Armitage, Uttech, Crane claim Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships victories – Arenz, Sivia, Richards crowned champs

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 26, 2026 – The curtain closed on the 2026 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season with Brandon Berth of Cascade parking in victory lane and Ben Schmidt of Plymouth sealing his third career Akright Auto PDTR 360 Sprint Car championship before an abundance of spectators at the ninth annual Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis., on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Along with his third PDTR 360 Sprint Car title, Schmidt also nailed down his fourth overall and third consecutive Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car championship.

In the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series A-main, Will Armitage of Athens, Ill. came home victorious in the IRA Rick Schmidt Memorial Race. After placing ninth in the main event, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls secured his first career IRA 410 Sprint Series championship.

Trinity Uttech of New Berlin racked up the win in the 20-lap Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car main event as 14-year-old Colin Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. wrapped up his first series championship.

Nathan Crane of Waukegan, Ill. captured the 20-lap IRA Lightning division A-main victory, and 15-year-old Tucker Richards of Bristol collected his first career series championship.

Brandon Berth jumped out to the lead of the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car main event from the pole as fourth starter Tyler Davis of Franklin rode the outside groove to second on lap 2.

The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap six when Frank Perko of Elkhart Lake spun in turn four.

Following the restart, three-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who was filling in for the injured Billy Kreutz, moved up from the third starting spot to take second on lap 6.

Six laps later, Berth caught the rear of the field and began expertly slicing his way through slower traffic to distance himself from McMullen and the rest of the field.

Berth went on to notch his first PDTR 360 Sprint Car win of the 2026 season, third career victory in the 360 Sprint Car division at Plymouth, and 10^th career MSA A-main triumph.

McMullen had to settle for second, Joseph Hintz of Burnett moved up from the seventh starting spot to take third, Waldo’s Chris Clayton advanced from the 11^th starting position to finish fourth, and, after starting 17^th, Josh Walter of Plymouth stormed up 12 spots to round out the top five.

Schmidt placed seventh to seal PDTR 360 Sprint Car crown No. 3 to go along with his 2024 and 2011 titles.

Following a multi-car incident in turn four, which negated the first start attempt, outside front row starter Will Armitage seized the lead of the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car A-main.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 2 when Logan Julien spun in turn three. After the restart, Armitage maintained his lock on the top spot, while fifth starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan flexed his muscle to take second on lap 10.

A red flag was displayed on lap 16 when former IRA 410 Sprint Car Series champion Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. flipped in turn two. After another caution for a spin involving former IRA champ Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. on lap 19, Thiel vacated the runner-up spot and retired to the pit area.

Armitage, two-time Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA) 410 Sprint Car Series champion, proved to be too strong over the final 11 laps as he weaved through the back of the field in the closing laps to secure his third IRA main event win of the 2026 campaign.

Christopher Thram of Sanborn, Minn. moved up from the eighth starting slot to take second, former MOWA champ and 2026 IRA Rookie of the Year Paul Nienhiser of Chapin, Ill. took third after starting 11^th, Kelby Watt of Adell, Iowa advanced from 12^th at the start to place fourth, and Kaleb Johnson of Sioux Falls, S.D., who started fourth, completed the top five.

Following a ninth-place finish, Travis Arenz, who began his racing career in the Outlaw Compact 4-cylinder division at Plymouth in 2008, collected his first career IRA 410 Sprint Car Series title.

Paul Nienhiser captured the 2026 Hopf Farms Bullring Showdown for the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series.

Outside front row starter Trinity Uttech took the top spot in the 20-lap Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car A-main on the opening lap with fourth starter Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. in pursuit. On lap 4, Bryce Andrews of Kenosha drew a red flag following a flip on the front stretch.

Cox made his presence felt on the ensuing restart, moving in to follow in Uttech’s tire tracks along the low groove. After the second caution flag appeared on lap 13, seventh starter Allen Hafford bolted into third utilizing the far outside line of the third-mile clay oval.

Hafford moved in to pressure Cox for second on lap 16 before the third and final caution flag came out for debris. Uttech dominated the final four laps on the way to her first Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car A-main win of the 2026 season and first since Aug. 3, 2024 at Wilmot Raceway.

