Jeff Pederson, Author at Pedal Down Promotions

Davis, Schmidt, Kulow, Schultz claim PDTR A-main hardware

Tyler Kulow of Plymouth earned his second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory of the 2019 season on Saturday, June 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – C-MarQ Photography photo

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 22, 2019 – Racers and fans arrived at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. amidst warm weather and clear skies for the first time during the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season on Saturday, June 22.

Two drivers won for the second time this season, one for the first time in nearly a year, and another for the first time with PDTR. The four divisions of competitors would give the fans an evening of exciting racing on a well-prepared track, which provided two and sometimes three-wide racing.

The 25-lap Richard’s Supper Club and Motel of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main saw 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis from South Milwaukee take advantage of his outside front row starting position and edge ahead of polesitter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan on the second lap. Davis would show his 30 plus years of experience and drive to his 22^nd win with PDTR and series leading 59^th overall win with the Midwest Sprint Car Association.

In the Gasroots Project Late Model division, Jim Schmidt from Cleveland won for the first time since last August, besting a field of fast cars that raced hard. In the Klips and Tips Grand National A-main, Plymouth’s Tyler Kulow took his second win of the season and sixth career checkered with PDTR.

Visiting driving Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam won for the first time with PDTR besting the field in the Cellcom B-Mod division.

In getting his second win in his last three races with PDTR, Kurt Davis had to take the lead away from a determined Arenz, who started on the pole. Davis used a wide track to pass Arenz on the outside early and survived several restarts to stay in front.

While Davis and Arenz stayed close until a caution flag waved on lap four, others were charging ahead. After the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh would move into third coming from his sixth-place starting spot. Another driver on the move was Josh Walter from Plymouth, who came from his 12^th starting spot to settle into seventh in the running order.

The second caution flag for a spin in turn three bunched the field again, but still Davis was too fast to be passed. At this point, Davis, Arenz, McMullen, Kevin Karnitz of West Bend and Glenbuelah’s Jim Melis would be the front five cars.

Davis would eventually build a six car-length lead and would soon catch the back of the field. While Davis was weaving past cars high and low, last year’s PDTR 360 Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, Arenz, would catch him with five laps remaining and make for an exciting finish, but again it would be 30-plus year veteran, Davis, the winner.

Finishing in the top-five behind Davis were Arenz in second, McMullen third, Melis fourth and Karnitz rounding out the top five.

For Jim Schmidt, who was making only his third start of the season with PDTR, despite starting outside the front row next to polesitter “Diamond” Jim Letizia of Milwaukee, the win was anything but easy. A high-side pass in turn four gave Schmidt the lead, but a caution would slow the pace after Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee and Rick Scheffler of Waukesha tangled between turns three and four. Both drivers would make a quick visit to the pits and promptly return.

Back under the green, Tim “The Toolman” Buhler from Greenbush would move into second from his fourth starting spot before Letizia would spin on lap 3, resulting in a flat tire and another caution. Defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland would now settle into third and soon he would be in second challenging his father. Justin’s attempted inside pass was negated by Jim, who would stay in front.

Four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake picked up a several spots moving from sixth to fourth before racing side by side with Buhler. Meanwhile, last week’s winner Justin Ritchie from New London closed in from his seventh starting spot.

After a restart when two cars tangled on the backstretch, Ritchie and Mueller would swap positions creating a lot of excitement for the fans. With 10 laps left, Jim Schmidt would enjoy a nice lead with Justin Schmidt and Ritchie behind. Then with six laps left Oostburg’s Charlie Schmidt would squeeze past Buhler for fourth.

By the final lap, Justin Schmidt would move in close to the leader, but the veteran Jim Schmidt would hold on for the win, which would be his 15^th Late Model A-main victory with PDTR.

Rounding out the top behind the winner were Justin Schmidt in second, Ritchie third, Charlie Schmidt in fourth and Mueller rounding out the top five.

The Grand National feature, which was the first run in the program was also raced hard. Polesitter Josh Pierce from Fredonia would establish an early lead from the pole. On the second lap, three cars tangled and the yellow flag waved.

On the restart, Tyler Kulow who started in the fourth position, would be in second. They would stay that way until lap 10 when Kulow would make a pass coming into turn three for the lead.

J.J. Pagel of St. Cloud and Will Sorce of Franksville would run a number of laps side by side for third and fourth, but later they would get together bringing out a yellow. Oostburg’s Luke Scholten, who started 11^th, raced hard on the high side of the track, as did Dick Hed from Plymouth. With 10 laps left, Kulow would be ahead of Pierce, Steven Weber of Plymouth, Nick Schumacher of Eagle and Jess Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake.

Sorce, after restarting at the back, would charge up to sixth by lap 20 where he would finish. With two laps left, Schumacher, Weber and Muehlbauer would show the fans some three-wide racing before the race ended with Kulow claiming the victory, followed by Pierce in second, Schumacher third, Weber in fourth and Muehlbauer rounding out the top five.

Nick Schultz would start on the pole of the B Mod A main with Skyler Woods of Beaver Dam on the outside. The start was negated immediately when Justin Bauer and Gary Glander came together at the starting cone. Glander’s car was done for the night. However, Bauer would restart at the tail.

The yellow lap would wave after one lap when two cars got together in turn two. Bill Edler of Howards Grove would restart in second with Woods in third and Elijah Koenigs of Beaver Dam ahead of Barry Maas of Cascade.

Schultz and Edler would race hard and on lap seven, making contact in turn one, but both were able to hold their positions. Meanwhile, Koenig would close in on both of them before a caution came out after Koenig and Edler, along with several other cars, would tangle in turn one. Tim Warner of Fond du Lac would go to the pits, but promptly return.

On the restart, Schultz would be followed by Woods, Barry Maas. Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon and Steve Lorier of Sheboygan. After restarting at the back, Bauer would make his way up to sixth where he would finish. With two laps left Hoeppner, Maas and Bauer would be three-wide.

At the finish line, it was Schultz leading the way, followed by Woods in second, Travis Schmidt of Waldo in third, Hoeppner fourth and Maas in fifth.

The 360 Sprint Car B-Main was won by Lance Fassbender of Burnett, while Marcus Hoeppner won the B-Mod B main.

The next PDTR racing program, which will be held on Friday, June 28, will pay tribute to Late Model racer Russ Scheffler, who passed away in the fall 2017. To date, Scheffler has won more races with PDTR than any other driver.

A reported purse of about $18,500 will be paid to the Late Model Division. 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods will also compete. The grandstand will open at 4:30 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing to start at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, June 29, there will no racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track and on Saturday, July 6 again there will be no 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.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 22, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Josh Walter 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Tim Haddy 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Brandon Berth 8, Mike Decker.

HEAT 2

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Al Schlafer 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Nich Melis 7, Scott Conger 8, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Jim Melis 3, Will Gerrits 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Adam Miller 6, Tony Wondra 7, Chris Clayton 8, Sean Rayhall.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Erickson 5, Tyler Davis 6, Chris Flick 7. Blake Wondra.

B FEATURE

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Chris Flick 5, Justin Erickson 6, Brandon Berth 7, Chris Clayton 8, Mike Decker 9, Scott Conger 10, Josh Teunissen 11, Preston Ruh 12, Sean Rayhill 13, Blake Wondra 14, Tyler Davis 15, Nich Melis (DNS).

A FEATURE

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Tim Buhler 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Taylor Scheffler 6, Rick Scheffler 7, Brian Konitzer.

HEAT 2

1, Joe Bongiorno 2, Brad Mueller 3, Eric Michaels 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Jim Letizia 6, Kevin Baldry.

A FEATURE

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Brad Mueller 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Rick Scheffler 8, Tim Buhler 9, Joe Bongiorno 10, Taylor Scheffler 11, Eric Michaels 12, Jim Letizia 13, Brian Konitzer (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Donny Kulow 2, Dick Hed, 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Derek Kaat 7, Jim Fischer 8, Bruce Troesch 9, Dakota Cabunac.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Nick Schumacher 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Will Source 5, Josh Pierce 6, Luke Scholten 7, Brad Weiss 8, Josh Hitsman 9, Jess Muehlbauer.

A FEATURE

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Josh Pierce 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Steven Weber 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Will Source 7, J.J. Pagel 8, Donny Kulow 9, Luke Scholten 10, Dick Hed 11, Brad Weiss 12, Jess Muehlbauer 13, Derek Kaat 14, Dakota Cabunac 15, Jim Fischer 16, Bruce Troesch 17, Jason Juech 18, Josh Hitsman.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Barry Maas 3, Gary Glander 4, Rory Welch 5, Mark Hoeppner 6, Brandon Knepprath 7, Craig Gessner 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Nathan Jakubowski (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Nick Schultz 3, Bill Edler 4, Skyler Woods 5, James Rautmann 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Justin Lueck.

HEAT 3

1, Steve Lorier 2, Tim Warner 3, Brian Wieland 4, Justin Bauer 5, Andy Singer 6, Tim Lange 7, Phil Campanella 8, Christopher Gilson.

B FEATURE

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Craig Gessner 3, Andy Winger 4, Justin Lueck 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Phil Campanella 7, Christopher Gilson 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Nathan Jakubowski (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, Nick Schultz 2, Skyler Woods 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Barry Maas 6, Justin Mauer 7, Tim Warner 8, Steve Lorier 9, Brain Wieland 10, Andy Singer 11, Brandon Knepprath 12, Rory Welch 13, James Rautmann 14, Tim Langer 15, Craig Gessner 16, Justin Lueck 17, Bill Edler 18, Elijah Koenig 19, Gary Glander 20, Marcus Hoeppner (DQ).

June 23, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Thiel survives seven cautions to master SK Speedway MSA event

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan claimed his 11th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. on Friday, June 21. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 21, 2019 – In a race that combined the varying elements of a hotly contested Sprint Car event and a survival of the fittest competition, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan endured seven caution periods and turned back spirited challenges from a pair of highly accomplished veteran competitors to score a convincing victory in a Midwest Sprint Car Association 25-lap A-main event at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. on Friday, June 21.

The second MSA travelling event of the 2019 season drew a stout field of 27 MSA 360 Sprint Car teams and a robust and highly appreciative crowd eager to see the only Sprint Car race of the 2019 season at the SK Speedway third-mile dirt oval, known previously as the Spring Lake Speedway.

Behind the wheel of Randy Sippel’s 39s machine, Thiel led the 22-car A-main field to the green flag flanked by outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport. The current Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series competitor, who began his Sprint Car career as a regular with the MSA series, bolted out to a commanding lead in the early going on the smooth and slick track surface.

Just as Thiel was about to negotiate heavy lapped traffic, the first of seven caution flags appeared on lap 9 when Josh Walter of Plymouth stopped in turn two. After a trip to the work area, Walter restarted at the rear of the field.

Thiel ruled the restart and again opened up a solid lead over Wondra and two-time MSA champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who had worked his way into third. The second caution flag flew on lap 13 when rookie Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun to a stop in turn one.

On the restart, fourth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun made a bold move to advance past Schlafer and Tony Wondra into second on lap 14. Haddy then quickly moved in to pressure Thiel for the top spot. Haddy used the high groove to pull even with Thiel in turn four on lap 15. However, the third caution was then displayed for a spin in turn two involving Robbie Pribnow of Lomira on lap 15.

