PLYMOUTH – A four-car, late-lap shootout in the UMP Modified race at Plymouth Speedway Saturday night gave fans a real show. With just a couple of laps to the finish line, Derek Losh (Rennsselaer) was chased by Frank Marshall (Valparaiso) and Randy Lines (Marion). Bobby Stremme (South Bend) took the low line fighting for position in fourth.
Lines passed Marshall coming off turn 2 on lap 20, and the Lines/Losh battle that has spilled over from week to week at the Playground of Power looked poised to be a photo finish, until Losh’s car broke in Turn 4. Marshall slid into second and Stremme finished third. This was Lines’s third win of the season. Lines leads Losh in season standings by 24 points.
A caution-filled Super Street finished in a caution-checkered ending with David Fritz (Winamac) as the leader when the lengthy race halted, and Bob McLean (Hobart) finishing second with Charlie Poague (Portage) finishing third. Wrapping up the top five was Shaun Wiltjer (Gary) and Brent Wood (Clayopol).
Eli Lakens (Buchanan, Mich.) slammed into turn 3 during lap 7 of the Pro Sprint race. After taking his car from the track and checking to make sure he was in good health, the remaining eight Sprints continued on. Last week’s winner Zane DeVault (Plymouth) led the next two laps until another caution slowed the pace. Garrett Saunders (Lakeville) chased DeVault the rest of the way, but couldn’t quite catch him. Another caution for a spin in turn 2 bunched up the field for one last attempt to catch the leader, but DeVault pulled away again while Michael Summers (Warsaw) worked on Saun ders for a couple of laps. Nothing changed at the checkers, as DeVault, Saunders and Marshall went 1-2-3.
Austin Creamer (Chesterfield) passed Chad Hartzell (Granger) for first in the 600 Open. Blake Lamb (Warsaw) finished third; Tyler Fitzpatrick (Goshen) was fourth; and Trey Johnson (Warsaw) was fifth. However, Creamer did not pass post-race inspection and forfeited the win. That made Hartzell the night’s winner, his second win this season. That also moved Lamb to second; Fitzpatrick to third; Johnson to fourth and Kevin Hapner (Nappanee) was then fifth.
It was a wild one in the Thunder Stocks division, as last week’s winner Tom Grall (Plymouth) got a flat and race leader Justin Van Drunen (Crown Point) spun out and had to go to the back of the pack. Then it was the battle of the 7s as Brian Banta (South Bend) in the 7B and Randy Lambert (Gary) in the 7L raced each other for first, until another spin by VanDrunen sent him to the pits. Directly after, Lambert spun, giving the lead to Jason Frtiz. Tony Sutton (Black Oak) passed Chad McLean (Hobart) for second and the two battled until another caution by Banta then saw Fritz limp off the track. Another caution with Lambert stalled at the start/finish line led to a final chance to complete the race. McLean’s rear fell apart at a caution/checkered finish as he took the win. Kevin Kerlin (Hobart) was second and Sutton was third.
In the Mini Wedge division, Justin White (Stevensville, Mich.) took the checkers, followed by Preston Prater (Rochester) and Jake Rush (Lakeville). Austin Burnworth (Warsaw) finished fourth, and Chase Kosmatka (Chesteron) was fifth.
For complete results and season standings, go to plymouthspeedway.myracepass.com.
Next Saturday is the Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience from 8 a.m. til 3 p.m. To sign up for the experience, contact the track at 574-936-0900.
OmniSource is sponsoring the Saturday night of racing. Cost is $12 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and free for kids 5 and under. Pit passes are $30.
Visit plymouthspeedway.net for more information.
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