Thiel, Cullen, Pierce claim PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 28, 2019 – For a driver that has raced sparingly in recent years, Rick Scheffler of Waukesha was certainly on top of his game in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model competition at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. as he powered his way to a fitting victory in the 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute race, a special event honoring his late brother’s memory on Friday, June 28.

With a stellar field of 28 of the region’s top Late Model competitors signed in, Rick Scheffler topped them all to bag the big $2,574 first-place check and gigantic trophy in the second edition of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race presented by Allied Resource Recovery, which was organized by Late Model supporters Chad Marquardt and Greg Wester, along with promotional assistant Nicole Rehberg Carlson, who worked tirelessly to raise funds to support a huge boost in the Gasroots Project Late Model purse throughout the field.

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan claimed his first PDTR Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the season at Plymouth and second overall win of the 2019 season in Randy Sippel’s 39s car. Josh Pierce of Random Lake pulled off a last-lap pass to claim his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory at Plymouth, while Chilton’s Jesse Cullen earned his second Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph of the 2019 season in PDTR competition.

In the 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute Late Model headliner, polesitter Troy Springborn of Shawano bolted into the lead with Rick Scheffler, who started on the outside of the front row, in tow in second. On the beginning of lap 2, a seven-car incident in turn two involving Green Bay’s Joe Reuter, Nick Anvelink, Ron Stroika, Justin Reed, Turk Letizia, Brett Swedberg and Tom Naeyaert brought out the first and only caution of the event.

The incident knocked Anvelink, Naeyaert, Stroika and Swedberg out of the event. On the restart, Springborn again charged out to a solid advantage over 2010 PDTR Late Model champion Rick Scheffler on the smooth and multi-groove racing surface. As Springborn was showing the way at the front of the field, eighth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha used the outside groove to power his way into fifth place on lap 4.

One lap later, Taylor Scheffler, who is Russ Scheffler’s nephew and Rick Sheffler’s son, worked past 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fifth, to seize fourth.

On lap 6, Rick Scheffler had closed the gap on Springborn and began applying heavy pressure for the top spot along the inside groove. After three laps of dueling side by side with Springborn, Rick Scheffler ducked low to power his way into the lead in turn two on lap 8.

Once in front, Rick Scheffler proceeded to pull away from Springborn along the inside line of the track. Meanwhile, Taylor Scheffler continued to put on a show on the cushion as he worked his way around Joel Bennett, who started third, to take over third place on lap 9.

Over the final 20 laps of the event, Rick Scheffler was locked in to the low groove and maintained a solid full straightaway cushion over Springborn and the fast-closing Taylor Scheffler on the way to his 14^th career PDTR A-main victory and his first career victory in the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race.

Springborn finished second, Taylor Scheffler placed third, Bennett wound up fourth and Buhler rounded out the top five.

“This was a great race to win, that’s for sure,” Rick Scheffler said after the race. “There are a great group of people that worked really hard to put this race together. They raised a lot of extra money for all the Late Model drivers to race for tonight. I’m sure my brother would have appreciated it.”

Outside front row starter Tyler Brabant of Waupun outpowered polesitter Anthony Knierim of Franksville to grab the lead of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A-main in turn three of the opening lap. On lap two, sixth starter Scotty Thiel bolted into third place with a power move along the high groove of the track. Four laps later, Thiel worked his way past Knierim to seize second place.

On lap 10, Glenbeulah’s Jim Melis, who started fifth, maneuvered past both Knierim and third starter Brandon Berth of Cascade to secure third. Meanwhile, Thiel had cut the gap substantially on Brabant for the top spot as the leaders approached slower traffic on lap 11.

The first caution flag of the race flew seconds later when Waldo’s Chris Clayton spun in turn three. Another caution was displayed on the ensuing restart when Josh Teunissen of Waldo, Chris Clayton, 2008 PDTR champion Lance Fassbender of Burentt and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum got together entering turn one. All four drivers were able to continue the race at the rear of the field.

When the race resumed, Thiel went to work to wrestle the lead away from Brabant along the high grove exiting turn four on lap 13. Utilizing the low line, Brabant battled back three laps later to give Thiel a real run for his money over the closing nine circuits.

