Davis secures second PDTR 360 Sprint Car crown

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 28, 2019 – On a cool and crisp early fall evening, 106 Sprint Cars packed the pit area and a large contingent of dirt-track racing enthusiasts filled the stands as four drivers secured 2019 season championship hardware in five Sprint Car divisions at the season-ending Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 28.

The final event of the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season saw former series champion Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam come home victorious in a wild incident-filled 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association A main. Former PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh used a dramatic late-race pass to earn the victory in the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. Derek Crane of Waukegan, Ill. posted a wire-to-wire victory in the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main and C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill. was victorious in the IRA Lightning Sprint Car A main.

Hartland’s Bill Balog wrapped up his ninth career IRA 410 Sprint Car Series title, Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed his second PDTR 360 Sprint championship and fifth Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car title. Chris Dodd of Trevor earned the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car season title and Mike Neau of Kenosha secured the IRA Lightning Sprint Car championship.

In the headlining 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car Series A-main, Australia native and current Prairie City, Iowa resident Lynton Jeffrey used his outside front row starting spot to power into the lead on the opening lap with two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam in tow.

On lap 3, Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill., who started fourth, used the high groove to power his way into second place. Moughan continued to hound the low-riding Moughan over the next several laps before the leaders caught the back of the 24-car field on lap 7.

Two laps later, three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind., who was the fast qualifier for the evening, move up from his third starting position to slide past Moughan into second place in heavy lapped traffic in turn four on lap 9.

On the following circuit, Stewart spun to a stop in turn four to bring out the first of five caution flags. Stewart, who won the previous IRA event at Plymouth on Aug. 31, restarted the race at the rear of the field and was closing in on ther top 10 in the running order before retiring from the race with less than 10 laps to go and finishing 22^nd.

On the restart, Moughan again used the high line to pressure Jeffrey, who stayed glued to the bottom of the track. The second caution flag appeared on lap 14 when rookie Hunter Custer of Chippewa Falls stopped on the backstretch.

When the race resumed, Jeffrey continued to fend off the determined Moughan as the two drivers pulled away from the rest of the field. On lap 23, the red flag appeared when Moughan hooked the thick cushion and flipped in turn four. Despite the flip, Moughan was able to return to the race at the rear of the field.

With Neitzel elevated to second and seventh starter Austin McCarl of Altoona, Iowa lining up third, McCarl got on a big run along the high groove on the restart to vault into second on lap 24 and immediately pressure Jeffrey for the lead.

McCarl pulled even with Jeffrey on lap 26 and the two Knoxville Raceway regular competitors dueled for the top spot as the leaders moved into lapped traffic. On lap 28, Jeffrey moved to the middle of the track to work past a lapped car, while McCarl used a big run off of the cushion in turn two to seize the lead down the backstretch. However, seconds later the two drivers made contact sending Jeffrey flipping and McCarl off the track with tire and suspension damage.

The incident gave the lead to Jeremy Schultz, who had worked his way to the front of the pack from the 16^th starting position. On the restart, Schultz worked the high groove, while Neitzel stayed low before the race was stopped for the fifth and final time when Plymouth’s Josh Walter flipped in turn four on lap 29.

Just as the race resumed, Neitzel lost power to give second place to 2018 IRA champion Jack Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who started ninth. Schultz maintained the lead over during the final two laps to earn his fourth IRA A-main victory of the 2019 season, fourth IRA A-main win at Plymouth and 11^th career IRA main event triumph.

Blackhurst was second, Bill Balog, who started 21^st after a heat race accident, secured his ninth IRA series championship with a hard-charging third-place finish, sixth starter Russel Borland of Kewaskum finished fourth and Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls, who started 10^th, rounded out the top five.

After the first attempt to start was negated by a three-car incident in turn two involving Anthony Knierim of Franksville, Chris Larson of Greenfield and Chris Clayton of Waldo, Kurt Davis, who came into the night looking to secure both the PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Car titles, grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main from the pole position.

On lap 3, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen used the high groove to sweep past second starter Brandon Berth of Cascade to take second. Three laps later, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth worked around Berth to secure third.

By lap 12, the low-riding Davis had built up a half-straightaway lead over McMullen, who was using multiple lines to try to track down the leader. With lapped traffic becoming a factor on lap 12, McMullen began to gradually reel in Davis.

By lap 21, McMullen had pulled to within five car lengths of Davis and two laps later the three-time MSA champion used the high line to power around Davis and into the lead exiting turn two.

McMullen pulled away over the final two laps to earn his second PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2019 season, 17^th career PDTR main event win and 23^rd career MSA A-main triumph.

Davis secured his second PDTR 360 Sprint Car title and fifth career MSA championship with a second-place finish, eighth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan placed third, Justin Miller was fourth and Berth completed the top five.

Derek Crane grabbed the lead of the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main from the pole with third starter Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. following in second and Tim Cox of Park City, Ill., who started sixth, in third.

The first of two red flags appeared on lap 4 when Randy Stanford of Kenosha and Vince Bartolotta of Muskego flipped simultaneously in turn two. On the follow lap, a seven-car incident in turn three resulted in Dennis Spitz of Lewisburg, Ky. flipping.

On the result, Crane continued to hold down the top spot with Hafford hot on his heels. Second starter Zach Raidart of Gurnee, Ill., who was one of the only drivers to venture up to the high groove, worked his way into fourth place and was challenging for third when he collided with the front stretch wall and flipped on the final lap just as the leaders took the checkered flag.

Crane held on to score his first A-main victory of the 2019 season in flag-to-flag fashion. Hafford was second, Cox finished third, fifth starter Chris Klemko of Bristol placed fourth and third starter Ryan Zielski of Oconomowoc placed fifth.

Chris Dodd placed 14^th in the final A main of the 2019 campaign to complete a championship season in the Wisconsin Wingless Series.

C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill. grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprint Car A main from his outside front row starting spot with Mark Heinert of Oak Creek, who started sixth, falling into second.

The two drivers stayed first and second throughout the 20-laps and two caution periods, with Malueg leading all the way en route to the commanding victory. Heinert placed second, Mike Neau wrapped up the 2019 IRA Lightning Sprint Car title with a third-place finish, after starting fifth, Ron Brannam finished fourth and Jeff Schmidt, who started 10^th, completed the top five.

Bill Balog won the IRA 410 Sprint Car B main, Nich Melis of Plymouth and Lance Fassbender of Burnett each notched Plymouth 360 Sprint Car B-main victories and George Gaertner Jr. of Salem captured the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car B main.

Tony Stewart was the fast qualifier in IRA 410 Sprint Car Series time trials with a lap of 11.905 around the third-mile clay oval.

After 39 years in the cockpit, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah announced his retirement following the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. He ended his long and successful racing career with a second-place finish in his heat race and seventh-place showing in the A main.

Melis’ career began in the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified division at Plymouth in 1981 and included many years competing with the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series and PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Cars mainly at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Melis’ final year of racing saw him finish fourth in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings and tally A-main victories at The Plymouth Dirt Track and the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam.

Along with three IRA 410 Sprint Car Series A-main victories, Melis captured 21 MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main wins, including 17 career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event victories in his career.

A total of 106 cars checked in for the event, including 33 PDTR/MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 31 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 30 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and 12 IRA Lightning Sprint Cars.

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CARS

Date of Race: September 28, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Steve Meyer 2, Russel Borland 3, Tony Stewart 4, Mike Reinke 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Jereme Schroeder 7, Robbie Pribnow 8, Al Schlafer.

HEAT 2

1, Terry McCarl 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Lynton Jeffrey 4, Wayne Modjeski 6, John Fahl 7, Austin Deblauw 7, Bryce Schmitt 8, Brian Strane.

HEAT 3

1, Austin McCarl 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Kris Spitz 5, Josh Walter 6, Nick Matuszewski 7, Chris Klemko 8, Matt Wiese.

HEAT 4

1, Scotty Neitzel 2, Dave Uttech 3, Joey Moughan 4, Jeremy Schultz 5, Hunter Custer 6, Sean Rayhall 7 Bill Balog.

B MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Jereme Schroeder 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Al Schlafer 5, Chris Klemko 6, Matt Wiese 7, Brian Strane 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Nick Matuszewski 10, Bryce Schmitt 11, Austin Deblauw.

