Phipps Outduels Wyman; McFall, Phipps Get Heat Wins
Rod Phipps took advantage of a lapped car with two laps remaining to get outside Rod Wyman Sr. to pick up the feature win for the WMDH Thunder Cars at Anderson Speedway on Saturday.

The early lead was taken by Shawn Cullen, who was chased by Wyman, Hannah Lundy, Earl Adams II and Phipps.

Phipps moved into fourth on the third circuit with an inside pass of Adams. The lone caution flag waved on lap four when Rob Noel and Pam Neal made slight contact on the front straight sending Neal into the outside retaining wall.

The running order remained the same until lap 15 when Cullen slowed dramatically and was done for the night. That gave Wyman the lead chased by fast qualifier Lundy, Phipps, Adams and Sam Folsom.

Phipps made short work of moving around Lundy for second place and closed to the rear bumper of Wyman. With Wyman stuck behind a lapped car, Phipps used the outside line to grab the lead.

At the checkers, Phipps won by 1.6 seconds over Wyman, with Lundy, Adams and Folsom rounding out the top five.

“This is still a two-groove race track,” Phipps said of the Anderson Speedway oval. “I knew I would have to go to the outside to pass for the lead. All the drivers in this division race you clean.”

Phipps passed Sammy Hawkins on the outside down the back straight on the third circuit to go on and record his seventh heat race win of the season.

Lundy and Cullen used the high line a lap later to get around Hawkins in turn one.

At the finish it was Phipps, Lundy, Cullen, Hawkins and Folsom.

Elwood’s Bruce McFall led the entire distance in the second heat race to record his first victory of the season.

McFall was followed by Earl Adams II, Wyman, Ronald Adams and Rob Noel at the finish.

Earl Adams and Danny Stanley Jr. battled for the second position for several laps in the middle stages of the event.

Adams got inside of Stanley on the front straight on lap seven and when the two entered turn one, Stanley made heavy contact with the outside retaining wall.

Lundy set fast time for the second consecutive week and for the third time this season with a lap of 14.945-seconds.

Wyman was second quick at 14.960-seconds followed by Phipps and Herb Rose.