The restart saw Schlafer get the jump on Haddy and slingshot his way into second while four-time MSA champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started seventh, advanced into the top five on lap 16.

Another caution appeared on lap 17 when Will Gerrits of Waupun stopped along the frontstretch. On the restart, Schlafer dove low in turn three and pulled off a daring slide job in turn four to briefly wrestle the lead away from Thiel.

However, Thiel battled back to return the favor by pulling off a similar move on Schlafer in turn one to regain the top spot. On lap 19, rookie Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee brought out the fifth caution when he spun his machine in turn one.

A ragged restart led to Schlafer getting bottled up and turning sideways in turn four as the field was about to take the green flag, which triggered a chain reaction accident, which resulted in Josh Teunissen of Waldo rolling his car over on its side in turn four to bring out the sixth caution of the race. The damage sustained in the melee forced Schlafer to become the first car to officially retire from the race.

Thiel rocketed away from Haddy on the next restart and appeared on his way to the victory. However, one more caution was displayed for debris in turn two just as the field took the white flag.

The seventh caution set up a green-white-checkered flag finish, which saw Thiel execute another strong restart as he pulled away from Haddy to notch his 11^th career MSA A-main victory in the 10^th MSA race ever to be contested at the SK Speedway facility.

With the victory, Thiel joins 2018 MSA Rookie of the Year Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who captured the first MSA Series travelling event of 2019 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie on June 2, as a 2019 MSA travelling race winner.

Haddy had to settle for second, Tony Wondra finished third, Kurt Davis placed fourth and defending Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth charged up from the 16^th starting spot to place fifth.

Spyder Akright of Sheboygan Falls was victorious in the MSA B main, while Al Schlafer of Sussex, 2005 MSA champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett and Kurt Davis earned heat race victories.

The next travelling MSA Series event will take place at the Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway on Wednesday, July 3 prior to the first of two 2019 appearances at the TNT Speedway in Three Lakes later in the week on Saturday, July 6.

Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through a diverse array of promotional strategies and methods, including press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

Midwest Sprint Car Association

SK Speedway

Unity, Wis

June 21, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Al Schlafer 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Travis Arenz 5, Justin Miller 6, Chris Flick 7, Preston Ruh 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 2

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Scotty Thiel 6, Josh Walter 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Brandon Berth 9, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 3

1, Kurt Davis 2, Robbie Pribnow 3, Tyler Davis 4, Adam Miller 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Will Gerrits 7, Spyder Akright 8, Blake Wondra 9, Scott Conger.

B FEATURE

1, Spyder Akright 2, Scott Conger 3, Sean Rayhall 4, Blake Wondra 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Chris Flick 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Brandon Berth 9, Preston Ruh 10, Tyler Brabant 11, Justin Erickson (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Kurt Davis 5, Justin Miller 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Travis Arenz 8, Adam Miller 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Scott Conger 11, Josh Walter 12, Al Schlafer 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Robbie Pribnow 15, Sean Rayhall 16, Chris Flick 17, Will Gerrits 18, Tyler Davis 19, Josh Teunissen 20, Spyder Akright 21, Blake Wondra 22, Danny Schlafer.

June 22, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing steady the course at Plymouth

Josh Walter of Plymouth, Wis. recorded a 10th-place showing in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15. – C-Marq Photography photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 19, 2019 – After enduring a night which included a heat race flip, heavy duty pit repairs just to make the B main and ultimately a failure to qualify for the A main, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team righted the ship with a clean night and a solid top-10 A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15.

With 36 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle, Walter drew the pole position in the third PDTR Sprint Car heat race of the evening. Outside front row starter Lance Fassbender got the jump on Walter to take the lead in the first turn of the opening lap of the third 360 Sprint Car heat race and controlled the lead throughout the race. The caution flag flew on lap 2 when rookie Jack Vanderboom stalled in turn two.

On the ensuing restart, Walter felt pressure from Tim Haddy, but the 14^th-year Sprint Car racer fended off Haddy’s advance to claim second to himself on lap 3. Walter held on to post a second-place finish and punch a ticket to the 25-lap A-main event.

Following the heat race passing points invert, Walter lined up 12^th in the A main. The initial start produced a four-car incident exiting turn four, which knocked Brandon McMullen, Adam Miller, Bill Taylor and Josh Teunissen out of the race.

With Miller and Teunissen unable to continue, Walter advanced two spots to start 10^th on the complete restart. Walter moved up two spots in the early laps of the race to run eighth on lap 5. As the remainder of the event ran caution-free, Walter fell back to 10^th in the second-half of the race, which is where he ended up at the finish in a race won by first-time PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main winner Will Gerrits.

“The car felt good throughout the night,” Walter said. “We’ve been experimenting with setups early in the season.”

The Josh Walter-Torque Racing team is set to take part in an MSA doubleheader racing weekend kicking off on Friday, June 21 at SK Speedway (formerly Spring Lake Speedway) in Unity, Wis. Hot laps are slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, June 22, Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

“I’m looking forward to the two-day weekend ahead,” Walter said. “SK Speedway in Unity is a great track. I’m just hoping it doesn’t lay rubber down like last year. That gets expensive for tires and can be a boring show for fans to watch. I’m really looking forward to Plymouth on Saturday. We’ve got some more setup things we want to try.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

“I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

“I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

“Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping its clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 8

MSA events – 7

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 2

June 19, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports tallies strong top-five at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski racked up his second top-five and fifth top-10 A-main finish of the 2019 season with a fourth-place showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 18, 2019 – The luck of the heat race passing points invert roll played right into the hands of Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team on the way to a rock solid top-five A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

With yet another impressive field of 36 PDTR 360 Sprint Car drivers and teams assembled to do battle, an unlucky pill draw relegated Pokorski to the seventh starting position in the first 10-lap heat race of the evening.

The 27-year racing veteran wasted little time getting to work as he moved past Mike Decker to gain sixth place in turn one of the before passing Chris Flick for fifth in turn four on lap 1. Pokorski then worked his way around Brandon Berth into fourth place on lap 5 and held the fourth-place position the rest of the way to earn enough passing points to advance to the evening’s 25-lap A main.

“The heat race was very good,” Pokorski said. “We made the best of a bad draw. Then we had a little luck with the heat race passing points invert to start on the pole of the A main.”

The initial start of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main was wiped clean on the opening lap following a four-car incident exiting turn four involving Brandon McMullen, Adam Miller, Bill Taylor and Josh Teunissen.

After rolling off from the pole position on the complete restart, Pokorski felt immediate pressure from outside front row starter Will Gerrits, who outpowered the West Bend driver to seize the lead in turn one of the opening circuit.

Pokorski then fell to third when Danny Schlafer worked his way past in turn three on the first lap. On lap 9, Travis Arenz worked his way around Pokorski to drop the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion to fourth in the running order.

Pokorski maintained the fourth position the rest of the way on the fast and smooth racing surface to record the team’s fifth top-10 and second top-five A-main finish of the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association campaign, while Gerrits went on to collect his first career MSA A-main victory.

“I was a little disappointed with the A-main,” Pokorski said. “I never like backing up, but it’s hard to complain about a fourth-place finish. We also learned a few things and will try to improve the car for next week with those changes.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to take part in another MSA doubleheader racing weekend kicking off on Friday, June 21 at SK Speedway (formerly Spring Lake Speedway) in Unity, Wis. Hot laps are slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, June 22, the Pokorski Motorsports team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

“I always look forward to two-race weekends,” Pokorski said. “Going to SK Speedway in Unity is fun. It is always nice to get to race in front of fans who don’t always get to see Sprint Car racing. I hope we [MSA] put on in a good show for them.”

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 8

MSA events – 7

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 1

June 18, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Gerrits, Ritchie, Muehlbauer, Warner star in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A mains

Will Gerrits of Waupun recorded his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory on Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 15, 2019 – On an evening more reminiscent of late fall than early summer, three first-time A-main winners and another competitor that is no stranger to victory lane turned up the heat on an otherwise unseasonably cold evening at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15.

Will Gerrits of Waupun claimed his first career PDTR 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory in dominant wire-to-wire fashion. Veteran competitor Justin Ritchie of New London notched his first career 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main in his debut season competing regularly at Plymouth. Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake captured his first Career 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main and Tim Warner of Fond du Lac was victorious in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Gerrits grabbed the lead on the initial start from his outside front row starting spot as polesitter Paul Pokorski of West Bend tucked into second. Before one lap was completed, a four-car incident exiting turn four brought out a red flag as Bill Taylor Boltonville flipped into the frontstretch wall after 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, Plymouth’s Adam Miller and Josh Teunissen of Waldo made heavy contact. All four drivers were forced to retire from the race after their machines suffered heavy damage in the melee.

Following a complete restart, Gerrits again got the jump to lead the opening lap, while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex slid past Pokorski into second in turn three.

By lap 8, Gerrits had built up an impressive full-straightaway advantage over Schlafer on the fast and smooth track surface. On lap 9, Gerrits caught the back of the 22-car field, which allowed Schlafer, to cut the gap on the leader slightly.

One lap later, eighth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan dove underneath Pokorski to claim third and quickly set his sights on Schlafer in third. On lap 18, Arenz worked his way past Schlafer into second place.

Meanwhile, Gerrits had his way at the front of the field, working through lapped traffic expertly on the way to his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph. Arenz finished second, Schlafer finished third, Pokorski wound up fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fifth after starting seventh.

Justin Ritchie grabbed the lead of the Late Model A main on the opening lap from the pole with 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler powering his way into second from the fourth starting spot.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 1 for debris on the frontstretch, which prompted a completed restart. When the green flag flew, Ritchie again got the jump on outside front row starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland to lead the opening lap.

On lap 3, the second caution appeared for an incident in turn four. Ritchie used a strong restart to bolt away from the field as Jim Schmidt dueled with third starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove for the runner-up spot.

Jim Schmidt assumed second place in turn four on lap 5 before the third and final caution appeared on lap 6 when Charlie Schmidt spun out in turn four. The restart saw defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, work past sixth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee to seize second on lap 7.

On lap 11, Letizia found himself dueling with Jim Schmidt and four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake for third. The trio battled three-wide for third on lap 12 before Mueller grabbed spot for good. As Ritchie began to encounter slower traffic, Justin Schmidt closed the gap significantly on lap 14. Justin Schmidt pulled to within striking distance on lap 18.

Justin Schmidt looked as though he might make a run at Ritchie as the race wound down. However, Ritchie was just too strong as he widened his lead over the final three laps on the way to his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory behind the wheel of the Schueffner Racing No. 70 machine.

Justin Schmidt finished second, Mueller placed third, Jim Schmidt wound up fourth and eighth starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano finished fifth.

Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake posted his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Jeff Muehlbauer outpowered polesitter Jason Juech of Plymouth to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main. Muehlbauer staying glued to the high grove in the early going as third starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moved in to take second away from Juech in turn three on lap 5.