A MAIN

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Bill Balog 4, Russel Borland 5, Steve Meyer 6, Mike Reinke 7, Terry McCarl 8, Danny Schlafer 9, Kris Spitz 10, Ben Schmidt 11, Wayne Modjeski 12, Robbie Pribnow 13, Jeremy Schroeder 14, John Fahl 15, Al Schlafer 16, Hunter Custer 17, Joey Moughan 18, Scotty Neitzel 19, Josh Walter 20, Lynton Jeffrey 21, Austin McCarl 22, Tony Stewart 23, Scotty Thiel, 24, Dave Uttech.

QUALIFYING

1. 14-Tony Stewart, 00:11.905[18]; 2. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, 00:11.909[9]; 3. 73-Jake Blackhurst, 00:11.942[8]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 00:11.971[15]; 5. 23-Russel Borland, 00:12.002[4]; 6. 4-Terry McCarl, 00:12.022[14]; 7. 17A-Austin McCarl, 00:12.028[30]; 8. 73AF-Joey Moughan, 00:12.030[20]; 9. 02-Mike Reinke, 00:12.141[28]; 10. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 00:12.167[24]; 11. 12W-Josh Walter, 00:12.209[13]; 12. 68-Dave Uttech, 00:12.219[29]; 13. 85M-Steve Meyer, 00:12.251[10]; 14. 64-Scotty Thiel, 00:12.298[25]; 15. 14AJX-Ben Schmidt, 00:12.314[27]; 16. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 00:12.319[3]; 17. 11-Danny Schlafer, 00:12.360[16]; 18. 0-John Fahl, 00:12.413[12]; 19. 4K-Kris Spitz, 00:12.435[23]; 20. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 00:12.442[7]; 21. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 00:12.563[5]; 22. 22S-Brian Strane, 00:12.654[1]; 23. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 00:12.699[11]; 24. 29-Hunter Custer, 00:12.702[31]; 25. 25-Al Schlafer, 00:12.807[22]; 26. 18S-Bryce Schmitt, 00:12.877[2]; 27. 70-Chris Klemko, 00:12.953[6]; 28. 14R-Sean Rayhall, 00:12.960[17]; 29. 20R-Rob Pribnow, 00:12.986[26]; 30. 65D-Austin Deblauw, 00:13.023[21]; 31. 45-Matt Wiese, 00:13.568[19].

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Tim Haddy 5, Chris Clayton 6, Blake Wondra 7, Shane Wenninger 8, Paul Pokorski 9, Don Kiel.

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Tischendorf 2, Jim Melis 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Brandon Berth 5, Will Gerrits 6, Sean Rayhall 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 3

1, Tony Wondra 2, Travis Arenz 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Nich Melis 5, Bill Taylor 6, Scott Conger 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Chris Larson 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Mike Decker 7, Danny Schlafer 8, Adam Miller.

B MAIN 1

1, Nick Melis 2, Adam Miller 3, Will Gerrits 4, Mike Decker 5, Scott Conger 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Paul Pokorski 8, Preston Ruh 9, Tyler Brabant.

B MAIN 2

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Danny Schlafer 3, Nick Daywalt 4, Blake Wondra 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Sean Rayhall 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Don Kiel.

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Travis Arenz 4, Justin Miller 5, Brandon Berth 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Jim Melis, 8, Kevin Karnitz 9, Will Gerrits 10, Lance Fassbender 11, Ben Schmidt 12, Tony Wondra 13, Jack Vanderboom 14, Bill Taylor 15, Danny Schlafer 16, Adam Miller 17, Blake Wondra 18, Chris Clayton 19, Nick Daywalt 20, Chris Larson 21, Anthony Knierim Tim Haddy (DNS), Nich Melis (DNS).

WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Jordan Paulsen 2, Charles Spoonmore 3, Nick Petska 4, Natalie Klemko 5, Shawn Swim 6, Greg Alt 7, Zach Hansen 8, Jordan Mattson 9, Jim Wehrman 10, George Gaertner III.

HEAT 2

1, Vince Bartolotta 2, Dennis Spitz 3, Jake Kouba 4, Randy Stanford 5, James Walldan, 6, George Gaertner Jr. 7, Seth Johnson 8, Tommy Colburn 9, William Huck, 10, Tom Eller.

B MAIN

1, George Gaertner Jr. 2, Zach Hansen 3, Jordan Mattson 4, Greg Alt 5, Tom Eller 6, Seth Johnson 7, Tommy Colburn 8, George Gaertner III 9, Jim Wehrman 10, William Huck.

A MAIN

1, Derek Crane 2, Allen Hafford 3, Tim Cox 4, Chris Klemko 5, Ryan Zielski 6, Charlies Spoonmore 7, Natalie Klemko 8, Rusty Egan 9, Zach Hansen 10, Vince Bartolotta 11, Jordan Mattson 12, Greg Alt 13, Jake Kouba 14, Chris Dodd 15, Jordan Paulsen 16, Nick Petska 17, Greg Olsen 18, Tom Eller 19, George Gaertner Jr. 20, Zach Raidart 21, Jimmy Sivia 22, Dennis Spitz 23, Shawn Swim 24, Randy Stanford 25, James Walldan.

INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION LIGHTNING SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, C.J. Malueg 2, Mark Heinert 3, Tim Brannam 4, Jeff Schmidt 5, Kevin Fredrikson 6, Bob Jeziorski.

HEAT 2

1, Mike Neau 2, Michael Unger 3, John Kirk 4, Ron Brannam 5, Max Brannam.

A MAIN

1, C.J. Malueg 2, Mark Heinert 3, Mike Neau 4, Ron Brannam 5, Jeff Schmidt 6, Tim Brannam 7, Kevin Fredrikson 8, Shawn McGill 9, Michael Unger 10, Max Brannam 11, Bob Jeziorski 12, John Kirk.

 

 

Miller, Sorce, Schultz earn A-main wins as Kulow, Warner take division titles

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 14, 2019 – Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha continued his recent mastery of The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming his second straight Dirt Kings Late Model Tour victory and second consecutive PDTR Late Model A-main triumph of the 2019 season at the third-mile clay oval at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 14.

In other A-main action, Adam Miller of Plymouth captured his first career 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, former PDTR Late Model champ Dan Sorce of West Allis picked up the win in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main and Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam triumphed in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

In addition, two new PDTR champions were crowned as Tyler Kulow of Plymouth secured his first career Grand National title at Plymouth by edging Luke Scholten of Oostburg by 26 points in the final standings, while Fond du Lac’s Tim Warner wrapped up is first career PDTR B Mod track title by topping Travis Schmidt of Waldo by 24 points.

Outside front row starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha outdueled polesitter Troy Springborn of Shawano to lead the opening circuit of 30-lap Discounttowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A main.

On lap 4, fourth starter Mitch McGrath pulled off a slide job in turn three to work his way into second place. As Scheffler moved out to a solid half-straightaway lead over Springborn, two-time defending Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion Nick Anvelink of Navarino engaged in an epic, back-and-forth battle with fifth starter Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. for fourth beginning on lap 11.

Two laps later, Reed maneuvered past both Anvelink and Springborn to advance to third in the running order as the leaders began to work their way through heavy lapped traffic staring on lap 16.

With six laps to go, Scheffler got briefly pinned behind a pair of lapped cars that were dueling side by side. As Scheffler struggled to dispatch of the slower machine, McGrath moved into striking distance on lap 25, while Anvelink also slipped into the fray to make in a three-way duel for the lead on lap 26.

Anvelink ducked low to briefly steal second from McGrath, who claimed the 2014 PDTR Late model title. However, the 2019 Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) regular powered back around Anvelink one lap later and quickly pulled even with the high-riding Scheffler along the equally fast low line.

Entering turn three on the final circuit, McGrath reeled off a huge slide job, which propelled him into the lead. Scheffler attempted to dive low and race past McGrath going to the checkered flag, but McGrath held on to earn his 13th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, second straight PDTR Late Model A-main win, fifth overall Dirt Kings Tour A-main win and second consecutive Dirt Kings Late Model Tour main event triumph at Plymouth.

Scheffler had to settle for second, Anvelink took third, Reed wound up fourth and Springborn rounded out the top five in the caution-free event.

“There was some good racing in that one, especially at the end,” McGrath said as he was adorned with the customary Dirt Kings Tour winners crown and cape, while sitting on the A-main victor’s throne in victory lane. “Taylor gave plenty of room to race and it was fun. It does feel good to win after we gave one away at the end to Nick Anvelink at Wilmot Speedway last week. I just got up on the wheel and did my best to make it happen.”

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan jumped into the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR Sprint Car A main as third starter Adam Miller moved into second. By lap five, Arenz had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Miller at the front of the field.

