Arenz bags first PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 25, 2019 – Behind the wheel of the car owned and normally driven by former NASCAR Cup star Kasey Kahne, James McFadden of Oremeau, Queensland, Australia drove a near flawless race en route to victory in the 30-lap Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Challenge A-main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Thursday, July 25.

In the companion Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan claimed his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main win in dominating flag-to-flag fashion.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was a make-up date for a previous rain out on May 18, marked the second-ever official appearance for the All Star Circuit of Champions at The Plymouth Dirt Track and the first since 1995 when Kevin Huntley of Indianapolis, Ind. claimed the victory.

The event drew a stellar field of 36 All Star-IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 34 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and the largest crowd of the season to the Plymouth one-third mile clay oval.

Polesitter Justin Peck of Monrovia, Ind. grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the All Stars-IRA A main as McFadden, who started fourth, and third starter Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif. engaged in a spirited duel for second place on the opening circuit.

On lap 2, the first of four caution periods was displayed when two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam and Gerard McIntyre Jr. of New Oxford, Penn. spun into the infield after getting locked together in turn four.

On the restart, Peck powered away as McFadden passed Eliason to gain second on lap 2. One lap later two-time All Star Series champion Greg Wilson of Benton Ridge, Ohio slipped past Eliason to seize third.

Peck hit lapped traffic on lap five, which allowed McFadden to close the gap. On lap 9, McFadden closed to Peck’s rear bumper in turn one after the leader had to check up in turn four for a lapped car in turn four on the previous lap.

Peck and McFadden engaged in a heated side-by-side duel over the next three laps before McFadden switched from the outside lane to the low groove on the slick and smooth racing surface on lap 12 to dive under Peck for the lead entering turn three. Seconds after McFadden gained the lead, Peck hooked the cushion and flipped between turns three and four, which brought out a red flag on lap 12.

Following the restart, six-time All Star Series champ Dale Blaney of Hartford, Ohio worked his way into third from the seventh starting spot on lap 13. On the next lap, the third caution flag appeared when Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. spun in turn four. The fourth caution flag of the race appeared two laps later when Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel flipped in turn two.

After the final restart, with McFadden holding the lead and Wilson running a half straightaway behind in second, defending All Stars champion and current point leader Aaron Reutzel of Clute, Texas was flexing his muscle as he worked his way up from the 14^th starting spot to pass Eliason into fifth on lap 25. Two laps later, Reutzel powered around eighth starter Paul McMahan of Nashville, Tenn. to grab fourth in the running order.

Out in front of the field, McFadden had to deal with some slower traffic over the final five circuits, which allowed Wilson to close slightly. However, McFadden held strong to record his third career All Stars A-main victory and first All-Stars main event victory since 2015 in his debut appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

The victory also marked McFadden’s first main event win behind the wheel of Kahne’s No. 9 machine and first IRA A-main triumph. McFadden is presently filling in while Kahne recovers from an injury.

Wilson had to settle for second, Blaney wound up third, Reutzel charged up to finish fourth and McMahan rounded out the top five.

“Oh man this feels good,” McFadden said in victory lane. “We’ve been close on so many occasions, so it just feels great to get it down here tonight. I can’t thank Kasey Kahne and this entire team enough for this opportunity. The track really played into our favor tonight.”

Arenz, who came into the night as the hottest Midwest Sprint Car Association driver in the pit area on the strength of victories in three of the past four MSA events, grabbed the lead of the 25-lap A-main event from the pole.

By lap four, Arenz had built up a full-straightaway cushion over third starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Spyder Akright of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four.

When the race resumed, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh was making his presence felt as he moved up from his ninth starting spot to challenge fifth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum for third on lap 10.

On lap 19, Karnitz closed the gap on Arenz slightly when the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. Two laps later on lap 21, the second caution appeared when McMullen’s strong run was spoiled after contact with a lapped car sent him flipping in turn two, which brought out a red flag.

Following the restart, Arenz again pulled away over the final four laps to seal his fourth A-main victory in the last five MSA main events, sixth career and fifth MSA A-main victory of the 2019 season by a quarter straightaway over Karnitz, who placed second, Wenninger finished third, 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint champion, current PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Car point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fourth after starting 11^th and second starter Nich Melis of Plymouth rounded out the top five.

“It feels really good to get this win in a Sprint Car at Plymouth,” Arenz said. “My last win at Plymouth was back in 2015 in a Sport Mod.”

