Woodruff wins wild one in Hutch

HUTCHINSON — It was a case of “what might have been” for Kasey Beckham.

In the end, though, Friday night belonged to Mike Woodruff, who picked up his second United Rebel Sprint Series feature win of the season.

Beckham jumped to the lead early in the URSS feature at Hutchinson Raceway Park and built a sizable lead.

But the Andover driver watched as the caution flag bunched the field back up, allowing for the rest of the drivers to fall in line right behind him.

“That closed everybody back up on him,” said URSS founder Rick Salem, who noted Beckham had “checked out” from the field.

By that time, Mike Woodruff had battled his way from his third-row starting spot into a contender role. The Satanta driver finally made his move and was able to jump into the lead, only to see Lance Davis spin out freezing the field under caution and giving Beckham back the lead.

Woodruff restarted in second, followed by Brian Herbert and Ty Williams.

Williams jumped past Herbert on the restart too soon and wasn't penalized until after the race. That set up a three-way battle with Williams, Beckham and Woodruff.

Both Williams and Woodruff would get by Beckham, who eventually would suffer shock damage and finish seventh.

Woodruff and Williams battled the final two laps, with Williams — last year's URSS national champ — beating Woodruff to the checkered flag in a close race.

But Williams was penalized for jumping past Herbert on the late restart, giving the win to Woodruff in a wild night of racing.

Herbert finished second, with Williams in third and Darren Bowman in fourth. Zach Blurton rounded out the top five.

Salem said Beckham, who led the majority of the race after starting on the pole, had a strong run going.

“The caution only saved (the rest of the drivers),” he said. “Because they weren't going to catch Beckham.”

Heat race winners were Beckham, Woodruff and WIlliams.

Brian Herbert  won the Keizer Aluminum Racing Wheels Hard Charger Award.

Feature results

1. Mike Woodruff, 2. Brian Herbert, 3. Ty Williams, 4. Darren Bowman, 5. Zach Blurton, 6. Barry Crane, 7. Kasey Beckham, 8. Josh Fairbank, 9. Judd Sheaffer, 10. Jerry Caldwell, 11. Kaden Taylor, 12. Lance Davis, 13. Cody Caldwell, 14. Steve Dalton (DNF), 15. Gavin Stout, (DNS).