As Arenz was setting a blistering pace along the high line of the multi-groove track surface, lapped traffic came into play starting on lap 8. Five laps later, Arenz found himself mired in heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Miller to reduce the gap considerably on lap 15.

After making some impressive moves to work through the slower cars, Arenz was beginning to extend his lead when disaster struck. On lap 23, Arenz tangled with a slower car and flipped hard in turn four. The incident also collected rookie Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake. Both drivers were forced to retire from the race.

On the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh lined up directly behind Miller, who had inherited the lead following Arenz departure from the race. McMullen dove low to pull even with Miller in turn two on lap 23. On the next lap, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth hit the wall hard in turn three, which ended his night.

Miller again held off McMullen’s bid for the lead along the low line on the green-white-checkered flag finish to secure his first career A-main victory of any kind in his 12-year racing career, which has spanned multiple Winged and Non-Winged Sprint Car divisions and series at 38 tracks in six different states.

McMullen wound up second, fourth starter Brandon Berth of Cascade placed third, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged from his 17^th starting spot to place fourth and 12^th starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fifth.

“This has been a lot long time coming,” Adam Miller said in victory lane. “I’ve been working for an A-main for many, many years. What made it even better was holding off the 98 car [Brandon McMullen]. He’s as tough as you get around here. I didn’t need those cautions at the end, but I hit my marks and had good enough restarts to finish it off.”

In the Grand National A main, Dan Sorce got the jump at the drop of the green flag from the pole position followed by third starter Luke Scholten in second and sixth starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake in third.

On lap 6, the first of three caution flags appeared when Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake hit the frontstretch wall head on. Damage to the wall forced the race to be red flagged to make repairs to the wall.

When the race resumed, Scholten and Tyler Kulow, who started fifth, waged a side-by-side duel for second starting on lap 6 and continuing over the next seven laps until Scholten finally surged ahead on lap 13 exiting turn two.

Scholten, who entered the night 24 points behind Kulow in the race for the 2019 PDTR Grand National track title, gradually reeled in Sorce over the next eight laps before challenging for the lead with a low move in turn four on lap 21.

On the same lap, the second caution of the race appeared for an infield tire, which had been moved onto the track after contact in turn two. Following the restart, 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started 12^th, used the high groove to move into third on lap 23 before the third caution was displayed for Bruce Troesch’s spun in turn one on lap 23.

On the restart, Yancey powered around Scholten along the cushion on the final circuit to take second behind Sorce, who collected his ninth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Yancey wound up second, Scholten placed third, Kulow wrapped up the 2019 PDTR Grand National championship with a fourth-place showing and 17^th starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth.

Nick Schultz grabbed the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main on the opening lap from the pole, followed by outside front row starter Tim Warner, who came into the program with a 16-point lead of Travis Schmidt in the chase for the 2019 PDTR B Mod title.

The first of six cautions in the incident-plagued event appeared on lap 2 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan and Barrett Hummelmeier of Pardeeville spun out in turn two.

Following the restart, 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started fourth, moved in to take second with a high move on lap 3. The second caution flag was then displayed on lap 5 when Hummelmeier spun again in turn three.

Sheppard and James Rautmann of Howards Grove triggered the third caution flag when they spun in turn one on the ensuing restart attempt. One more caution appeared on the next restart when Lorier and Rautmann got together in turn three.

On lap 7, eighth starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown slipped into third before the fifth caution came out when Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth and Tony Gates of Chilton collided in turn two on lap 8.

Steenbergen advanced another spot in the next restart when he moved into second on lap 9 in advance of the sixth and final caution flag for an incident involving Sheboygan Falls drivers Rick Kretschmann and Brian Wieland.

Since the race was nearing the time limit, a single-file restart was incorporated on the ensuing restart, which yielded non-stop racing action for the remaining 16 laps with Nick Schultz pulling away from Steenbergen to collect his second career PDTR B Mod A main victory.

Steenbergen placed second, Warner wrapped up his first PDTR B Mod title with a third-place finish, Barry Maas of Cascade charged up from his 17^th starting position to place fourth and 12^th starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls finished fifth.

B-main winners included Ben Schmidt (360 Sprint Car), Turk Letizia of Milwaukee (Dirt Kings Late Model Tour), Dustin Weiss (Grand National) and Barry Maas (B Mod).

A season-high total of 109 cars packed the pit area, including 29 B Mods, 28 360 Sprint Cars, 27 Dirt Kings Late Models and 25 Grand Nationals for the second-to-last PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Jensen Sales & Service.

The final event of the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28. The Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships will serve as the final points night of the season for the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series and the Interstate Racing Association Lightning Sprint Cars.

On track-action is set to begin at 5 p.m. with qualifying and racing to follow.

 

DIRT KINGS LATE MODEL TOUR

Date of Race: September 14, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Mark Rose 3, Brett Swedberg 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Turk Letizia 7, Kyle Raddant 8, Derek Janke 9, Jim Juneau.

HEAT 2

1, Troy Springborn 2, Joel Bennett 3, Chris Engels 4, Ron Stroika 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Tim Buhler 7, Ron Berna 8, Jim Letizia 9, Brian Gerber.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Reed 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Charlie Schmidt 7, Aaron Wickersheim 8, Cody Welch 9, Chad Ludwigson.

B MAIN

1, Turk Letizia 2, Kyle Raddant 3, Aaron Wickersheim 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Derek Janke 6, Cody Welch 7, Jim Letizia 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Jim Juneau 10, Brian Gerber.

A MAIN

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Justin Reed 5, Troy Springborn 6, Mark Rose 7, Justin Ritchie 8, Brett Swedberg 9, Brad Mueller 10, Joel Bennett 11, Chris Engels 12, Jim Schmidt 13, Turk Letizia 14, Tom Naeyaert 15, Ron Stroika 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Charlie Schmidt 18, Kyle Raddant 19, Aaron Wickersheim 20, Jim Letizia 21, Tim Buhler 22, Derek Janke.

 

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

1, Nick Daywalt 2, Adam Miller 3, Will Gerrits 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Jim Melis 6, Bill Taylor 7, Doug Wondra (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Justin Miller 4, Kurt Davis 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Chris Larson 7, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Nich Melis 2, Tim Haddy 3, Travis Arenz 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Scott Conger 6, Sean Rayhall 7, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon Berth 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Chris Clayton 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Tony Wondra 7, Preston Ruh.

B MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Tony Wondra 4, Scott Conger 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Preston Ruh 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Chris Larson 10, Blake Wondra 11, Bill Taylor 12, Doug Wondra (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Adam Miller 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Brandon Berth 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Shane Wenninger 8, Kurt Davis 9, Will Gerrits 10, Tim Haddy 11, Anthony Knierim 12, Nick Daywalt 13, Jim Melis 14, Jack Vanderboom 15, Paul Pokorski 16, Chris Clayton 17, Tony Wondra 18, Scott Conger 19, Nich Melis 20, Justin Miller 21, Travis Arenz 22, Preston Ruh.

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Steven Weber 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Darryl Traber 6, Jacob Muehlbauer 7, Seth Westimayer 8, Dylan May 9, Chad Espen (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Dan Sorce 3, Brad Weiss 4, Jeff Jungwirth 5, Dick Hed 6, Jason Juech 7, Dustin Weiss 8, Dan Schumacher.

HEAT 3

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Donny Kulow 3, Luke Scholten 4, Matt Yancey 5, Bruce Troesch 6, Derek Kaat 7, Donny Singer 8, Justin Pearson (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Dustin Weiss 2, Chad Espen 3, Dan Schumacher 4, Justin Pearson 5, Jacob Muehlbauer 6, Seth Westimayer 7, Darryl Traber 8, Donny Singer 9, Dylan May (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Dan Sorce 2, Matt Yancey 3, Luke Scholten 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Chad Espen 7, Don Sorce Jr. 8, Jeff Jungwirth 9, Nick Schumacher 10, Brad Weiss 11, Steven Weber 12, Dick Hed 13, Justin Pearson 14, Jason Juech 15, Bruce Troesch 16, Derek Kaat 17, Jeff Muehlbauer 18, Dan Schumacher 19, J.J. Pagel 20, Donny Kulow.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schultz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Marcus Hoeppner 4, James Rautmann 5, Tony Gates 6, Mark Hoeppner 7, Christopher Gilson 8, Brandon Knepprath.

HEAT 2

1, Barrett Hummelmeier 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Tim Lange 5, Rory Welch 6, Donny Singer 7, Michael Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Rick Kretschmann 2, Derek Schrauth 3, Steve Lorier 4, Justin Bauer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Joshua Mavis 7, Tim Thrun.

