Ten-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series champion Bill Balog of Hartland earned his first career FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented By Mobil 1 30-lap A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 5. – Ricky Bassman photo

Arenz posts first PDTR 360 Sprint Car triumph of 2021

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 5, 2021 – With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s, the action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. was equally hot and heavy during an all-Sprint Car evening of competition featuring the national-touring FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 410 Sprint Car Series in conjunction with the regional Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association Series on Saturday June 5.

In the 30-lap All Star-IRA headliner, 10-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland turned in an exemplary performance en route to his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory on what he has described as one of his favorite tracks in the country.

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan cruised to his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap main event.

After earning All Star-IRA fast qualifier honors with a top lap of 11.357 seconds and winning the first All Star-IRA four-lap dash, Bill Balog earned the pole position for the evening’s 30-lap headline event.

The podium finishers in the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1-Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 30-lap A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. was comprised of second-place finisher Ian Madsen (left), race winner Bill Balog (middle) and Rico Abreu (right), who finished third, on Saturday, June 5. – Ricky Bassman photo

On the drop of the green flag, second starter Ian Madsen of St. Mary’s New South Wales, Australia bolted into the lead with Balog settling in second. On lap 3, Balog attempted a slide job in turn two, but Madsen fended off the 128-time IRA A-main winner’s initial challenge.

Two laps later, Balog came back with the same move in turn two and made it stick to take over the top spot. The North Pole, Alaska native then proceeded to run away and hide from the field as he built up a half-lap cushion over Madsen by lap 13.

As Balog skillfully sliced his way through heavy lapped traffic, third starter Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, Ind., who was filling in for the injured Justin Peck behind the wheel of the No. 13 Buch Motorsports car, moved in to challenge Madsen for second beginning on lap 21.

One lap later, Bayston worked around Madsen to seize second. However, Madsen regained the spot on lap 24 before Madsen took it back on lap 27. On lap 18, eighth starter Rico Abreu of St. Helena, Calif. moved in to pressure Madsen for the runner-up spot.

With Balog cruising at the front of the field, Madsen and Abreu waged an epic duel for second over the final two circuits.

Balog, who is competing in his first full season as an All Star Circuit of Champions regular this year, held on to collect his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory and 129th career IRA main event triumph by a comfortable six-second margin in the caution-free race to claim the $6,000 winner’s prize.

Madsen nipped Abreu for second, Abreu took third, Bayston wound up fourth and All Star Circuit of Champions point leader Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind., who started sixth, came home fifth.

“I would like to thank everybody who supports this team,” Balog said in victory lane. “We put this deal together to run with the All Stars late last fall and into the winter. This is unbelievable. I was scared that I was going to get passed in lapped traffic. I got behind someone that almost spun once and I was getting a little tight running the cushion through traffic.

“It was a good kind of tight though as I was able to stick it through the middle and slide guys in to get through the lapped traffic,” he said. “The guys have been working on this car to make it better and it is really running awesome right now.”

Bill Balog of Hartland celebrates his first career FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions 30-lap A-main victory Saturday, June 5 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Ricky Bassman photo

Madsen was pleased with his second-place run, but remains eager to earn his first All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2021 season.

“Bill [Balog] did an awesome job tonight,” Madsen said. “He just spanked us. I have to thank my team for giving me a great car. I am thankful to have such a great team behind me. We have been consistent with a lot of good finishes this year. Hopefully, we can break through and get a win soon.”

Abreu was satisfied with his podium effort in his first official A-main start at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“My guys have been working on the car hard and it has been getting better and better lately,” Abreu said. “All of their hard work is leading us in a better direction. The track crew gave us a nice track to run on tonight and I am thankful for that and all of the support from the fans here tonight.”

In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, polesitter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend grabbed the lead on the opening lap with outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport sliding into second in the early going.

On lap 4, fourth starter Travis Arenz used the outside groove to bolt his way into second. Two laps later, Arenz shot past the low-riding Karnitz with a high move in turn four. Karnitz briefly battled back in an effort to regain the top spot. However, Arenz held off Karnitz’s surge and quickly pulled away.

On lap 14, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started 10^th, moved into fourth as Arenz began to weave his way through slower traffic. On lap 21, McMullen moved into second and was quickly closing on Arenz as the race wound down.

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan collected his fifth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 5. – Ricky Bassman photo

Arenz held on to claim his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event triumph and 14^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory in the non-stop event. McMullen placed second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started eighth, finished third, Karnitz wound up fourth and Wondra rounded out the top five.

Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. won the 12-lap All Star-IRA B main and Will Gerrits of Waupun captured the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was sponsored by JDL Automotive, drew a near capacity crowd of spectators, along with a total of 68 Sprint Cars, including 36 All Star-IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

During pre-race opening ceremonies, PDTR honored Dave Deicher, who raced at The Plymouth Dirt Track and other area tracks for 30 years before serving as the flagman for PDTR for many years. Deicher passed away on Sunday, May 30 at the age of 69.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 12 with action in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

FLORACING ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS-BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

