It was a cold one at Plymouth Speedway for opening night Cabin Fever, but a full slate of racers entertained fans willing to stick out the weather, and three first-time dirt track drivers took the checkers Saturday night.
The 600 Mini Sprints were led all 20 laps by Granger, Ind.’s Chad Hartzell, his was first win in a micro.
Hartzell, the 2016 track champion said “It’s kind of embarrassing to be track champion and never win a feature race. I’m so glad to be able to be here to do this. It’s been a long time coming and I’m glad we finally got that monkey off our back.”
Bradley Jameson, of Logansport, finishing second, said he was disappointed. “I felt like I could have gotten him there in lapped traffic but I may have ended up with a broken car.” His teammate Kayeleb Bolton, of Kokomo, was third.
A caution at 11 laps in during the Super Streets race tightened the field that Gary, Ind.’s Shaun Wiltjer was pulling away from. LaPorte’s Brandon Williams seemed poised to close the gap, but Charlie Poague battled through the next five laps, taking second place. Poague, of Portage, finished ahead of Winamac’s David Fritz. Williams wound up fourth.
Wiltjer, who has won on asphalt at Plymouth Speedway, took his first dirt win Saturday night. Wiltjer shared his thanks to his team, adding that they “made this car run like a Cadillac.”
In the Thunder Stock series, a time limit caused a caution/checker. Lee Hall, of Oxford, Ind., finished first, his first dirt win at Plymouth Speedway; Winamac’s Jason Fitz was second and Tom Grall, of Plymouth, finished third.
In the Modifieds, 20 cars started the 25-lap feature, led by Tony Anderson, of Lima, Ohio and Derek Losh, of Rensselear, on the front row. It didn’t take long for Marion, Ind.’s Randy Lines to take the lead, which he never lost. This was Lines’ second win at the Playground of Power this year. Losh and Anderson were side by side on the white flag, but Losh edged Anderson for second by the checkered flag.
“We ran pretty good. I was a little worried about keeping heat in my tires tonight,” Lines said.
The 10-car, 20-lap Wing Pro Sprints race featured Zane DeVault, of Plymouth, and Garrett Saunders, of Lakeville, starting on the front row. A couple of quick cautions slowed the pace in just the first lap, but Saunders took the lead and never looked back. Brother Eric Saunders worked on DeVault early in the race, but DeVault was able to stave off the attack and finished second; Eric Saunders was third.
Mini Wedge s, with drivers ranging from age 4 to 14, was won by Braydan Erickson, of Muskegon, Mich.; followed by Ryin Zelmer, of Eau Claire, Mich. and Clinton Hunter, of Kokomo, Ind.
On a night packed with action at the Playground of Power, intermission also featured some give-aways. Tickets were given to kids in attendance for a boy’s and a girl’s bicycle to be given away, courtesy of Plymouth Walmart. The lucky winners were from Fort Wayne and Columbia City. XYZ also gave gift certificates, Hartzell gave away T-shirts and a $100 bonus went to a random top 600s finisher, from Dickie’s Restaurant at Swan Lake.
The next two Saturdays are regular racing nights, with Modifieds, Wing Pro Sprints, Super Street, Thunder Stocks, Non-Wing Sprints and Mini Wedges. Cost is $12 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes are $30. May 27 will be a normal show plus a huge fireworks display.
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Media contact: Maggie Nixon plymouthspeedwayPR@
Photos by Greg Hildebrand
Top photo: Chad Hartzell wins the 600 Minis. Bottom two photos: Shaun Wiltjer wins the Super Streets and in the photo below him, Thunder Stock winner is Lee Hall. All three were first-time dirt track winnersSaturday night at Plymouth Speedway.
