Thiel, Fahl, Neau rack up Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships victories

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 28, 2024 – Ben Schmidt of Plymouth put a bow on an Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car championship season in fitting fashion by parking his No. 35 machine in victory lane to close out the 2024 campaign during the seventh annual Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, September 28.

In the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series A-main, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan rolled to victory in the annual IRA Rick Schmidt Memorial Race to seal his first career IRA championship.

John Fahl of Brown Deer used some late-race heroics to rack up a win in the 20-lap Autometer Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car A-main. Zach Raidart of Gurnee, Ill. sealed his first career Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series title.

Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie secured the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A-main victory and Mark Heinert of Waukesha racked up the 2024 IRA Lightning Sprints title.

After starting on the outside of the front row in the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car main event, Ben Schmidt emerged from a side-by-side duel with polesitter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who was filling in behind the wheel of Bill Taylor’s No. 69 car, to seize the lead in turn one on lap 2.

Two laps later, the first of three caution flags was displayed for the slowing car of Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee in turn one. Schmidt controlled the restart and built up a solid cushion over Wenninger by lap 6.

As T.J. Smith of Greenville rocketed into second from the eighth starting spot on lap 11, two-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champion Billy Kreutz of Kiel advanced to third from the fourth starting position.

With Schmidt closing in on the rear of the field, the second caution flag of the race appeared on lap 12 for the stalled car of Chris Larson of Franksville in turn one.

Following the restart, Kreutz springboarded into second and 13th starter Joseph Hintz of Burnett rode the high line of the well-manicured track surface into fifth.

The third and final caution of the race came one lap later when Chris Larson stopped again in turn four.

The final restart of the race found Smith battling back to seize the runner-up spot, while Hintz powered up into third. At the head of the pack, Schmidt sliced his way through dense lapped traffic in the final few laps to secure his fourth A-main triumph of the 2024 season, 25th career PDTR A-main victory and 46th career MSA main event win.

The victory helped Schmidt capture his second career PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Car championship 13 years after winning both titles in 2011.

Smith had to settle for second, Wenninger was third, seventh starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend finished fourth and Kevin Karnitz of West Bend charged up from the 18th starting spot to place fifth.

“We had kind of an odd start to the year with the rainouts and curfew night,” Schmidt said. “We picked it up in the second half of the year. Since we put this team together in 2020, we’ve finished second every year we’ve run for points. Winning a championship is a great accomplishment for the guys on my crew. I have to thank them, my family and my sponsors for everything they do to help make this happen. This is awesome.”

In memory of late 360-410 Sprint Car and Winged Super Modified driver Brian Portschy, who passed away 11 years ago, the Portschy family contributed $50 to the fifth place finisher in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main, which Kevin Karnitz claimed.

Outside front row starter Blake Nimee of Oswego, Ill. edged out polesitter Scotty Thiel to take the lead exiting turn four of the opening circuit. Nimee opened a significant gap over Thiel until the leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 7, which allowed Thiel to close the gap.

After the leading raced in lockstep formation for the next 10 laps, a red flag appeared on lap 17 when the No. 19 machine of Jett Mann of Goshen, Ind. flipped in turn four. Thiel used a strong restart to slip underneath Nimee and seize the top spot in turn three.

After three more green flag laps were completed, a caution flag was displayed when Joe B. Miller of Millersville, Mo. stopped in turn two on lap 20. Following the restart, Nimee attempted to wrestle the lead away from Thiel with a slide job in turn two. However, Thiel crossed Nimee over heading down the backstretch to maintain the top spot.

Thiel then bolted away from his fellow competitors to seal his initial IRA 410 Sprint Car Series championship with his fourth A-main victory of the 2024 campaign and 29th career IRA main event triumph.

Nimee wound up second, 2023 IRA champion Brenham Crouch of Lubbock, Texas moved up from the eighth starting spot to place third, 2021 and 2022 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls took fourth after starting fifth and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex placed fifth from the seventh starting position.

After the initial start was waved off due to a spin, fifth starter Jimmy Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. won a battle with polesitter John Fahl to take the initial lead along the outside groove in turn two on lap 2.

Second starter Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. gained second on lap two before a caution flag was displayed to the field on lap four when Tom Eller of Pleasant Prairie stopped along the front stretch.

When the race resumed, Hafford worked the low line to challenge Sivia for the top spot on lap 11. However, Sivia fended off Hafford’s advances to retain the lead. Two laps later, Zach Raidart used the outside groove to secure second place on lap 13.

Raidart quickly moved in to pressure Sivia for the lead just before the two cars made contact in turn three on lap 16, which caused Raidart to spin and bring out the race’s third caution flag.

Following the restart on lap 16, Sivia felt pressure from outside second row challenger Tyler Kuxhouse of Antioch, Ill. Mirroring the incident between Raidart and Sivia two laps prior, the two drivers made contact in turn three sending Kuxhouse spinning to produce the fourth and final caution flag of the race on lap 18.

Following the final restart, Fahl unleashed his No. 0 along the cushion and vaulted his way past Sivia into the top spot exiting turn two on lap 19.

Fahl, who captured back-to-back PDTR Super Modified championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track in 2014 and 2015, rode on from there to secure his first Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2024 season and second career Wisconsin wingLess Series A-main win.