Qualifying

1, Bill Balog 13.357 2, Kyle Reinhardt 11.469 3, Cap Henry 11.488 4, Zeb Wise 11.536 5, Carson Short 11.536 6, Rico Abreu 11.672 7, Ian Madsen 11.680 8, Jake Blackhurst 11.696 9, Paul McMahan 11.701 10, Tyler Courtney 11.729 11, Jeremy Schultz 11.737 12, Spencer Bayston 11.741 13, Scotty Thiel 11.764 14, Sean Rayhall 11.784 15, Josh Schneiderman 11.815 16, Scotty Neitzel 11.819 17, T.J. Michael 11.845 18, Joe B. Miller 11.881 19, Robbie Pribnow 11.906, 20, Hunter Schuerenberg 11.913 21, Kyle Schuett 11.954 22, Jordan Goldesberry 12.002 23, Dave Uttech 12.029 24, Cory Eliason 12.037 25, Skylar Gee 12.047 26, Kris Spitz 12.106 27, Russel Borland 12.172 28, Blake Nimee 12.201 29, Hunter Custer 12.211 30, Greg Wilson 12.229 31, Danny Schlafer 12.314 32, Brian Kristan 12.359 33, Josh Walter 12.380 34, Jereme Schroeder 12.649 35, Bryce Schmitt 12.733 36, Andy Rein 13.480.

HEAT 1

1, Cap Henry 2, Zeb Wise 3, Bill Balog 4, Carson Short 5, Kyle Reinhardt 6, Dave Uttech 7, Hunter Custer 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Scott Neitzel (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Joe B. Miller 2, Rico Abreu 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Cory Eliason 5, Jake Blackhurst 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Josh Walter 8, Jeremy Schroeder 9, Andy Rein.

HEAT 3

1, Spencer Bayston 2, Jeremy Schultz 3, Hunter Schuerenberg 4, Josh Schneiderman 5, Paul McMahan 6, Russel Borland 7, Kris Spitz 8, Bryce Schmitt 9, Greg Wilson.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Courtney 2, Ian Madsen 3, T.J. Michael 4, Kyle Schuett 5, Skylar Gee 6, Danny Schlafer 7, Brian Kristan 8, Blake Nimee 9, Scott Thiel.

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Spencer Bayston 3, Kyle Reinhardt 4, Zeb Wise 5, Joe B. Miller.

DASH 2

1, Ian Madsen 2, Paul McMahan 3, Tyler Courtney 4, Rico Abreu 5, Cap Henry.

B MAIN

1, Jordan Goldesberry 2, Hunter Custer 3, Greg Wilson 4, Dave Uttech 5, Russel Borland 6, Kris Spitz 7, Jereme Schroeder 8, Josh Walter 9, Blake Nimee 10, Scotty Neitzel 11, Brian Kristan 12, Bryce Schmitt 13, Andy Rein 14, Sean Rayhall 15, Danny Schlafer 16, Scotty Thiel (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Ian Madsen 3, Rico Abreu 4, Spencer Bayston 5, Tyler Courtney 6, Paul McMahan 7, Cory Eliason 8, Kyle Reinhardt 9, Cap Henry 10, Hunter Schuerenberg 11, Zeb Wise 12, Joe B. Miller 13, Carson Short 14, Jeremy Schultz 15, Jordan Goldesberry 16, Robbie Pribnow 17, T.J. Michael 18, Jake Blackhurst 19, Greg Wilson 20, Skylar Gee 21, Josh Schneiderman 22, Kyle Schuett 23, Dave Uttech 24, Hunter Custer.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Erickson 2, Matt Rechek 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Brandon Berth 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Mike Yurmanovich.

HEAT 2

1, Chris Clayton 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Adam Miller 4, Preston Ruh 5, Tim Haddy 6, Tyler Davis 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 3

1, Tony Wondra 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Blake Wondra 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Chris Larson 7, Jordan Paulsen 8, Scott Conger.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Bill Taylor 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Will Gerrits 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Dylan Winkel.

B MAIN

1, Will Gerrits 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Blake Wondra 4, Preston Ruh 5, Bill Taylor 6, Tyler Davis 7, Scott Conger 8, Jordan Paulsen 9, Tom Kreutz 10, Jack Vanderboom 11, Austin Hartmann 12, Katelyn Krebsbach 13, Josh Teunissen 14, Chris Larson 15, Dylan Winkel 16, Mike Yurmanovich (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Justin Miller 7, Justin Erickson 8, Matt Rechek 9, Chris Clayton 10, Kurt Davis 11, Adam Miller 12, Brandon Berth 13, Doug Wondra 14, Tyler Brabant 15, Lance Fassbender 16, Alex Pokorski 17, Will Gerrits 18, Preston Ruh 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tyler Davis 21, Tim Haddy 22, Blake Wondra.

Two-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh earned his 21st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 22. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 22, 2021 – On a beautiful early summer evening for racing, the fourth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season saw three familiar faces make their initial appearance of the 2021 campaign in victory lane and another racked up his second A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign on Saturday, May 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh led flag-to-flag to earn his first A-main triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner.

Veteran Jim Schmidt of Cleveland survived an incident-plagued Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event to claim his first A-main victory of the season in a time-shortened 12-lap race. Will Sorce of Franklin worked the high groove to perfection to rack up his second 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory of the 2021 campaign and Jesse Cullen of Chilton rolled to his first A-main tally of the season in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

Brandon McMullen outpowered polesitter Tim Haddy of Waupun to seize the lead on in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event from his outside front row starting position as third starting Adam Miller of Plymouth slipped into second.

On lap 3, the first of three caution flags appeared after two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee clipped the turn two water barrel, which resulted in water leaking onto the track.