Weber was closing the gap on Muehlbauer before the first caution flag of the race appeared on lap 12 when Dylan May of West Bend spun in turn four. On the restart, Juech regained second place on lap 13, while Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started fourth, pressured Weber for third.

After another caution flag slowed the pace on lap 15, Muehlbauer drifted very high in turn one the ensuing restart, which allowed Juech to take the lead with Kulow sneaking into second on lap 16. However, Muehlbauer recovered along the high line to set up a spirited three-car duel for the top spot, which saw Muehlbauer, Juech and Kulow go three wide exiting turn four on lap 18.

Muehlbauer emerged with the lead with Kulow gaining second and charging in to pressure for the lead on lap 20. The third and final caution flag then appeared on lap 20 when J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary spun in turn two. On the final restart, Muehlbauer darted away from the pack while Kulow and Weber resumed their side-by-side battle for second place in the closing laps.

Muehlbauer pulled away in the waning laps to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Kulow placed second, Weber took third, Luke Scholten of Oostburg charged up from the 10^th starting spot to finish fourth and Juech rounded out the top five.

After the first attempt to start the 25-lap B Mod A main was aborted when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn one of the opening lap, polesitter Jesse Cullen of Chilton grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag.

On lap 7, outside front row starter Barry Maas of Cascade applied pressure to Cullen along the low groove. However, three laps later Maas felt pressure of his own as fifth starter Tim Warner used the high line to challenge for second.

As the leaders moved into lapped traffic on lap 12, Warner slipped past Maas on lap 14 and set his sights on the lead. On lap 16, the second caution flag appeared when Tony Gates spun in turn four.

One lap later, Cullen brought out the third and final caution of the race when he looped his machine in turn four while leading. With Cullen relegated to the rear of the field following the spin, Warner assumed the top spot.

With nothing but clear track ahead of him, Warner pulled away over the final eight laps en route to his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory and second main event triumph of the season at Plymouth. Maas placed second, Travis Schmidt of Waldo, who started third, finished third, Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford placed fourth after starting sixth and Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum charged from the 11^th starting spot to place fifth.

Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 1 and Tony Wondra of Campbellsport claimed the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 2.

The sixth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Butch and Janet Hafemann, featured a total of 92 cars, including 36 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 20 Late Models, 19 B Mods and 17 Grand Nationals.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 22 will feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 15, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Travis Arenz 3, Bill Taylor 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Brandon Berth 6, Chris Flick 7, Chris Clayton 8, Scott Conger 9, Mike Decker.

HEAT 2

1, Josh Teunissen 2, Adam Miller 3, Jim Melis 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Justin Miller 6, Anthony Knierim 7, Blake Wondra 8, Al Schlafer 9, Robbie Pribnow.

HEAT 3

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Josh Walter 3, Tim Haddy 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Justin Erickson 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Cole Possi 9, Nich Melis.

HEAT 4

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Kurt Davis 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Bryce Schmitt 6, Tyler Davis 7, Doug Wondra 8, Tyler Nelson 9, Preston Ruh.

B FEATURE 1

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Bryce Schmitt 3, Justin Erickson 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Chris Flick 6, Mike Decker 7, Preston Ruh 8, Cole Possi 9, Anthony Knierim 10. Chris Clayton.

B FEATURE 2

1, Tony Wondra 2, Brandon Berth 3, Nich Melis 4, Al Schlafer 5, Doug Wondra 6, Scott Conger 7, Blake Wondra 8, Tyler Davis 9, Tyler Nelson 10, Robbie Pribnow.

A FEATURE

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Joe Bongiorno 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Billy Rezutek 5, Joel Bennett 6, Brian Konitzer 7, Lukas Postl.

HEAT 2

1, Brett Swedberg 2, Turk Letizia 3, Justin Reed 4, Ron Stroika 5, Paul Parker 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Derek Janke.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Jim Juneau 6, Zack Kessler.

A FEATURE

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Brett Swedberg 6, Justin Reed 7, Joel Bennett 8, Turk Letizia 9, Tim Buhler 10, Kevin Baldry 11, Ron Stroika 12, Billy Rezutek 13, Charlie Schmidt 14, Brian Konitzer 15, Jim Juneau 16, Lukas Postl 17, Derek Jahnke 18, Paul Parker 19, Joe Bongiorno (DNS) 20, Zack Kessler (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Matt Loehr 2, Chad Espen 3, Dick Hed 4, Steven Weber 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Josh Pierce 7, Jim Fischer 8, Donny Singer 9, Josh Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Donny Kulow 3, Tyler Kulow 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Jason Juech 6, Dylan May 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Derek Kaat.

A FEATURE

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Steven Weber 4, Luke Scholten 5, Jason Juech 6, Matt Loehr 7, Donny Kulow 8, Donny Singer 9, Jacob Muehlbauer 10, Dylan May 11, J.J. Pagel 12, Josh Pierce 13, Dick Hed 14, Chad Espen 15, Derek Kaat 16, Josh Hitsman 17, Jim Fischer.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Justin Bauer 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tony Gates 5, Phil Campanella 6, Brian Wieland 7, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, Marcus Hoeppner 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Tim Lange 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Barry Maas 2, Gary Glander 3, Mark Hoeppner 4, Andy Singer 5, Brady Harsbarger 6, Steve Lorier.

A FEATURE

1, Tim Warner 2, Barry Maas 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Marcus Hoeppner 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Gary Glander 7, Mark Hoeppner 8, Andy Singer 9, Tony Gates 10, Steve Lorier 11, Brady Harshbarger 12, Brian Wieland 13, Tim Lange 14, Patrick Hanson 15, Joshua Mavis 16, Phil Campanella, 17, Jesse Cullen 18, Justin Bauer 19, Christopher Gilson (DNS).

June 16, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing look forward following challenging night

Josh Walter (12w) challenges Bill Taylor (69) for position, during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 12, 2019 – Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team experienced the kind of night on Saturday, June 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. that is best tucked away in file 13.

With 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Sprint Cars in the pit area for an all-open wheel racing program, which also featured the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, Walter drew the third starting spot in the fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race.

Things went wrong quickly for Walter when outside front row starter Chris Larson’s car failed to get up to speed on the opening lap creating a log jam on the backstretch. An accordion affect ensued, which led to Walter making contact with Larson and Scott Conger and flipping end over end in entering turn three.

Walter emerged uninjured, but heavy damage to the top wing and suspension of the car led to the battered machine being removed from the track on a wrecker with Walter credited with a seventh-place finish.

“Prior to the start of the heat race, we were rolling into turn three slowly picking up pace and the front row jackrabbited the start by slowing down then taking off,” Walter said. “The 51 car [Chris Larson] had an itch to get to the bottom, cutting in front of me. Then the 51 slid up mid corner in turns one and two, so I tried ducking underneath.

“The at the exit of turn two, the 51 came down into my right front tire,” he said. “As that happened, he turned off of me and the 24 car [Scott Conger] got jacked up and turned both of the cars across my nose leaving me nowhere to go. It was all just a racing deal and par for the course with our format.”

The Torque Racing pit crew went to work quickly and made the necessary repairs to get Walter back on track for the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

“As for the car, it was in pretty bad shape,” Walter said. “Hats off to my crew and several others for disassembling and building a car from scratch. We didn’t know if we’d get it done in time, but I’m extremely thankful and blessed with all the support.”

Starting eighth in the 12-lap race, Walter was faced with the task of advancing into the top three to gain a spot in the A main. Walter went to work on the drop of the green flag to advance three spots into fifth place on the opening lap. Walter then moved up to pressure Bill Taylor for fourth place on lap 7.

However, he fell back over the next four laps and eventually stalled on the final lap of the race without reaching the finish line. He was scored ninth in the race and failed to advance to the A main for the first time this season.

“The car didn’t handle as well as I hoped in the B, but it was a car I felt deserved to be in the A,” Walter said. “There’s nothing worse than doing all that work and not making the show. However, we won’t hang our heads and we’ll be back out this Saturday with the same goals we started the season with.

“There is a long season left,” he said. “My confidence is at an all-time high right now. When something like this happens and you see the results of the hard work everyone is putting in, you feel like you can’t fail for the team’s sake and mine as well.”

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will return to action this Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. four a four-division program featuring the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 7

MSA events – 6

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 3

Heat Race Victories – 2

June 12, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports rallies from tough draw at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski of West Bend earned an 11th-place showing the 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 11, 2019 – Finding success when competing against a talented field of 35 to 40 Sprint Car drivers and teams on a weekly basis requires a little bit of good old-fashioned luck.

Just ask Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team who have found the luck of the heat race draw system not to be on their side through the first six events of the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car campaign.

With 35 PDTR Sprint Car signed in at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8, a very unlucky pill draw found Pokorski lined up ninth in the second heat race. Pokorski worked his way past Bill Taylor on lap 1 and Shane Wenninger on lap 3 to move into seventh place. On lap 7, Pokorski powered past Josh Teunissen to finished sixth in the 10-lap heat race.

After failing to accumulate enough passing points to transfer directly to the A main, Pokorski lined up second next to polesitter Justin Miller in the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Pokorski bolted past Miller into the lead on the drop of the green flag and held the top spot throughout the 12-lap race to post his first B-main victory of the 2019 season and earn a spot in the A main lineup.

After lining up 18^th in the 22-car A main, Pokorski advanced to 15^th on lap 9 before a caution flag on lap 11 slowed the pace. After the restart, Pokorski hit his stride along the outside groove of the fast and tricky track surface to move past Lance Fassbender, Brandon Berth and Tony Wondra into 11^th place on lap 15.

Pokorski moved up to challenge Tyler Brabant for 10^th on lap 19, but he fell back over the final five laps to secure an 11^th-place finish in a race won by Kurt Davis.

The 27-year racing veteran was pleased that he was able to improve a total of 11 positions in the three races he competed in, while at the same time acknowledging the importance of the heat race pill draw.

“With 35-40 cars competing with our series on a regular basis, everything makes an impact on your night, including the heat race draw,” Pokorski said. “Considering we haven’t started a heat race better than fifth all year, I’d say we are doing well. We’ll keep trying to make the best of the bad draws and hope the luck switches at some point and try to capitalize when it does.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action this Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 7

MSA events – 6

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 1

June 11, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Blackhurst outduels Balog in IRA thriller, Davis claims PDTR 360 Sprint Car triumph

Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee earned his 21st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory Saturday, June 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Routson bags Badger Midget A main

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 8, 2019 – The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. served as the ultimate paradise for open-wheel racing lovers on Saturday, June 8, as it played host to three premier regional traveling series – Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midget Auto Racing Association – for the first and only time in 2019.

On a beautiful night for racing, 85 open-wheel machines packed the pit area and the largest crowd of spectators of the season turned out to witness the only racing program featuring all three regional touring series in 2019.

The IRA A-main turned out to a barn burner as defending IRA champion Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. edged eight-time IRA champ Bill Balog of Hartland in the closing laps in the 30-lap headliner. 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main in wire-to-wire fashion. Point leader Jack Routson of Waterman, Ill. secured his first career Badger Midget main event triumph in the 20-lap A main.