Cox was second, Josh Davidson of Racine took third after starting on the pole, Hafford wound up fourth, and eighth starter John Fahl of Brown Deer placed fifth.

Colin Sivia earned a seventh-place finish to put the final touches on his first career Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car title.

Hudson Launer of Howards Grove led the first seven laps of the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints main event from the pole. On lap 8, eighth starter Nathan Crane grabbed the top spot and never looked back on the way to victory.

Tucker Richards, who started seventh, placed second to put a bow on his first career IRA Lightning Sprints championship.

Mark Heinert of Waukesha placed third after starting fifth, Launer was fourth, and Jordan Funderburk of Wadsworth, Ill., who started third, ended up fifth.

Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the 12-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car B main. Andover, Minn. native Carter Chevalier was victorious in the 12-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car B main.

Josh Walter claimed overall fast time honors in PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car group qualifying in 12.363 seconds.

Travis Arenz earned the quick time award in IRA 410 Sprint Car Series qualifying with a top lap of 11.318 seconds.

Nathan Crane seized the fast qualifier award in IRA Lightning Sprints qualifying with a lap of 13.158 seconds.

The final event of the 2026 PDTR campaign, sponsored by Otte Bus Service, drew a field of 93 total entries, including 32 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 31 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 18 Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars and 12 IRA Lightning Sprints.

The 2026 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Awards Ceremony will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, 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 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing news and information 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. 22B-Brandon Berth [1]; 2. 3BK-Brandon McMullen [3]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz [7]; 4. 2-Chris Clayton [11]; 5. 67-Josh Walter [17]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [5]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt [9]; 8. 68T-Tyler Davis [4]; 9. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [8]; 10. 46-Steven Ruh [13]; 11. 11-Tony Wondra [14]; 12. 59-Ethon Stear [6]; 13. 5-Chad Stouthamer [15]; 14. 51-Chris Larson [2]; 15. 69-Bill Taylor [16]; 16. 69S-TJ Smith [20]; 17. 19-Ion Stear [18]; 18. 30-Blake Wondra [12]; 19. 68P-Frank Perko [10]; 20. 54-Randy Post [21]; 21. 34T-Tom Becker [22]; 22. 20W-Weston Finke [19]

B Main (12 Laps): 1. 69-Bill Taylor[2]; 2. 67-Josh Walter[11]; 3. 19-Ion Stear[5]; 4. 20W-Weston Finke[1]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith[7]; 6. 54-Randy Post[3]; 7. 17-Jordan Funderburk[9]; 8. 0-Kevin Seidler[4]; 9. 21T-Mitchell Reich[10]; 10. 11W-Preston Bokath[12]; 11. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[6]; 12. 24X-Eric Wilke[8]; 13. (DNS) 3-Justin Erickson; 14. (DNS) 15-Carter Chevalier; 15. (DNS) 44H-Hayden Johnson; 16. (DNS) 87R-Josh Rehberg

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3BK-Brandon McMullen[3]; 2. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach[2]; 3. 68P-Frank Perko[4]; 4. 34T-Tom Becker[5]; 5. (DNF) 3-Justin Erickson[1]; 6. (DNS) 67-Josh Walter; 7. (DNS) 44H-Hayden Johnson; 8. (DNS) 87R-Josh Rehberg

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 51-Chris Larson[2]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth[4]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz[5]; 4. 5-Chad Stouthamer[3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith[1]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor[7]; 7. 24X-Eric Wilke[6]; 8. 17-Jordan Funderburk[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz[1]; 2. 59-Ethon Stear[3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt[4]; 4. 30-Blake Wondra[6]; 5. 19-Ion Stear[2]; 6. 54-Randy Post[5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[7]; 8. 21T-Mitchell Reich[8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 68T-Tyler Davis[4]; 2. 2-Chris Clayton[1]; 3. 46-Steven Ruh[2]; 4. 20W-Weston Finke[3]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra[6]; 6. 0-Kevin Seidler[5]; 7. 11W-Preston Bokath[8]; 8. (DNS) 15-Carter Chevalier