HEAT 4

1, Jeff Steenbergen 2, Tim Warner 3, Brian Wieland 4, Gary Glander 5, Barry Maas 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Jason Schilling.

B MAIN

1, Barry Maas 2, Tony Gates 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Tim Thrun 6, Michael Gilson 7, Jason Schilling 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Rory Welch 10, Christopher Gilson 11, Joshua Mavis, 12, Donny Singer 13, Jesse Jakubowski.

A MAIN

1, Nick Schultz 2, Jeff Steenbergen 3, Tim Warner 4, Barry Maas 5, Justin Bauer 6, Derek Schrauth 7, Travis Schmidt 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Steve Lorier 10, Gary Glander 11, Brian Wieland 12, Mark Hoeppner 13, Rick Kretschmann 14, Tony Gates 15, Tim Lange 16, Brandon Knepprath 17, James Rautmann, 18, Kyle Odekirk 19, Tim Sheppard 20, Barrett Hummelmeier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

McMullen storms to first PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph of 2019

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 31, 2019 – After coming up just short at The Plymouth Dirt Track on three occasions last year, retired three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. broke into the winners circle by edging eight-time series champion Bill Balog of Hartland in the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association A main during the Sheboygan County Fair in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 31.

In the companion 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main, 2017 track champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh claimed his first main event victory of the 2019 season, after vaulting from third to first following a late-rate caution with just four laps remaining.

With a capacity crowd packing the stands on the third day of the 2019 Sheboygan County Fair, the 30-lap IRA A main got off to a rough start when Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel flipped in turn two of the opening lap, while collecting two-time IRA champion Scotty Neizel of Beaver Dam. Thiel was done for the night, but Neitzel returned at the rear of the field after a trip to the work area.

After a complete restart, Tony Stewart jumped out to the lead in turn two of the opening lap from his outside front row starting spot with fourth starter Joey Moughan of Springfield, Illinois moving into second and polesitter Dave Uttech of Kenosha seizing third.

On lap three, Bill Balog, who started seventh, pulled off a slide job in turn two to take third from Uttech, while Stewart had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Moughan at the front of the field by lap 4.

One lap later, the second caution flag was displayed when Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn one. On the restart, Balog executive another slide job to take over second in turn two on lap 5 and quickly set is sights on Stewart.

Stewart moved into heavy lapped traffic on lap 8, which allowed Balog to cut the gap dramatically. Over the next eight laps, Stewart and Balog weaved their way skillfully through thick lapped traffic before Balog made a bid for the lead on lap 17, which Stewart successfully held off.

Three laps later, Balog attempted to pull off a slide job for the lead in turn four, but the attempt fell short as Stewart used the high groove to power away from the current IRA point leader.

On lap 22, Joey Moughan looped his machine, which brought out the third and final caution flag of the event. Following the restart, Balog made another big run at Stewart. However, Stewart again held off the hard-charging Balog, who had defeated Stewart on the final lap on two different occasions at Plymouth last September, including an IRA event held on Sept. 1, 2018 during the Sheboygan County Fair.

After notching three consecutive second-place finishes in IRA action at The Plymouth Dirt Track last year, Stewart broke through to earn his ninth overall A-main victory of the 2019 season and second career IRA main event triumph, both of which have come at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Balog had to settle for second, 2016 IRA champion Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam finished third after starting third, Uttech held on to place fourth, which was his first IRA top-five A-main showing of the 2019 season, and 11^th starter Mike Reinke of Howards Grove rounded out the top five.

Considering his string of second-place showings at Plymouth last September and after spinning out while leading an IRA event on Friday night at the Wilmot Raceway, Stewart was overjoyed with the win in victory lane.

“I love coming to this track,” Stewart said. “I’m glad I didn’t screw this one up like I did last night at Wilmot. This place is really cool. The fans are just great. I love it here.”

It was Stewart’s first A-main victory since recently switching to a Ford engine package.

“This is the eighth night we have run the Ford powerplant and the first victory we’ve had with it under the hood,” Stewart said. “Every time we hit the track we’ve been trying some different combinations with the engine and the car. I have to hand it to my crew – Ricky Warner, Jimmy Carr and Ayrton Olsen, for everything they’ve done to make this car so good. This win means the world to me. It’s great to get a win at this track and for it to be the first one using Ford power.”

After an uncharacteristic string of on-track incidents have plagued his efforts in the last three IRA events, Balog was pleased with the second-place performance.

“We were pretty good all night,” Balog said. “I got next to Tony a couple of times, but just couldn’t quite pull it off. It was good to finally get a good finish tonight after what’s been happening lately. We needed it.”

Schultz, who won an IRA event at Wilmot Raceway the night before, was happy with his podium finish.

“We were hanging right with the leaders at the end, which was a positive for us,” Schultz said. “Overall, it was a good night for our team.”

Polesitter Kevin Karnitz jumped out to the lead on the opening circuit of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main with third starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum following into second. On lap 5, sixth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah used the high groove to move in to challenge the low-riding Wenninger for second.

By lap 8, Karnitz had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Wenninger. However, on the next lap, Melis finally surged ahead of Wenninger into second. Two laps later, Wenninger got a big run off the inside lane to regain the runner-up spot and close in on Karnitz.

As Karnitz began to negotiate slower traffic on lap 15, Wenninger moved in to close the gap on the leader. Wenninger attempted to wrestle the lead away from Karnitz by moving up to the high groove on lap 16.

However, heavy lapped traffic impeded Wenninger’s progress as 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started fifth, bolted in to take second from Wenninger along the high groove on lap 20 while three-time Midwest Sprint Car Association champion Brandon McMullen, who started eighth, followed into third on lap 21.

Schmidt appeared poised to launch himself into the lead along the high line on lap 22 before the lone caution of the race appeared on the same lap for Chris Clayton of Waldo, who spun in turn four.

On the restart, McMullen got a huge run along the high groove to vault past Schmidt into second and challenge Karnitz for the top spot on lap 23. One lap later, McMullen powered into the lead along the high groove entering turn three and held off Karnitz, who stayed in close quarters over the final circuit, to secure his 16^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 22^nd career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Karnitz placed second, Schmidt wound up third, Wenninger placed fourth and Melis rounded out the top five.

Danny Schlafer of Sussex won the IRA B main behind the wheel of the Darrell Dodd-owned No. 11 car.

Tony Wondra won the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee earned the victory in the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

Bill Balog was the top IRA qualifier with a time of 11.601 on the third-mile clay oval.

The event drew a total of 60 Winged Sprint Cars, including 26 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 34 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

JDL Automotive was the evening’s trophy sponsor and Professional Plating added extra purse money to the top three finishers in both the IRA 410 Sprint Car and PDTR 360 Sprint Car A mains.

The next race at The Plymouth Dirt Track will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14 featuring the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour, along with the PDTR 360 Sprints and the final points night of the 2019 season for the PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing beginning at 6 p.m.

Two events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 31, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Will Gerrits 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Kurt Davis, 4, Jeremy Schultz 5, Scott Conger 6, Anthony Knierim 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Doug Wondra 9, Trevor Andrusko.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Travis Arenz 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Tim Haddy 7, Mike Decker 8, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Jim Melis 2, Chris Clayton 3, Justin Miller 4, Brandon Berth 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Al Schlafer 8, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 4

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Bill Taylor 4, Tyler Davis 5, Adam Miller 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Chris Larson 8, Mike Yurmanovich.

B MAIN 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Bill Taylor 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Mike Decker 7, Doug Wondra 8, Trevor Andrusko 9, Mike Yurmanovich (DNS).

B MAIN 2

1, Tyler Davis 2, Tim Haddy 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Al Schlafer 5, Preston Ruh 6, Blake Wondra 7, Chris Larson 8, Sean Rayhall.

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Jim Melis 6, Kurt Davis 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Travis Arenz 9, Adam Miller 10, Will Gerrits 11, Tony Wondra 12, Paul Pokorski 13, Jack Vanderboom 14, Tyler Davis 15, Anthony Knierim 16, Brandon Berth 17, Scott Conger 18, Chris Clayton 19, Tim Haddy 20, Jeremy Schultz 21, Justin Miller 22, Bill Taylor.

 

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION

HEAT 1

1, Dave Uttech 2, Bill Balog 3, Jordan Goldesberry 4, Joey Moughan 5, Jereme Schroeder 6, Hunter Custer 7, Nick Matuszewski 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Bryce Schmitt.

