06/12/13 It was a power-packed night of racing at Plymouth Speedway Saturday night.
Five caution flags flew in the Super Street feature with a six-car pile-up on lap 12 that took two cars out of the race. Bobby Hinkle had the lead for most of the race but on lap 16, it was David Short who closed the gap and took the lead. He pulled away from the rest of the field before he took the checkered flag in the first position.
“The track was pretty racy tonight and if we can get that top groove working we can really put on a good show,” said Short in his post-race interview. “Hinkle wasn’t going to give me the bottom of the track but I went after it and got the win.”
Hinkle, who ran at the Plymouth Speedway for the first time this season, finished second while Michael Daugherty rounded out the top three.
The 15-lap USAC 600 Winged Restrictor race found two different battles between the four cars running in the feature. Garrett Saunders, who started in the back, marched his way to the spot right behind the race leader, Devan Myers, who led for most of the race. It was on lap 11 when Saunders caught the leader and didn’t give that spot back. Meanwhile, it was a battle for the third place spot and Nicholas Schaefer was able to edge Bud McCune for that last spot on the podium.
Myers, who is just 10 years old and in his fifth year of racing, thanked his family, his sponsors and the fans for coming to the racetrack to watch an exciting night of racing.
“It was really tough to get around Myers,” said race-winner Saunders. “I made a mistake and almost didn’t get around him, but I finally did!”
The USAC 600 Open feature was caution-free but didn’t lack for great battles between drivers to get track position. All of the drivers commented how great the track is coming in.
“The track was perfect tonight for the feature,” stated Billy Cribbs who was the feature winner. “It felt great to win this race.”
Dakota Busche was the second place finisher with third place going to Dawson Stealy.
The start of the Modifieds 20-lap feature was a little rocky with several cautions, but the leaders put on a good show. It was Tommy Beezley II and Frank Marshall battling it out and it got even more heated when lapped traffic became a factor. Marshall was able to close the gap just slightly, but Beezley II was able to hold off Marshall until the checkered flag flew.
“We’re here to put people in the seats and to put on a good show!” said Beezley II. “It was fun racing Frank. Whoever starts out front – it’s hard to get around them, but the track is coming in and it’s fun.”
Frank Marshall, who is in a tight points race with Beezley II in the Modifieds division, finished second while Kurt Allison took home the third place trophy.
The Thunder Stocks ended the night on a high note. Three caution flags flew – one for debris and the other two were for drivers who hit tire barriers in turns one and two and in turns three and four. John Rhoads started on the pole and didn’t look back until the last few laps when Bryce Shidler was knocking on his rear quarter panel to try and take the win from Rhoads. Rhoads didn’t let that happen and was atop the podium. Bryce Shidler finished a close second while Kelly Prater had a close finish for third place. He barely edged out Brian Merritt for the final spot on the finisher’s stand.
“I knew he (Shidler) was there and I just tried to hold my own line to win the race,” said Rhoads. “The track was really nice tonight and the crews have been working hard on it.”
Join us for another great night of racing on Saturday, June 15 when the Mod Squad comes to Plymouth Speedway. NASCAR drivers Ken Schrader, David Stremme, Justin Allgaier, David Reutimann and Kenny Wallace will be at the track to see what they have for the modified racers at Plymouth Speedway. Ticket and pit pass information can be found at www.plymouthspeedway.net.
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