Qualifying 1: 1. 67-Josh Walter, 12.363[3]; 2. 3BK-Brandon McMullen, 12.388[4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.592[8]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.791[7]; 5. 68P-Frank Perko, 12.814[5]; 6. 34T-Tom Becker, 13.686[6]; 7. (DNF) 44H-Hayden Johnson, 13.686[2]; 8. (DNF) 87R-Josh Rehberg, 13.686[1]

Qualifying 2: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.580[3]; 2. 5-Chad Stouthamer, 12.626[1]; 3. 51-Chris Larson, 12.760[2]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.771[5]; 5. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.796[8]; 6. 24X-Eric Wilke, 12.820[7]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.950[4]; 8. 17-Jordan Funderburk, 13.132[6]

Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.586[7]; 2. 59-Ethon Stear, 12.644[2]; 3. 19-Ion Stear, 12.656[3]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.692[1]; 5. 54-Randy Post, 12.855[4]; 6. 30-Blake Wondra, 13.124[5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 13.628[8]; 8. 21T-Mitchell Reich, 13.707[6]

Qualifying 4: 1. 68T-Tyler Davis, 12.575[2]; 2. 20W-Weston Finke, 12.667[1]; 3. 46-Steven Ruh, 12.897[6]; 4. 2-Chris Clayton, 12.908[5]; 5. 0-Kevin Seidler, 12.913[3]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.954[7]; 7. 11W-Preston Bokath, 14.821[8]; 8. 15-Carter Chevalier, 14.821[4]

 

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

A Main: 1. 7A-Will Armitage [2]; 2. 24T-Christopher Thram [8]; 3. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [11]; 4. 1K-Kelby Watt [12]; 5. 22-Kaleb Johnson [4]; 6. B8-John Barnard [14]; 7. 9K-Kyle Schuett [3]; 8. 87A-Austin Hartmann [9]; 9. 25T-Travis Arenz [7]; 10. 85J-Logan Julien [6]; 11. 25-Danny Schlafer [10]; 12. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [15]; 13. 3N-Jake Neuman [13]; 14. 09-Clayton Rossmann [16]; 15. 55P-Brady Portschy [24]; 16. P1-Carter Chevalier [19]; 17. 4K-Kris Spitz [20]; 18. 4-Alex Pokorski [17]; 19. (DNF) 31-Scotty Thiel [5]; 20. (DNF) 96-Jake Blackhurst [1]; 21. (DNF) 65-Jordan Goldesberry [18]; 22. (DNF) 3B-Shelby Bosie [23]; 23. (DNF) 17B-Dean Barnes [21]; 24. (DNF) 31W-Koby Werkmeister [22]

B Feature: 1. P1-Carter Chevalier[4]; 2. 4K-Kris Spitz[1]; 3. 17B-Dean Barnes[5]; 4. 31W-Koby Werkmeister[2]; 5. 3B-Shelby Bosie[3]; 6. 55P-Brady Portschy[9]; 7. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf[11]; 8. 26R-Preston Ruh[8]; 9. 26-Cody Schlafer[10]; 10. 4S-Jeremy Snow[6]; 11. 24-Scott Conger[12]; 12. (DNF) 43-Jereme Schroeder[7]; 13. (DNS) 68-Dave Uttech

Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 96-Jake Blackhurst[2]; 2. 9K-Kyle Schuett[4]; 3. 31-Scotty Thiel[5]; 4. 25T-Travis Arenz[3]; 5. 87A-Austin Hartmann[1]