Fast qualifier Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove used his outside front row starting spot to launch his way into the lead on the opening lap of the 30-lap IRA headliner. Schmidt led polesitter Dave Uttech of Kenosha during the initial stages of the event until lap 5, when Jake Blackhurst moved up from his third starting spot to dive low in turn four to challenge Schmidt and Uttech in breathtaking three-wide fashion.

Uttech, who was in the middle of the three-wide sandwich, emerged with the lead exiting turn four on lap five with Blackhurst second before the first of three caution flags flew on lap 6 when Schmidt stalled in turn four. After Schmidt made repairs and restarted the race at the rear of the field, Uttech assumed command of the race on the restart.

On lap 8, Bill Balog, who started seventh, slipped underneath sixth starter Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls to seize second as positions were being jockeyed around throughout the 24-car field on the ultra-fast, but tricky racing surface.

Balog then bolted in to challenge Uttech for the top spot along the outside groove on lap 10 before the second caution flag was displayed on lap 11 when Wayne Modjeski of Oak Creek stopped in turn four.

After restart, Balog continued to hound Uttech along the heavy cushion of the tacky third-mile clay oval before finally moving into the lead in turn four on lap 13. Meanwhile, Blackhurst was also flexing his muscle as he maneuvered around Uttech into second on lap 14.

With Balog running predominantly the outside groove, Blackhurst stayed stuck to the bottom. On lap 16, Balog got boxed in behind two lapped cars, which allowed Blackhurst to dive low in turn four and wrestle the lead away from the high-riding Balog in heavy traffic.

The race was stopped on lap 17 when National Sprint Car Hall of Fame driver Danny Smith of Chillicothe, Ohio flipped in turn four. On the restart, Blackhurst fended off Balog’s relentless assault on the top spot until lap 22 when Balog moved low as Blackhurst drifted high to regain the lead exiting turn four.

Undaunted, Blackhurst hung within striking distance as the laps wound down. On lap 26, Balog jumped the tall cushion in turn four, which allowed Blackhurst to dart into the lead. Blackhurst then held on over the final four laps to secure his fifth career IRA A-main victory and first IRA main event triumph of the 2019 season.

Balog had to settle for second, Meyer finished third, two-time IRA champ Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam place fourth after starting fifth and Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill. moved up from his ninth starting spot to finish fifth in an entertaining race, which featured four different leaders and a total of six lead changes.

“It was definitely fun racing with Bill Balog there in the final laps,” Blackhurst said. “Bill is one of the best drivers out there right now and a great guy to race with. Sometimes when you are leading one of these races, you are kind of a sitting duck and that’s what happened a couple of times to myself and Bill. I started to hit the bottom pretty good in three and four and that is what eventually helped us win the race.”

Ever the competitor with a total of 106 IRA A-main victories to his credit, Balog was disappointed, but gracious after the race.

“We were really good early and I got the lead, but then lost it in lapped traffic,” Balog said. “I didn’t want to do something stupid in that situation and tried not to get into trouble, but then Jake ended up getting by. We came back to get the lead, but then I jumped the cushion let him by again right near the end. I am happy about how things are coming together. Right now, this Rhine Auto team is developing into a heck of a race team.”

After an up-and-down race, Meyer was satisfied with his third-place showing.

“Navigating the track was a challenge tonight,” Meyer said. “There were some daring moves that were made out there and some real close calls. I screwed up one time in turn two, which caused me to fall back several positions. Luckily, I was able to come back forward and pick up a third-place finish.”

Kurt Davis, who started second, outpowered polesitter Wayne Modjeski to take the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. The red flag was displayed on lap 3 when Chris Flick of Beaver Dam and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex both flipped along the frontstretch.

On the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started eighth, dove low to work past Modjeski into second lap 7. McMullen was closing on Davis in trapped traffic when the caution flag flew on lap 11 for the stalled car of Elkhart Lake’s Preston Ruh in turn four.

Sixth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan pressured McMullen briefly for second on lap 14 before McMullen pulled away and set his sights on Davis as the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic down the stretch. McMullen tried every move in the book over the final eight laps, but the cagey veteran Davis turned them back each time.

Davis successfully fended off McMullen’s determined challenge over the final five laps to post his 21^st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and the Midwest Sprint Car Association’s leading 58^th A-main triumph of his career.

McMullen placed second, Arenz finished third, 10^th starter Adam Miller of Plymouth charged up to finish fourth and Ben Schmidt started and finished fifth in the debut of his new 360 Sprint Car team.

In the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association A-main, Kurt Mayhew of Demotte, Ind. led the first seven laps of the 20-lap headliner from the pole with third starter Ryan Probst of New Lenox, Ill. giving chase.

On lap 8, Mayhew spun along the backstretch and tipped over on his side while leading the field. When the race resumed, Probst inherited the lead while 11^th starter Jack Routson used the outside groove to take over third on lap 10.

Routson continued his march to the front by slipping into second place on lap 12. The fourth and final caution flag of the race appeared on lap 16 when Badger Midget legend Kevin Olson of Machesney Park, Ill. spun to a stop in turn four on lap 6.

Routson dialed up the pressure on the final restart in an effort to unseat the lead from Probst’s possession. After two laps of dueling side by side, Routson surged ahead for good with a high move in turn two on lap 18. Routson then cruised away to secure his first career Badger Midget Auto Racing Association A-main victory.

Probst placed second, Chase McDermand of Springfield, Ill. came home third after starting 10^th, defending Badger Midget Series champion Scott Hatton came from 12^th at the start to finish fourth and Matthew Recheck of Beaver Dam finished fifth after starting fourth in the first Badger Midget event to be contested at Plymouth since September 2007.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 1 and Paul Pokorski of West Bend claimed the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 2. Kris Spitz of Salem was victorious in the 15-lap IRA B main.

The fifth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by the Interstate Racing Association, featured a total of 85 cars, including 35 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 28 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 22 Badger Midgets.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 15 will feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

Richard’s of Dunbar Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars, June 8, 2019

A Main-25 laps

1. Kurt Davis; 2. Brandon McMullen; 3. Travis Arenz; 4. Adam Miller; 5. Ben Schmidt; 6. Tim Haddy; 7. Kevin Karnitz; 8. Justin Miller; 9. Chris Clayton; 10. Tyler Brabant; 11. Paul Pokorski; 12. Lance Fassbender; 13. Justin Erickson; 14. Brandon Berth; 15. Tony Wondra; 16. Bryce Schmitt; 17. Jack Vanderboom; 18. Will Gerrits; 19. Wayne Modjeski; 20. Preston Ruh; 21. Chris Flick; 22. Danny Schlafer.

Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series-Plymouth Dirt Track, June 8, 2019

A Main-30 laps

1. Jake Blackhurst; 2. Bill Balog; 3. Steve Meyer; 4. Scotty Neitzel; 5. Joey Moughan; 6. Mike Reinke; 7. Scotty Thiel; 8. Jeremy Schultz; 9. Russel Borland; 10. Austin Deblauw; 11. Dave Uttech; 12. Scott Biertzer; 13. Brandon Wimmer; 14. Todd Daun; 15. Jereme Schroeder; 16. Ben Schmidt; 17. Jimmy Fifield; 18. Nick Matuszewski; 19. Hunter Custer; 20. Keith Fellner; 21. Kris Spitz; 22. Danny Smith; 23. Wayne Modjeski; 24. Bryon Walters.

Badger Midget Auto Racing Association – Plymouth Dirt Track, June 8, 2019

A Main-20 laps

1. Jack Routson; 2. Ryan Probst; 3. Chase McDermand; 4. Scott Hatton; 5. Matthew Rechek; 6. Zach Boden; 7. Brian Peterson; 8. Jeff Zelinski; 9. Sean Murphy; 10. Mike Stroik; 11. Tristan Koenings; 12. Jim Fuerst; 13. Shay Sassano; 14. Pat Hensen; 15. Dave Collins Jr.; 16. Kyle Koch; 17. Kevin Olson; 18. Harrison Kleven; 19. Kurt Mayhew; 20. Jordan Mattson; 21. Denny Smith; 22. Chase Jones (DNS).

June 9, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing ride roller coaster in MSA twinbill

Josh Walter negotiates Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, during a Midwest Sprint Car Association event on Sunday, June 2. – Casey Bollig photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 5, 2019 – Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team experienced the spectrum of the highs and lows of racing as it embarked on the first doubleheader weekend of the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association racing season on Saturday, June 1 the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. and Sunday, June 2 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis.

On Saturday, June 1, Walter was among 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car entries as he drew the sixth starting spot in the first heat race. On the drop of the green flag, Walter took off like a rocket on the fast and smooth, multi-groove racing surface to move into fourth on the opening lap. On lap 2, Walter slipped past Mike Decker to claim third before gaining second place from Tyler Davis on lap 3.

Walter was closing on leader Kevin Karnitz when the checkered flag flew with the 14^th-year Plymouth driver placing second to earn a spot in the evening’s 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main event.

After starting sixth, Walter drove a steady race, hovering around the top five throughout. After gaining fifth place when Lance Fassbender dropped out on lap 15, Walter moved to fourth in the running order in the closing laps and he hung on to the spot to finish fourth in a race won by Kevin Karnitz.

“We had a solid run on Saturday at Plymouth,” Walter said. “The heat race was good. We drew a higher number this week, but we were able to capitalize on the track conditions, starting sixth and finishing second. The highlight of the heat race was after we got into second, we were able to run down the leader. That really helped the confidence going into the A main.

“In the A main, the car was handling pretty well,” Walter said. “The track was fairly single file, allowing the high side to really only work on restarts. We started sixth and finished fourth in the A main, and it’s always a good feeling to go forward.”

While acknowledging the ongoing debate about the condition of the racing surface at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Walter weighed in on the topic this week.

“The racing this year at Plymouth has been good so far in my opinion,” Walter said. “However, I don’t know that the track is the reason for that. I don’t know anyone involved in racing who shows up and says, ‘How can we make this a bad track.’ The track is a victim of changing conditions weekly. The last time I checked, none of the track workers are Nostradamus. If they could make every prediction they would.

“The track gets packed tight, so the water will run off when it rains during the week from my understanding,” he said. “They do this so we can race on the weekend. I’m no expert at track prep, but I do know that I bought a race car to race and the surface is the same for everyone that I am racing with. Starting position plays a huge role late in the night lately, which just puts more emphasis on capitalizing in the heat races.”

On Sunday, June 2, Walter traveled to Sun Prairie, Wis. for the first of three scheduled races at Angell Park Speedway in 2019 where 31 Midwest Sprint Car Association entries packed the pit area.

After lining up second in the third MSA heat race, Walter held down the runner-up spot throughout en route to a second-place finish behind Travis Arenz to gain a berth in the evening’s 25-lap A main.

“We had a good heat race starting spot again, which was advantageous on a fairly narrow track early in the night,” Walter said. “We started second and finished second in the heat race and had a good handling car. We just lacked some speed.”

Walter started the main event from the ninth starting spot and advanced to eighth on lap 4 when he moved past rookie Justin Erickson. Four laps later, Walter powered past rookie Jack Vanderboom and Will Gerrits to seize sixth.

Following a yellow flag restart on lap 8, Walter made contact with the outside retaining wall, which affected the handling of his machine the rest of the way. On lap 13, Walter fell to 10^th before clipping an infield tire and spinning in turn two to bring out a caution flag on lap 19.

