Scholten, Kemkes score A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 29, 2019 – The hottest Dirt Late model driver in the nation, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., scorched The Plymouth Dirt Track for the second consecutive year as he survived nine caution periods and held off a mid-race challenge from Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan. to secure his 15^th Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-main triumph of the season Monday, July 29 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

The event drew a strong field of 33 World of Outlaws Late Models and a large crowd of spectators for the series’ second appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

In the support divisions, Luke Scholten of Oostburg used a daring three-way pass with three laps to go to secure the 20-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory and Cory Kemkes of Appleton made the most of his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming the 20-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Three-time World of Outlaws Late Model champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. paced the opening circuit of the 50-lap A main from the pole position before Sheppard, who started fourth, bolted up to the high groove to seize second from outside front row starter Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Penn. on lap 2.

One lap later, Sheppard powered around Lanigan to take the lead in turn two on lap 3. On lap 4, fifth starter Ricky Weiss of Headingly, Manitoba, Canada used the extreme low groove to challenge Sheppard briefly before the first of nine caution flags was displayed on lap 5 for Briggs, who had stopped in turn two.

After the restart, Sheppard held control of the top spot with Weiss in tow. Just as the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 13, the second caution flag came out on lap 14 when Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, who was scheduled to start third, but lost a tire during a warm-up lap and did not get on the track until the first caution flag on lap 5, stopped in turn two.

Two laps later, the third caution was displayed for Nick Anvelink of Navarino, who spun in turn four on lap 16. Action began to pick up during a 17-lap green-flag run, as Junghans, who started eighth, passed Weiss to gain second on lap 28.

On the next lap, Junghans moved in to challenge Sheppard for the top spot and the two drivers dueled side by side over the next three circuits before Junghans used some heavy lapped traffic to his advantage. With Sheppard boxed in behind two lapped cars running the high and low grooves, Junghans ducked low on lap 32 to seize the lead in turn four and officially lead the 32^nd lap of the race.

However, Sheppard battled back to regain the top spot on the very next lap before the fourth caution appeared when Paul Parker of Kaukauna slowed after contact with Junghans in turn four on lap 33. On the restart, Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. and Justin Ritchie of New London spun after contact in turn three for the fifth caution.

The final 17 laps were plagued by four more caution periods for single-car spins as only 12 of the original 24 starters were still racing in the closing laps.

Sheppard, who captured the 2017 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship, pulled way following the eighth and final caution flag on lap 48 to secure his 52^nd career Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory, 15th A-main triumph of the season and second straight win at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This has been a dream season and I’m so lucky to be driving for Mark Richards and this great Rocket Chassis team,” Sheppard said. “I’ve worked a lot of years to get here and I got a great break when Mark first asked me to drive his car in 2012. It is really a unbelievable feeling to drive this thing.

“Things got a bit crazy for a little while and I had to go to the top line to try to work through the lapped traffic,” he said. “I came up to cars that were running the top and the bottom at the same speed, but luckily it worked out in our favor in the end.”

Junghans had to settle for second, Weiss placed third, 2018 and 2019 UMP Summernationals champion Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. came from the seventh starting spot to finish fourth and Dennis Erb. Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. completed the top five after starting ninth.

Both Junghans and Weiss were pleased with their podium finishes.

“It was a challenge to get around the lapped cars, which helped me to close the gap on Brandon and get the lead very briefly,” Junghans said. “I’m glad that things seem to be going in the right direction for us. We keep getting a little bit better, which is encouraging.”

“We’ve been real good all year with a lot of top-threes and top-fives,” Weiss said. “We’ve been racing really well and I hope we can keep it up. We will just keep digging.”

Justin Pearson of Burnett grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap Grand National A main from the outside front row starting position before Jason Juech of Plymouth battled back to apply pressure on lap 2. The first of five caution flags appeared later on lap 2 when Dave Holm, Bruce Troesch and Derek Kaat collided in turn three.

After the start, Pearson continued to lead with Juech in second and fourth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moving into third on lap 3. The second caution flag was displayed when Tyler Kulow of Plymouth and 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville got hooked together and stopped in turn four on lap 8.

