By Andrew D. Hayn Special to the Pilot
    PLYMOUTH — This past Saturday night at the Plymouth Speedway, All Star Performance Parts, Lane Automotive, and Shepherd’s GM Center hosted the Super Pro Series. There were well over 100 cars in five divisions on hand.
    The Super Pro Series fast qualifier was the No. 51 car of Anthony Danta (Orland Park, Ill). He went around the 3/8 mile in 13.18 seconds, an average speed of 102.428 mph. The fastest competitor in the Sportsman was Dave Mania with a new track record time of 14.579 seconds. Derrick Griffin of South Bend set the pace for the mini stocks with a time of 15.981.

 The racing action was kicked off with three 12-lap heat races for the Sportsman Division. Picking up wins were Rich Merserau, David Reames II and Bruce Furney, Jr. Mini Stocks had one heat event for 10 laps with Jim Newman picking up the win. Matt Norem picked up the only heat victory in Thundercar competition and also won the first heat in the Front Wheel Drive Division. The other heat winner was Shane Hildreth.
    After a brief intermission it was time for the 75-lap feature event for the Michigan-based Super Pro series. South Bend’s Coland Toland started on the pole and took advantage of the great starting spot to lead the first 53 laps. He was passed late in the race by Danta, who completed the clean sweep of setting the fastest pace, then picking up the win. He sliced and diced his way to victory after starting in the 11th spot. He was followed in second by Toland and third place went to Kevin Todd. Series point-leader Tom Cook and Michael Gaier rounded out the top five.
    The Sportsman followed with their 30-lap main event, where Matt Elliott picked up his first feature win. He had a hard-fought battle late into the race that finally settled with just three laps to go with Lou Stremme finishing in second, Mike Schewchuck in third and Ronnie McLean fourth. The ‘B’ feature was captured by Bill Bottorff.
    The 20-lap Mini Stock Feature was another exciting event. Picking up the win was Bryce Schaeffer. This was Schaeffer’s first feature win of the season. He was followed in second by Derrick Griffin. while Jim Newman rounded out the top three.
The Thundercar Feature was won by Knox youngster, Matt Norem. He was followed in second by Ken Dodd and third went to Tony Johns.
    The Front Wheel Drive Feature was also captured by Norem. He was followed in second by Robert Reed and Craig Frase finished third.
    This Saturday night is the Mid-Season Championships with the return of the Dually Depot Outlaw Late Models, Sportsman, Mini Stocks, Thundercars, and Front Wheel Drives. The Speedway will also host the Central States Regional Super Cup for the first time. The races begin at 7:00 p.m. and the gates will open at 4. The cost for admission is just $12 for adults. For more information visit www.plymouthspeedway.net.