HEAT 2

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Tony Stewart 3, Jake Blackhurst 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Wayne Modjeski 6, Josh Walter 7, John Fahl 8, Brian Strane 9, Keith Fellner.

HEAT 3

1, Scott Neitzel 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scotty Thiel 4, Russel Borland 5, Steve Meyer 6, Kris Spitz 7, Danny Schlafer 8, Matt Wiese.

B MAIN

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Sean Rayhall 3, John Fahl 4, Brian Strane 5, Bryce Schmitt 6, Keith Fellner 7, Nick Matuszewski 8, Matt Wiese.

A MAIN

1, Tony Stewart 2, Bill Balog 3, Jeremy Schultz 4, Dave Uttech 5, Mike Reinke 6, Jake Blackhurst 7, Russel Borland 8, Jordan Goldesberry 9, Joey Moughan 10, Ben Schmidt 11, Wayne Modjeski 12, Kris Spitz 13, Scotty Neitzel 14, Josh Walter 15, Steve Meyer 16, Danny Schlafer 17, John Fahl 18, Hunter Custer 19, Sean Rayhall 20, Bryce Schmitt 21, Brian Strane 22, Keith Fellner 23, Jeremy Schroeder 24, Scotty Thiel.

Qualifying

1, Bill Balog 11.601; 2, Jake Blackhurst 11.658; 3, Scotty Thiel 11.723; 4, Joey Moughan 11.765; 5, Tony Stewart 11.769; 6, Steve Meyer 11.775; 7, Jordan Goldesberry 11.802; 8, Ben Schmidt 11.859; 9, Mike Reinke 11.892; 10, Dave Uttech 11.896; 11, Jeremy Schultz 11.915; 12, Scotty Neitzel 11.962; 13, Jereme Schroeder 11.975; 14, Josh Walter 12.041; 15, Danny Schlafer 12.156; 16, Hunter Custer 12.177; 17, Wayne Modjeski 12.185; 18, Kris Spitz 12.194; 19, Sean Rayhall 12.373; 20, John Fahl 12.430; 21, Russel Borland 12.449; 22, Nick Matuszewski 12.450; 23, Brian Strane 12.469; 24, Matt Wiese 12.507; 25, Bryce Schmitt 12.736; 26, Keith Fellner 12.838.

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

 

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 23, 2019 – A special Friday night edition of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing competition produced a little bit of everything from a thrilling last-lap duel in the 360 Sprint Car A main and a first-time main-event winner in the B Mod division to an onslaught of 17 total caution flags in the evening’s four feature events Friday, Aug. 23 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main two-time PDTR champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex outdueled 2017 PDTR champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh on the final lap to earn his first A-main victory of the 2019 season and vault into a tie for the most career main event wins at Plymouth in the 360 Sprint Car division. Former PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha claimed his first A-main victory of the 2019 in the time-shortened 16-lap Gasroots Project Late Model main event. Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake posted his second 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main triumph of the 2019 campaign. Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier secured his first career Cellcom B Mod A-main victory in the time-shortened 22-lap division headliner.

Brandon McMullen got the jump on the drop of the green flag in the 360 Sprint Car A main to lead the opening lap from the pole position. On lap 6, outside front row starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah moved in to challenge McMullen along the high line of the smooth and multi-groove racing surface.

McMullen caught the rear of the field on lap 9 and was beginning to work his way through slower traffic when the first and only caution flag of the event appeared on lap 11 when Melis stopped in turn two with an apparent mechanical malfunction.

With two lapped cars placed directly behind him on the restart, McMullen took advantage of the cushion behind himself and the second-place car of fourth starter Danny Schlafer to build a half straightaway lead by lap 16.

Two laps later, McMullen again found himself working through slower traffic, which allowed Schlafer to cut the cap substantially as the laps wound down. As McMullen got boxed in behind several slower cars racing side by side for position, Schlafer ventured to the high groove to apply pressure to McMullen on lap 20.

As McMullen searched for a way past a slower car along the low groove, Schlafer used the high line to pull even with McMullen entering turn one of the white-flag lap.

The 2005 and 2013 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion surged ahead entering turn three and pounded the cushion through the final corner to nip McMullen at the finish line and move into a tie with 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee for the career lead in Plymouth 360 Sprint Car A-main victories with 23.

It was also Schlafer’s 52^nd overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main-event triumph, which ranks him second on the all-time MSA win list behind Davis.

McMullen had to settle for second, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan charged from the 15^th starting position to finish third, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove finished fourth after starting sixth and current PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Kurt Davis placed fifth after starting seventh.

“Considering all the bad luck we’ve had this year, I’m going to really enjoy this win,” Schlafer said in victory lane. “It was fun racing like that in traffic. This win goes out to everyone that helps us out on the car each week. It has been a challenge this year, but this one’s for them.”

The opening lap of the Late Model A main saw 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush seize the lead followed by 2014 PDTR Late Model champ Mitch McGrath, who started second.

The first of seven caution flags appeared on lap three when Kevin Baldry of Omro spun in turn two. On the restart, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake used the high groove to vault from his seventh starting spot into third on lap 4 before another caution flag was displayed for a spin involving Kevin Baldry and Eric Michaels of Cleveland in turn two.

Mueller then continued his march to the front by claiming second place on lap 4 and one lap later, he moved in to pressure Buhler for the top spot. On lap 7, the third caution came out when defending Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion Nick Anvelink of Navarino spun in turn three after he had worked his way up to fifth from the 12^th starting spot.

McGrath, who currently sits second in the Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) point standings as a regular on the tour this year, found the high groove to his liking on the ensuing restart as he bolted past Mueller on lap 7 and then shot past Buhler and into the lead in turn one on lap 8.

Meanwhile, Mueller powered around Buhler to gain second place on lap 9 before the fourth caution was displayed on lap 12 for an infield tire, which had been pushed on the track. Another caution came out on the ensuing restart when Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee backed hard into the turn one wall.

After just one more lap was completed the sixth caution was displayed when Turk Letizia of Milwaukee spun in turn one while running third. Following what proved to be the final restart, eighth starter Mark Rose of Dorchester vaulted his way into third with ninth starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano following into fourth.

Mueller moved into pressure the high-riding McGrath along the low groove in the closing laps, but he was not able to pull of the pass. On lap 15, Swedberg worked his way around Rose and behind to close in on McGrath and Mueller. However, one lap later, rookie Donny Singer of Waldo spun in turn three to bring out the seventh caution flag of the race and end the event after hitting the 25-minute time limit.

McGrath secured his 12^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, which was his first at Plymouth in 2019. Mueller finished second, Swedberg placed third, Rose wound up fourth and Buhler rounded out the top five.

Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who dropped out of the A-main with a mechanical problem prior to taking the green flag and was scored 20^th in the race, officially secured his second straight PDTR Late Model title over runner-up Tim Buhler.

Jeff Muehlbauer seized the lead on the opening lap of the Grand National A main from the pole. On lap 3, third starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg grabbed second from second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake on lap 5 and quickly set his sights on the lead.

By lap 10, Scholten had caught Muehlbauer as fourth starter Dick Hed of Plymouth and Kulow rode in close quarters along the low line. Hed ducked low to gain second on lap 15 before the first of four caution flags was displayed for the slowing car of point leader Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who went to the pits to change a flat tire.

Scholten utilized the high line to regain second on lap 16 as Scholten and Hed dueled side by side for third. The third caution came out on lap 19 when Tyler Kulow and Derek Kaat of Plymouth spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Scholten challenged Muehlbauer along the low line before Derek Kaat spun in turn four on lap 23 to bring out the fourth and final caution flag. Muehlbauer maintained the top spot on the restart as week’s A-main winner Jonathan Otte of Cedar Grove advanced from his 12^th starting spot into third on lap 24.

Muehlbauer successfully fended off the determined Scholten in the closing laps to secure his second PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2019 season and his second overall main event win in the division at Plymouth. Scholten placed second, Otte wound up third, Donny Kulow was fourth and ninth starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia finished fifth.

Steve Lorier grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the B Mod A main from the pole with second starter Barry Maas of Cascade and 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started fourth, in third. The first of five caution flags was displayed on lap 4 when Sheppard spun in turn two.

On the restart, things started to get interesting at the front of the field as seventh starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo, point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who started sixth, and Maas went three-wide for third on lap 5 before Maas gained the position.