Sivia placed second, seventh starter Bryce Andrews of Kenosha placed third, Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. wound up fourth after starting 12th and Ryan Zielski of Oconomowoc moved up from the 13th starting position to round out the top five.

Inside second row starter Jordan Funderburk of Wadsworth, Ill. outpowered second starter Mark Heinert to gain the lead in turn four of the opening lap. Funderburk held the top spot until he spun in turn four, which gave the lead to Heinert on lap 4.

Over the next 10 laps, seventh starter Mike Neau weaved his way through the pack to duel with Heinert for the top spot before seizing the lead in turn four on lap 15.

Neau cruised from there to nail down the A-main victory, eighth starter Chad Stouthamer of Big Bend finished third, newly crowned 2024 IRA Lightning Sprints champ Heinert placed fourth and Funderburk recovered from lap 4 spin to place fifth.

Kris Spitz of Salem won the 10-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car B-main and Josh Davidson of Racine racked up the victory in the 10-lap Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car B main.

Joe B. Miller earned the overall fast qualifier award in IRA 410 Sprint Car Series qualifying with a fast lap of 11.711 seconds.

T.J. Smith claimed overall fast time honors in PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car hot-lap-group qualifying in 12.649 seconds.

Chad Stouthamer of Big Bend seized the fast qualifier award in IRA Lightning Sprints qualifying with a lap of 13.389 seconds.

Longtime inspector and track worker Fred DeBlaey accepted the 2024 PDTR Dedication to Dirt Award during a pre-race presentation.

The 14^th and final event of the 2024 PDTR campaign, sponsored by Jensen Sales & Service, equaled the season-high car count at The Plymouth Dirt Track with 95 total entries, including 33 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 25 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 22 Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars and 15 IRA Lightning Sprints.

The 2024 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Awards Ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 12 at Racers Hall in Plymouth at 7 p.m. The event honors the top three points finishers, along with the rookie of the year and most improved award winners in the PDTR Late Model, 360 Sprint Car, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

Off-season news and information about the 2025 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will be posted on the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram pages, as well as the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing website –  www.plymouthdtr.com

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis.

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 3. 69-Shane Wenninger [1]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [18]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [13]; 7. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [4]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [16]; 9. 24-Scott Conger [3]; 10. 22B-Brandon Berth [17]; 11. 3-Justin Erickson [9]; 12. 30-Doug Wondra [21]; 13. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [5]; 14. 33M-Josh Bilicki [14]; 15. 11-Tony Wondra [19]; 16. 09-Clayton Rossmann [11]; 17. 55P-Brady Portschy [12]; 18. 53A-Spyder Akright [15]; 19. 52-Cody Schlafer [22]; 20. 29J-Ralph Johnson [23]; 21. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [24]; 22. 51-Chris Larson [10]; 23. 39K-Kurt Davis [6]; 24. 54-Randy Post [20]; 25. (DNS) 12P-JJ Pagel

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 09-Clayton Rossmann [1]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson [3]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [2]; 4. 14J-Joseph Hintz [5]; 5. 39K-Kurt Davis [4]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra [7]; 8. 29J-Ralph Johnson [9]; 9. 30-Doug Wondra [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Scott Conger [1]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [2]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 5. 69-Shane Wenninger [5]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [7]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 8. 52-Cody Schlafer [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33M-Josh Bilicki [1]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [3]; 3. 55P-Brady Portschy [2]; 4. 53A-Spyder Akright [6]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [4]; 6. 54-Randy Post [5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [8]; 8. (DNF) 12P-JJ Pagel [7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 39K-Kurt Davis, 12.674 [9]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.805 [6]; 3. 51-Chris Larson, 12.861 [2]; 4. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 12.911 [5]; 5. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.956 [8]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.997 [1]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.213 [7]; 8. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.273 [4]; 9. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 13.518 [3]

Qualifying 2: 1. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.649 [5]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.663 [1]; 3. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 12.697 [6]; 4. 24-Scott Conger, 12.706 [2]; 5. 69-Shane Wenninger, 12.762 [3]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 12.907 [4]; 7. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.928 [7]; 8. 52-Cody Schlafer, 13.319 [8]

Qualifying 3: 1. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.691 [7]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.735 [3]; 3. 55P-Brady Portschy, 12.954 [4]; 4. 33M-Josh Bilicki, 13.002 [5]; 5. 54-Randy Post, 13.246 [1]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright, 13.297 [6]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.421 [2]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 14.670 [8]

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

A-Main (30 Laps): 1. 73-Scotty Thiel [1]; 2. 79-Blake Nimee [2]; 3. 1-Brenham Crouch [8]; 4. 25T-Travis Arenz [5]; 5. 25-Danny Schlafer [7]; 6. 9K-Kyle Schuett [11]; 7. 17GP-Scott Bogucki [6]; 8. 3N-Jake Neuman [10]; 9. 2W-Scott Neitzel [18]; 10. 7A-Will Armitage [9]; 11. 50YR-Kelby Watt [17]; 12. 22-Riley Goodno [13]; 13. GR8-Logan Julien [15]; 14. 4K-Kris Spitz [21]; 15. 47-Todd King[19]; 16. 87A-Austin Hartmann[14]; 17. 99-Tyler Brabant; 18. 21H-Tim Haddy [20]; 19. 16C-Tylar Rankin [16]; 20. 68-Dave Uttech [12]; 21. 13-Van Gurley Jr [23]; 22. 51B-Joe B Miller [3]; 23. 96-Jake Blackhurst [4]; 24. 19J-Jett Mann [24]