Walter restarted the race 18^th and working his way past three cars in the final seven laps to finish 15^th in a race won by Travis Arenz.

“We made some fueling changes and gear changes for the feature and had a really good car,” Walter said. “I slipped up early in the race and hit the wall hard enough to knock out the Jacob’s ladder, which holds the rear end in the center of the car. The car was a handful from that point on, but manageable. Later in the race with handling issues, I was doing all I could to take advantage of other people’s mistakes and try to climb back to the spots I had lost.

“We were racing hard and it seemed like every time we had a good rhythm going, we had another caution and restart,” Walter said. “In the end, I ended up making a choice late in the race to get into a collision with another driver or hit the infield tire. You never want to see anyone get tangled up. It just wrecks cars and potentially hurts people, so I just nicked the infield tire and spun out. We restarted the race 18^th and drove back to a 15^th place finish. I think it is a fairly respectable finish for the way the night could have gone when you take on a tractor tire. We’re working on the car this week to get everything back to new. We’ll be ready for this Saturday night June 8th at PDTR.”

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will return to action this Saturday, June 8, at The Plymouth Dirt Track in an all open wheel show featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Tracks, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 6

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 5

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 3

Heat Race Victories – 2

June 5, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports racks up two more top-10s

Paul Pokorski (4) of West Bend duels with South Milwaukee’s Kurt Davis in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, June 1. -RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 4, 2019 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team turned the first doubleheader weekend of Midwest Sprint Car Association racing action of the 2019 season into a pair of solid top-10 A-main finishes at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 1 and Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. on Sunday, June 2.

On Saturday, June 1, the Pokorski Motorsports team was among 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car entries registered to do battle on the well-manicured third-mile clay oval.

The evening began with Pokorski starting fifth in the third PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race. On the drop of the green flag, Pokorski passed Brandon Berth to move into fourth on the opening lap. On lap 4, Pokorski slipped past Tony Wondra to move into third. Two laps later, Pokorski was closing in on the second-place car of Spyder Akright when the first caution of the event appeared on lap 7 for Akright’s stalled car in turn two.

After restarting second, used a low move to wrestle the top spot away from Josh Teunissen in turn two on lap 8 en route to his first heat race victory of the 2019 season.

Pokorski rolled out for the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main from the eighth starting spot. After maintaining his eighth position throughout the first 14 laps of the event, Pokorski moved into seventh on lap 15 when Lance Fassbender dropped out of the event.

Following a caution period on lap 18 for Travis Arenz’ stalled car, Pokorski had his hands full over the final seven laps as he slipped back two spots to end up ninth at the finish line in a race won by Kevin Karnitz.

“Saturday night went pretty well,” Pokorski said. “The heat race was great. The car worked awesome. Unfortunately, we were not able to get it to repeat for the A main. We made very few changes, but the car wasn’t the same. We still ended up okay though.”

Pokorski ventured to the first of three scheduled 2019 MSA events at the Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie on Sunday, June 2 with 31 cars signed in for the evening.

A poor pill draw put Pokorski in the eighth starting spot in the second MSA heat race. After passing Tyler Davis to move into seventh on lap 1 Pokorski worked the low groove to pressure Bill Taylor for sixth starting on lap 6. On the following circuit, Pokorski pulled off a slide job entering turn one to briefly take sixth. However, Taylor and Pokorski made contact in turn two, which resulted in Taylor flipping to bring out the red flag.

After heading to the work area, Pokorski restarted the race in seventh before passing Tyler Davis again on lap 8 to secure sixth in the event and a spot in the evening’s B main.

Pokorski started second next to polesitter Danny Schlafer in the 15-lap B Main. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion maintained the runner-up spot throughout the event to nail down the 18^th starting spot in the A main.

A bold move in the first turn of the 25-lap main event vaulted Pokorski to 13^th at the completion of lap 1 in the caution-plagued race. After running just outside the top 10 for most of the event, Pokorski passed Will Gerrits, Chris Clayton and Tim Haddy to move into eighth.

The fourth and final caution flag on lap 19 for Josh Walter’s spin in turn two resulted in one more restart, which saw Pokorski lose ground to Ben Schmidt in Randy Sippel’s 39s car and Tim Haddy in the closing laps on the way to a 10^th-place finish in a race won by Travis Arenz.

“Sunday night at Angell Park was a struggle,” Pokorski said. “I love the history of Angel Park Speedway, but hate the results we’ve had there over the years. It’s a pretty tight little place and stuff happens quickly. That resulted in issues in the heat race and the A main. Despite all of that, we finished pretty well for starting 18th.”

According to Pokorski Motorsports Crew Chief Dave Schultz, the top-10 finish in the A main would likely not have been possible without the assistance of a fellow racing team.

“We are thankful for the generosity of Lloyd Dykstra and the No. 21 and No. 99 NAPA MSA teams for fixing a shock mount on our car between the B Main and the A main,” Schultz said. “Their efforts are greatly appreciated.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action this Saturday, June 8, at The Plymouth Dirt Track in an all open wheel show featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 6

MSA events – 5

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 1

June 5, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Karnitz, Mueller, Scholten, Budzban tally PDTR A-main victories

Four-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake recorded his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory since Sept. 9, 2017 Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 1, 2019 – Despite threatening skies and unseasonably cold temperatures, the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing show pressed on with a highly competitive night of racing action in all four regular divisions on a well-manicured, multi-groove racing surface at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 1.

Kevin Karnitz of West Bend became the first repear winner in PDTR A-main competition this season as he captured the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car main event. After going winless at Plymouth during the 2018 season, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake broke into the victory column with a win in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Oostburg’s Luke Scholten survived a heated duel with Tyler Kulow of Plymouth to capture the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main, while Chris Budzban of Appleton made his first-ever trip to The Plymouth Dirt Track pay off with a victory in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

The initial start of the 360 Sprint Car A main was aborted when 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh bicycled his machine in turn one and rolled to a stop in turn two to bring out the first of two caution flags in the event. McMullen made suspension repairs in the work area and returned to the track at the rear of the field.

On the complete restart, polesitter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport outpowered 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett, who started second, to seize the lead in turn four of the opening lap. Two laps later, fourth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah found grip in the middle of the fast and smooth racing surface to work his way into second.

On lap 6, Melis used the middle lane to gain the top spot from Wondra in turn two. By lap 10, Melis had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Wondra, while fifth starter Kevin Karnitz passed Fassbender to gain third place on lap 12.

As Melis encountered lapped traffic, Wondra was able to cut the gap significantly as the hard-charging Karnitz, who was hooked up along the inside groove, moved in to make it a three-way duel for the top spot.

Entering turn four on lap 16, the trio went three-wide for the lead with Melis riding high, Wondra using the middle groove and Karnitz working the low line. Karnitz powered under both Wondra and Melis to grab the lead in a thrilling, hold-your-breath move exiting turn four.

Two laps later, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan brought out the second and final caution flag when he stopped in turn four. After Arenz went to the work area, made repairs and returned to the track, Karnitz seized the lead on the restart, while Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who started third, used the high groove to maneuver around Melis into second place in turn two on lap 19.

Karnitz held on the rest of the way en route to his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph. Wenninger finished second, Melis placed third, sixth starter Josh Walter of Plymouth wound up fourth and Wondra completed the top five.

In the Late Model A main, two caution periods for spins negated the first two attempts to start the race. The next attempt to start the race resulted in polesitter and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland and Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha being sent to the rear of the field for failing to comply with restart regulations.

With a revamped front row featuring polesitter and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush and Brad Mueller on the outside of the front row, Buhler snagged the lead on lap 1 along the low groove while Mueller road the high groove and sixth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee ducked low to pressure Mueller for second place.

Mueller continued to work the high line to perfection in the opening laps to pressure Buhler for the lead. On lap 5, Mueller shot around Buhler with a high move in turn four to assume the top spot.

With Mueller holding his own at the front of the field, Schmidt was slicing way through the pack after restarting the race from the rear of the field. On lap 12, Schmidt moved into fourth along the outside lane.

Six laps later, Letizia dove low to slip underneath the high riding Buhler to assume second on lap 18 with Schmidt following into third on lap 19. By lap 20, Mueller had built up a half-lap cushion over Letizia. On lap 21, the hard-charging Schmidt bolted around Letizia with a high move in turn two and quickly cut into Mueller’s large advantage.

Schmidt’s stirring run through the field came up a bit short as he simply ran out of laps in the race, which went non-stop after the initial string of unsuccessful starts. Mueller beat Schmidt to the line by a quarter-straightaway margin to secure his 20^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, which ranks him second on the all-time PDTR Late Model A-main victory list. It was Mueller’s first PDTR Late Model A-main triumph since Sept. 9, 2017.

Schmidt had to settle for second, Letizia was third, Buhler finished fourth and Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee finished fifth after originally starting seventh.

Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake worked around polesitter Josh Pierce of Random Lake to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main, while 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who was behind the wheel of J.J. Pagel’s car, worked the high groove from his fourth starting spot to take over second lap 2. A pair of caution flags for spins on lap 3 and lap 5 slowed the pace before third starter Tyler Kulow used a well-timed restart to seize the top spot with a high move on lap 6.

Meanwhile, Luke Scholten was making his presence felt moving into third place from his eighth starting spot on lap 8. On lap later, Scholten moved in to pressure Tyler Kulow along the low line. With Scholten running low and Tyler Kulow riding high, the two drivers battled side by side for five consecutive laps before Scholten finally surged ahead in turn four on lap 13.

As the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on lap 15, Tyler Kulow cut the gap and moved into the lead in turn four on lap 19. After two more cautions for spins on lap 19 and lap 21, Tyler Kulow held the top spot as Pierce grabbed ahold of the high line to power into second on lap 22.

However, the fifth and final caution slowed the pace one again for a single-car spin in turn two. On the restart, Scholten used the high groove to find some extra bite, which launched his car into the top spot for good exiting turn two on lap 23.

Scholten then pulled away over the final two laps to secure his 11^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory and his first of the 2019 season. Tyler Kulow took second, Pierce placed third, Steven Weber of Plymouth finished fourth after starting sixth and 10^th starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth in his first appearance of the season at Plymouth.

The B Mod A main featured a pair of visiting drivers to PDTR as Bill Edler of Howards Grove rolled off from the pole with Chris Budzban, who was making his first-ever appearance at Plymouth, on the outside of the front row.

After a close battle through the first three corners, Edler grabbed the initial lead in turn four of the opening lap. The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 2 for a spin involving Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford. On the restart, Budzban flexed his muscle to challenge Edler utilizing the inside lane, pulling even briefly on lap 6.

As the leaders negotiated slower traffic, Budzban used the slower cars to his advantage and slipped ahead of Edler and into the lead on lap 9. Not one to back down, Edler regrouped and mounted another challenge for the lead starting on lap 15 as the leaders encountered more lapped machines.

The pace slowed again on lap 18 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan spun in turn two. Another caution appeared on lap 19 for a Marcus Hoeppner spin. On the restart, Budzban powered away from Edler and was not to be denied as he racked up his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in his debut main event start at the Plymouth track.

