Kunze, [2]; 7. 0C-Andrew Cockman, [7]; 8. 13-Rick Hahn Jr., [5]
Thunder Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 34-Kevin Kerlin, [1]; 2. 114-Austen Hubbard, [5]; 3. 48C-Wade Clemmons, [6]; 4. 12-Chad McLean, [8]; 5. 22-Ralph Neeley, [9]; 6. 24D-Don Dykhuizen, [7]; 7. 7L-Randy Lambert, [11]; 8. 1-Tim Grall, [12]; 9. 94T-Blayne Townsend, [13]; 10. 35-Danny Dykhuizen, [18]; 11. 45-Rodger Dillon, [14]; 12. 53H-Curtis Hart, [10]; 13. 65-Wally Kerst, [4]; 14. 21-Kenny Lavedas, [16]; 15. 99-Steven Neeley, [15]; 16. 7B-Bryan Banta, [2]; 17. 5C-Tim Craig, [17]; 18. 18-Doug Grall, [3]; (DNS) 69M-James Mulkey Jr.,
Heat 1: 1. 65-Wally Kerst, [3]; 2. 18-Doug Grall, [7]; 3. 24D-Don Dykhuizen, [4]; 4. 53H-Curtis Hart, [2]; 5. 94T-Blayne Townsend, [6]; 6. 21-Kenny Lavedas, [1]; 7. 69M-James Mulkey Jr., [5]
Heat 2: 1. 7B-Bryan Banta, [6]; 2. 48C-Wade Clemmons, [4]; 3. 12-Chad McLean, [5]; 4. 7L-Randy Lambert, [3]; 5. 45-Rodger Dillon, [2]; 6. 5C-Tim Craig, [1]
Heat 3: 1. 34-Kevin Kerlin, [1]; 2. 114-Austen Hubbard, [6]; 3. 22-Ralph Neeley, [4]; 4. 1-Tim Grall, [2]; 5. 99-Steven Neeley, [3]; 6. 35-Danny Dykhuizen, [5]
Super Streets
A Feature 1: 1. 12-Kody Conner, [2]; 2. 19-Ron Wilkes, [3]; 3. 91C-Michael Clark, [5]; 4. 92-Rusty Pleasant, [1]; 5. 91-Shane Pendleton, [9]; 6. 79-Mike Fincher, [12]; 7. 83-Greg Marlow, [14]; 8. 73-Tom Crawford, [10]; 9. 15-Bob McLean, [13]; 10. 51-Jason Fritz, [6]; 11. 14-RJ Akers, [7]; 12. 83S-Tyler Sweat, [11]; 13. 425-Kyle Wright, [8]; 14. 28-Joe Spiewak, [4]; 15. 4J-Josh Elliott, [15]
Heat 1: 1. 51-Jason Fritz, [1]; 2. 91C-Michael Clark, [6]; 3. 92-Rusty Pleasant, [4]; 4. 14-RJ Akers, [5]; 5. 91-Shane Pendleton, [2]; 6. 83S-Tyler Sweat, [8]; 7. 15-Bob McLean, [7]; (DNS) 4J-Josh Elliott,
Heat 2: 1. 12-Kody Conner, [1]; 2. 19-Ron Wilkes, [7]; 3. 28-Joe Spiewak, [2]; 4. 425-Kyle Wright, [4]; 5. 73-Tom Crawford, [3]; 6. 79-Mike Fincher, [6]; 7. 83-Greg Marlow, [5]
Pro Sprints
A Feature 1: 1. 349-Eric Saunders, [2]; 2. 71-Garrett Saunders, [6]; 3. 70-Eli Lakin, [3]; 4. 57-Tyler Fitzpatrick, [9]; 5. 2-Jake Gordon, [7]; 6. 18-Micheal Summers, [4]; 7. 77-Jefferey DeVault, [5]; 8. 99-Jack James, [8]; 9. 3G-John Gurley, [1]; 10. 48-Nicholas Hull, [10]
Heat 1: 1. 71-Garrett Saunders, [4]; 2. 18-Micheal Summers, [3]; 3. 77-Jefferey DeVault, [1]; 4. 2-Jake Gordon, [2]; 5. 57-Tyler Fitzpatrick, [5]
Heat 2: 1. 349-Eric Saunders, [1]; 2. 3G-John Gurley, [2]; 3. 70-Eli Lakin, [4]; 4. 99-Jack James, [3]; 5. 48-Nicholas Hull, [5]
