Scholten, Kemkes score A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 29, 2019 – The hottest Dirt Late model driver in the nation, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., scorched The Plymouth Dirt Track for the second consecutive year as he survived nine caution periods and held off a mid-race challenge from Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan. to secure his 15^th Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-main triumph of the season Monday, July 29 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

The event drew a strong field of 33 World of Outlaws Late Models and a large crowd of spectators for the series’ second appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

In the support divisions, Luke Scholten of Oostburg used a daring three-way pass with three laps to go to secure the 20-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory and Cory Kemkes of Appleton made the most of his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming the 20-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Three-time World of Outlaws Late Model champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. paced the opening circuit of the 50-lap A main from the pole position before Sheppard, who started fourth, bolted up to the high groove to seize second from outside front row starter Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Penn. on lap 2.

One lap later, Sheppard powered around Lanigan to take the lead in turn two on lap 3. On lap 4, fifth starter Ricky Weiss of Headingly, Manitoba, Canada used the extreme low groove to challenge Sheppard briefly before the first of nine caution flags was displayed on lap 5 for Briggs, who had stopped in turn two.

After the restart, Sheppard held control of the top spot with Weiss in tow. Just as the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 13, the second caution flag came out on lap 14 when Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, who was scheduled to start third, but lost a tire during a warm-up lap and did not get on the track until the first caution flag on lap 5, stopped in turn two.

Two laps later, the third caution was displayed for Nick Anvelink of Navarino, who spun in turn four on lap 16. Action began to pick up during a 17-lap green-flag run, as Junghans, who started eighth, passed Weiss to gain second on lap 28.

On the next lap, Junghans moved in to challenge Sheppard for the top spot and the two drivers dueled side by side over the next three circuits before Junghans used some heavy lapped traffic to his advantage. With Sheppard boxed in behind two lapped cars running the high and low grooves, Junghans ducked low on lap 32 to seize the lead in turn four and officially lead the 32^nd lap of the race.

However, Sheppard battled back to regain the top spot on the very next lap before the fourth caution appeared when Paul Parker of Kaukauna slowed after contact with Junghans in turn four on lap 33. On the restart, Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. and Justin Ritchie of New London spun after contact in turn three for the fifth caution.

The final 17 laps were plagued by four more caution periods for single-car spins as only 12 of the original 24 starters were still racing in the closing laps.

Sheppard, who captured the 2017 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship, pulled way following the eighth and final caution flag on lap 48 to secure his 52^nd career Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory, 15th A-main triumph of the season and second straight win at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This has been a dream season and I’m so lucky to be driving for Mark Richards and this great Rocket Chassis team,” Sheppard said. “I’ve worked a lot of years to get here and I got a great break when Mark first asked me to drive his car in 2012. It is really a unbelievable feeling to drive this thing.

“Things got a bit crazy for a little while and I had to go to the top line to try to work through the lapped traffic,” he said. “I came up to cars that were running the top and the bottom at the same speed, but luckily it worked out in our favor in the end.”

Junghans had to settle for second, Weiss placed third, 2018 and 2019 UMP Summernationals champion Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. came from the seventh starting spot to finish fourth and Dennis Erb. Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. completed the top five after starting ninth.

Both Junghans and Weiss were pleased with their podium finishes.

“It was a challenge to get around the lapped cars, which helped me to close the gap on Brandon and get the lead very briefly,” Junghans said. “I’m glad that things seem to be going in the right direction for us. We keep getting a little bit better, which is encouraging.”

“We’ve been real good all year with a lot of top-threes and top-fives,” Weiss said. “We’ve been racing really well and I hope we can keep it up. We will just keep digging.”

Justin Pearson of Burnett grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap Grand National A main from the outside front row starting position before Jason Juech of Plymouth battled back to apply pressure on lap 2. The first of five caution flags appeared later on lap 2 when Dave Holm, Bruce Troesch and Derek Kaat collided in turn three.

After the start, Pearson continued to lead with Juech in second and fourth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moving into third on lap 3. The second caution flag was displayed when Tyler Kulow of Plymouth and 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville got hooked together and stopped in turn four on lap 8.

When green flag action resumed, eighth starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake charged in to pressure Juech for second beginning on lap 12. After three consecutive laps of heated side-by-side action, Juech spun in turn four after apparent contact with Pierce. Both Juech and Pierce were both sent to the rear of the field for causing the caution.