Following the restart, Haddy and Miller dueled side by side for second before Miller assumed the spot. By lap 4, McMullen had built up a sizeable half-straightaway cushion over Miller at the front of the field.

On lap 8, McMullen caught the back of the field and began working through heavy lapped traffic. McMullen expertly sliced his way through the slower cars to maintain a comfortable lead over Miller.

With seven laps to go, Miller and Haddy made contact entering turn one, which resulted in race-ending damage to Haddy’s car. Miller was able to continue, while the fourth-place car of Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz, who started fifth, had to pay a visit to the work area after suffering a flat tire.

The third caution flag flew for a four-car incident in turn one on the ensuing restart.

With two lapped cars between himself and the second-place car of ninth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth, who had moved up to second, McMullen bolted away from the field on the final restart, while 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started 17^th, worked his way past Miller into second on lap 19.

Mullen pulled away in the closing laps to seal his 21^st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 31^st career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph by a full-straightaway margin over Schmidt, who came home second.

Justin Miller finished third, sixth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fourth and Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca, who started fourth, came home fifth.

The time-shortened 12-lap Late Model A main was plagued by seven caution flags, including two before the first official lap of the race could be completed.

Jim Schmidt of Cleveland collected his 16th career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 22. – RC Custom Design Photo

When the race finally got underway, outside front row starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead from polesitter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee in turn four of the opening lap. On lap 2, back-to-back caution flags again slowed the pace and resulted in single-file restarts as the norm for the remainder of the race.

On lap 3, three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt, moved up from the third starting spot to pressure Charlie Schmidt for the lead before the fifth caution of the race appeared on lap four for a three-car incident along the backstretch.

When the race resumed, Justin Schmidt continued to hound Charlie Schmidt for the top spot. On lap 5, Justin Schmidt spun in turn four while challenging for the lead to bring out the sixth caution of the race. During the yellow flag period, Charlie Schmidt went to the pit area to change a flat tire, which handed the lead over to 11^th starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee.

Following the restart, sixth starter Jim Schmidt mounted a challenge for the lead along the high line. Three laps later, Jim Schmidt powered around Letizia to take over the top spot in turn two.

Jim Schmidt maintained the lead until the seventh caution was displayed on lap 12 for a two-car incident in turn two, which brought the race to an early end after reaching the time limit.

Jim Schmidt earned his 16^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory with Letizia second, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed third after starting eighth, seventh starter Justin Ritchie of New London finished fourth and Justin Schmidt recovered from his early-race spin to place fifth.

Polesitter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake led the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main before outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg worked the high groove to take over the lead in turn four on lap 2.

The lone caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 9 for debris in turn two.

Following the restart, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, and Donny Kulow dueled side by side for second beginning on lap 12 with Kulow eventually maintaining second on lap 13.

Will Sorce of Franklin racked up his third career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 22. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

On lap 18, fifth starter Will Sorce began to make his presence felt as he moved up to the outside line to gain third. One lap later, Sorce powered around Kulow to take over second and quickly set his sights on Scholten.

Sorce and Scholten battled door to door on lap 21 before Sorce surged past Scholten and into the lead.

Sorce pulled away over the final four laps to earn his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Donny Kulow finished second, Don Sorce Jr. placed third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow finished fourth after starting third and 2018 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Loehr of Dotyville wound up fifth after starting seventh.

Polesitter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

As Long led, fourth starter Jesse Cullen slipped past outside front row starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan to gain second place in the running order. The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 7 for a three-car incident in turn two.

Jesse Cullen of Chilton secured his fourth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 22. – RC Custom Design photo

On the restart, Long drifted high in turn two, which allowed Cullen to power into the lead on lap 8 with Frank in tow. After a pair of caution flags ensued on lap 11 and lap 13 for multi-car incidents, Cullen bolted out to a quarter-straightaway lead over Frank by lap 16.

The fourth and final caution flag appeared on lap 20 when Long made contact with the turn three wall. When race resumed, Cullen pulled away over the final five laps to secure his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Frank, who had to settle for second.

Third starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls finished third, Rory Welch of Grafton moved up from his 11^th starting spot to place fourth and eighth starter Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth placed fifth.

Doug Wondra of Lomira claimed the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The fourth PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total of 87 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 20 Grand Nationals and 20 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 29 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions. The Military Night program will offer free admission to all members of the U.S. armed forces with a valid I.D.

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Tischendorf 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tony Wondra 4, Justin Miller 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Matt Rechek 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Mike Yurmanovich 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Will Gerrits 7, Chris Clayton 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Chris Larson 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Justin Erickson 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Dylan Winkel.

HEAT 4

1, Tim Haddy 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Tyler Davis 4, Brandon Berth 5, Doug Wondra 6, Blake Wondra 7, Bill Taylor.

B MAIN

1, Doug Wondra 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Erickson 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Will Gerrits 6, Chris Clayton 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Matt Rechek 9, Alex Pokorski 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, Dylan Winkel 12, Tom Kreutz 13, Tyler Brabant (DNS) 14, Blake Wondra (DNS) 15, Bill Taylor (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Miller 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Justin Erickson 7, Travis Arenz 8, Will Gerrits 9, Tony Wondra 10, Adam Miller 11, Nick Daywalt 12, Lance Fassbender 13, Tyler Davis 14, Austin Hartmann 15, Chris Clayton 16, Doug Wondra 17, Chris Larson 18, Jack Vanderboom 19, Mike Yurmanovich 20, Tim Haddy 21, Kurt Davis 22, Josh Teunissen 23, Brandon Berth (DNS).