Another caution came out on lap 6 when Rory Welch of Grafton and Joshua Mavis spun in turn four. Maas surged into second on lap restart along the high groove and closed quickly on Lorier. Maas was just about to move past Lorier for the lead when a caution flag was displayed for debris in turn three on lap 13.

Following the restart, Maas again moved in to pressure Lorier for the lead. On lap 20, Maas pulled even with Lorier and nearly surged ahead in turn one when the fourth caution flag appeared on lap 21.

Warner got a huge jump on what proved to be the final restart to wrestle second away from Maas. Out in front, Lorier continued to hold strong and when the fifth caution was given to the field for Rory Welch’s spin in turn three on lap 22 the race was declared complete due to the 25-minute time limit.

Lorier earned his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in just his second full season in the division. Warner had to settle for second, Maas wound up third, fifth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth and Travis Schmidt rounded out the top five.

“I’ve been trying to win one of these A-main races here all year and we finally did it tonight,” Lorier said in victory lane. “All the cautions actually worked in my favor in that race. I don’t know if I would have had enough to keep those guys behind me without them.”

Shane Wenninger won the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

A total of 90 cars turned out the racing program, which was sponsored by Hopf Farms, including 34 360 Sprint Cars, 21 Late Models, 20 B Mods and 15 Grand Nationals.

The next PDTR racing program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 31 during the Sheboygan County Fair featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Retired NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. has confirmed that he will be on hand to compete with the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series in his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track of the 2019 season.

Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing follow.

Three events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

 

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 23, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Preston Ruh 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Jim Melis 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Justin Miller 7, Mike Decker 8, Blake Wondra 9, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Brandon Berth 5, Wayne Modjeski 6, Chris Clayton 7, Justin Erickson 8, Bob Reichert 9, Tim Haddy (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Josh Teunissen 2, Will Gerrits 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Travis Arenz 5, Adam Miller 6, Tyler Davis 7, Spyder Akright (DNS) 8, Lance Fassbender (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Tony Wondra 3, Kurt Davis 4, Sean Rayhall 5, Doug Wondra 6, Nick Daywalt 7, Bill Taylor 8, Tyler Brabant (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Chris Clayton 3, Wayne Modjeski 4, Adam Miller 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Mike Decker 7, Nick Daywalt 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Justin Erickson 10, Chris Larson 11, Tim Haddy 12, Bob Reichert 13, Blake Wondra 14, Doug Wondra 15, Tyler Davis 16, Tyler Brabant (DNS), 17, Bill Taylor (DNS) 18, Spyder Akright (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Travis Arenz 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Kurt Davis 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Paul Pokorski 8, Tony Wondra 9, Will Gerrits 10, Brandon Berth 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Anthony Knierim 13, Shane Wenninger 14, Adam Miller 15, Justin Miller 16, Jack Vanderboom 17, Wayne Modjeski 18, Chris Clayton 19, Josh Teunissen 20, Mike Decker 21, Preston Ruh 22, Jim Melis.

 

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Mitch McGrath 4, Charlie Schimdt 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Donny Singer 7, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Dave Jaeger 3, Joel Bennett 4, Brett Swedberg 5, Nick Anvelink 6, Eric Michaels 7, Kevin Baldry.

HEAT 3

1, Turk Letizia 2, Mark Rose 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Billy Rezutek 5, Chad Vetting 6, Glen Blanke 7, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Brad Mueller 3, Brett Swedberg 4, Mark Rose 5, Tim Buhler 6, Joel Bennett 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Jim Schmidt 9, Chad Vetting 10, Turk Letizia 11, Eric Michaels 12, Glen Blanke 13, Chad Ludwigson 14, Donny Singer 15, Dave Jaeger 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Nick Anvelink 18, Kevin Baldry 19, Billy Rezutek 20, Justin Schmidt 21, Zack Kessler (DNS).

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Jason Juech 2, Dick Hed 3, Matt Yancey 4, Luke Scholten 5, Josh Pierce 6, Chad Espen 7, Jonathan Otte 8, J.J. Pagel.

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Donny Kulow 4, Derek Kaat 5, Bruce Troesch 6, Steve Weber 7, Jacob Muehlbauer.

A MAIN

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, Luke Scholton 3, Jonathan Otte 4, Donny Kulow 5, Josh Pierce 6, Matt Yancey 7, Dick Hed 8, Tyler Kulow 9, J.J. Pagel 10, Jason Juech 11, Chad Espen 12, Jacob Muehlbauer 13, Derek Kaat 14, Steven Weber 15, Bruce Troesch (DQ).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Gary Glander 2, Jesse Jakubowski 3, Steve Lorier 4, Tim Lange 5, Joshua Mavis 6, Jason Schilling 7, Jeff Steenbergen.

HEAT 2

1, Barry Maas 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Brian Wieland 4, Brady Harshbarger 5, Aaron Butterbrodt 6, Phil Campanella 7, Rory Welch.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Tim Warner 3, Mark Hoeppner 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Justin Bauer 6, Patrick Hanson.

A MAIN

1, Steve Lorier 2, Tim Warner 3, Barry Maas 4, Gary Glander 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Jeff Steenbergen 7, Tim Sheppard 8, Brandon Knepprath 9, Justin Bauer 10, Mark Hoeppner 11, Jesse Jakubowski 12, Aaron Butterbrodt 13, Jason Schilling 14, Brady Harsbarger 15, Tim Lange 16, Rory Welch 17, Joshua Mavis 18, Brian Wieland 19, Phil Campanella 20, Patrick Hanson.

Schmidt secures second straight Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 17, 2019 – On a night when Plymouth Dirt Track Racing honored both its past champions and its loyal fans, several record-setting performances highlighted a eventful evening of action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth, Wis.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2010 PDTR champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee moved to the top of the track’s all-time 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list by recording his third main event victory of the 2019 season at Plymouth. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland wrapped up his second consecutive PDTR Late Model championship by earning his first Gasroots Project Late Model A-main victory of the season. Cedar Grove’s Jonathan Otte made a rare PDTR appearance pay off by collecting his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main triumph. Regular 360 Sprint Car competitor Travis Arenz of Sheboygan found victory lane in the Cellcom B Mod A-main in a guest driving role in the car normally wheeled by PDTR B Mod point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac.

After lining up on the inside of the second row, Adam Miller of Plymouth powered past rookie polesitter Nick Daywalt of Slinger and outside front row starter Tim Haddy of Waupun to take the lead in turn four of the opening circuit.

On lap 3, Kurt Davis, who started fourth worked the outside line of the tacky and two-groove racing surface to take over second, while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved in from the eighth starting spot to seize third with a low move in turn four on lap 7.

The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 9, which allowed Davis to close in on Miller before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 10 for the slowing car of rookie Jack Vanderboom of Dousman.

On the restart, Davis dove down low to take over the top spot from Miller in turn two on lap 11, while McMullen followed into second on lap 14. One lap later, rookie Brandon Berth of Cascade made his presence felt as he also worked his way past Miller to take over the third position after starting sixth.

On lap 17, Miller spun to a stop in turn two with a driveline failure to bring out the second caution flag of the race.

After another caution on the restart for a spin involving Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum in turn two, Davis showed his strength by bolting away from the field. As the laps wound down, McMullen cut the gap and attempted to mount one final using both the high and low grooves to try to find a way past Davis.

However, Davis fended off McMullen’s challenges to post his record 23^rd career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory to break a tie with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex. It was also Davis’ 60^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory, which also leads the series.

“I wasn’t going to run for points this year, but then we found ourselves leading and it was hard to stop racing,” Davis said in victory lane. “Travis Arenz has been really fast this year and someone needs to step up and give him a run. I have to thank everyone that works on this car all week, every week. This is a great overall team effort.”

McMullen finished second, Berth recorded a PDTR 360 Sprint Car career-best third-place showing, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah, who started ninth, placed fourth and 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth moved up from the 12^th starting spot to finish fifth.

Chad Vetting of Valders led the Late Model A-main on the drop of the green flag from the pole position while Brian Konitzer of Sheboygan, who started second, fell into second with Justin Schmidt, who started fourth, taking third on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Schmidt worked around Konitzer to seize second and quickly set his sights on Vetting for the lead. Schmidt ventured up to the outside lane on lap four two sweep around Vetting in turn two and secure the top spot.

Two laps later, Schmidt had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Vetting and his lead extended to a full straightaway on lap 10 as Schmidt skillfully worked his way through lapped traffic.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 18 for Konitzer’s slowing car. On the restart, ninth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee worked the high groove to power into fourth, while third starter Ron Stroika of Milwaukee and Vetting battled side by side for second on lap 20.