On the restart, sixth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary flexed his muscle to move into second place and mount heavy pressure on Pearson for the lead starting on lap 16. One lap later, Pagel and Pearson collided in turn three, which opened the door for Luke Scholten to charge up from his 13^th starting spot and into the lead with a daring three-wide move entering turn three on lap 17.

One lap later, a five-car caution flag appeared on lap 18 following contact between Pearson and Pagel, along with three other cars. The fifth and final caution flag appeared on lap 18 when Nick Schumacher of Eagle stopped on the frontstretch with an apparent mechanical problem.

Scholten held down the top spot on the final restart to earn his 12^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, which moves him into a tie for second on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main victory list behind Brad Lubach, who leads the way with 24.

Pearson placed second in his PDTR debut, Loehr finished third, Derek Schrauth of Omro wound up fourth after starting 10^th and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake placed fifth after starting ninth.

First-time PDTR competitor Cory Kemkes of Appleton seized the lead of the 20-lap PDTR B Mod A main from the pole. On lap 3, outside front row starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac gained the runner-up spot with fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton settling into third.

The second of three caution flags appeared on lap 6 for a four-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Warner stayed in close contact with Kemkes with Cullen in tow in third and 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started 17^th, and Chris Budzban of Appleton, who started third, dueling for fifth on lap 11.

After the third and final caution was displayed on lap 12 for a single-car spin, Sheppard advanced to fourth and moved in to challenge Cullen for third. Out in front, it was all Kemkes as he fended off Tim Warner to claim his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in his first attempt.

Warner placed second, Cullen wound up third, Sheppard placed fourth and Budzban was fifth.

Brandon Sheppard set a new Late Model track record in Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series qualifying with a circuit of 13.709 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. The World of Outlaws Last Chance Showdown 1 winner was 10-time NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D. and Terry Casey of New London captured the second Last Chance Showdown race.

The evening, which was sponsored by Wisconsin Refrigerated, drew a grand total of 73 cars, including 33 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model machines, 23 PDTR B Mods and 17 PDTR Grand Nationals.

The next scheduled race at The Plymouth Dirt Track is this Saturday, Aug. 3, featuring autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms, which will distribute draw string bags and checkered flags to the first 250 kids. It will also be past champions night. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Sheboygan County Fairgrounds

Plymouth, Wis.

July 29, 2019

Morton Buildings Feature (50 Laps) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [4][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [8][$5,000]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss [5][$3,000]; 4. 3s-Brian Shirley [7][$2,500]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [9][$2,000]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard [12][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [6][$1,400]; 8. 942-Terry Casey [18][$1,300]; 9. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,200]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs [2][$1,100]; 11. 89-Brad Mueller [22][$1,050]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [17][$1,000]; 13. 97s-Justin Schmidt [19][$950]; 14. 74-Mitch McGrath [13][$900]; 15. 6-Blake Spencer [23][$850]; 16. 28m-Jimmy Mars [10][$800]; 17. 70-Justin Ritchie [21][$770]; 18. 29-Darrell Lanigan [1][$750]; 19. 11-Justin Reed [15][$730]; 20. 25F-Jason Feger [20][$700]; 21. 10-Paul Parker [24][$700]; 22. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [14][$700]; 23. 15n-Nick Anvelink [16][$700]; 24. 16-Tyler Bruening [3][$700] Hard Charger: 89-Brad Mueller[+11]

Qualifying Flight-A 1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.826; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss, 14.018; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening, 14.123; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 14.201; 5. 97s-Justin Schmidt, 14.223; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 14.286; 7. 18-Chase Junghans, 14.389; 8. 11-Justin Reed, 14.466; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.479; 10. 10-Paul Parker, 14.485; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr., 14.582; 12. 6-Blake Spencer, 14.617; 13. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.732; 14. 79-Jim Schmidt, 14.847; 15. 96-Brian Konitzer, 15.291; 16. 55s-Don Singer, 16.647; 17. 16k-Zack Kessler, NT

Qualifying Flight-B 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 13.709; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 13.71; 3. 10s-Taylor Scheffler, 13.756; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.959; 5. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.053; 6. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.141; 7. 942-Terry Casey, 14.234; 8. 15n-Nick Anvelink, 14.337; 9. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 14.478; 10. 25F-Jason Feger, 14.519; 11. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.527; 12. D1-Turk Letizia, 14.551; 13. 89-Brad Mueller, 14.575; 14. 27-Derek Janke, 14.854; 15. O3-Kyle Raddant, 14.976; 16. 54-Kevin Baldry, NT

Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 16-Tyler Bruening [2]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [6]; 4. 74-Mitch McGrath [1]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3]; 7. 70-Justin Ritchie [7]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [8]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9]

Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan [2]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [1]; 3. B1-Brent Larson [3]; 4. 11-Justin Reed [4]; 5. 10-Paul Parker [5]; 6. 6-Blake Spencer [6]; 7. 79-Jim Schmidt [7]; 8. 55s-Don Singer [8]

Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton [3]; 3. 28m-Jimmy Mars [5]; 4. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [2]; 5. 942-Terry Casey [4]; 6. 3-Brett Swedberg [6]; 7. 89-Brad Mueller [7]; 8. O3-Kyle Raddant [8]

Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 99B-Boom Briggs [2]; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley [1]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard [3]; 4. 15n-Nick Anvelink [4]; 5. 25F-Jason Feger [5]; 6. D1-Turk Letizia [6]; 7. 27-Derek Janke [7]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][-]; 2. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3][-]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [5][-]; 4. 10-Paul Parker [2][$110]; 5. 6-Blake Spencer [4][$110]; 6. 79-Jim Schmidt [6][$110]; 7. 55s-Don Singer [8][$110]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [7][]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9][]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 942-Terry Casey [1][-]; 2. 25F-Jason Feger [2][-]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller [5][-]; 4. D1-Turk Letizia [4][$110]; 5. 27-Derek Janke [6][$110]; 6. O3-Kyle Raddant [7][$110]; 7. 3-Brett Swedberg [3][$110]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8].

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

Date of Race: July 29, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Dick Hed 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Derek Schrauth 7, Luke Scholten 8, Bruce Throesch 9, Derek Kaat.

HEAT 2

1, J.J. Pagel 2, Jason Juech 3, Justin Pearson 4, Josh Pierce 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Matt Loehr 7, Dave Holm 8, Josh Hitsman.

A MAIN

1, Luke Scholten 2, Justin Pearson 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Schrauth 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Dick Hed 7, Josh Hitsman 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Jason Juech 10, Derek Kaat 11, Dave Holm 12, Bruce Troesch 13, Steven Weber 14, Nick Schumacher 15, Josh Pierce 16, Dustin Weiss 17, Tyler Kulow.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Warner 2, Brian Wieland 3, Steve Lorier 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Lee Sohns 7, Donny Singer 8, Tim Sheppard.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Chris Budzban 3, Tim Lange 4, Randy Theys 5, Joshua Mavis 6, Justin Bauer 7, Skyler Woods 8, Tailer Ness.

HEAT 3

1, Cory Kemkes 2, Nick Schultz 3, Steven Wirtz 4, Barry Maas 5, Rory Welch 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Andy Singer.

A MAIN

1, Cory Kemkes, Tim Warner 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tim Sheppard 5, Chris Budzban 6, Nick Schultz, 7, Skyler Woods 8, Brandon Knepprath 9, Randy Theys 10, Travis Schmidt 11, Jesse Jakubowski 12, Tim Lange 13, Steve Lorier 14, Justin Bauer 15, Donny Singer 16, Steven Wirtz, 17, Tailer Ness 18, Andy Singer 19, Rory Welch 20, Joshua Mavis, 21, Barry Maas, 22, Brian Weiland, 23, Lee Sohns.

Arenz bags first PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Plymouth, Wis.

July 25, 2019

Qualifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 25, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

Scheffler, Pagel, Steenbergen earn Mid-Season Championship A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 13, 2019 – The record book will show that Josh Walter of Plymouth led all 30 laps of the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Remembering Randy Tracy Mid-Season Championship 360 Sprint Car A main at the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 13.

However, a closer examination will find that Walter used all of the skill he has accumulated in his 14 seasons of Sprint Car racing to negotiate heavy lapped traffic and turn back a heated challenge from Travis Arenz of Sheboygan in the closing laps to earn his second A-main victory of the 2019 season in the Richard’s of Dunbar PDTR 360 Sprint Car division in the first Remembering Randy Tracy Night celebrating of the life and racing career popular late driver affectionately dubbed “The Meat” during his 24-year racing career at Plymouth.

In other A-main action, Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha rode the high groove to his second Gasroots Project Late Model A-main win of the 2019 season. J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary earned his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win. Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown raced to victory in the Cellcom B mod A main.

In the 30-lap Remembering Randy Tracy Sprint Car A-main, Walter got the jump on the drop of the green flag from the pole position with third starter Will Gerrits taking second on the opening circuit. Riding the high line around the multi-groove racing surface, Walter had built up a full straightaway cushion over Gerrits when he encountered slower traffic beginning on lap 8.