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Eric Michaels 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Greg Cantrell 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Turk Letizia 6, Justin Green 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Tim Buhler 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Jon Bongiorno 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Jacob Van Engen 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Donny Singer 11, Greg Cantrell 12, Eric Michaels 13, Justin Green 14, Brian Konitzer 15, Chad Ludwigson 16, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Will Sorce 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Dick Hed 4, Dave Holm 5, Dylan May 6, Dylan Struve 7, Seth Westimayer.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Matt Loehr 4, Dustin Weiss 5, Justin Pearson 6, Nick Schumacher 7, Alex Lester.

HEAT 3

1, Steven Weber 2, Donny Kulow 3, Chad Espen 4, Derek Kaat 5, Nate Ruh 6, Collin Skindzelewski.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Donny Kulow 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Matt Loehr 6, Luke Scholten 7, Steven Weber 8, Dustin Weiss 9, Chad Espen 10, Justin Pearson 11, Nate Ruh 12, Dave Holm 13, Nick Schumacher 14, Dick Hed 15, Seth Westimayer 16, Derek Kaat 17, Collin Skindzelewski 18, Alex Lester 19, Dylan Struve 20, Dylan May.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Shane Long 3, Travis Kleindl 4, Christopher Gilson 5, Patrick Hanson 76, Jim Fischer 7, Brendan Ostrowski.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Steve Lorier 3, Donny Singer 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Rory Welch 6, Gary Glander 7, Craig Gessner.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Bauer 2, Spencer Long 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Phil Campanella 5, Randy Theys 6, Andy Welter.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Trevor Frank 3, Shane Long 4, Rory Welch 5, Jonathan Hitsman 6, Justin Bauer 7, Rick Kretschmann 8, Steve Lorier 9, Andy Welter 10, Donny Singer 11, Patrick Hanson 12, Spencer Long 13, Craig Gessner 14, Travis Kleindl 15, Gary Glander 16, Randy Theys 17, Phil Campanella 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Jim Fischer 20, Brendan Ostrowski.

2018 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth earned his fourth career 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 15. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 15, 2021 – With cool temperatures and persistent rain showers lingering throughout the evening, the third Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season produced lightning fast track conditions and saw three veteran drivers post A-main victories in their respective divisions with a fourth falling victim to rain and two new track records set Saturday, May 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth outdueled two-time PDTR 360 Sprint champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh through heavy lapped traffic to claim the A-main victory in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event, while establishing a new track record pace in the process.

Former PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush scored a wire-to-wire win in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Steven Weber of Plymouth led from start to finish in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A main. The Cellcom B Mod A main fell victim to wet track conditions following steady rain showers.

After Justin Miller led the 22-car 360 Sprint Car A-main field to the green flag from the pole position, outside front row starter Brandon McMullen powered around Miller to take the lead in turn two of the opening circuit along the high groove.

McMullen paced the field with Miller second, fourth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend in third and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, in fourth in the early stages of the race. The leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 7, which allowed Miller to cut the gap.

On lap 17, Miller ducked low to seize the top spot from McMullen in dense lapped traffic. Three laps later, Miller made slight contact with a lapped car in turn four, which allowed McMullen to regain the lead briefly along the inside groove.

However, Miller battled back to regain the top spot with a low move in turn three on lap 22 and fended off McMullen over the final three laps to secure his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph in the caution-free race.

Miller completed the non-stop A-main race in five minutes and 31 seconds to set a new 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main track record. The previous record was set in 2016 by Kurt Davis.

McMullen finished second, Karnitz placed third, Davis was fourth and Travis Arenz of Sheboygan charged from the 16^th starting spot to place fifth.

Polesitter Tim Buhler led the opening lap of the Late Model A main with three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started second, in tow.

2016 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush earned his 13th career 25-lap PDTR Late Model A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 15. – RC Custom Design photo

On lap 3, fifth starter Justin Ritchie of New London and third starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland joined Justin Schmidt in a three-wide duel for second. One lap later, Justin Schmidt secured the second spot before the first of two caution flags flew on lap 5 for Chad Ludwigson of Sheboygan Falls and Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee, who spun in turn three.

Another caution appeared on lap 6 when Turk Letizia of Milwaukee spun in turn two and was collected by Justin Ritchie.

After the restart, Buhler retained control of the top spot with Justin Schmidt trailing. On lap 10, Justin Schmidt pulled his smoking car off the track and into the infield while running second. By lap 12, Buhler had built up a full straightaway cushion over fourth starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove.

Buhler cruised over the final 13 laps to collect his 13^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Jim Schmidt finished second, Charlie Schmidt came home third, Letizia recovered from his lap 6 spin to place fourth and Ritchie charged back through the field after going to the pits following contact with Letizia on lap 6 to finish fifth.

Steven Weber seized the lead on the drop of the green field of the Grand National A main from the pole. On lap 2, outside front row starter Brad Weiss of West Bend pulled even with the low-riding Weber along the high groove and the two drivers dueled side by side over the next two circuits before Weber gained control of the top spot.

On lap 5, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started third, slipped past Weiss to take second. On lap 8, Kulow closed in on Weber and continued to hound the leader throughout the remainder of the race.