B-Main (10 Laps): 1. 4K-Kris Spitz [5]; 2. 12-Corbin Gurley [1]; 3. 13-Van Gurley Jr [3]; 4. 19J-Jett Mann [4]; 5. 99-Tyler Brabant [7]; 6. 33B-Scott Broty [11]; 7. 14T-Tim Estenson [9]; 8. 16-Anthony Knierim [10]; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder [8]; 10. G5-Gage Pulkrabek [12]; 11. 17-Dylan Winkel [2]; 12. 70W-Logan Wienke [13]; 13. 21-Will Gerrits [6]

Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 73-Scotty Thiel [1]; 2. 51B-Joe B Miller [3]; 3. 25T-Travis Arenz [2]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer [4]; 5. 7A-Will Armitage [5]

Dash 2 (4 Laps): 1. 79-Blake Nimee [1]; 2. 96-Jake Blackhurst [2]; 3. 17GP-Scott Bogucki [3]; 4. 1-Brenham Crouch [5]; 5. 3N-Jake Neuman [4]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25T-Travis Arenz [3]; 2. 68-Dave Uttech [1]; 3. GR8-Logan Julien [2]; 4. 2W-Scott Neitzel [5]; 5. 51B-Joe B Miller [4]; 6. 13-Van Gurley Jr [7]; 7. 12-Corbin Gurley [6]; 8. 33B-Scott Broty [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Brenham Crouch [1]; 2. 9K-Kyle Schuett [2]; 3. 3N-Jake Neuman [4]; 4. 96-Jake Blackhurst [3]; 5. 21H-Tim Haddy [5]; 6. 19J-Jett Mann [7]; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder [8]; 8. 17-Dylan Winkel [6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17GP-Scott Bogucki [2]; 2. 87A-Austin Hartmann [5]; 3. 79-Blake Nimee [4]; 4. 50YR-Kelby Watt [1]; 5. 7A-Will Armitage [3]; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz [7]; 7. 99-Tyler Brabant [6]; 8. G5-Gage Pulkrabek [8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 73-Scotty Thiel [3]; 2. 22-Riley Goodno [1]; 3. 16C-Tylar Rankin [5]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer [4]; 5. 47-Todd King [2]; 6. 21-Will Gerrits [7]; 7. 14T-Tim Estenson [9]; 8. 16-Anthony Knierim [6]; 9. 70W-Logan Wienke [8]

Qualifying: 1. 51B-Joe B Miller, 11.711 [9]; 2. 3N-Jake Neuman, 11.790 [7]; 3. 79-Blake Nimee, 11.829 [29]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.843 [27]; 5. 25T-Travis Arenz, 11.854 [14]; 6. 96-Jake Blackhurst, 11.861 [12]; 7. 7A-Will Armitage, 11.908 [13]; 8. 73-Scotty Thiel, 11.914 [33]; 9. GR8-Logan Julien, 11.941 [28]; 10. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 12.012 [24]; 11. 17GP-Scott Bogucki, 12.040 [6]; 12. 47-Todd King, 12.048 [16]; 13. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.083 [17]; 14. 1-Brenham Crouch, 12.100 [25]; 15. 50YR-Kelby Watt, 12.103 [18]; 16. 22-Riley Goodno, 12.108 [21]; 17. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 12.111 [32]; 18. 21H-Tim Haddy, 12.115 [1]; 19. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 12.150 [2]; 20. 16C-Tylar Rankin, 12.216 [30]; 21. 12-Corbin Gurley, 12.313 [10]; 22. 17-Dylan Winkel, 12.343 [26]; 23. 99-Tyler Brabant, 12.359 [4]; 24. 16-Anthony Knierim, 12.366 [5]; 25. 13-Van Gurley Jr, 12.430 [19]; 26. 19J-Jett Mann, 12.465 [15]; 27. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.530 [20]; 28. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.604 [23]; 29. 33B-Scott Broty, 12.694 [31]; 30. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.730 [8]; 31. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, 12.848 [3]; 32. 70W-Logan Wienke, 13.259 [22]; 33. (DNS) 14T-Tim Estenson

Hot Laps: 1. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.642 [27]; 2. 73-Scotty Thiel, 11.735 [33]; 3. 51B-Joe B Miller, 11.751 [9]; 4. 16C-Tylar Rankin, 11.806 [30]; 5. GR8-Logan Julien, 11.919 [28]; 6. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 11.957 [32]; 7. 17GP-Scott Bogucki, 11.991 [6]; 8. 79-Blake Nimee, 12.019 [29]; 9. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 12.040 [24]; 10. 1-Brenham Crouch, 12.058 [25]; 11. 3N-Jake Neuman, 12.071 [7]; 12. 50YR-Kelby Watt, 12.105 [18]; 13. 47-Todd King, 12.114 [16]; 14. 25T-Travis Arenz, 12.120 [14]; 15. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 12.253 [2]; 16. 7A-Will Armitage, 12.264 [13]; 17. 22-Riley Goodno, 12.274 [21]; 18. 33B-Scott Broty, 12.374 [31]; 19. 13-Van Gurley Jr, 12.436 [19]; 20. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.450 [23]; 21. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, 12.488 [3]; 22. 17-Dylan Winkel, 12.499 [26]; 23. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.559 [8]; 24. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.670 [20]; 25. 21H-Tim Haddy, 12.676 [1]; 26. 68-Dave Uttech 12.684 [17]; 27. 19J-Jett Mann, 12.727 [15]; 28. 99-Tyler Brabant, 12.825 [4]; 29. 16-Anthony Knierim, 13.022 [5]; 30. 70W-Logan Wienke, 13.726 [22]; 31. (DNS) 12-Corbin Gurley; 32. (DNS) 14T-Tim Estenson; 33. (DNS) 96-Jake Blackhurst