On lap 9, fifth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah dove underneath Gerrits to wrestle away the second spot in the running order. However, Gerrits battled back to regain the position before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 10 for a three-car incident in turn two involving Paul Pokorski of West Bend, Anthony Knierim of Franksville and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum. Pokorski and Wenninger were forced to drop out of the race, while Knierim was able to return.

Following the restart, Jim Melis pulled off a slide job to move past Gerrits into second in turn four on lap 12, while Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started eighth, used the low line to advance to fifth on lap 13.

By lap 14, Walter had again bolted out to a full-straightaway advantage over Melis. However, lapped traffic began to become a factor starting on lap 16 when Walter had to deal with the cars of Anthony Knierim and Bill Taylor dueling side by side for multiple laps.

As Walter struggled to find a way through the lapped traffic, Melis closed significantly along the high groove before Walter was finally able to split Knierim and Taylor on lap 24. As Melis faded with a power steering issue in the closing laps, Arenz was on a charge as he worked is way past 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started seventh, on lap 26 to secure second.

Arenz pulled even with Walter with a low move in turn two on lap 29, but he was unable to make the move stick as Walter held strong along the cushion. On the final circuit with Arenz still hot on his heels, Walter made a bold low move underneath the slower car of Tyler Brabant in turn three to clinch his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and second A-main triumph of the 2019 season.

Arenz, who came into the event as the winner of the last two Midwest Sprint Car Association A mains, had to settle for second, Schmidt, who was sporting the No. 42 made famous by Randy Tracy for the evening, placed third, Gerrits wound up fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee moved up for the ninth starting spot to place fifth.

Polesitter Kevin Baldy of Omro seized the top spot in turn one of the opening lap of the action-packed 30-lap Late Model A main. On lap 2, second starter Justin Ritchie of New London worked the high groove to challenge Baldy for the top spot. The two drivers dueled side by side for the next five laps before Baldry pulled away.

On lap 9, four-time PDTR Late Model track champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started seventh, worked the cushion to pass Ritchie for second in turn two. One lap later, Mueller shot past Baldry existing turn four to assume the lead.

Meanwhile, 10^th starter Taylor Scheffler was also finding speed along the high line as he darted around Baldry into second on lap 13. Scheffler hounded Mueller over the next eight laps as the leaders found themselves in heavy lapped traffic.

On lap 21, Scheffler played the lapped cars perfectly to power past Mueller into the top spot in turn four. Mueller was able to stay in contact with Scheffler in the closing laps and cut the gap on lap 28. However, he was not able to mount a serious challenge as Scheffler secured his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and his second main event win of the 2019 season at Plymouth.

Mueller was second, defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland placed third, after starting ninth, Ritchie placed fourth and Baldry completed the top five in the caution-free race.

In the 30-lap Grand National A main, J.J. Pagel grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag from the pole with second starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake and third starter Dick Hed of Plymouth in hot pursuit.

Muehlbauer worked the high line over the next seventh laps as Pagel and Muehlbauer mounted a spirited side-by-side duel for six straight circuits. On lap 13, Luke Scholten of Oostburg pulled in to join Pagel, Muehlbauer and Hed in a four-way battle for the lead.

On lap 15, the first of two caution flags appeared when an infield tire was pushed onto the track in turn three. On the restart, sixth starter and current point leader Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved in to challenge for second as Muehlbauer, Hed and Kulow went three-wide in turn four on lap 16.

Kulow emerged in second while Scholten worked past Hed to claim third on lap 17 as positions were swapped at a lightning pace. Once again, Muehlbauer ventured up to the high groove to pressure Pagel for the top spot as the laps wound down and the two drivers again waged a side-by-side battle for the victory.

With one lap remaining, the second caution appeared when Jason Juech of Plymouth spun in turn four to set up a green-white-checkered flag finish. Pagel got a big jump on the restart to pull away as Hed made a daring move in turn three on lap 29 to move from fifth to third.

Pagel held on to earn his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Muehlbauer took second, Hed was third, Scholten placed fourth and Kulow completed the top five.

Jesse Cullen of Chilton led the opening circuit of the 30-lap B Mod A main from the pole. Cullen maintained a solid lead over second-starter Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon before sixth starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac passed Hoeppner for second on lap 9. The first of sixth caution flags appeared on lap 10 for debris.