In preliminary action, the All Star-IRA fast qualifier was James McFadden, who turned in a fast lap of 11.732 seconds. All Star-IRA heat race winners were Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, Penn., Justin Peck and Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma City, Ok. The All Star-IRA B main winner was Marcus Dumsney of Nelson, New South Wales, Australia, while Peck and Zearfoss recorded dash victories.

PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race winners were Shane Wenninger, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah, Jason Johnson of Kewaskum and Kevin Karnitz. Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Adam Miller of Plymouth claimed the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

After PDTR takes a night off on Saturday, July 27, Plymouth Dirt Track racing will resume on Saturday, Aug. 3 with autograph night and past champion’s night presented by Hopf Farms, which will distribute draw string bags and checkered flags to kids at the gate. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association Challenge Event

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Plymouth, Wis.

July 25, 2019

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 9-James McFadden, 11.732; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 11.845; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.936; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 12.029; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.116; 6. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 12.440; 7. 40-George Hobaugh, 12.484; 8. 73AF-Joey Moughan, 12.625; 9. 45-Matt Wiese, 13.095

Group (B)
1. O2-Mike Reinke, 12.185; 2. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.350; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.399; 4. 11D-Danny Schlafer, 12.560; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt, 12.781; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 12.784; 7. 19-Todd Daun, 12.846; 8. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 12.959; 9. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 13.131

Group (C)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.968; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.014; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, 12.181; 4. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.188; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.303; 6. 14M-Marcus Dumsney, 12.332; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 12.425; 8. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 12.439; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.670

Group (D)
1. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.266; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 12.324; 3. 23-Russel Borland, 12.441; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.462; 5. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.597; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.619; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.827; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, 13.459; 9. O-Johnny Fahl, 99.999

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [1]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh [7]; 7. 4B-Scott Biertzer [6]; 8. 45-Matt Wiese [9]; 9. 73AF-Joey Moughan [8]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 3. O2-Mike Reinke [4]; 4. 85M-Steve Meyer [6]; 5. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [8]; 6. 19-Todd Daun [7]; 7. 11D-Danny Schlafer [1]; 8. 63-Nick Matuszewski [9]; 9. 73-Ben Schmidt [5]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel [2]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 7. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [8]; 8. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [6]; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder [9]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1]; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [3]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 4. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [6]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech [5]; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz [7]; 7. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 9. 23-Russel Borland [2]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [4]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [5]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [1]; 2. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [2]; 4. 4B-Scott Biertzer [7]; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt [16]; 6. 23-Russel Borland [13]; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz [4]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [3]; 9. 19-Todd Daun [5]; 10. 11D-Danny Schlafer [8]; 11. 63-Nick Matuszewski [11]; 12. 43-Jereme Schroeder [15]; 13. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 14. 29-Hunter Custer [12]; 15. 45-Matt Wiese [10]; 16. 73AF-Joey Moughan [14]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 9-James McFadden [4]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [7]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [14]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 9. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [17]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [13]; 12. O2-Mike Reinke [12]; 13. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [15]; 14. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [19]; 15. O7-Gerard McIntyre [18]; 16. 64-Scotty Thiel [10]; 17. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [11]; 18. 85M-Steve Meyer [16]; 19. 4B-Scott Biertzer [24]; 20. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [20]; 21. 68-Dave Uttech [21]; 22. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [22]; 23. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [23]; 24. 70X-Justin Peck [1] Lap Leaders: Justin Peck (1-11), James McFadden (12-30)

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 25, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Justin Miller 5, Josh Walter 6, Brandon Berth 7, Chris Clayton 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Al Schlafer.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Justin Erickson 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Mike Yurmanovich 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Jason Johnson 2, Danny Schlafer 3, Tim Haddy 4, Kurt Davis 5, Adam Miller 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Doug Wondra 8, Anthony Knierim.

HEAT 4

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Nich Melis 3, Will Gerrits 4, Bill Taylor 5, Blake Wondra 6, Spyder Akright 7, Preston Ruh 8, Chris Larson.

B MAIN 1

1, Bill Taylor 2, Josh Walter 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Chris Clayton 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Chris Larson.

B MAIN 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Brandon Berth 3, Spyder Akright 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Justin Erickson 6, Al Schlafer 7, Doug Wondra 8, Preston Ruh 9, Anthony Knierim (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Kurt Davis 5, Nich Melis 6, Jim Melis 7, Jason Johnson 8, Tim Haddy 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Justin Miller 11, Robbie Pribnow 12, Bill Taylor 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Brandon Berth 15, Tony Wondra 16, Adam Miller 17, Josh Walter 18, Blake Wondra 19, Will Gerrits, 20, Brandon McMullen 21, Spyder Akright 22, Danny Schlafer.