BROOKLYN, M.I. (June 11, 2018) – Just one week ago, two-time NASCAR K&N Series winner Will Rodgers did not have Michigan International Speedway on his 2018 racing schedule. After early season success for the ARCA Racing Series rookie from Maui, Hawaii, Rodgers received the necessary additional sponsorship for the event at Michigan Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway from Drydene Performance Products, which allowed the 23-year-old to secure a sixth-place finish at MIS on Friday night.

The ARCA Racing Series rookie began his day with a solid sixth place qualifying effort after absorbing advice from 10-time series champion Frank Kimmel during a ride around the 2-mile oval. Pumped up about the qualifying effort, Rodgers went to work in preparing for the 100-lap race.

 “I’m so very thankful that Dave Klinger and Drydene Performance Products provided me with an opportunity to race at Michigan,” said Rodgers post-race. “Michigan’s high speeds provided another unique challenge for our team, but we adapted to it so very well from the beginning of practice all the way up to the checkered flag on Friday night.”

The 100-lap event saw Rodgers steadily running in the fifth position for more than fifty laps of the race, only to be dampened by a caution during a cycle of green flag pit stops; this forced Rodgers to pit for fuel while pit road was closed, sending him to the tail end of the longest line for the restart. After a quick yellow flag flew on the restart, Rodgers was able to move back into the lead pack, working his way back up inside the top ten. The NASCAR Next star climbed to the sixth position as the checkered flag fell on the Zomongo 200.

“I found a lot of confidence racing up with the leaders at Michigan, even pulling away from some of the winners from earlier this season,” stated Rodgers. “Runs like these are what we need to put together to keep the momentum rolling at Ken Schrader Racing. We didn’t finish how we wanted in Pocono, but I made sure to put that behind me before stepping foot on the Michigan Speedway property; just look what we were able to do in my first visit here. I look forward to bringing what I learned to Chicagoland Speedway where I believe we’ll be a threat for the victory.”