Dash 2 (4 Laps): 1. 7A-Will Armitage[1]; 2. 22-Kaleb Johnson[2]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien[4]; 4. 24T-Christopher Thram[5]; 5. 25-Danny Schlafer[3]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9K-Kyle Schuett[2]; 2. 25T-Travis Arenz[4]; 3. 9X-Paul Nienhiser[5]; 4. 1K-Kelby Watt[6]; 5. 96-Jake Blackhurst[3]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[7]; 7. 3B-Shelby Bosie[8]; 8. 4S-Jeremy Snow[9]; 9. 55P-Brady Portschy[10]; 10. 68-Dave Uttech[1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Scotty Thiel[2]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien[4]; 3. 25-Danny Schlafer[1]; 4. 24T-Christopher Thram[3]; 5. 2W-Scott Neitzel[5]; 6. 4-Alex Pokorski[6]; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz[7]; 8. 17B-Dean Barnes[8]; 9. 26R-Preston Ruh[9]; 10. 24-Scott Conger[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Kaleb Johnson[2]; 2. 7A-Will Armitage[4]; 3. 87A-Austin Hartmann[3]; 4. 3N-Jake Neuman[6]; 5. B8-John Barnard[1]; 6. 09-Clayton Rossmann[5]; 7. P1-Carter Chevalier[8]; 8. 43-Jereme Schroeder[9]; 9. 26-Cody Schlafer[10]; 10. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf[11]; 11. (DNF) 31W-Koby Werkmeister[7]

Qualifying: 1. 25T-Travis Arenz, 11.318[4]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien, 11.361[23]; 3. 7A-Will Armitage, 11.445[5]; 4. 96-Jake Blackhurst, 11.464[16]; 5. 24T-Christopher Thram, 11.534[14]; 6. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 11.537[11]; 7. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 11.547[2]; 8. 31-Scotty Thiel, 11.554[18]; 9. 22-Kaleb Johnson, 11.571[1]; 10. 68-Dave Uttech, 11.597[15]; 11. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.599[6]; 12. B8-John Barnard, 11.602[3]; 13. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 11.620[8]; 14. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 11.640[28]; 15. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 11.673[29]; 16. 1K-Kelby Watt, 11.682[13]; 17. 4-Alex Pokorski, 11.719[20]; 18. 3N-Jake Neuman, 11.752[24]; 19. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 11.771[22]; 20. 4K-Kris Spitz, 11.778[27]; 21. 31W-Koby Werkmeister, 11.782[26]; 22. 3B-Shelby Bosie, 11.821[7]; 23. 17B-Dean Barnes, 11.858[19]; 24. P1-Carter Chevalier, 11.876[10]; 25. 4S-Jeremy Snow, 11.951[12]; 26. 26R-Preston Ruh, 11.978[30]; 27. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.233[17]; 28. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf, 12.239[31]; 29. 24-Scott Conger, 12.288[9]; 30. 26-Cody Schlafer, 12.296[25]; 31. (DQ) 55P-Brady Portschy, 12.091[21]

Hot Laps: 1. 96-Jake Blackhurst, 11.394[16]; 2. 24T-Christopher Thram, 11.434[14]; 3. 1K-Kelby Watt, 11.463[13]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien, 11.527[23]; 5. 31-Scotty Thiel, 11.634[18]; 6. 4-Alex Pokorski, 11.730[20]; 7. 3N-Jake Neuman, 11.739[24]; 8. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 11.750[8]; 9. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 11.772[22]; 10. 25T-Travis Arenz, 11.830[4]; 11. 3B-Shelby Bosie, 11.837[7]; 12. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.925[6]; 13. 22-Kaleb Johnson, 11.927[1]; 14. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 11.963[2]; 15. 31W-Koby Werkmeister, 11.973[26]; 16. B8-John Barnard, 12.000[3]; 17. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 12.020[29]; 18. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 12.087[28]; 19. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 12.143[11]; 20. 26-Cody Schlafer, 12.151[25]; 21. 26R-Preston Ruh, 12.229[30]; 22. 4S-Jeremy Snow, 12.247[12]; 23. P1-Carter Chevalier, 12.252[10]; 24. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.265[27]; 25. 7A-Will Armitage, 12.335[5]; 26. 55P-Brady Portschy, 12.350[21]; 27. 26T-Tyler Tischendorf, 12.403[31]; 28. 24-Scott Conger, 12.528[9]; 29. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.538[15]; 30. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.540[17]; 31. 17B-Dean Barnes, 12.640[19]

