The clouds gave way for a pleasant evening of racing at the Playground of Power Saturday night where the fans were treated to five divisions of racing and fireworks.
The I-Mod drivers came to Plymouth Speedway for the first time this season. Chris Tippit from DeMotte, Indiana led the entire race, but spectators weren’t so sure he would keep that position on lap 13. Tippit was rounding turn one on that lap when Scott Russo spun right in front of him. The pair made contact and it appeared that the leader sustained damage. However, he kept his spot on the track and kept going to claim the victory. Don Stone from Buffalo, Indiana took home the second place trophy while Cody Fultz from West Lafayette, Indiana came in third.
“I thought he (Russo) was going to cost me the race, but I got my spot back and kept rolling along,” said Tippit. “I’m happy to take home this trophy!”
Winamac, Indiana’s David Short had no trouble picking up another win in the WTCA Super Street feature Saturday night. Short, Roger Duszynski and Mike Garver along with the other drivers in the feature ran single file for most of the quick 15-lap feature and that’s the way they ended up on the podium.
“We had a good car,” stated Short. “We watched the track slick up and I started off really quickly. It’s another great win.”
The Swan Lake Resort UMP Modified drivers provided some drama on the track with the point leader sent to the tail of the field for getting into another driver late in the race. Jamie Lomax and Bradley Jameson were running first and second respectively at the time. This allowed teammates Tony Anderson from Lima, Ohio and Bill Lewis from Warren, Indiana to grab the top two spots. At the end, it was Anderson with the win, Lewis in second, and a podium finish for Claypool, Indiana’s Zeke McKenzie.
“We had a good car in the heat and made some adjustments for the feature. I made contact with another car which shifted my steering a quarter-inch to the left. I was fighting the car after that incident and had some work to do,” said Anderson on his road to victory.
John Rhoads from Mentone, Indiana has been dominant this season in the Walmart Thunder Stock division and kept going with his winning ways Saturday night. Rhoads took the lead early and did not give up that position. As he’s done in many races this year, Jim Henson stayed right in Rhoads’ tracks and claimed the second place spot. Keith Crissinger slipped into the third and final spot on the podium after contact between Tom Grall and Bryan Banta.
“We’ve just had a fast car this year and racing Jim Henson has been great,” commented Rhoads.
A first-time winner took home the trophy in the Bane-Welker Cyber Stock Division and he did it in a last-lap pass. Carson Day got the lead quickly and was soon getting heat from Jake Straka for the lead. Straka grabbed the top running spot on lap eight. Straka kept the lead until the race went green after a flip by Scott Neiswinger. Straka and Day had contact on the backstretch and as they came to the checkered flag, Day was able to get the edge over Straka off of turn four to win the race. Straka finished second while Aaron Day raced from the back of the field to finish third.
“That was a wild finish,” said Carson Day. “Thank you to all of my sponsors for helping make this happen.”
The Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprint drivers were not able to race due to excessive water in the second turn on the Bullring. The track was evaluated by the track staff and deemed unsafe for competition. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Fans were treated to fireworks during intermission sponsored by the R&B Car Company.
Celebrate the Fourth of July at Plymouth Speedway where make-up features from June 20 (600 Open Sprints, Thunder Stocks and Cyber Stocks) will be included with a regular line-up of features that Saturday evening. The gates will open at 4 p.m., hot laps start at 6 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. ET. Ticket and pit pass prices can be found at www.plymouthspeedway.net.
