Frank Marshall Gets Win over NASCAR’s Kenny Wallace
By: Anita Goodan
(Plymouth, IN) Two of NASCAR’s legendary drivers stopped at Plymouth Speedway Saturday night to go up against the best Swan Lake Resort UMP Modified drivers. FoxSports1 commentator Kenny Wallace drove in the field while former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday brought a Modified with Billy Workman, Jr. behind the wheel.
Frank Marshall was up on the wheel and gathered the lead after going side-by-side with pole-sitter Dan Hamstra on the sixth lap. Kenny Wallace started in the fifth position and moved up to the third spot by the halfway point. Lapped traffic caused the lead to change between Marshall and Hamstra but a debris caution put the field back into a single file order. On the restart lap, Marshall was able to take over the lead while Wallace worked on Hamstra for the third place position. Wallace was able to take over second on lap 13. Billy Workman, Jr. started fourth and stayed in the top six for much of the race. He began using the outside groove in the closing laps of the race and was able to get into the last podium spot on the last lap, edging out points leader Jamie Lomax. Marshall, of Valparaiso, claimed the win with Wallace in second and Workman, Jr. in third.
David Short, of Winamac, had quite a time getting his WTCA Super Street ready for the season, but he found the top of the podium Saturday night. It was Calvin Peek, Jr. who shot to the race lead at the drop of the green flag with Roger Duszynski, Jr., of Black Oak, hot on his bumper. After a caution, Short was able to race by Duszynski, Jr. for the second position and went after Peek, Jr. for the lead at the start/finish line. Three laps later Duszynski, Jr. was able to get around Peek for second. Peek, Jr. found himself slipping in the racing order late in the race when CJ McLean got side-by-side with him and got the third position. CJ McLean, of Hobart, started in seventh and worked his way up to the third spot. Short finished the race in first with a two-second lead over Duszynski, Jr. while McLean came in third.
Kevin Atkins, of Warsaw, dominated the Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprint race. Plymouth’s Zane DeVault slipped back to the third position after starting second but soon found himself back in his starting spot after a couple of laps. Michael Summers put pressure on DeVault for the runner up position after an early caution but DeVault was able to keep the spot. DeVault challeged Atkins for the lead on lap four but he got too high into the cushion of the track and lost ground. Summers had trouble getting around DeVault using all of the race track to get into second, but DeVault was able to hold off the charge through the rest of the race. Atkins won the race with DeVault securing second and Summers, of Warsaw, finished third.
Travis Wolford enjoyed the view from out front in the Walmart Thunder Stock feature Saturday night. Tom Grall worked his way to the second position but soon started to slip back in the field. John Rhoads, of Mentone, made this way to the bottom groove of the race track and took the second spot from Grall by lap six after starting sixth. Tony Bowman, who slipped out of the top three early in the race, starting battling his way back to the top of the field. Bowman went after Grall for third on lap 12 and got the position by the end of the lap. Rhoads tried going on the inside of Wolford for the lead on lap 14 but couldn’t complete the pass going into turn four. Bowman started to feel the heat from RJ Akers and the pair traded paint for a couple of laps before a caution straightened out the running order. Akers, of Portage, was able to get by Bowman for the third position just before the checkered flag waved. Wolford, of Winamac, dominated the race for the win while Rhoads went home in the runner-up position.
It was a packed field in the Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints feature. Tyler Fitzpatrick led the field to green and he was able to stay out front for the entire feature with Aaron Davis in second and Garrett Saunders in third. The feature saw many cautions with a large number of race cars, but Fitzpatrick was able to stay ahead of the challengers. Sam Kimmel got by Trey Johnson for third when Saunders got out of the racing groove and exited the track. Fitzpatrick, of Goshen, picked up his first ever feature win at Plymouth Speedway while Aaron Davis, of Windfall, finished in the runner up position and Sam Kimmel, of Cloverdale, in third.
Pro Sprints sponsor, Shepherd Firearms, will sponsor the entire night's action at Plymouth Speedway on Saturday, June 18 with the Swan Lake Resort UMP Modifieds, WTCA Super Streets, Shepherd Firearms Pro Sprints, Walmart Thunder Stocks, and Dickies Restaurant 600 Open Sprints. The grandstands open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m. ET.
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About Plymouth Speedway:
Plymouth Speedway features a three-eighths (0.375) mile banked dirt oval owned by Ed Kennedy. Five different classes of racing are featured: Swan Lake Resort UMP Modifieds, Dickies Restaurant Non-Wing 600 Sprints, Shepherd Firearms Winged Pro Sprints, Walmart Thunder Stocks, and WTCA Super Streets. Regular season races are scheduled in the months of April through August on Saturday nights with several special events. For information, visit www.plymouthspeedway.net, follow Plymouth Speedway’s official Facebook page, @PlymouthSpeed on Twitter or email info@plymouthspeedway.net.