AUTOMETER WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

A-Main (20 Laps): 1. 0-John Fahl [1]; 2. 91-Jimmy Sivia [5]; 3. 17-Bryce Andrews [7]; 4. 40-Tim Cox [12]; 5. 14Z-Ryan Zielski [13]; 6. 70H-Tate Hensley [9]; 7. 7-Trinity Uttech [8]; 8. 8-Parker Jones [14]; 9. 29J-Ralph Johnson [10]; 10. 50-Rusty Egan [18]; 11. 11-Austin Hansen [22]; 12. 23Z-Zach Raidart [6]; 13. 21T-Mitchell Reich [15]; 14. 44-Jordan Miklas [17]; 15. 57F-Tristan Furseth [3]; 16. 29OG-Tom Eller [16]; 17. 7D-Josh Davidson [11]; 18. 4G-George Gaertner III [19]; 19. 38-Allen Hafford [2]; 20. 711-Tyler Kuxhouse [4]; 21. 17M-Matt Rypel [20]; 22. (DNS) 99J-Seth Johnson

B-Main (10 Laps): 1. 7D-Josh Davidson [1]; 2. 40-Tim Cox [7]; 3. 14Z-Ryan Zielski [9]; 4. 8-Parker Jones [12]; 5. 21T-Mitchell Reich [8]; 6. 29OG-Tom Eller [4]; 7. 44-Jordan Miklas [11]; 8. 50-Rusty Egan [2]; 9. 4G-George Gaertner III [3]; 10. 17M-Matt Rypel [10]; 11. (DNS) 11-Austin Hansen; 12. (DNS) 99J-Seth Johnson

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

A-Main (20 Laps): 1. 16-Mike Neau [7]; 2. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [8]; 3. 55H-Mark Heinert [2]; 4. 17-Jordan Funderburk [3]; 5. 18-Nick Petska [6]; 6. 22S-Brian Strane Jr [15]; 7. 63-Jacob Irwin [10]; 8. 74-Tim Brannam [4]; 9. 74M-Max Brannam [12]; 10. 13-Tucker Richards [9]; 11. 23-Dominick Swierad [14]; 12. 01-Ron Brannam [13]; 13. 6-Jeff Schmidt [11]; 14. (DNS) 11-Derek Fortier; 15. (DNS) 38-Johnson Ginder

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Jordan Funderburk [1]; 2. 18-Nick Petska [3]; 3. 13-Tucker Richards [6]; 4. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [4]; 5. 11-Derek Fortier [5]; 6. 6-Jeff Schmidt [2]; 7. 01-Ron Brannam [7]; 8. (DNS) 22S-Brian Strane Jr

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 55H-Mark Heinert [1]; 2. 38-Johnson Ginder [3]; 3. 16-Mike Neau [4]; 4. 74-Tim Brannam [2]; 5. 63-Jacob Irwin [6]; 6. 74M-Max Brannam [5]; 7. 23-Dominick Swierad [7]

Qualifying: 1. 5S-Chad Stouthamer, 13.389 [10]; 2. 16-Mike Neau, 13.450 [11]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, 13.470 [12]; 4. 38-Johnson Ginder, 13.582 [3]; 5. 6-Jeff Schmidt, 13.611 [9]; 6. 74-Tim Brannam, 13.622 [15]; 7. 17-Jordan Funderburk, 13.732 [4]; 8. 55H-Mark Heinert, 13.840 [14]; 9. 11-Derek Fortier, 13.982 [1]; 10. 74M-Max Brannam, 14.101 [7]; 11. 13-Tucker Richards, 14.255 [6]; 12. 63-Jacob Irwin, 14.396 [2]; 13. 01-Ron Brannam, 14.471 [13]; 14. 23-Dominick Swierad, 15.120 [5]; 15. 22S-Brian Strane Jr [8]

Sivia, Schroeder, McDonald claim A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 21, 2024 – A mad scramble in the final turn of the last lap of the seventh annual 106.5 The Buzz WABAM Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Jim “Wildman” Watson Classic produced a fittingly “wild” finish with Brett Swedberg of Shawano prevailing when the dust settled on the 30-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Jimmy Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. emerged from a thrilling three-way duel as the winner of the 20-lap Autometer Wisconsin wingLess Sprint Car Series A-main.

Cody Schroeder of Manitowoc put together a dominating performance to top an attrition-filled 20-lap A Modified main event.

Josh McDonald of Cleveland claimed top honors in the United Street Stock main event.

