8/7/2021
Merritt Speedway
33rd WoodTic Kicks Off with Thrilling Night 1 Ready for Feature Events on Saturday
Night one of the 33rd Annual WoodTic at Merritt Speedway is in the books. All weekly divisions were on the property to take part in the historic event. The fans in attendance witnessed qualifying, heat races, odd/even qualifiers and dash for cash races helping to setup Saturday night’s events and award the bonus prizes that were part of the Dan Salay Memorial. There were special bonus prizes and payouts on the line for all events on the track.
The Allstar Performance Mini-Wedges compeated in a normal show racing both their heats and feature events. The Restricted division would see Bowen Jaynes of Bay City, Michigan pick up the victory in the feature over Cason Murphy and Vivian Nelson who rounded out the top three. Then in the Un-restricted division Pierson DeShano of Kawkawlin, Michigan won the feature finishing ahead of Kyron DeShano, and Addy Wade. The heat race wins went to Tucker Warner and Jaynes (restricted), Pierson DeShano and Leiland Strehlke (Un-restricted).
The DIRTcar UMP Late Models started with Qualifying for the $33000 to win “Dan Salay” memorial, for the Allstar Performance Challenge Series presented by Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. Cody Bauer turned the fastest overall lap with a 13.956 time earning the Farwell, Michigan an extra $1000. In the heat races Bauer, 6-time track champion Eric Spangler, 3-time DIRTcar National Champion Rusty Schlenk, and Logan Nickerson all found victory lane. The Odd and Even Qualifiers went 25-laps each locking in the top 8 finishers to the A-Main. Schlenk won the Odd Feature and Spangler won the Even Feature. Bauer would go to victory land one last time as the winner of the dash for cash picking up an extra $1500 payday.
The Cadillac Tire Center DIRTcar UMP Modifieds also qualified, and it would be Muskegon, Michigan native Jeff Erickson Jr. with the fastest overall time of 14.757. Erickson and Joe Rokos would pick up the heat race wins. The Odd qualifier was won by Erickson and Collin Thirlby won the Even Qualifier. The $533 to win Dash for Cash went to Caleb Kill.
The Troll Smokehouse B-Modifieds conducted their heat races. Collin Thirlby and Michael Haynes picked up the wins for the 15-lap events. Later in the night 18-year old Austin Harnick picked up the win for the dash for cash.
The Auto Value Pro Stocks would see 2020-track champion Nate Murphy and Andrew Steele find victory lane after winning their respective heat races. Steele would repeat as the winner in the dash for cash later on in the night.
The Thirlby Automotive Factory Stocks also ran 15-lap heat races. Ryan Nethers and Jeff Stanton picked up the wins. The dash for cash was won by Ryan Nethers.
In the XLT Engineering Four & Six-Cylinders division, the heat races were 15 laps. Chad Freeman, Shane Wiggins, Chris Wassman, and Ethan Robarts all earned the wins. Wiggins would make a second trip to victory lane after winning the dash for cash.
Night two of the 33rd Annual WoodTic is sure to impress with the awarding of huge payouts and many bonuses for all divisions with the running of the A-Main feature events. The $33000 to win Late Model Feature will mark the highest paying WoodTic feature EVER. The last chance qualifiers will kick off the show to finalize the starting lineups. The stakes couldn’t be much higher than tomorrow night at Merritt Speedway. There will be a late model drivers autograph session on the concourse at 5:00pm, plus a silent auction for the Dan Salay Memorial. The racing action is tentatively scheduled for 6:00pm. Stay tuned to the Merritt Speedway Facebook page for all the latest updates.
Article Credit: Brian Osborne
Submitted By: Brian Osborne
