Plymouth Speedway Opens for 2016 Season
Plymouth Speedway officials opened the gates to drivers and fans for the Cabin Fever event on Saturday night. New grandstands awaited fans and a wider racing surface on the two available tracks welcomed five classes of drivers.
The Swan Lake Resort UMP Modifieds took to the track to open the feature events with Valparaiso, Indiana’s Frank Marshall dominating the race. Randy Lines, of Marion, Indiana, started on the pole and found himself in a battle with Rensselaer’s Derek Losh for the second position by the third lap. Losh ended up with the spot. Last year’s track champion, Jamie Lomax, started using the outside groove and slid his way into the third position by lap 10. Marshall was about to run away from the race contenders when a late-race caution bunched up the field. Losh attempted to use the top groove to better Marshall, but Marshall had the faster Modified. Marshall won the feature with Losh in second. Lomax, of Lake Village, defended his third place position after a last lap effort by Lines for that spot.
Move Roger Duszynski, Jr. to the top of the points after his WTCA Super Street feature win Saturday night. He assumed the lead after the leader, Eric Hunter, turned around on the track in an early scuffle. Duszynski, Jr. was running second at the time of the caution. Bob Bourff, of Sharpsville, Indiana, worked his way behind Duszynski, Jr. after several cars were shuffled around after the caution. Coopersville, Michigan’s Joshua Frye moved into the third position by lap seven and had to ward off a charging Bob McLean with half of the laps ran in the race. The pair were side-by-side when lapped traffic slowed McLean and Frye in the closing laps of the 20-lap feature. Dyzynski, Jr., of Black Oak, Indiana, won the race with Bourff second and Frye third.
Kevin Atkins was the winner in the newest class of race cars at the Playground of Power. Ten Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprints were slated to start the inaugural feature event. After a few spins to begin with, Atkins was able to take charge of the race where the Warsaw, Indiana driver stayed. While Atkins had clean air, Joe Swanson and Zane Devault traded spots for the next two positions on the track. Swanson, of Etna Green, Indiana, was able to get by Devault for second on lap seven and the top three remained the same throughout the rest of the 20-lap feature. By the end of the contest, Atkins had an 8.9 second lead on the field. Swanson finished second while Devault, of Plymouth, Indiana, rounded out the top three.
A Portage, Indiana driver came to the checkered flag first in an eventful Walmart Thunder Stock feature, but he take to work for it. RJ Akers and Winamac, Indiana’s Jim Henson went side-by-side after a caution on lap six where Akers pulled ahead for the lead. Chris Joseph, of Kewanna, Indiana started putting pressure on Henson for the second spot by lap nine, but couldn’t make the pass. On the last lap, Joseph dove into turn three and bumped the rear of Henson’s car in an attempt to move Henson out of the way, but was not successful. Akers watched it all from the rearview mirror as he crossed the finish line first while Henson finished second and Joseph third.
The Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints rounded out the Cabin Fever event Saturday night. Tyler Orr, of Buffalo, Indiana, started the race on the pole and never looked back. Granger, Indiana’s Chad Hartzell attempted to get by the race leader with an inside pass in the early laps, but couldn’t make it work. On lap seven, Warsaw’s Dylan Woodling used the outside groove and claimed the third position. Woodling passed Hartzell for second when lapped traffic bunched up the running order and Hartzell fell out of line. Woodling threatened Orr for the lead in the last few laps, but Orr claimed the victory with Woodling in second and Hartzell in third.
More work will be completed on the grandstands and other improvements will be ongoing before the cars take the track for the next Saturday night special set for April 30. The gates will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. ET.