Edler was second, Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls, who started fourth, placed third, Cascade’s Barry Maas came up from his ninth starting spot to place fourth and seventh starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo rounded out the top five.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The fourth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Pit Stop Pizza, featured a total of 92 cars, including 35 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 19 Grand Nationals and 13 Late Models.

PDTR officials have announced that the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series combined challenge event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, which was postponed by weather on Saturday, May 18, has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 25. The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will also be on the card.

Recent NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. is expected to compete along with a large contingent of top national and regional touring 410 Sprint Car competitors. All advance tickets purchased for the May 18 event will be good on July 25. Those unable to use their previously purchased reserved tickets for the original May 18 All Stars date, can receive a refund by returning their tickets to the Sheboygan County Fair office.

With the Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series scheduled to compete at The Plymouth Dirt Track just four days later on Monday, July 29, the regular PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 27 has been cancelled. The PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions will also compete with the World of Outlaws Late Models on Monday, July 29.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 8 will feature the first of four scheduled appearances during the 2019 season for the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, which will be joined by the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 1, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Josh Walter 3, Tyler Davis 4, Mike Decker 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Justin Miller 7, Scott Conger 8, Will Gerrits 9, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Travis Arenz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Tim Haddy, 6, Kurt Davis 7, Chris Flick 8, Anthony Knierim 9, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Paul Pokorski 2, Tony Wondra 3, Bill Taylor 4, Chris Clayton 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Brandon Berth, 7, Al Schlafer 8, Spyder Akright 9, Adam Miller

HEAT 4

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Doug Wondra 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Bryce Schmitt 6, Justin Erickson 7, Preston Ruh 8, Scotty Neitzel.

B FEATURE 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Brandon Berth 4, Chris Flick 5, Justin Erickson 6, Preston Ruh 7, Bryce Schmitt 8, Blake Wondra 9, Mike Decker.

B FEATURE 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Scott Conger 6, Al Schlafer 7, Chris Larson 8, Adam Miller 9, Scotty Neitzel.

A FEATURE

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Brad Mueller 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Taylor Scheffler 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Eric Michaels.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Dave Jaeger 5, Brian Konitzer 6, Jim Schmidt.

A FEATURE

1, Brad Mueller 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Turk Letizia 4, Tim Buhler 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Justin Ritchie 9, Brian Konitzer 10, Taylor Scheffler 11, Eric Michaels 12, Dave Jaeger 13, Charlie Schmidt.

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Dick Hed 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Dustin Weiss 5, Josh Hitsman 6, Brian Cesar 7, Dave Holm.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Donny Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Derek Kaat 6, Jacob Muehlebauer.

HEAT 3

1, Chad Espen 2, Matt Loehr 3, Josh Pierce 4, Brad Weiss 5, Donny Singer 6, Dylan May.

A FEATURE

1, Luke Scholten 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Josh Pierce 4, Steven Weber 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Donny Kulow 7, Matt Loehr 8, Jason Juech 9, Brian Cesar 10, Chad Espen 11, Dick Hed 12, Derek Kaat 13, Dylan May, 14, Donny Singer 15, Dave Holm 16, Josh Hitsman 17, Jacob Muehlbauer 18, Jeff Muehlbauer 19, Brad Weiss.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Chris Budzban, 2, Jesse Jakubowski 3, Craig Gessner 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Christopher Gilson 6, Rory Welch 7, Andy Singer 8, Brian Wieland 9, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Gary Glander 3, Barry Maas, 4, Marcus Hoeppner 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Mark Hoeppner 7, Phil Campanella 8, Nathan Jakubowski

HEAT 3

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Bill Edler 3, Steve Lorier 4, Justin Bauer 5, Tim Warner 6, Jesse Cullen 7, Donny Singer 8, Jason Schilling.

B FEATURE

1, Brandon Knepprath 2, Donny Singer 3, Christopher Gilson 4, Brian Wieland 5, Phil Campanella 6, Rory Welch 7, Nathan Jakubowski 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Jason Schilling

A FEATURE

1, Chris Budzban 2, Bill Edler 3, Gary Glander 4, Barry Maas 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Tim Warner 7, Tim Sheppard 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Justin Bauer 10, Jesse Jakubowski 11, Mark Hoeppner 12, Andy Singer 13, Brandon Knepprath 14, Brian Wieland 15, Christopher Gilson 16, Steve Lorier 17, Jesse Cullen 18, Donny Singer 19, Patrick Hanson 20, Craig Gessner.

June 2, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing score solid top-10 showing at Plymouth

Josh Walter steered his Torque Racing machine to a sixth-place showing in a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 25. – Trevor Frank-Frank Motorsports photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 29, 2019 – One week after racking up a clean sweep during a near flawless night of racing, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team kept the throttle down in securing another solid top-10 A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

With a strong contingent of 38 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle on the third-mile clay oval, Walter used another favorable draw to earn the pole starting position in the third 10-lap heat race.

Walter seemed unfazed by the fast, tacky and treacherous racing surface as he bolted out to a big lead over the second-place machine of Shane Wenninger in the early going. The 14^th-year Sprint Car competitor maintained a solid advantage in the closing laps en route to a full-straightaway margin of victory over Wenninger.

“On a track like this past weekend we really lucked out with another great pill draw,” Walter said. “It seems like things are going in a good direction this season so far. The car felt stable in the heat race on such a rough track. Because of the ruts, the track was a challenge and really required a bit of finesse with the throttle.”

After his second heat race victory of the 2019 season and the invert, Walter lined up fourth in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. After the PDTR track crew reworked the undulating racing surface prior to the main events Walter found the going to be plenty rough during the majority of the A-main as he fell back to seventh on lap 10 before advancing back to sixth in the closing laps.

Walter held on to place sixth for his second straight top-10 A-main showing in PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition in a race won by Bill Taylor.

“We struggled a bit in the A main,” Walter said. “It wasn’t awful, but the car just wasn’t free enough on entry when racing with other cars around me. In order to get the car to turn, I really needed to drive it in to the corner hard to keep the wing speed.

“The track did get slightly better after they worked it during intermission,” he said. “However, it was a one-lane track for the most part and most of the passing up front was done on restarts. I just wasn’t able to capitalize where others were able to.”

The Josh Walter-Torque Racing team is set to compete in an MSA doubleheader this weekend starting on Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to get under way at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, June 2, the team will make its first of three scheduled 2019 MSA appearances at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow.

“This weekend is the first scheduled doubleheader weekend of the season, and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead,” Walter said. “We have a lot of racing ahead of us, so we are trying to take it one night at a time.”

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions

Sheboygan by Owner was created in 2003 to give sellers of real estate in Sheboygan, Calumet and Manitowoc Counites an avenue to sell their own home, while having a presence on the internet and access to real estate partners at a low flat fee rate, which allows them to keep more money in their own pockets.

Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner” properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on every home they drive by or hear about.

“Homebuyers can search the web to see what the homes have to offer, and then call on only the ones they have an interest in, saving them both time and money,” said Allison Smith of Sheboygan by Owner.

Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for the 2019 racing season.

“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit www.sheboyganbyowner.com

Home Transitions began in 2002 as a referral and buyer-only real estate company. By 2008, it blossomed into a full-service real estate company serving customers located mainly in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, while reaching out to other outlying areas upon request.

“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit www.hometransitions.us

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 4

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 3

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 2

May 29, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Tough night halts Pokorski Motorsports’ A-main streak

After nearly two years of qualifying for every Midwest Sprint Car A-main he has attempted, Paul Pokorski of West Bend failed to make the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car main event on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth Wis. following a crash on the first lap of the B main. – Trevor Frank, Frank Motorsports photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 28, 2019 – For the first time in nearly two years, Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team found themselves watching a Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main rather than in the thick of the action on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

After breezing through a very clean 2018 campaign, during which he completed every lap of every race and qualified for all 23 MSA A-mains, Pokorski failed to qualify for an A-main for the first time since magneto issues forced the Pokorski Motorsports team to scratch from a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 17, 2017.

With 38 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars signed in for Pokorski Motorsports sponsor Pedal Down Promotions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track, the forgettable night began with a unfavorable heat race draw, which saw Pokorski start fifth in the third Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car heat race.

A fast and tacky, but highly treacherous racing surface provided little opportunity for Pokorski to work his way up into an A-main transfer spot as he held on to place sixth in a heat race loaded with a host of top competitors.

Pokorski then lined up seventh in the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main needing to finish third to earn a spot in the 25-lap A main. On the opening lap, Pokorski dove low and advanced up several spots before contact with Will Gerrits sent the 27-year veteran spinning to a stop in turn two. The contact produced front-suspension damage, which brought Pokorski’s night to an early conclusion.

“Saturday was a tough night,” Pokorski said. “Competing against 35 to 40 cars a night, means everything has to go your way and the heavy track conditions made it hard to pass. In the B-Main, I just had an error in judgement, I guess. I thought that the 21 car [Will Gerrits] was going to push up off the bottom and open a door to squeeze under him. I realized too late that the opening I saw was closing and couldn’t stop quickly enough. I was disappointed in myself as it took away any chance Will Gerrits or I had to make the main. Thankfully, the damage wasn’t major. It was shocks and radius rods mostly.”

On Sunday, May 26, Pokorski made a late decision to compete in the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event at the 141 Speedway in Francis Creek.

Pokorski began the evening by qualifying his 360 Sprint Car 24th in the 25-car IRA field with a lap of 12.581 seconds on the quarter-mile clay oval. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion started and finished eighth in the second IRA 10-lap heat race to earn the 23^rd starting spot in the 30-lap A main.

Pokorski worked the inside groove of the smooth, wide and slick track surface throughout the event to gradually advance his way through the field. After dropping back to 24^th on the opening lap, Pokorski slipped past Brian Strane and Hunter Custer to secure 22^nd on lap four.

On lap 5, Pokorski worked past Matt Wiese to move into 21^st. Following a pair of caution flags, which resulted in Scott Biertzer and Joey Moughan retiring from the race, Pokorski restarted in 19^th on lap 15. Pokorski moved up to 18^th when Adam Miller left the race on lap 18 and restarted 17^th following a caution flag on lap 20.

On lap 22, Pokorski powered past Nick Matuszewski to move into 16^th place, which is where he finished in a race won by Bill Balog.

“Sunday night was fun,” Pokorski said. “The car felt really good and we did learn a couple of small things that we may use going forward. It was just a fun night and a great show to be a part of.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to compete in an MSA doubleheader this weekend starting on Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to get under way at 6 p.m.

“I’m looking forward to a better Saturday night at Plymouth this week,” Pokorski said. “I’m also excited to go back to Angel Park. The schedule is about to get hectic.”