Steven Weber of Plymouth notched his third career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main triumph at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 15. – RC Custom Design photo

Kulow stayed within striking distance in the closing laps. However, he was unable to wrestle the top spot away from the smooth and steady Weber, who went on to earn his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in the non-stop race.

Kulow finished second, fifth starter Chad Espen of West Bend placed third, two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, finished fourth and Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth after starting seventh.

The scheduled 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main was cancelled due to rain with equal points granted to all drivers.

2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Lance Fassbender of Burnett was victorious in the second 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam set a new 10-lap PDTR B Mod heat race track record in the first B Mod heat race of the night with a time of two minutes and 32 seconds, which topped the previous track record by five seconds.

After the checkered flag flew in the 360 Sprint Car A main, Paul Pokorski of West Bend, in his first night behind the wheel of Spyder Akright’s 53A car, made hard contact with the turn one wall in an attempt to avoid contact with a rapidly slowly car directly ahead of him. Pokorski emerged from the badly damaged car uninjured.

The third PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department and honored police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission, drew a total of 87 cars, including 34 360 Sprint Cars, 14 Late Models, 19 Grand Nationals and 20 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 22 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Blake Wondra 3, Tim Haddy 4, Mike Yurmanovich 5, Travis Arenz 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Doug Wondra 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 2

1, Brandon Berth 2, Justin Erickson 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Tony Wondra 5, Bill Taylor 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Adam Miller.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Cole Possi 3, Preston Ruh 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Matt

Rechek 7, Will Gerrits 8, Jack Vanderboom.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Tyler Davis 4, Scott Conger 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Jason Johnson 7, Ken Schmick 8, Alex Pokorski.

B MAIN 1

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Will Gerrits 3, Scott Conger 4, Matt Rechek 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Jason Johnson 8, Ken Schmick 9, Josh Teunissen.

B Main 2

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Bill Taylor 3, Austin Hartmann 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Doug Wondra 6, Adam Miller 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Tom Kreutz.

A MAIN

1, Justin Miller 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Kurt Davis 5, Travis Arenz 6, Brandon Berth 7, Justin Erickson 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Tyler Davis 11, Tony Wondra 12, Ben Schmidt 13, Blake Wondra 14, Tim Haddy 15, Paul Pokorski 16, Will Gerrits 17, Cole Possi 18, Nick Daywalt 19, Bill Taylor 20, Preston Ruh 21, Austin Hartmann 22, Scott Conger.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Justin Green 5, Eric Michaels 6, Jacob Van Engen 7, Sawyer Specht.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Chad Ludwigson 5, Billy Rezutek 6, Donny Singer 7, Joe Bongiorno.

A MAIN

1, Tim Buhler 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Justin Green 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Eric Michaels 9, Donny Singer 10, Justin Schmidt 11, Billy Rezutek 12, Joe Bongiorno 13, Chad Ludwigson 14, Sawyer Specht (DNS).

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Brad Weiss 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Steven Weber 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Luke Scholten 6, Dylan Struve 7, Justin Pearson.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Derek Kaat 4, Will Sorce 5, Donny Kulow 6, Maverick Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Chad Espen 2, Dick Hed 3, Seth Westimayer 4, Alex Lester 5, Dylan May 6, Andy Singer.

A MAIN

1, Steven Weber 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Chad Espen 4, Don Sorce Jr. 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Dick Hed 7, Luke Scholten 8, Will Sorce 9, Donny Kulow 10, Derk Kaat 11, J.J. Pagel 12, Justin Pearson 13, Seth Westimayer 14, Dylan May 15, Brad Weiss 16, Maverick Ruh 17, Alex Lester 18, Dylan Struve 19, Andy Singer (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schultz 2, Trevor Frank 3, Elijah Koenig 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Craig Gessner 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Bauer 2, Phil Campanella 3, Jim Fischer 4, Andy Welter 5, Gary Glander 6, Spencer Long 7, Ryan Pafford 8, Tim Thrun.

HEAT 3

1, Steve Lorier 2, Shane Long 3, Rory Welch 4, Donny Singer 5, Patrick Hanson.

A MAIN

Cancelled due to rain with equal points granted to all drivers.

Two-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed his division-leading 25th career A-main victory Saturday, May 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 8. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 8, 2021 – On a frigid evening for racing, the red hot A-main action featured several impressive runs from deep in the field, along with spirited battles and position swaps at the front of the pack, during the second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season Saturday, May 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main competition, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee added to his record-setting main event victory tally with a hard-earned triumph over two-time PDTR 360 champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh and Travis Arenz of Sheboygan in the 25-lap 360 Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty Sprint Car headliner.

Justin Ritchie of New London scored his second straight win in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Will Sorce of West Allis claimed the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory and Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth scored his first career PDTR Cellcom B Mod A main triumph.

Polesitter Will Gerrits of Waupun jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main with outside front row stater Justin Erickson of Plymouth settling into second.

On lap three, the red flag appeared when Tim Haddy of Waupun flipped in turn two after contact with another car.

On the restart, sixth starter Kurt Davis bolted into second with a daring move on the outside groove in turn two as 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started third, settled into third.

Three laps later, Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz, who started 12^th, burst into fourth and then stole third away from Miller on lap 7.

The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 10, which changed the complexion of the race significantly. As Gerrits negotiated his way through lapped cars, Brandon McMullen, who started 17^th, broke into the top five on lap 13.

Four laps later, Davis powered around Gerrits along the high grove in turn four to assume the top spot just before Gerrits made contact with a slower car, which allowed Arenz to move into second and McMullen into third.