 

AUTOMETER WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 7-Trinity Uttech [3]; 2. 14-Tim Cox [5]; 3. 7D-Josh Davidson [1]; 4. 38-Allen Hafford [8]; 5. 0-John Fahl [9]; 6. 24-Eric Wilke [7]; 7. 11-Colin Sivia [10]; 8. 4G-George Gaertner III [4]; 9. 26-Preston Ruh [13]; 10. 2J-Christian Janssen [16]; 11. 29J-Ralph Johnson [6]; 12. 14J-Joseph Hintz [17]; 13. 41-Dennis Spitz [12]; 14. 22-Greg Alt [11]; 15. (DNF) 14Z-Ryan Zielski [14]; 16. (DNF) 99J-Seth Johnson [2]; 17. (DNF) 17-Bryce Andrews [15]; 18. (DNS) 25T-Travis Arenz

Non-Qualifier Heat (8 Laps): 1. 22-Greg Alt[1]; 2. 41-Dennis Spitz[2]; 3. 26-Preston Ruh[4]; 4. 14Z-Ryan Zielski[5]; 5. 17-Bryce Andrews[8]; 6. 2J-Christian Janssen[3]; 7. 14J-Joseph Hintz[7]; 8. (DNS) 25T-Travis Arenz

Non-Qualifier Hot Laps: 1. 14Z-Ryan Zielski, 14.135[5]; 2. 22-Greg Alt, 14.181[1]; 3. 17-Bryce Andrews, 14.225[8]; 4. 26-Preston Ruh, 14.364[4]; 5. 41-Dennis Spitz, 14.414[2]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 14.606[7]; 7. 2J-Christian Janssen, 14.949[3]; 8. (DNS) 25T-Travis Arenz, 14.949

A-Main Qualifier Hot Laps: 1. 14-Tim Cox, 14.920[6]; 2. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 14.968[5]; 3. 11-Colin Sivia, 14.981[1]; 4. 7-Trinity Uttech, 15.014[8]; 5. 24-Eric Wilke, 15.321[4]; 6. 38-Allen Hafford, 15.448[3]; 7. 0-John Fahl, 15.581[2]; 8. 7D-Josh Davidson, 15.835[10]; 9. 4G-George Gaertner III, 15.878[7]; 10. 99J-Seth Johnson, 16.165[9]

 

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 18-Nathan Crane [8]; 2. 13-Tucker Richards [7]; 3. 55H-Mark Heinert [5]; 4. 39L-Hudson Launer [1]; 5. 17-Jordan Funderburk [3]; 6. 16-Mike Neau [6]; 7. 9-John Kirk [4]; 8. 16R-Jake Doyle [9]; 9. 74M-Max Brannam [11]; 10. 18G-Matthew Gifford [12]; 11. 01-Ron Brannam [10]; 12. (DNF) 74-Tim Brannam [2]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Nathan Crane[4]; 2. 9-John Kirk[2]; 3. 74-Tim Brannam[1]; 4. 16-Mike Neau[3]; 5. 74M-Max Brannam[6]; 6. (DNF) 16R-Jake Doyle[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 13-Tucker Richards[4]; 2. 17-Jordan Funderburk[2]; 3. 55H-Mark Heinert[3]; 4. 39L-Hudson Launer[1]; 5. 01-Ron Brannam[5]; 6. 18G-Matthew Gifford[6]

Qualifying: 18-Nathan Crane, 13.158[3]; 2. 13-Tucker Richards, 13.313[4]; 3. 16-Mike Neau, 13.317[7]; 4. 55H-Mark Heinert, 13.440[2]; 5. 9-John Kirk, 13.664[1]; 6. 17-Jordan Funderburk, 13.692[11]; 7. 74-Tim Brannam, 13.757[5]; 8. 39L-Hudson Launer, 13.802[6]; 9. 16R-Jake Doyle, 13.925[8]; 10. 01-Ron Brannam, 14.301[12]; 11. 74M-Max Brannam, 14.316[10]; 12. 18G-Matthew Gifford, 14.549[9]