Letizia quickly moved in to make it a three-car duel for second on lap 21 before engaging in a heated back-and-forth duel with Stroika for the runner-up spot over the next two laps.

Just after Letizia gained second for good, the second caution appeared on lap 22 for the stalled car of Kevin Baldry of Omro. The restart yielded the third caution flag when Mark Rose of Dorchester hit the turn one wall hard.

Following the final restart, Schmidt pulled away to earn his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory of the season and 10^th career PDTR Late Model main event win. The victory also gap Schmidt an insurmountable 96-point lead over Buhler heading into the final PDTR Late Model points race of the 2019 season next Friday, Aug. 23.

Letizia was second, Stroika finished third, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed fourth after starting seventh and fifth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

“I’ve been waiting all season for this,” Schmidt said. “It feels good to get a win, which also helps a lot in sealing the track championship.”

Polesitter Jonathan Otte got the jump on the drop of the green flag to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main, followed by second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake and third starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia.

On lap 3, Pierce, Kulow and sixth starter Dan Sorce of West Allis battled three-wide for second with Kulow emerging with the spot followed by Sorce in third before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 for a spin involving J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary in turn two.

Pierce surged into second on lap six along the low groove while sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg used the high line to power into third.

As Otte was setting a blistering pace at the front of the field, plenty of action was going on behind him as Scholten shot around Pierce using the high line on lap 11 to gain second. However, Pierce battled back on lap 13 along the low groove as the two drivers dueled side by side for the spot over the next two laps before Scholten finally secured the position.

On lap 15, Scholten moved in to pressure Otte for the top spot in turn three. Scholten and Otte raced door to door over the next three laps before Otte gradually opened up a sizable gap starting on lap 18.

Meanwhile, PDTR Grand National point leader Tyler Kulow moved in to challenge Pierce for third on lap 19 before the second and final caution appearance on lap 23 for an infield tire, which had been pushed onto the track in turn three.

On the restart, Otte pulled away while Kulow worked around Pierce and moved into duel with Scholten for second before securing the runner-up spot at the finish line.

Otte held on to collect his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Kulow was second, Scholten placed third, Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started 10th, finished fourth and Dan Sorce completed the top five.

“This is my first A-main win at Plymouth, which is the track where I started my racing career,” Otte said. “It is just the third time I’ve raced at Plymouth in the last three years, so maybe I should come back a little more often. I saw Luke [Scholten] there and I have a lot of respect for him. He raced with my dad. When I saw him, I knew I had to give it a little more.”

After starting on the pole, Travis Arenz grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the B Mod A main as 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started third, moved into second.

On lap 8, Sheppard closed in on Arenz, who was driving for Tim Warner, as the leaders began to maneuver through lapped traffic. Arenz and Sheppard got bottled up behind a large group of slower cars on lap 12, which allowed fourth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls to pass Sheppard and seize second in turn four on lap 13.

Once he cleared the lapped traffic, Arenz opened up a half-straightaway cushion over Glander on lap 19. However, lapped traffic again played a role at the end as Glander made a huge run on the final lap as Arenz was held up behind a slew of slower cars.

On the white-flag lap, Glander went hard into turn three and made contact with Arenz, which caused Glander to spin into the infield. Glander eventually recovered to finish eighth, while Arenz continued to the checkered flag unscathed.

Arenz went on to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-free race and shatter the previous B Mod A-main track record by 20 seconds. Sheppard finished second, fifth starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo placed third, Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth after starting eighth and Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls, who started second, placed fifth.

Darrin Allard won the main event for the visiting Vintage Modifieds.

Travis Arenz won the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B Main and Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford won the PDTR B Mod B Main.

A total of 102 cars were on hand, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 20 Late Models, 17 Grand Nationals and nine Vintage Modifieds.

The racing program, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Show Cattle, also featured past champions night, autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms and kids’ backpack night sponsored by Cupcake Wonders.

The next PDTR racing program will take place this Friday, Aug. 23 with hot laps scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and racing slated to begin at 6 p.m. It will be the final points race of the season for the PDTR Late Model division.

Four events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 17, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Will Gerrits 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Doug Wondra 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Bill Taylor.

HEAT 2

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Adam Miller 3, Tim Haddy 4, Chris Clayton 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Travis Arenz 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Brandon Berth 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Miller 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Chris Larson.

HEAT 4

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Jim Melis 3, Preston Ruh 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Davis 6, Nich Melis 7, Bake Wondra.

B MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Chris Clayton 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Tyler Tischendorf 8, Doug Wondra 9, Justin Erickson 10, Bill Taylor 11, Tyler Nelson 12, Blake Wondra 13, Chris Larson 14, Nich Melis 15, Lance Fassbender.

A MAIN

1, Kurt Davis 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Brandon Berth 4, Jim Melis 5, Justin Miller 6, Will Gerrits 7, Chris Clayton 8, Anthony Knierim 9, Tony Wondra 10, Tim Haddy 11, Kevin Karnitz 12, Josh Teunissen 13, Tyler Brabant 14, Nick Daywalt 15, Tyler Davis 16, Shane Wenninger 17, Preston Ruh 18, Paul Pokorski 19, Travis Arenz 20, Adam Miller 21, Danny Schlafer 22, Jack Vanderboom.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Mark Rose 3, Turk Letizia 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Zack Kessler 6, Jim Juneau 7, David Jaeger (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Chad Vetting 3, Brian Konitzer 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Glen Blanke 6, Paul Parker 7, Justin Ritchie.

HEAT 3

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Ron Stroika 4, Kevin Baldry 5, Eric Michaels 6, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Ron Stroika 4, Tim Buhler 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Brad Mueller 7, Chad Vetting 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Eric Michaels 10, Kevin Baldry 11, Glen Blanke 12, Zack Kesler 13, Donny Singer 14, Jim Juneau 15, Brian Konitzer 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Paul Parker (DNS) 18, Justin Ritchie (DNS) 19, Dave Jaeger (DNS) 20, Mark Rose (DQ).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Dan Sorce 2, Jason Juech 3, Matt Loehr 4, Josh Pierce 5, Donny Kulow 6, Dave Holm 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Jeff Muehlbauer.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Jonathan Otte 3, Tyler Kulow 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Travis Schmidt 8, Matt Yancey.

A MAIN

1, Jonathan Otte 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Luke Scholten 4, Dick Hed 5, Dan Sorce 6, Josh Pierce 7, Matt Yancey 8, Donny Kulow 9, Matt Loehr 10, Jason Juech 11, Travis Schmidt 12, Jeff Muehlebauer 13, Dave Holm 14, Jacob Muehlbauer 15, Derek Kaat 16, J.J. Pagel 17, Steven Weber (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Barry Maas 3, Travis Arenz 4, Dan Melton 5, Justin Bauer 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Mark Hoeppner 9, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Gary Glander 2, Rick Kretschmann 3, Shane Long 4, Tim Lange 5, Rory Welch 6, Donny Singer 7, Brady Harshbarger 8, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Steve Lorier 3, Brian Wieland 4, James Rautmann 5, Jesse Jakubowski 6, Phil Campanella 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson.

B MAIN

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Brady Harshbarger 5, Donny Singer 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson 9, Christopher Gilson.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Shane Long 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Dan Melton 8, Gary Glander 9, Steve Lorier 10, Jesse Jakubowski 11, Brian Wieland 12, Barry Maas 13, Mark Hoeppner 14, Brandon Knepprath 15, Brady Harshbarger 16, Justin Bauer 17, Rory Welch 18, James Rautmann 19, Phil Campanella 20, Tim Lange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 10, 2019 – As the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season turned down the home stretch, the on-track action remained as hot as ever at The Plymouth Dirt Tack at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 10.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main, veteran Jim Melis of Glenbeulah emerged victorious for the first time at Plymouth in 2019. Justin Ritchie of New London turned in an impressive effort to earn his second 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A-main win of the 2019 season. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth padded his points lead with a wire-to-wire victory in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Travis Schmidt of Waldo drew closer in his quest for his first Cellcom B Mod championship by earning the victory in the 25-lap A main.

The front row of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main featured one of the most experienced drivers in the pit area, 38-year veteran Jim Melis, on the pole and teenage rookie Jack Vanderboon of Dousman on the outside of the front row.

The race got off to a rough start when Josh Teunissen of Waldo spun in turn two on the opening lap, which collected Bill Taylor of Boltonville, Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove and Chris Clayton of Waldo to bring out a red flag. Of the four cars that were involved in the incident, only Clayton was unable to continue in the race after turning his car over on its side.