On lap 17, McMullen drove around Arenz to assume second in turn two before the yellow flag appeared on lap 22 for the stalled car of Josh Teunissen of Belgium in near the exit of turn two.

Following a single-file restart with less than five laps to go, Davis bolted away from McMullen and Arenz over the final three laps to secure his division-leading 25^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and series-leading 63^rd career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win.

McMullen, who had to qualify for the A main through the B main, finished second, Arenz was third, Erickson claimed fourth and Miller rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Late Model A main, 40-year veteran Ron Stroika of Mukwonago jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag from the outside front row starting position as three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland moved into second, after starting fourth, with sixth starter Justin Ritchie in tow.

On lap five, Ritchie ducked under Schmidt to take second in turn one before a series of three consecutive caution flags for single-car spins slowed the pace on laps 7, 8 and 9.

Justin Ritchie of New London picked up his fourth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 8. -RC Custom Design photo

When the race resumed, Ritchie flexed his muscle to wrestle the lead away from Stroika in turn three on lap 11. Richie then proceeded to pull away from the field as it built up a full-straightaway cushion over Stroika on lap 21.

The fourth and final caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 22 when Charlie Schmidt spun in turn four. Meanwhile, Ritchie extended his lead in the closing laps en route to his second straight PDTR Late Model A-main victory and fourth career PDTR Late Model main event win.

Justin Schmidt was second, Stroika wound up third, Letizia placed fourth and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed fifth after starting seventh.

In the Grand National headliner, polesitter Chad Espen of West Bend assumed the lead in turn one of the opening lap. After a pair of consecutive single-car spins brought out two caution flags in the first two laps, outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth dueled side by side for second with 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started third.

On lap six, Weber finally cleared Kulow to secure second place before eighth starter Will Sorce used the outside groove to challenge Weber for the runner-up spot.

Six laps later, Sorce moved into second with a high move in turn four before pressuring Espen for the lead starting on lap 16. Three laps later, Espen got hung up behind a lapped car, which allowed Sorce to use the high line to take over the lead in turn three on lap 19 with Weber following in second.

On lap 22, 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville used a low move in turn four to take second, while Sorce remain strong at the front of the field and went on to earn his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a full straightaway margin over Loehr.

Weber finished third, Espen was fourth and two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis placed fifth after starting fourth.

Polesitter Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth led the opening lap of the B Mod A main before fourth starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan spun in turn two on lap 2 to bring out the first of three caution flags.

On the restart, eighth starter Brendan Ostrowski of Milwaukee used the outside groove to take second and quickly moved in to challenge Odekirk for the top spot on lap six.

After another caution flag was displayed for the stalled car of Ryan Mech of Oak Creek in turn two on lap 6, second starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls worked the high line to challenge Odekirk for the lead. Glander gained the top spot on lap 9 and paced the field for two laps before Odekirk battled back along the low groove to regain the lead.

The third and final caution flag was displayed on lap 12 when Ostrowski spun in turn two. On the restart, Jonathan Hitsman, who started third, secured second and four laps later moved past Odekirk into the lead.

Hitsman quickly bolted away from the field, while Travis Schmidt of Waldo, who started 16^th, raced in second on lap 17. Hitsman cruised over the final eight laps en route to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Schmidt placed second, Glander finished third, Frank rebounded from his early-race spin to charge back up to fourth and sixth starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls finished fifth.

Brandon McMullen won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Will Garceau of Francis Creek captured the 12-lap B Mod B Main.

The second PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Collins State Bank, drew a total of 85 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 13 Late Models, 16 Grand Nationals and 25 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 15 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Blake Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Travis Arenz 4, Preston Ruh 5, Jason Johnson 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Alex Pokorski.

HEAT 2

1, Will Gerrits 2, Kurt Davis 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Matt Rechek 6, Tyler Davis 7, Chris Larson 8, Ben Schmidt.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Miller 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Bill Taylor 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Cole Possi 8, Jack Vanderboom (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Tim Haddy 2, Doug Wondra 3, Adam Miller 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Brandon Berth 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Austin Hartmann.

B MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Jason Johnson 3, Preston Ruh 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Tyler Davis 6, Tony Wondra 7, Ben Schmidt 8, Alex Pokorski 9, Mike Yurmanovich 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, Tyler Brabant 12, Tom Kreutz 13, Cole Possi 14, Chris Larson 15, Jack Vanderboom (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Kurt Davis 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Travis Arenz 4, Justin Erickson 5, Justin Miller 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Doug Wondra 9, Will Gerrits 10, Kevin Karnitz 11, Brandon Berth 12, Adam Miller 13, Blake Wondra 14, Matt Rechek 15, Bill Taylor 16, Tyler Tischendorf 17, Tony Wondra 18, Austin Hartmann 19, Tyler Davis 20, Preston Ruh 21, Josh Teunissen 22, Tim Haddy. 23, Jason Johnson (DNS).

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Ron Stroika 6, Ted Dolhun Sr. 7, Jacob Van Engen.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Eric Michaels 4, Justin Schmidt 5, Donny Singer 6, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Ron Stroika 4, Turk Letizia 5, Tim Buhler 6, Joe Bongiorno 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Jacob Van Engen 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Ted Dolhun Sr. 11, Eric Michaels 12, Donny Singer 13, Chad Ludwigson (DNS).