Six-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag in the 30-lap “Wildman” Watson Dirt Kings Late Model Tour headliner from the pole with third starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha in tow.

On lap eight, Mueller caught the rear of the field on the lightning fast track surface, while second starter Brett Swedberg ducked underneath Scheffler to take over the runner-up position.

With Mueller holding down a comfortable lead, the lone caution of the race appeared on lap 12 when Tim Rothe of Hortonville stopped along the backstretch.

When the race resumed, Joel Bennett of Hortonville moved up from his fifth starting position to take over third in the running order on lap 13. Meanwhile, newly crowned seven-time WABAM Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion Nick Anvelink of Bonduel maneuvered his way into fourth from the sixth starting spot.

Mueller continued to maintain a stranglehold on the lead before he caught lapped traffic once again in the fleeting laps of the race. Mired in heavy lapped traffic, Mueller slipped up the track coming off of turn three on the final lap, which allowed Swedberg to dive low and power underneath Mueller exiting turn four.

After the two veteran competitors jockeyed hard for position heading onto the front stretch, Mueller made contact with the front stretch wall while Swedberg sailed forward to collect his second Dirt Kings A-main victory of the 2024 season and first Jim “Wildman” Watson main event win, which was worth $2,000.

Bennett came home second and Anvelink finished third. Following his skirmish with Swedberg while racing to the checkered flag, Mueller guided his damaged No. 89 machine along the front stretch wall en route to a fourth place finish and Scheffler rounded out the top five in the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour’s 2024 curtain closer.

After being held at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis. for the first five years, it was the second “Wildman” Watson Classic to be contested at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

A native of Greenfield, nicknamed “Wildman,” Watson was a longtime Dirt Late Model competitor, most notably at the now shuttered Hales Corners Speedway in Franklin. Following his racing career, Watson went on to work in NASCAR for Roush Fenway Racing from 2006 to 2015, HScott Motorsports in 2016 and Furniture Row Racing, where he worked as a fabricator at the time of his passing in October 2017.

Polesitter and current Wisconsin wingLess Sprint Car Series points leader Zach Raidart of Gurnee, Ill. seized the top spot on the opening lap of the Wisconsin wingLess A-main with outside front row starter Jimmy Sivia trailing in second. Sivia then inched ahead of Raidart in turn one on lap three just before Ryan Zielski of Oconomowoc spun in turn four to bring out the first of two caution flags.

The hot-and-heavy action raged on following the restart as Sivia rode the high groove and Raidart clung to the inside lane of the expertly manicured track surface. Raidart pulled off a well-executed slide job to claim the lead on lap 7. However, Sivia answered by sweeping back around Raidart along the cushion during the following lap.

While Sivia and Raidart were mounting an intense duel for the lead, fourth starter Tyler Kuxhouse of Antioch, Ill. motored in to join the lead battle.

After the leaders briefly battled in three-wide formation on lap 9, the second caution flag appeared on lap 10 for a spin in turn two involving Craig Lager of Union Grove and Mitchell Reich of Waukegan, Ill.

Sivia, who claimed the 2020 Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series title, and Raidart re-engaged in their high-speed chess match when the race resumed. In the closing laps, Raidart attempted a pair of slide jobs to oust the lead from Sivia.

However, Sivia held Raidart’s attempts at bay on the way to his third A-main victory of the 2024 season and 16th career Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series main event triumph.

Raidart had to settle for second, seventh starter Tristan Furseth of Cambridge placed third, Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. finished fourth after starting third and Rusty Egan of Round Lake Heights, Ill. moved up from the 11th starting spot to place fifth.

After the initial attempt to start the 20-lap A Modified main event produced a six-car pileup, Cody Schroeder leaped forward from the third starting position to seize the lead when the green flag flew with Jayden Schmidt of Seymour, who started fourth, sliding into second.

The second yellow flag was displayed on lap 2 when Gary Jahnke of Bear Creek spun in turn two on lap 8. After two laps of green flag action, the third caution flag was displayed when Logan Brass of Howards Grove and Steve Lorier of Sheboygan slowed on lap 10.

After the fourth and final caution occurred on lap 12 when Brenan Ostrowski of Milwaukee spun in turn two, Schroeder put on a driving clinic over the final eight laps en route to a half-lap victory over sixth starter Jeff Bodendorfer of Waterford.

Fifth starter Matt Klenz of West Bend placed third, Mike Simons of Genoa City advanced from the 15th starting spot to finish fourth and polesitter Mike Klenz of West Bend completed the top five in a race which saw nine of the 20 starters make it to the finish line.

Shanon Guelette of Luxemburg led the opening lap from the pole before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 2 when Arianna Ross of Green Bay spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Guelette relinquished the lead after slowing in turn two. Josh McDonald, who started fifth, inherited the lead when the race resumed with third starter Austin Steinke of St. Nazianz following in second.

On lap 6, McDonald found himself feeling pressure from sixth starter Eddie Anschutz of Denmark and David Hoerning of Grand Chute, who started fourth.

The third and final caution flag was displayed on lap 7 for a three-car incident. After that, McDonald, Hoerning and Anschutz staged a heated three-wide duel for the lead on lap 8 before Anschutz worked past Hoerning into second.

Anschutz moved in to challenge McDonald for the top spot in the closing laps of race. However, McDonald held on to earn the A-main victory.