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 4

MSA events – 3

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 0

May 28, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

First-time winners sweep PDTR A mains

Bill Taylor of Cedar Grove talks with track announcer Loren Kelly after earning his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Taylor, Schmidt, Juech, Cullen visit victory lane

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 25, 2019 – It was a night of firsts for four Plymouth Dirt Track Racing competitors as victory lane was graced by nothing but first-time A-main winners in their respective divisions, during PDTR’s Military Night Memorial Day weekend racing program on Saturday, May 25 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Despite heavy overnight rain showers, dry and warm weather allowed the show to go on as planned with 100 competitors in four divisions and a solid race-hungry crowd of spectators turning out for the third PDTR racing program of the 2019 season, which was sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

Bill Taylor of Cedar Grove turned back repeated challenges from Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series standout Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main. Cedar Grove veteran Charlie Schmidt scored a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Jason Juech of West Bend notched a wire-to-wire win in the time-shortened 20-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Chilton’s Jesse Cullen survived an action-packed, heated three-way duel with visiting Beaver Dam drivers Tim Sheppard and Elijah Koenig to come out on top in the Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 360 Sprint Car A-main, Taylor started on the pole flanked by Nich Melis of Plymouth. Taylor got the jump on the start and pulled out to a quarter-straightaway advantage over Melis by lap 4. Two laps later, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen brought out a red flag when he flipped his machine in turn two after making contact with Waldo’s Chris Clayton. McMullen was uninjured, but he was done for the night.

On the restart. 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, bolted past Melis to take over the runner-up spot, while seventh starter Tim Haddy of Waupun followed Davis into third place on lap 8. Davis was reeling in Taylor on the lightning fast and tacky, but treacherous third-mile clay oval when the second caution appeared on lap 9 when Plymouth’s Adam Miller spun in turn two.

Visiting IRA 410 Sprint Car Series racer Scotty Thiel, who started eighth, made his presence felt in a big way on the restart as he pushed his Randy Sippel-owned 39s machine up to the outside line to power into third place on lap 10.

Six laps later, Taylor caught the rear of the field, which caused him to alter his line slightly to negotiate slower traffic. Thiel had moved into striking distance when the third and final caution of the event appeared on lap 16 when Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz stopped in turn four.

On the final restart, Melis and Haddy dueled feverishly for third while Thiel reached into his bag of tricks to try everything he could to unseat Taylor from the lead. However, Taylor held strong to turn back Thiel’s challenges on the way to his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory.

Thiel had to settle for second, Haddy placed third, Melis was fourth and Davis rounded out the top five.

With Charlie Schmidt starting the Late Model A main from the pole position and Mark Rose of Dorchester on the outside of the front row, a five-car incident involving Kevin Baldry of Omro, Zack Kessler of Plymouth, four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake, Jim Juneau of Milwaukee and Justin Ritchie of New London brought out a caution flag before the first lap of the race was completed.

Following a complete restart, Schmidt gained the lead with Rose in tow. On lap 6, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush moved in to pressure defending PDTR Late Model champ Justin Schmidt of Cleveland for third. One lap later, Rose powered in to challenge Charlie Schmidt for the top spot, while Justin Schmidt cleared Buhler and closed in on Rose for second.

On lap 12, Justin Schmidt nearly spun as he attempted to duck underneath Rose in turn four, which caused him to lose a lot of ground. Meanwhile, Rose kept hounding Charlie Sch

Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove waves to the crowd, after tallying his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

midt at the front of the field.

However, Charlie Schmidt was too strong as he held on over the second half of the race to secure his first career PDTR Late Model A main victory. Rose placed second in his first appearance of the year at Plymouth, Justin Schmidt placed third, third starter Paul Parker of Kaukauna was fourth and Buhler finished fifth.

Jason Juech grabbed the initial lead of the Grand National A main from the pole position with Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake falling into second from his outside front row starting spot. On lap 3, Oostburg’s Luke Scholten powered up from his eighth starting spot to size third along the outside line.

On lap later, Scholten rode the high line of the narrow track surface to secure second place before a the first of a string of four caution flags appeared on lap 4 for debris. Another caution flew one lap later for a three-car incident in turn two, which involved a lengthy clean-up period to unhook the cars of Jacob Muehlbauer and Don Singer.

After two more caution periods involving multi-car incidents on lap 9, the race ran up against the time limit. On lap 12, seventh starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved to take over second place along the low line. Scholten battled back along the high groove to duel with Tyler Kulow for second for two laps before Tyler Kulow suged ahead for good.

Jason Juech of West Bend celebrates his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

On lap 19, Tyler Kulow closed the gap on Juech as the leaders encountered lapped traffic. However, the race hit the time limit, which caused the checkered flag to fall on lap 20 with Juech earning his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to add to his four previous PDTR Outlaw Compact A-main triumphs.

Tyler Kulow placed second, Scholten was third, Plymouth’s Steven Weber finished fourth after starting ninth and Donny Kulow rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Andy Welter of Milwaukee, who was making his first appearance of the season at Plymouth, led the first two laps of the B Mod A main before third starter Jesse Cullen moved in to grab the top spot in turn three on lap 3.

Meanwhile, 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who was making his first appearance at Plymouth of the season, used the high groove to take third from his sixth starting spot on lap 10

One lap later, Beaver Dam’s Elijah Koenig, who started 11^th, used the low line to move past Sheppard to gain the third spot on lap 11. Koenig then ventured to the outside line to take second on lap 14 in turn four with Sheppard following into third.

With Koenig running high and Sheppard down low, the two Beaver Dam visitors continued to duel for second, while also reeling in Cullen for the lead. Just after Sheppard surged into second place he got sideways and spun in turn two, which dropped him back to seventh place in the running order before the first of four cautions appeared on lap 19 for debris in turn two.

After another debris caution, Koenig dove low to take the lead from Cullen in turn three on lap 20. However, the pace slowed again for a spin on the frontstrech involving Don Singer on lap 21.

On the restart, Cullen battled back to regain the lead in turn three as Cullen and Koenig dueled side by side. Contact between Cullen and Koenig in turn four on lap 22 brought out the fourth and final caution flag. Race officials deemed Koenig responsible for Cullen’s spin, which allowed Cullen to keep his spot in the lead, while Koenig exited the track.

On the final restart, Cullen fended off Sheppard, who had recovered from his spin on lap 18 to gain the second spot, to earn his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory to add to a previous PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.

Sheppard placed second, fifth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls was third, Andy Singer of Cedar Grove placed

Jesse Cullen of Chilton has a word with track announcer Loren Kelly after posting his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

fourth and Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford placed fifth after starting 20^th.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Travis Arenz captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program featured a large field of 38 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 29 B Mods, 19 Grand Nationals and 14 Late Models.

The next PDTR racing program, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods, will take place this Saturday, June 1 sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: May 25, 2019

HEAT 1

1, DANNY SCHLAFER. 2, BILL TAYLOR. 3, LANCE FASSBENDER. 4,

ADAM MILLER. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, CHRIS LARSON. 7, BLAKE

WONDRA. 8, SCOTTY NEITZEL (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, TIM HADDY. 2, CHRIS CLAYTON. 3, KEVIN KARNITZ. 4, JUSTIN

MILLER. 5, WAYNE MODJESKI. 6, WILL GERRITS. 7, JUSTIN ERICKSON.

8, BRYCE SCHMITT.

HEAT 3

1, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 2, KURT DAVIS. 3, DOUG WONDRA. 4, TYLER

BRABANT. 5, MIKE DECKER. 6, CHRIS FLICK. 7, TONY WONDRA. 8,

TYLER TISCHENDORF. (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, JIM MELIS. 4, TRAVIS

ARENZ. 5, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 6, PAUL POKORSKI. 7, TYLER DAVIS.

HEAT 5

1, SCOTTY THIEL. 2, SCOTT CONGER. 3, NICH MELIS. 4, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 5, AL SCHLAFER. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, PRESTON

RUH.

B FEATURE

1, JUSTIN MILLER. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, WAYNE MODJESKI. 4,

TYLER DAVIS. 5, CHRIS FLICK. 6, BRYCE SCHMITT. 7, BLAKE WONDRA.

8, JACK VANDERBOOM. 9, MIKE DECKER. 10, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 11,

SCOTTY NEITZEL.

B FEATURE

1, TRAVIS ARENZ. 2, DOUG WONDRA. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, WILL

GERRITS. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, TONY WONDRA. 7, CHRIS LARSON. 8,

TYLER TISCHENDORF. 9, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 10, PRESTON RUH. 11,

PAUL POKORSKI.

A FEATURE

1, BILL TAYLOR. 2, SCOTTY THIEL. 3, TIM HADDY. 4, NICH MELIS. 5,

KURT DAVIS. 6, JOSH WALTER. 7, SHANE WENNINGER. 8, KEVIN

KARNITZ. 9, DANNY SCHLAFER. 10, JUSTIN MILLER. 11, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 12, TYLER BRABANT. 13, CHRIS CLAYTON. 14, ROBBIE

PRIBNOW. 15, JIM MELIS. 16, WAYNE MODJESKI. 17, ADAM

MILLER. 18, AL SCHLAFER. 19, SCOTT CONGER. 20, TRAVIS ARENZ. 21, DOUG WONDRA. 22, BRANDON MCMULLEN.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, KEVIN BALDRY. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 4, MARK ROSE.

5, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 6, JOE BONGIORNO. 7, JIM JUNEAU.

HEAT 2

1, BRAD MUELLER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, PAUL PARKER. 4, CHAD

VETTING. 5, ZACK KESSLER. 6, BRIAN KONITZER. (DNS).7, JIM

SCHMIDT. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 2, MARK ROSE. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, PAUL

PARKER. 5, TIM BUHLER. 6, JOE BONGIORNO. 7, JIM SCHMIDT. 8, CHAD

VETTING. 9, JIM JUNEAU. 10, BRIAN KONITZER. 11, BRAD MUELLER.

12, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 13, KEVIN BALDRY. 14, ZACK KESSLER.

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 2, JIM FISCHER. 3, DONNY KULOW. 4, CHAD

ESPEN. 5, DEREK KAAT. 6, BRUCE TROESCH. 7, JACOB MUEHLBAUER.

HEAT 2

1, TYLER KULOW. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 4, JUSTIN

PEARSON. 5, JOSH HITSMAN. 6, DYLAN MAY. (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, DICK HED. 2, JASON JUECH. 3, STEVEN WEBER. 4, JJ PAGEL. 5,

JEFF LAMMERS. 6, DAKOTA CABUNAC.

A FEATURE

1, JASON JUECH. 2, TYLER KULOW. 3, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 4, STEVEN

WEBER. 5, DONNY KULOW. 6, JJ PAGEL. 7, JEFF LAMMERS. 8, CHAD

ESPEN. 9, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 10, DICK HED. 11, JACOB MUEHLBAUER.

12, DEREK KAAT. 13, DAKOTA CABUNAC. 14, DYLAN MAY. 15, JOSH

HITSMAN. 16, JIM FISCHER. 17, BRUCE TROESCH. 18, JUSTIN

PEARSON. 19, DONNY SINGER.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 2, SPENCER LONG. 3, DONNY SINGER. 4,

CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, BRADY

HARSHBARGER. 7, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 8, MARCUS HOEPPNER.

(DNS).

HEAT 2

1, ANDY SINGER. 2, MICHAEL GILSON. 3, TIM WARNER. 4, PHIL

CAMPANELLA. 5, JUSTIN BAUER. 6, CRAIG GESSNER. 7, TIM LANGE.