On the restart, Cullen continued to lead with Warner in tow, while Jeff Steenbergen, who started ninth, worked his way into third on lap 12. After another caution flag for a spin on lap 14, Steenbergen moved into second with a low move on Warner on lap 16. Three laps later, Cullen spun in turn four to bring out the third caution flag. With Cullen relegated to the rear of the field for bringing out the caution, Steenbergen assumed the top spot on the restart.

Following the fourth caution period for a spin, seventh starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls darted past Warner into second as Steenbergen built up a big advantage. After a caution on lap 27 for infield tires on the track in turn four, Warner and rookie Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake, who started third, waged a duel for second with Wieland getting the best of Warner on lap 28.

After the sixth and final caution flag on lap 28, Steenbergen again flexed his muscle on the restart to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Wieland finished a career-best second, Glander placed third, 11^th starter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum finished fourth and Randy Theys, who started 18^th, completed the top five.

Danny Schlafer of Sussex won the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Doug Wondra of Lomira captured the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The Remembering Randy Tracy Mid-Season Championship program, which was sponsored by Cupcake Wonders of Sheboygan Falls, drew a total of 90 cars, including 36 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 14 Grand Nationals.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, July 20 with autograph night presented by Hopf Farms highlighting the evening with checkered flags distributed at the gate. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 13, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Nich Melis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Chris Clayton, 9, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Jim Melis 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Scott Conger 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Blake Wondra 9, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Will Gerrits 2, Travis Arenz 3, Kurt Davis 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Bill Taylor 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tim Haddy 8, Bryce Schmitt 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 4

1, Tony Wondra 2, Josh Walter 3, Justin Miller 4, Justin Erickson 5, Tyler Davis 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Doug Wondra 8, Al Schlafer 9, Jack Vanderboom.

B MAIN 1

1, Danny Schafer 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Justin Erickson 4, Chris Clayton 5, Brandon Berth 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Blake Wondra 8, Tim Haddy 9, Bryce Schmitt 10, Tyler Nelson.

B MAIN 2

1, Doug Wondra 2, Tyler Davis 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Al Schlafer 5, Preston Ruh 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Chris Larson 9, Scott Conger 10, Tyler Tischendorf.

A MAIN

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Brad Mueller 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Ron Stroika 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Brian Konitzer 8, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Buhler 2, Jon Bongiorno 3, Turk Letizia 4, Dave Jaeger 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Chad Vetting 7, Charlie Schmidt.

A MAIN

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Turk Letizia 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Tim Buhler 9, Dave Jaeger 10, Charlie Schmidt 11, Ron Stroika 12, Joe Bongiorno 13, Brian Konitzer 14, Chad Vetting 15, Zack Kessler

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Jason Juech 2, Dick Hed 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Donny Kulow 5, Brad Weiss 6, Josh Hitsman 7, Matt Yancey.

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Luke Scholten 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Steven Weber 5, Jacob Muehlbauer 6, Derek Kaat 7, Dave Holm.

A MAIN

1, J.J. Pagel 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Dick Hed 4, Luke Scholten 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Brad Weiss 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Derek Kaat 10, Matt Yancey 11, Dave Holm 12, Jason Juech 13, Jacob Muehlbauer 14, Josh Hitsman.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Gary Glander 2, Brian Wieland 3, Mark Hoeppner 4, Rory Welch 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Tim Lange 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Andy Singer 9, Phil Campanella.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, Barry Maas 3, Jeff Steenbergen 4, James Rautmann 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Justin Bauer 7, Randy Theys 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 3

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Steve Lorier 3, Nathan Jakubowski 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Lee Sohns 7, Tony Gates 8, Donny Singer.

B MAIN

1, Justin Bauer 2, James Rautmann 3, Randy Theys 4, Tony Gates 5, Lee Sohns 6, Andy Singer 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Donny Singer 9, Phil Campanella.

A MAIN

1, Jeff Steenbergen 2, Brian Wieland 3, Gary Glander 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Randy Theys 6, Travis Schmidt 7, Barry Maas 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Mark Hoeppner 10, Rick Kretschmann 11, Tim Warner 12, Steve Lorier 13, Tim Lange 14, James Rautmann 15, Justi Bauer 16, Jesse Cullen 17, Rory Welch 18, Tony Gates 19, Lee Sohns 20, Joshua Mavis 21, Nathan Jakubowski-(DNS).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thiel, Cullen, Pierce claim PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

Date of Race: June 28, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN

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

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

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

A MAIN

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

HEAT 5

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

A MAIN

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