Anschutz ended up second, Hoerning finished third, seventh starter Tony Everard of Green Bay took fourth and Steinke placed fifth.

Taylor Scheffler claimed top qualifier honors in Dirt Kings Late Model Tour qualifying in 13.384 seconds.

Jayden Schmidt was the fastest qualifier in the A Modified qualifying session with a lap of 15.115 seconds.

Tyler Kuxhouse turned in a fast lap of 13.716 seconds in Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series qualifying.

David Hoerning topped United Street Stock qualifying with a lap of 16.526 seconds.

Austin Winkel of Sheboygan Falls earned the victory in the 10-lap A Modified B-main.

The 13th event of the 2024 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track attracted 89 total entries, including 26 A Modifieds, 22 Dirt Kings Late Models, 22 Unified Street Stocks and 19 Wisconsin wingLess Sprint Cars.

The 2024 Plymouth Dirt Track campaign will draw to a close on Saturday, Sept. 28 with the seventh annual Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships featuring the season finales for the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars, Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin wingLess Sprint Cars and IRA Lightning Sprints.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m.

The 2024 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Awards Ceremony is set to take place Saturday, Oct. 12 at Racers Hall in Plymouth at 7 p.m.

Weather information for all Plymouth Dirt Track Racing events will be posted on the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram pages, as well as the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing website – www.plymouthdtr.com.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis.

For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

106.5 THE BUZZ WABAM DIRT KINGS TOUR LATE MODELS

Jim Wildman Watson Classic (30 Laps): 1. 3-Brett Swedberg [2]; 2. 7-Joel Bennett [5]; 3. 15-Nick Anvelink [6]; 4. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 5. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 6. 5-Lukas Postl [11]; 7. 97-Justin Schmidt [7]; 8. 77-Bill Edler [8]; 9. 10P-Paul Parker [12]; 10. 70-Justin Ritchie [13]; 11. 42N-Paul Niznik [10]; 12. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [14]; 13. 51-Chris Oertel [19]; 14. 55-Joe Bongiorno [17]; 15. 99-Sawyer Specht [4]; 16. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [15]; 17. 35X-Parker Foster [18]; 18. 56-Tim Rothe [20]; 19. 89R-Kolton Roehl [9]; 20. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [21]; 21. 99M-Mike Mullen [22]; 22. 21F-Gunner Frank [16]

Autoworx Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [1]; 2. 15-Nick Anvelink [2]; 3. 97-Justin Schmidt [7]; 4. 42N-Paul Niznik [3]; 5. 10P-Paul Parker [6]; 6. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [5]; 7. 35X-Parker Foster [8]; 8. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [4]

Klink Equipment Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 3-Brett Swedberg [1]; 2. 7-Joel Bennett [5]; 3. 77-Bill Edler [3]; 4. 99M-Mike Mullen [2]; 5. 70-Justin Ritchie [7]; 6. 21F-Gunner Frank [6]; 7. 51-Chris Oertel [4]

Ken’s Sports Inc. Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 2. 99-Sawyer Specht [2]; 3. 89R-Kolton Roehl [3]; 4. 5-Lukas Postl [4]; 5. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [5]; 6. 55-Joe Bongiorno [6]; 7. 56-Tim Rothe [7]

Autoworx Qualifying 1: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.384 [4]; 2. 15-Nick Anvelink, 13.449 [5]; 3. 42N-Paul Niznik, 13.584 [1]; 4. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 13.643 [3]; 5. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 13.935 [7]; 6. 10P-Paul Parker, 14.050 [6]; 7. 97-Justin Schmidt, 14.108 [8]; 8. 35X-Parker Foster, 14.415 [2]

Klink Equipment Qualifying 2: 1. 3-Brett Swedberg, 13.432 [5]; 2. 99M-Mike Mullen, 13.562 [6]; 3. 77-Bill Edler, 13.742[3]; 4. 51-Chris Oertel, 13.800 [1]; 5. 7-Joel Bennett, 13.843 [4]; 6. 21F-Gunner Frank, 14.004 [7]; 7. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.098 [2]

Ken’s Sports Inc Qualifying 3: 1. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.426 [1]; 2. 99-Sawyer Specht, 13.820 [7]; 3. 89R-Kolton Roehl, 13.830 [2]; 4. 5-Lukas Postl, 13.990 [5]; 5. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 13.998 [3]; 6. 55-Joe Bongiorno, 14.277 [4]; 7. 56-Tim Rothe, 15.057 [6]

Autoworx Hot Laps 1: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.841 [4]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.960 [16]; 3. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.001 [13]; 4. 21F-Gunner Frank, 14.146 [15]; 5. 99-Sawyer Specht, 14.199 [22]; 6. 99M-Mike Mullen, 14.219 [14]; 7. 5-Lukas Postl, 14.338 [20]; 8. 42N-Paul Niznik, 14.453[1]; 9. 55-Joe Bongiorno, 14.457 [19]; 10. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.502 [18]; 11. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.582 [10]; 12. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.634 [3]; 13. 10P-Paul Parker, 14.781 [6]; 14. 51-Chris Oertel, 14.847 [9]; 15. 15-Nick Anvelink, 15.224 [5]; 16. 97-Justin Schmidt, 15.610 [8]; 17. 89R-Kolton Roehl, 15.624 [17]; 18. 77-Bill Edler, 15.650 [11]; 19. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 14.241[7]