As the leaders worked their way through slower traffic over the final five circuits, Brabant pulled event with the high-riding Thiel on a couple of occasions exiting turn four. However, Thiel proved to be too strong as he held on to secure his second career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and his 12^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

Brabant finished a career-best second in PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition, Melis finished third, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth charged from the ninth starting spot to place fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fifth after starting eighth.

“Hats off to the track crew for getting the track ready tonight with all the rain we had,” Thiel said. “It was really a great racetrack tonight. I can’t thank Randy Sippel enough for giving me a great car to run. This is the second time I’ve won in this car now this year and it feels really good to get another win. I have to hand it to Tyler Brabant for putting up a good fight there at the end. He ran the bottom very well and I got little nervous a few times when he pulled even with me for the lead in the closing laps.”

In the 25-lap Grand National A main, polesitter Steven Weber of Plymouth dueled side by side with outside front row starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake throughout the opening lap before finally taking the lead in turn four on lap two.

As Weber held the top spot, fourth starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake used the outside groove to challenge Donny Kulow for second starting on lap 6. Two laps later, Pierce surged into second along the outside groove and quickly set his sights on the lead. On lap 9, Pierce charged in along the high line to pressure Weber, who was clinging to the low grove of the third-mile clay oval.

The two drivers waged a heated duel for the remaining 16 laps while eighth starter Will Sorce of Franklin moved in to challenge take over third on lap 20. On lap 21, Pierce, who was the 2012 PDTR Outlaw Compact division champion, switched lanes, moving from the high to the low grove to mount one finish push for the lead.

After attempting to duck low to gain the top spot on three consecutive laps, Pierce eventually made it work on the final lap as he found an opening exiting turn two on the final circuit and charged underneath Weber for good entering turn three. Pierce then held on to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph with a thrilling last-lap pass.

Sorce finished second, Weber placed third, Kulow wound up fourth and third starter Jason Juech of Plymouth rounded out the top five.

“We’ve been trying to get a win at Plymouth for seven years in the Grand National division and it finally happened tonight,” Pierce said. “We’ve come close a lot lately, and it feels great to get the job done with a last-lap pass and a clean sweep too.”

Polesitter Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main with outside front row starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls falling into second. The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 2 when Rick Kretschmann spun in turn two.

Another yellow flag was displayed on lap 3 when Rory Welch and Phil Campanella collided in turn three. On the restart, Wieland again led while third starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo and Glander dueled side by side for second on lap 4 while Schmidt surging into second on lap 5.

As Wieland continued to lead, sixth starter Jesse Cullen was making noise as he used the high groove to move into third place on lap 8. The final caution slowed the field on lap 16 when Justin Bauer stopped on the backstretch.

One lap later, Cullen bolted around Wieland to secure the top spot on lap 17. Fourth starter Barry Maas of Cascade also rode the high groove past Wieland into second on lap 18 and attempted to reel in Cullen over the final seven laps.

However, Cullen proved to be too formidable as he maintained the top spot over the final seven circuits en route to his second career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph. Maas placed second, Wieland wound up third, Schmidt placed fourth and 17^th starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac charged all the way up to post a fifth-place finish.

Brett Swedberg of Shawano won the Late Model B main and Kyle Raddant of Shawano captured the Late Model non-qualifiers dash. Travis Arenz of Sheboygan captured the first 360 Sprint Car B main and Kewaskum’s Shane Wenninger was victorious in the second 360 Sprint Car B main.

The special second edition of the Rus Scheffler Tribute Race drew a PDTR season-high total of 104 cars, including 28 Late Models, 40 360 Sprint Cars, 22 B Mods and 14 Grand Nationals.

The Friday night event was a non-points program for the Late Models, B Mods and Grand Nations with full PDTR points distributed in the 360 Sprint Car division.

Next Saturday, July 6 there will be no PDTR racing in conjunction with the Fourth of July weekend.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, July 13 and include a special Remembering Randy Tracy tribute in honor of the former Winged Super Modified racer, who recently passed away. Additional money will be awarded in the 360 Sprint Car division on July 13. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

Date of Race: June 28, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Joel Bennett 2, Jesse Glenz 3, Chris Engels 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Eric Michaels 7, Justin Reed.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Rick Scheffler 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Kyle Raddant 7, Jim Juneau.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Buhler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Brett Swedberg 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Mark Rose 7, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 4

1, Troy Springborn 2, Joe Reuter 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Ron Stroika 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Chad Vetting 7, Bily Rezutek.