When green flag action resumed, eighth starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake charged in to pressure Juech for second beginning on lap 12. After three consecutive laps of heated side-by-side action, Juech spun in turn four after apparent contact with Pierce. Both Juech and Pierce were both sent to the rear of the field for causing the caution.

On the restart, sixth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary flexed his muscle to move into second place and mount heavy pressure on Pearson for the lead starting on lap 16. One lap later, Pagel and Pearson collided in turn three, which opened the door for Luke Scholten to charge up from his 13^th starting spot and into the lead with a daring three-wide move entering turn three on lap 17.

One lap later, a five-car caution flag appeared on lap 18 following contact between Pearson and Pagel, along with three other cars. The fifth and final caution flag appeared on lap 18 when Nick Schumacher of Eagle stopped on the frontstretch with an apparent mechanical problem.

Scholten held down the top spot on the final restart to earn his 12^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, which moves him into a tie for second on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main victory list behind Brad Lubach, who leads the way with 24.

Pearson placed second in his PDTR debut, Loehr finished third, Derek Schrauth of Omro wound up fourth after starting 10^th and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake placed fifth after starting ninth.

First-time PDTR competitor Cory Kemkes of Appleton seized the lead of the 20-lap PDTR B Mod A main from the pole. On lap 3, outside front row starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac gained the runner-up spot with fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton settling into third.

The second of three caution flags appeared on lap 6 for a four-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Warner stayed in close contact with Kemkes with Cullen in tow in third and 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started 17^th, and Chris Budzban of Appleton, who started third, dueling for fifth on lap 11.

After the third and final caution was displayed on lap 12 for a single-car spin, Sheppard advanced to fourth and moved in to challenge Cullen for third. Out in front, it was all Kemkes as he fended off Tim Warner to claim his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in his first attempt.

Warner placed second, Cullen wound up third, Sheppard placed fourth and Budzban was fifth.

Brandon Sheppard set a new Late Model track record in Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series qualifying with a circuit of 13.709 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. The World of Outlaws Last Chance Showdown 1 winner was 10-time NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D. and Terry Casey of New London captured the second Last Chance Showdown race.

The evening, which was sponsored by Wisconsin Refrigerated, drew a grand total of 73 cars, including 33 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model machines, 23 PDTR B Mods and 17 PDTR Grand Nationals.

The next scheduled race at The Plymouth Dirt Track is this Saturday, Aug. 3, featuring autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms, which will distribute draw string bags and checkered flags to the first 250 kids. It will also be past champions night. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Sheboygan County Fairgrounds

Plymouth, Wis.

July 29, 2019

Morton Buildings Feature (50 Laps) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [4][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [8][$5,000]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss [5][$3,000]; 4. 3s-Brian Shirley [7][$2,500]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [9][$2,000]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard [12][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [6][$1,400]; 8. 942-Terry Casey [18][$1,300]; 9. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,200]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs [2][$1,100]; 11. 89-Brad Mueller [22][$1,050]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [17][$1,000]; 13. 97s-Justin Schmidt [19][$950]; 14. 74-Mitch McGrath [13][$900]; 15. 6-Blake Spencer [23][$850]; 16. 28m-Jimmy Mars [10][$800]; 17. 70-Justin Ritchie [21][$770]; 18. 29-Darrell Lanigan [1][$750]; 19. 11-Justin Reed [15][$730]; 20. 25F-Jason Feger [20][$700]; 21. 10-Paul Parker [24][$700]; 22. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [14][$700]; 23. 15n-Nick Anvelink [16][$700]; 24. 16-Tyler Bruening [3][$700] Hard Charger: 89-Brad Mueller[+11]

Qualifying Flight-A 1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.826; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss, 14.018; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening, 14.123; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 14.201; 5. 97s-Justin Schmidt, 14.223; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 14.286; 7. 18-Chase Junghans, 14.389; 8. 11-Justin Reed, 14.466; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.479; 10. 10-Paul Parker, 14.485; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr., 14.582; 12. 6-Blake Spencer, 14.617; 13. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.732; 14. 79-Jim Schmidt, 14.847; 15. 96-Brian Konitzer, 15.291; 16. 55s-Don Singer, 16.647; 17. 16k-Zack Kessler, NT