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Chad Espen 2, Don Sorce 3, Donny Kulow 4, Dylan Struve 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Luke Scholten 8, Collin Skindzelewski (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Will Sorce 4, Matt Loehr 5, Nate Ruh 6, Dave Holm 7, Randy Post 8, Alex Lester.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Matt Loehr 3, Steven Weber 4, Chad Espen 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Donny Kulow 8, Derek Kaat 9, Dick Hed 10, Luke Scholten 11, Dylan Struve 12, Alex Lester 13, Randy Post 14, Nate Ruh 15, Dave Holm 16, Collin Skindzelewski.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Rick Kretschmann 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jonathan Hitsman 4, Justin Bauer 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Will Garceau 7, Donny Singer 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Matthew Roehl (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Phil Campanella 2, Gary Glander 3, Spencer Long 4, Ryan Mech 5, Craig Gessner 6, Lonnie Dalgord 7, Glen Blanke 8, Shane Long.

HEAT 3

1, Trevor Frank 2, Brendan Ostrowski 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Dustin Wudstrack 5, John Fleury 6, Christopher Gilson 8, Jim Fischer.

B MAIN

1, Will Garceau 2, Nick Schultz 3, Shane Long 4, Glen Blanke 5, Donny Singer 6, Matthew Roehl 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Jim Fischer 9, Christopher Gilson.

A MAIN

1, Jonathan Hitsman 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Gary Glander 4, Trevor Frank 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Justin Bauer 7, Spencer Long 8, Will Garceau 9, Craig Gessner 10, Nick Schultz 11, Dustin Wudstrack 12, Brendan Ostrowski 13, John Fleury 14, Glen Blanke 15, Kyle Odekirk 16, Shane Long 17, Lonnie Dalgord 18, Phil Campanella 19, Steve Lorier 20, Ryan Mech.

Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove earned his 11th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph in the 2021 season opener at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 1. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 1, 2021 – With unseasonably balmy temperatures greeting a strong contingent of racing-hungry fans and competitors, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing kicked off its 17^th season of sanctioning weekly racing action at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 1.

In A-main competition, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove held off the hard-charging duo of Travis Arenz of Sheboygan and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, while skillfully working through heavy lapped traffic in the closing laps to capture the 25-lap 360 Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty Sprint Car headliner.

Justin Richie of New London led flag-to-flag en route to victory in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake endured six caution flags to claim the A-main win the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National main event and Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth captured the caution-filled, time-shortened 17-lap PDTR Cellcom B Mod A main.

Ben Schmidt seized the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main from the pole before 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started second, used the high groove to power into the lead on lap 2.

Two laps later, Schmidt rebounded to regain the top spot with a nifty low move in turn two. On lap 6, Schmidt caught the back of the field and was poised to negotiate heavy lapped traffic when the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 8 after Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun in turn two.

On the restart, Schmidt powered away from Miller and eighth starter Travis Arenz, who had worked his way into third. On lap 10, Arenz pulled off a slide job on the dry slick track surface to secure the runner-up spot.

Three laps later, Schmidt hit slower traffic, which allowed Arenz and 10^th starter Brandon McMullen, who had worked his way up to third, to close rapidly on the leader.

Dense lapped traffic proved to be challenging for the leaders over the second half of the race as Schmidt, Arenz and McMullen diced their way skillfully through the rear of the field in close quarters.

On lap 20, Arenz dove low in turn three to pull even with Schmidt for the top spot, however, the 21-year veteran refused to be denied as he fended off Arenz, while weaving his way through lapped cars over the final five laps en route to his 11^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and 28^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Arenz had to settle for second, McMullen finished a close third, Miller placed fourth and Waupun’s Will Gerrits, worked his way up from the 13th starting spot, to place fifth.

After a complete restart following a spin involving Turk Letizia of Milwaukee and Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls on the initial start, Justin Ritchie led the 17-car Late Model A-main field to the green flag from the pole and quickly outpowered outside front row starter Dan Schlieper of Milwaukee, who was in the seat of the late Jim Letizia’s D7 car, to take the lead in turn one of the opening lap.

Ritchie wasted little time in building up a solid cushion over third starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha on lap 2. Two laps later, Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove, who started fifth, flexed his muscle by bolting past Scheffler to seize second in turn two.

On lap 5, the second and final caution flag appeared for Jacob Van Engen of Howards Grove, who spun in turn two. After the restart, Ritchie built up a big lead over Schmidt in the final 20 laps and never looked back en route to his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory by a half-lap margin.

Schmidt finished a strong second, Scheffler placed third, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake finished fourth after starting eighth and three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started sixth, rounded out the top five.

After a caution on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main for Dave Holm of Chilton and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake, Donny Kulow, who started on the pole and 82-year-old Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started second, dueled side by side over the first two laps before Kulow surged ahead along the low groove on lap 3.

On lap 5, fourth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary in the Bender Racing No. 89 entry worked past Hed to take second before the second caution flag appeared for a spin involving Maverick Ruh of Sheboygan Falls.

After another caution was displayed on lap 7 for a spin involving Derek Kaat of Plymouth, Pagel and Hed waged a heated battle for second before Pagel gained the spot and moved in two pressure Kulow for the lead on lap 10.

The fourth yellow came out on lap 13 when Derek Kaat spun along the front stretch. When the race resume, Pagel and Hed continued their battle for second with Pagel again surging ahead on lap 17.