B MAIN

1, Brett Swedberg 2, Tom Naeyaert 3, Mark Rose, 4, Justin Reed 5, Kyle Raddant 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Chad Vetting 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Billy Rezutek 10, Zack Kessler 11, Eric Michaels (DNS) 12, Jim Juneau (DNS).

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

1, Kyle Raddant 2, Chad Vetting 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Billy Rezutek 5, Zack Kessler 6, Charlie Schmidt (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Rick Scheffler 2, Troy Springborn 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Joel Bennett, 5, Tim Buhler 6, Brad Mueller 7, Jesse Glenz 8, Justin Schmidt 9, Justin Reed 10, Chris Engels 11, Joe Bongiorno 12, Turk Letizia 13, Kevin Baldry 14, Justin Ritchie 15, Mark Rose 16, Joe Reuter 17, Nick Anvelink 18, Ron Stroika 19, Brett Swedberg 20, Tom Naeyaert.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Al Schlafer 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Tim Haddy 6, Blake Wondra 7, Preston Ruh 8, Nick Daywalt.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Brandon Berth 3, Kurt Davis 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Adam Miller 6, Chris Larson 7, Chris Flick 8, Tyler Tischendorf (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Chris Clayton 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Josh Walter 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Will Gerrits 8, Nich Melis.

HEAT 4

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Doug Wondra 3, Paul Pokorski 4, Robbie Pribnow 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Tony Wondra 7, Tyler Davis 8. Mike Decker.

HEAT 5

1, Scott Conger 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Justin Miller 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Travis Arenz 6, Justin Erickson 7, Bill Taylor 8, Ken Schmick (DNS).

B MAIN 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Nich Melis 5, Josh Walter 6, Chris Flick 7, Nick Daywalt 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Tyler Davis 10, Chris Larson 11, Preston Ruh 12, Tony Wondra.

B MAIN 2

1, Tim Haddy 2, Tim Haddy 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Adam Miller 5, Robbie Pribnow 6, Justin Erickson 7, Will Gerrits 8, Mike Decker 9, Bill Taylor 10, Mike Yurmanovich 11, Blake Wondra 12, Ken Schmick (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Jim Melis 4, Justin Miller 5, Kurt Davis 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Ben Schmidt 8, Anthony Knierim 9, Brandon Berth 10, Travis Arenz 11, Tim Haddy 12, Kevin Karnitz 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Scott Conger 15, Chris Clayton 16, Lance Fassbender 17, Jack Vanderboom 18, Josh Teunissen 19, Danny Schlafer 20, Al Schlafer 21, Shane Wenninger 22, Doug Wondra.

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Will Sorce 3, Donny Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Steven Weber 6, Josh Hitsman 7, Juke Scholten.

HEAT 2

1, Josh Pierce 2, Dan Sorce 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Brue Troesch 5, Collin Skindzwelewski 6, Derek Kaat 7, Dakota Cabunac (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Josh Pierce 2, Will Sorce 3, Steven Weber 4, Donny Kulow 5, Jason Juech 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Josh Hitsman 8, Nick Schumacher 9, Bruce Troesch 10, Dan Sorce 11, Dakota Cabunac 12, Derek Kaat (DNS) 13, Collin Skindzelwski (DNS) 14, Luke Scholten (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Justin Bauer 3, Donny Singer 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Steve Lorier 6, Randy Theys 7, Tim Warner 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Valiquette 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Gary Glander 4, James Rautmann 5, Tim Lange 6, Rory Welch 7, John Fleury.

HEAT 3

1, Barry Maas 2, Travis Hansen 3, Brian Wieland 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Phil Campanella 6, Nick Schultz 7, Joshua Mavis.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Barry Maas 3, Brian Wieland 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Tim Warner 6, Travis Hansen 7, Nick Schultz 8, Steve Lorier 9, Rick Kretschmann 10, Matt Valiquette 11, Brandon Knepprath 12, Gary Glander 13, Randy Theys 14, James Rautmann 15, John Fleury 16, Tim Lange 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Rory Welch 19, Justin Bauer 20, Donny Singer 21, Phil Campanella 22, Joshua Mavis (DNS).