Qualifying Flight-B 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 13.709; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 13.71; 3. 10s-Taylor Scheffler, 13.756; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.959; 5. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.053; 6. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.141; 7. 942-Terry Casey, 14.234; 8. 15n-Nick Anvelink, 14.337; 9. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 14.478; 10. 25F-Jason Feger, 14.519; 11. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.527; 12. D1-Turk Letizia, 14.551; 13. 89-Brad Mueller, 14.575; 14. 27-Derek Janke, 14.854; 15. O3-Kyle Raddant, 14.976; 16. 54-Kevin Baldry, NT

Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 16-Tyler Bruening [2]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [6]; 4. 74-Mitch McGrath [1]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3]; 7. 70-Justin Ritchie [7]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [8]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9]

Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan [2]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [1]; 3. B1-Brent Larson [3]; 4. 11-Justin Reed [4]; 5. 10-Paul Parker [5]; 6. 6-Blake Spencer [6]; 7. 79-Jim Schmidt [7]; 8. 55s-Don Singer [8]

Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton [3]; 3. 28m-Jimmy Mars [5]; 4. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [2]; 5. 942-Terry Casey [4]; 6. 3-Brett Swedberg [6]; 7. 89-Brad Mueller [7]; 8. O3-Kyle Raddant [8]

Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 99B-Boom Briggs [2]; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley [1]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard [3]; 4. 15n-Nick Anvelink [4]; 5. 25F-Jason Feger [5]; 6. D1-Turk Letizia [6]; 7. 27-Derek Janke [7]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][-]; 2. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3][-]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [5][-]; 4. 10-Paul Parker [2][$110]; 5. 6-Blake Spencer [4][$110]; 6. 79-Jim Schmidt [6][$110]; 7. 55s-Don Singer [8][$110]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [7][]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9][]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 942-Terry Casey [1][-]; 2. 25F-Jason Feger [2][-]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller [5][-]; 4. D1-Turk Letizia [4][$110]; 5. 27-Derek Janke [6][$110]; 6. O3-Kyle Raddant [7][$110]; 7. 3-Brett Swedberg [3][$110]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8].

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

Date of Race: July 29, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Dick Hed 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Derek Schrauth 7, Luke Scholten 8, Bruce Throesch 9, Derek Kaat.

HEAT 2

1, J.J. Pagel 2, Jason Juech 3, Justin Pearson 4, Josh Pierce 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Matt Loehr 7, Dave Holm 8, Josh Hitsman.

A MAIN

1, Luke Scholten 2, Justin Pearson 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Schrauth 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Dick Hed 7, Josh Hitsman 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Jason Juech 10, Derek Kaat 11, Dave Holm 12, Bruce Troesch 13, Steven Weber 14, Nick Schumacher 15, Josh Pierce 16, Dustin Weiss 17, Tyler Kulow.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Warner 2, Brian Wieland 3, Steve Lorier 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Lee Sohns 7, Donny Singer 8, Tim Sheppard.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Chris Budzban 3, Tim Lange 4, Randy Theys 5, Joshua Mavis 6, Justin Bauer 7, Skyler Woods 8, Tailer Ness.

HEAT 3

1, Cory Kemkes 2, Nick Schultz 3, Steven Wirtz 4, Barry Maas 5, Rory Welch 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Andy Singer.

A MAIN

1, Cory Kemkes, Tim Warner 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tim Sheppard 5, Chris Budzban 6, Nick Schultz, 7, Skyler Woods 8, Brandon Knepprath 9, Randy Theys 10, Travis Schmidt 11, Jesse Jakubowski 12, Tim Lange 13, Steve Lorier 14, Justin Bauer 15, Donny Singer 16, Steven Wirtz, 17, Tailer Ness 18, Andy Singer 19, Rory Welch 20, Joshua Mavis, 21, Barry Maas, 22, Brian Weiland, 23, Lee Sohns.