AUTOMETER WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 91-Jimmy Sivia [2]; 2. 23Z-Zach Raidart [1]; 3. 57-Tristan Furseth [7]; 4. 38-Allen Hafford [3]; 5. 50-Rusty Egan [11]; 6. 0-John Fahl [6]; 7. 17-Bryce Andrews [5]; 8. 99J-Seth Johnson [13]; 9. 11-Austin Hansen [10]; 10. 4G-George Gaertner III [12]; 11. 7D-Josh Davidson [14]; 12. 29J-Ralph Johnson [18]; 13. 14Z-Ryan Zielski [9]; 14. 7-Trinity Uttech [16]; 15. 29OG-Tom Eller [17]; 16. 21T-Mitchell Reich [15]; 17. 52-Craig Lager [8]; 18. 711-Tyler Kuxhouse [4]; 19. 29JR-Cameron Kuxhouse [19]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Tristan Furseth [2]; 2. 711-Tyler Kuxhouse [4]; 3. 11-Austin Hansen [1]; 4. 23Z-Zach Raidart [3]; 5. 99J-Seth Johnson [5]; 6. 29OG-Tom Eller [6]; 7. (DNF) 29JR-Cameron Kuxhouse [7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Allen Hafford [4]; 2. 17-Bryce Andrews [3]; 3. 50-Rusty Egan [1]; 4. 52-Craig Lager [2]; 5. 7D-Josh Davidson [5]; 6. 29J-Ralph Johnson [6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 14Z-Ryan Zielski [2]; 2. 91-Jimmy Sivia [4]; 3. 0-John Fahl [3]; 4. 4G-George Gaertner III [1]; 5. 21T-Mitchell Reich [6]; 6. 7-Trinity Uttech [5]

Qualifying: 1. 711-Tyler Kuxhouse, 13.716 [8]; 2. 38-Allen Hafford, 13.941 [4]; 3. 91-Jimmy Sivia, 13.945 [13]; 4. 23Z-Zach Raidart, 13.973 [2]; 5. 17-Bryce Andrews, 14.036 [18]; 6. 0-John Fahl, 14.046 [17]; 7. 57-Tristan Furseth, 14.247 [16]; 8. 52-Craig Lager, 14.258 [3]; 9. 14Z-Ryan Zielski, 14.296 [14]; 10. 11-Austin Hansen, 14.314 [19]; 11. 50-Rusty Egan, 14.364 [11]; 12. 4G-George Gaertner III, 14.380 [9]; 13. 99J-Seth Johnson, 14.413 [1]; 14. 7D-Josh Davidson, 14.435 [10]; 15. 7-Trinity Uttech, 14.443 [6]; 16. 29OG-Tom Eller, 14.490 [12]; 17. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 14.516 [15]; 18. 21T-Mitchell Reich, 14.583 [5]; 19. (DNS) 29JR-Cameron Kuxhouse

A MODIFIEDS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 20C-Cody Schroeder [3]; 2. 95-Jeff Bodendorfer [6]; 3. 18-Matt Klenz [5]; 4. 25-Mike Simons [15]; 5. 17-Mike Klenz [1]; 6. 451-Tim Robbins [7]; 7. 3M-Randy Markwardt Jr [18]; 8. 88-Austin Winkel [16]; 9. 27-Brendan Ostrowski [20]; 10. (DNF) 97-Tanner Janke [14]; 11. (DNF) 89-Logan Brass [17]; 12. (DNF) 19P-Clint Parsons [19]; 13. (DNF) 66-Steve Lorier [11]; 14. (DNF) 79-Gary Janke [10]; 15. (DNF) 24-Jayden Schmidt [4]; 16. (DNF) 46-Jason Condrad [2]; 17. (DNF) 6W-David Wirth [8]; 18. (DNF) 11-Bart Sievert [9]; 19. (DNF) 19-Mike Wittenburg [12]; 20. (DNF) 33A-Adam Abbey [13]

B Main (10 Laps): 1. 88-Austin Winkel [2]; 2. 89-Logan Brass [6]; 3. 3M-Randy Markwardt Jr [1]; 4. 19P-Clint Parsons [3]; 5. 27-Brendan Ostrowski [7]; 6. 29P-Chris Pigeon [8]; 7. 68-Tom Neubauer [5]; 8. 19G-Parker Glander [4]; 9. 11B-Brad Buckman [9]; 10. (DNS) 37L-Brad Lubach; 11. (DNS) 86R-Tom Robbins

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Jayden Schmidt [4]; 2. 79-Gary Janke [5]; 3. 18-Matt Klenz [2]; 4. 6W-David Wirth [1]; 5. 25-Mike Simons [8]; 6. 88-Austin Winkel [6]; 7. 89-Logan Brass [7]; 8. 11B-Brad Buckman [9]; 9. 37L-Brad Lubach [3]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Jeff Bodendorfer [2]; 2. 66-Steve Lorier [5]; 3. 19-Mike Wittenburg [9]; 4. 33A-Adam Abbey [6]; 5. 46-Jason Condrad [3]; 6. 19G-Parker Glander [8]; 7. 86R-Tom Robbins [7]; 8. 27-Brendan Ostrowski [1]; 9. 3M-Randy Markwardt Jr [4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 451-Tim Robbins [2]; 2. 20C-Cody Schroeder [4]; 3. 17-Mike Klenz [3]; 4. 11-Bart Sievert [1]; 5. 97-Tanner Janke [5]; 6. 19P-Clint Parsons [7]; 7. 68-Tom Neubauer [6]; 8. 29P-Chris Pigeon [8]