After a complete restart, Melis and Vanderboom dueled side by side throughout the opening lap before Melis used the high groove to inch ahead of the young rookie to lead the opening lap.

Melis, who notched a Midwest Sprint Car Association victory at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on July 3, continued to ride the cushion in the early stages of the race, while Vanderboom stayed glued to the inside lane to stay within striking distance. On lap 12, Melis began to encounter some heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Vanderboom to close the gap considerably.

On lap 13, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started eighth, moved in to pressure third starter Will Gerrits of Waupun for third. On the next lap, Miller powered past Gerrit into third.

Meanwhile, Vanderboom was giving Melis all he could handle at the front of the field as he pulled in to challenge for the lead on lap 15. One lap later, Vanderboom ducked low to seize the top spot from Melis in turn four. Miller then surged underneath Melis to gain second place and mounted a brief challenge for the lead on lap 16 before the second and final caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 17 when rookie Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee spun exiting turn four.

Following the restart, Melis and Vanderboom continued to wage war for the lead, as Melis pounded the cushion harder and harder each lap before regaining the top spot for good in turn four on lap 21.

Vanderboom refused to back down in the closing laps as he stayed within reach along the low groove. However, Melis was not to be denied as he held off the talented rookie to secure his 17^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 21^st overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph of his career.

Vanderboom posted a career-best runner-up showing, Miller finished third, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh finished fourth after starting 13^th and Gerrits rounded out the top five.

After starting on the pole, 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha emerged from a three-wide duel with 2018 PDTR Late Model champ Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started second, and third starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee to lead the opening circuit of the 25-lap Late Model main event.

Letizia then secured second place along the low groove by powering past Schmidt in turn two on lap two. Three laps later, Justin Ritchie moved in from the fourth starting spot to pressure Schmidt for third.

Schmidt built up some major momentum along the high grove of the slick and racy multi-groove racing surface, to challenge Letizia for second entering turn one on lap 6. However, the two drivers made contact, which resulted in Schmidt falling back to fourth behind Ritchie.

On lap 11, Ritchie used the low line to pressure Letizia for second before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 13 when Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Ritchie ventured up to the high groove and Schmidt ducked low as the two drivers split Letizia with Ritchie seizing second and Schmidt sliding into third heading down the backstretch on lap 14.

Ritchie dug hard along the low grove to take over the top spot from McGrath on lap 15 with Schmidt following into second on lap 18 after a heated side-by-side duel with McGrath, who has been competing as a regular on the Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) tour this year.

Once in front, Ritchie controlled the final laps of the race and he held on to post his second PDTR Late Model A-main victory of the 2019 season and second career main event win at Plymouth.

Schmidt was second, McGrath finished third, Letizia placed fourth and sixth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Grand National A main, Tyler Kulow bolted into the lead on the drop of the green flag followed by second starter Steven Weber of Plymouth and Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started third.

On lap 5, Hed moved up to the high line to challenge the low-riding Weber for second as Kulow had built up a full-straightaway cushion over the field by lap 6. Hed finally wrestled second from Weber with a high move in turn three on lap 10 and then started his search for Kulow, who had extended his advantage to a half lap on lap 12.

Fifth starter Brad Weiss of West Bend then engaged in a side-by-side battle with Weber for third on lap 15 with Weber holding the spot when the only caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 21 when rookie Justin Muehlbauer spun in turn two.

On the restart, Weiss gained third and eighth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary slipped into fourth before Pagel powered past Weiss into third on lap 23.

Meanwhile, it was all Kulow at the front of the field as he went on to post his second PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2019 and seventh career Grand National main event win at Plymouth by a four-car length margin.

Hed finished second, Pagel placed third, Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake, who started seventh, finished fourth and ninth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo used the high groove to move past polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls and take over the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main on the opening lap.

On lap 2, 2019 PDTR B Mod champ Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam rode the high line from his sixth starting spot to take second in turn four. With Schmidt holding a solid cushion over Sheppard, the first of two consecutive caution periods came on lap 7 when Jesse Cullen of Chilton spun in turn four. Another caution flag came out on the ensuing restart attempt when Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two.

When the race returned to green flag action, Sheppard moved in to pressure Schmidt for the top spot on lap 12. By lap 16, current B Mod point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who starter fourth, joined in to make it a three-way battle for the lead.

With the laps winding down and the leaders working through lapped traffic, Sheppard broke out of line along the low groove and attempted to pass Schmidt for the lead using the outside lane. However, after briefly pulling even with Schmidt, a lapped car impeded Sheppard’s progress, which allowed Warner to sneak by into second on lap 23.

Schmidt maintained the top spot over the final two circuits to secure his first PDTR B Mod A-main victory of the 2019 season and his second career main event win in the B Mod division at Plymouth.

Warner placed second, Sheppard was third, Bauer claimed fourth and 11^th starter Barry Maas of Cascade finished fifth.

Anthony Knierim of Franksville won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Randy Theys of Algoma captured the 12-lap PDTR B Mod B main.

The program, which was sponsored by Roger and Dan’s Auto Service, drew a total of 80 cars, including 29 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 16 Late Models and 12 Grand Nationals.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, Aug. 17 with autograph night presented by Hopf Farms highlighting the evening with checkered flags and drawstring bags distributed at the gate. The evening will also feature past champion’s night and kids’ backpack night.

Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

Five events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 10, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Jim Melis 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Travis Arenz 6, Brandon Berth 7, Scott Conger 8, Sean Rayhall.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Adam Miller 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Doug Wondra 7, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 3

1, Tyler Brabant 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Chris Clayton 5, Tim Haddy 6, Preston Ruh 7, Tyler Nelson.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Davis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Bill Taylor 6, Blake Wondra 7, Tony Wondra (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Justin Erickson 4, Tim Haddy 5, Bill Taylor 6, Tony Wondra 7, Doug Wondra 8, Scott Conger 9, Brandon Berth 10, Tyler Nelson 11, Blake Wondra 12, Preston Ruh 13, Sean Rayhall.

A MAIN

1, Jim Melis 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Justin Miller 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Will Gerrits 6, Kurt Davis 7, Kevin Karnitz 8, Paul Pokorski 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Ben Schmidt 11, Travis Arenz 12, Adam Miller 13, Shane Wenninger 14, Justin Erickson 15, Tim Haddy 16, Bill Taylor 17, Anthony Knierim 18, Tony Wondra 19, Tyler Brabant 20, Tyler Davis 21, Josh Teunissen 22, Chris Clayton.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Tim Buhler 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Zack Kessler 7, Jim Juneau 8, Chad Ludwigson.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Kevin Baldry 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Glen Blanke 7, Donny Singer 8, Brad Mueller.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Mitch McGrath 4, Turk Letizia 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Brian Konitzer 9, Joe Bongiorno 10, Glen Blanke 11, Jim Juneau 12, Chad Ludwigson 13, Kevin Baldry, 14, Donny Singer 15, Zack Kessler (DNS) 16, Brad Mueller (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Brad Weiss 3, Jason Juech 4, Dick Hed 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Josh Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, J.J. Pagel 3, Donny Kulow 4, Steven Weber 5, Derek Kaat 6, Justin Muehlbauer.

A MAIN

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Dick Hed 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Luke Scholten 6, Brad Weiss 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Derek Kaat 10, Jason Juech 11, Josh Hitsman 12, Justin Muehlbauer.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Sawyer Haese 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Jesse Jakubowski 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Jesse Cullen 6, Tim Lange 7, Donny Singer 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Gary Glander 2, Justin Bauer 3, Travis Schmidt 4, James Rautmann 5, Marcus Hoeppner 6, Randy Theys 7, Rory Welch 8, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Warner 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Steve Lorier 4, Barry Maas 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Phil Campanella 7, Brian Wieland.

B MAIN

1, Randy Theys 2, Patrick Hanson 3, Rory Welch 4, Joshua Mavis 5, Phil Campanella 6, Donny Singer (DNS) 7, Brian Wieland (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Tim Warner 3, Tim Sheppard 4, Justin Bauer 5, Barry Maas 6, Sawyer Haese 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Jesse Cullen 9, Jesse Jakubowski 10, Mark Hoeppner 11, Marcus Hoeppner 12, Gary Glander 13, Randy Theys 14, Rick Kretschmann 15, James Rautmann 16, Tim Lange 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Steve Lorier 19, Joshua Mavis 20, Rory Welch.