Three laps later, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth spun in turn four after contact with Hed, who was sent to the rear of field for the altercation.

Following the restart, seventh starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg charged in along the outside groove to pressure Pagel for second before the sixth and final caution was displayed on lap 23 when Jacob Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake made contact with the front  stretch wall.

When the race resumed, Kulow maintained the top spot by holding firm to the low line on the way to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Pagel finished second, Jeff Muehlbauer recovered from an opening lap spin to finish third, Scholten placed fourth and two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis placed fifth after starting ninth.

After a five-car incident brought out the first of six caution flags on the opening lap, polesitter Kyle Odekirk raced into the lead on the drop of the green flag with second starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls and Jesse Cullen of Chilton, who started sixth, in tow.

The second yellow flag appeared on lap 3 when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls stalled near the turn three pit exit. On the restart, fifth starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan began to make his presence felt as he slipped into third place. On lap 9, Cullen worked his way into second with a strong move along the cushion before back-to-back cautions for debris and a three-car incident in turn two on lap 11 slowed the pace again.

On the restart, Cullen and Frank waged an epic duel for second with Frank running low and Cullen sticking to the high line. The fifth caution appeared on lap 14 as the race neared the 25-minute time limit. On what proved to the final restart, Kulow again held is own by staying smooth down low, while Cullen fended off Frank for second before the race ended on lap 17 when the sixth yellow flag was displayed for a spin involving Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls in turn one.

Odekirk, who owns a pair of PDTR Late Model victories, earned his first career PDTR B Mod A-main win with Cullen placing second, Frank taking third, Shane Long finishing fourth and Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls, who started 17^th, placing fifth.

Brandon Berth of Cascade was victorious in the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B Main and Spencer Long won the 12-lap B Mod B Main.

The season-opening PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Mayer Automotive, drew a total of 87 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models, 15 Grand Nationals and 24 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 8 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Bill Taylor 3, Justin Miller 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Matt Rechek 6, Tony Wondra 7, Preston Ruh 8, Scott Conger (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Will Gerrits 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Cole Possi 6, Spyder Akright 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Chris Larson (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Justin Erickson 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Blake Wondra 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Katelyn Krebsbach.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Davis 2, Tim Haddy 3, Austin Hartmann 4, Adam Miller 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Brandon Berth 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Matt Recheck 5, Scott Conger 6, Blake Wondra 7, Spyder Akright 8, Cole Possi 9, Mike Yurmanovich 10, Tony Wondra 11, Josh Teunissen 12, Katelyn Krebsbach 13, Tommy Colburn 14, Preston Ruh 15, Chris Larson (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Justin Miller 5, Will Gerrits 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Tim Haddy 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Kurt Davis 10, Adam Miller 11, Justin Erickson 12, Lance Fassbender 13, Brandon Berth 14, Scott Conger 15, Austin Hartmann 16, Tyler Brabant 17, Matt Recheck 18, Bill Taylor 19, Tyler Davis 20, Blake Wondra 21, Tyler Tischendorf 22, Paul Pokorski.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Dan Schlieper 4, Taylor Scheffler 5, Tim Buhler 6, Ron Stroika 7, Jon Bongiorno 8, Jim Schmidt 9, Chad Ludwigson.

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Sawyer Specht 3, Turk Letizia 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Brian Konitzer 6, Dan White 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Joe Bongiorno 8, Jim Schmidt 9, Turk Letizia 10, Dan Schlieper 11, Dan White 12, Jacob Van Engen 13, Ron Stroika 14, Chad Ludwigson 15, Donny Singer 16, Brian Konitzer 17, Sawyer Specht.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Brad Weiss. 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Dylan Struve 5, Dick Hed 6, Jeff Muehlbauer 7, Maverick Ruh 8, Jacob Muehlbauer.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Dave Holm 4, Derek Kaat 5, Donny Kulow 6, Steven Weber 7, Daryl Traber.

A MAIN

1, Donny Kulow 2, J.J. Pagel 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Luke Scholten 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Steven Weber 7, Tyler Kulow 8, Brad Weiss 9, Dick Hed 10, Derek Kaat 11, Maverick Ruh 12, Dave Holm 13, Jacob Muehlbauer 14, Dylan Struve 15, Daryl Traber.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Craig Gessner 2, Matthew Roehl 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Gary Glander 5, Rory Welch 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Michael Gilson 8, Spencer Long 9, Christopher Gilson (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Shane Long 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Phil Campanella 4, Will Garceau 5, Brendon Ostrowski 6, Justin Bauer 7, Logan See 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 3

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Steve Lorier 3, Trevor Frank 4, Dustin Wudstrack 5, Mark Hoeppner 6, Jon Fleury 7, Conrad Kaufert 8, Jim Fischer.

B MAIN

1, Spencer Long 2, Donny Singer 3, Jim Fischer 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Logan See 6, Christopher Gilson 7, Michael Gilson 8, Rory Welch 9, Conrad Kaufert.

A MAIN

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Trevor Frank 4, Shane Long 5, Spencer Long 6, Justin Bauer 7, Gary Glander 8, Will Garceau 9, Steve Lorier 10, Brendan Ostrowski 11, Donny Singer 12, Dustin Wudstrack 13, Jim Fischer 14, Rick Kretschmann 15, Mark Hoeppner 16, Matthew Roehl 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Craig Gessner 19, Phil Campanella  20. John Fleury (DQ).