Qualifying: 1. 24-Jayden Schmidt, 15.115 [22]; 2. 3M-Randy Markwardt Jr, 15.270 [15]; 3. 20C-Cody Schroeder, 15.358 [1]; 4. 37L-Brad Lubach, 15.539 [7]; 5. 46-Jason Condrad, 15.589 [6]; 6. 17-Mike Klenz, 15.720 [4]; 7. 18-Matt Klenz, 15.725 [16]; 8. 95-Jeff Bodendorfer, 15.736 [2]; 9. 451-Tim Robbins, 15.782 [12]; 10. 6W-David Wirth, 15.823 [5]; 11. 27-Brendan Ostrowski, 15.919 [13]; 12. 11-Bart Sievert, 15.990 [11]; 13. 79-Gary Janke, 16.162 [20]; 14. 66-Steve Lorier, 16.173 [19]; 15. 97-Tanner Janke, 16.268 [10]; 16. 88-Austin Winkel, 16.268 [14]; 17. 33A-Adam Abbey, 16.343 [26]; 18. 68-Tom Neubauer, 16.350 [8]; 19. 89-Logan Brass, 16.376 [9]; 20. 86R-Tom Robbins, 16.403 [21]; 21. 19P-Clint Parsons, 16.583 [3]; 22. 25-Mike Simons, 00:16.832 [23]; 23. 19G-Parker Glander, 17.155 [24]; 24. 29P-Chris Pigeon, 17.192 [18]; 25. 11B-Brad Buckman, 17.669 [25]; 26. (DNS) 19-Mike Wittenburg

UNIFIED STREET STOCKS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 6-Josh McDonald [5]; 2. 71-Edward Anschutz [6]; 3. 71H-David Hoerning [4]; 4. 8-Tony Everard [7]; 5. 24S-Austin Steinke [3]; 6. 95V-Logan Verhagen [9]; 7. 14X-Nate Gross [14]; 8. 838-Jason Eisel [10]; 9. 4-Shaun Bangart [8]; 10. 8M-Mike Meier [17]; 11. 6M-Matt McDonald [2]; 12. 83-Roman Blank [18]; 13. 28V-John Vetting [12]; 14. 22H-Hope Eisel [20]; 15. 51-Quentin Morrison [16]; 16. 121-Arianna Ross [21]; 17. 14-Bennett Glidden [11]; 18. 1K-Derek Kaye [22]; 19. 5-Todd Berzowski [19]; 20. 914-Tyler Nettekoven [13]; 21. 111-Shanon Guelette [1]; 22. 50X-Trevor Vandehei [15]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Edward Anschutz [2]; 2. 95V-Logan Verhagen [1]; 3. 111-Shanon Guelette [3]; 4. 71H-David Hoerning [4]; 5. 914-Tyler Nettekoven [5]; 6. 8M-Mike Meier [6]; 7. 5-Todd Berzowski [7]; 8. 121-Arianna Ross [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 838-Jason Eisel [1]; 2. 6-Josh McDonald [3]; 3. 24S-Austin Steinke [4]; 4. 8-Tony Everard [2]; 5. 14X-Nate Gross [5]; 6. 83-Roman Blank [6]; 7. 22H-Hope Eisel [7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Shaun Bangart [2]; 2. 6M-Matt McDonald [4]; 3. 14-Bennett Glidden [7]; 4. 28V-John Vetting [6]; 5. 50X-Trevor Vandehei [5]; 6. 51-Quentin Morrison [1]; 7. 1K-Derek Kaye [3]

Qualifying: 1. 71H-David Hoerning, 16.526 [19]; 2. 24S-Austin Steinke, 16.616 [22]; 3. 6M-Matt McDonald, 16.851 [16]; 4. 111-Shanon Guelette, 16.892 [20]; 5. 6-Josh McDonald, 16.980 [21]; 6. 1K-Derek Kaye, 17.010 [9]; 7. 71-Edward Anschutz, 17.044 [4]; 8. 8-Tony Everard, 17.062 [10]; 9. 4-Shaun Bangart, 17.092 [11]; 10. 95V-Logan Verhagen, 17.106 [17]; 11. 838-Jason Eisel, 17.278 [1]; 12. 51-Quentin Morrison, 17.300 [8]; 13. 914-Tyler Nettekoven, 17.394 [18]; 14. 14X-Nate Gross, 17.430 [14]; 15. 50X-Trevor Vandehei, 17.431 [5]; 16. 8M-Mike Meier, 17.506 [12]; 17. 83-Roman Blank, 17.567 [2]; 18. 28V-John Vetting, 17.889 [7]; 19. 5-Todd Berzowski, 17.981 [13]; 20. 22H-Hope Eisel, 18.003 [3]; 21. 14-Bennett Glidden, 18.131 [15]; 22. 121-Arianna Ross, 21.058 [6]