HEAT 3

1, TIM SHEPPARD. 2, JAMES RAUTMANN. 3, ANDY WELTER. 4, MARK

HOEPPNER. 5, STEVE LORIER. 6, RORY WELCH. 7, BARRY MAAS.

HEAT 4

1, GARY GLANDER. 2, JESSE CULLEN. 3, ELIJAH KOENIG. 4, SHANE

LONG. 5, BRIAN WIELAND. 6, JOSHUA MAVIS. 7, RICK KRETSCHMANN.

(DNS).

B FEATURE

1, MARK HOEPPNER. 2, STEVE LORIER. 3, PHIL CAMPANELLA. 4,

MARCUS HOEPPNER. 5, RORY WELCH. 6, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 7,

BRIAN WIELAND. 8, TIM LANGE. 9, PATRICK HANSON. 10, JOSHUA

MAVIS. 11, CRAIG GESSNER. 12, BARRY MAAS. (DNS).13, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, JESSE CULLEN. 2, TIM SHEPPARD. 3, GARY GLANDER. 4, ANDY

SINGER. 5, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 6, JUSTIN BAUER. 7, MARK

HOEPPNER. 8, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 9, DONNY SINGER. 10, STEVE

LORIER. 11, JAMES RAUTMANN. 12, TIM WARNER. 13, PHIL

CAMPANELLA. 14, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 15, BRADY HARSHBARGER.

16, ANDY WELTER. 17, MICHAEL GILSON. 18, SHANE LONG. 19,

SPENCER LONG. (DNS).20, ELIJAH KOENIG. (DNS).

May 26, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing storm to clean sweep at Plymouth

Josh Walter of Plymouth registered his fifth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main victory Saturday, May 11 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 15, 2019 – It was one of those rare nights that Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team had never experienced in 13 previous seasons of Sprint Car racing competition and quite possibly may never experience again.

One week after failing to finish the season-opening Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car Racing A main and ending up 14^th in final rundown due to a rear end issue, Walter put together a perfect evening during which he scored a victory in his heat race before claiming the victory in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main Saturday, May 11 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

“I felt good going into this week knowing that our car was a good handling car the week prior,” Walter said. “We just missed out on a good finish on May 4^thdue to an internal issue with the rear end that we had in the car. I am rarely the most confident person in a car, but I always expect myself to finish where I start or better our position. I hate going backwards, although it happens. I just try to make it a rarity.”

Walter had luck on his side right of the bat drawing the pole position for the third PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race in a stout 40-car field. The Plymouth resident held tight to the low groove of the ultra-dry slick racing surface en route to an impressive half-lap victory over runner-up Shane Wenninger to earn a berth in the A main.

“The car was good in the heat race this week and with track conditions the way they were, it sure didn’t hurt to start on the pole,” Walter said. “We still had a great car and I didn’t push it nearly as hard at the end of the race as I did in the beginning. On a track like that, it feels like you are going so slow and it’s easy to overdrive. Smooth is fast and sometimes slow is smooth.”

After the passing points were tallied and the invert was completed, Walter again found himself on the pole position for the 25-lap headliner. Walter outpowered outside front row starter Nich Melis to lead the opening lap and maintained the top spot until Travis Arenz moved in to challenge along the outside groove on lap 4.

Four laps later, Arenz dove underneath Walter to grab the lead in turn one on lap 8. Not to be denied Walter battled back to draw even with Arenz as the two drivers dueled side by side on lap 11. One lap later, Walter moved ahead for good while Arenz brought out a caution on lap 13 when he stopped in turn four with a mechanical issue.

“The A main was nerve wracking,” Walter said. “The race felt like it was again at a crawling pace. Not wanting to over drive and miss my marks, I did the best I could to keep momentum on my side and keep as much steering out of the car as possible. I had some in the reserve tank as far as speed went since I was being somewhat conservative. It sounds foolish not to be aggressive, but when you start on the pole, which is a great place to be, it’s really tough to gauge your speed and if no one shows you a nose it doesn’t pay to make a mistake and lose the race for yourself.

“When Travis Arenz showed me a nose, I knew I was being a little too conservative and had to step up my game,” he said. “I couldn’t just let him have it. I knew I had a great car and wasn’t going to go down without a fight.”

As the track started to take rubber along the inside groove, Walter held strong on the low line while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen moved in to mount a challenge for the lead. As the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 20, McMullen was able to close in on Walter. A slight bobble from Walter in the final corner of the last lap of the race allowed McMullen to pull alongside heading to the checkered flag.

However, Walter was able to hold off McMullen’s advances at the finish line to record his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint and Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory by a half-car length margin.

“In the closing laps, I figured someone would be coming,” Walter said. “I wasn’t going to give up the bottom line even though lap traffic was impeding my speed slightly. I made sure to force the hand of whoever was behind me to have to go around me on the outside if they wanted to win this one. Of course, not being one to lack drama, I messed up the last corner of the race pretty bad and opened the door. Brandon is a great competitor and it was a close race. You can’t make mistakes like that with him behind you and that will stick with me for a long time. I am just glad that it didn’t bite me in the end. However, it was a good warning shot.”

Walter marveled how the evening’s sequence of events fell into place to allow him to pull off his first career clean sweep.

“I’ve never had a clean sweep before or even had a night where I technically didn’t need to pass a single car, Walter said. “It’s rare when anyone gets things to go so well in one night. I started on the pole of the heat and the feature, which in itself is rare. Also, that brings a lot of pressure because you can either win or go backwards.”

This Saturday, May 18 marks one of the most anticipated nights of the PDTR season as the All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car Series is set to take on the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series in an All Star-IRA Challenge event featuring NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, three-time World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series champ Sammy Swindell and a host of other top national and regional drivers. The program will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Advance general admission tickets for the All Start-IRA Challenge event are available through Friday, May 17 by calling 920-893-5751. Adult tickets are $30, student tickets for age 6-12 are $10 and children age 5 and under will be admitted free. Pit passes are $35 or $25 with a PDTR Rewards Card.

Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. for advance general admission ticket holders and 4 p.m. for those purchasing tickets on race day. On-track action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” Walter said. “The track should be ready for what might be close to 90 sprint cars. We have high expectations all season and we look forward to the challenges ahead. It’ll be tough. It’s a great group we have in the MSA/PDTR and there are a lot of cars who can win on any given night.

“The week after a win is always an odd one as a driver,” he said. “You are excited that you got the first win of the season out of the way, yet you dread the following week cause you know you are getting penalized for winning with the rule that you need to start behind the pill draw plus three if you make the invert. With all of that being said, I am very happy that we won on Saturday night. It will be exciting to put on a show for a large crowd. I think people are really in for a treat in all divisions.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Platinum Restoration Services, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions

Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner” properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on every home they drive by or hear about.

Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for the 2019 racing season.

“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit www.sheboyganbyowner.com

“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit www.hometransitions.us

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, May 18 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 25 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth Wis.

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 3

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 2

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 1

Heat Race Victories – 1

May 15, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports tallies another top-10 showing

Paul Pokorski (4) duels with Tim Haddy (21H) during the 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 11. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 14, 2019 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team made the most of the hand they were dealt during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 11.

On an unseasonably cold evening, ultra dry-slick track conditions proved to limit the overall level of competition among the entire 40-car field. However, Pokorski still managed to place second in his heat race and register a sixth-place showing in the 25-lap A-main to secure the team’s second straight top-10 A-main finish at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

After lining up fourth in the first PDTR 360 sprint car heat race, Pokorski used the high groove to power around Bill Taylor and secure third place on lap one. On lap 2, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion worked his way around Chris Flick to take over second.

Pokorski cut Nich Melis’ full straightaway lead to five car lengths by lap 8. However, he ran out of the laps and posted a second-place showing to gain a berth in the A main.

The West Bend driver rolled off from the sixth starting spot in the A main and maintained his position in the early going while dueling with Nich Melis for sixth place. After a lap 13 restart, Pokorski ducked under Melis to move into fifth on lap 14. One lap later, Tim Haddy ventured to the high grove of the rubber-down racing surface to seize fifth and shuffle Pokorski back to sixth in the running order.

Pokorski held is spot over the final 10 laps as the majority of the field ran in single file formation along the rubber-down inside lane on the way to a sixth-place finish behind race winner Josh Walter.

“I was happy with the car all night again,” Pokorski said. “I knew the track would take rubber at some point in the first 10 laps and there is only so much you can do when the track rubbers down.”

After placing third and sixth in the first two A-mains of the 2019 season, Pokorski currently stands at the top of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings with 162 points, six points ahead of Tim Haddy and 10 points in front of 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen.

This Saturday May 18 the Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, PDTR will welcome the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series for a combined points event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series.

Retired NASCAR legend and All Star series owner Tony Stewart will compete, along with three-time World of Outlaws Series champion Sammy Swindell and host of other top national and regional drivers.

Pokorski is looking forward to a memorable night of racing.

“I’m hoping for warm weather and a little more moisture in the track, so it doesn’t rubber down,” Pokorski said. “If that happens, it will be a great night on Saturday. I am hoping the crowd is good. It always adds to the excitement when the grandstand is packed. I’m thinking there should be 80 sprint cars in the pits.”

Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. for advance general admission ticket holders and 4 p.m. for those purchasing tickets on race day. On-track action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, May 18 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 25 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 2

MSA events – 2

IRA events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 0

May 15, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Scheffler, Kulow, Bauer heat up frigid PDTR racing program

Josh Walter of Plymouth recorded a clean sweep in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action with a victory in the third 360 Sprint Car heat race and the 25-lap A main Saturday, May 11 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 11, 2019 – An impressive field of 102 cars in four divisions and a hearty contingent of racing fans braved an unseasonably chilly evening to get their racing fix as three veteran drivers earned return visits to victory lane, while another celebrated the first A-main triumph of his career in Plymouth Track Racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 11.

Josh Walter of Plymouth held off a pair of heated challenges to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main. Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler scored a wire-to-wire victory in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth came out on top in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls held off a late charge from last week’s A-main winner Tim Warner of Fond du Lac to earn his very first 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph.

In the 360 Sprint Car A-main, Walter outpowered outside front row starter Nich Melis of Plymouth to take the lead in turn one of the opening lap from the pole position. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 2, when Waupun’s Tyler Brabant spun in turn four.

On the restart, sixth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan began to make his march to the front of the field as he pulled off a slide job in turn three to move past fourth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started third, and Melis to secure second place in the running order on lap 3.

Arenz then ducked low on lap 7 to pressure Walter for the top spot. On lap 8, Arenz slipped underneath Walter in turn one to take over the top spot. However, Walter did not back down as he held tight to Arenz and dove low in turn three on lap 11 as the two drivers raced side by side before Walter regained the top spot on lap 12.

On lap 13, Arenz dropped from contention as he slowed to a stop in turn four with a magneto failure to bring out the second caution flag of the race. After the restart, the low line prevailed for nearly every competitor searching for traction on the ultra-slick racing surface.

Walter stayed glued to the inside lane until he had to negotiate lapped traffic starting on lap 20, which allowed McMullen to close the gap significantly. On lap 22, McMullen attempted a high move in turn one, but Walter was too strong along the inside lane.

As the leaders continued to weave their way through slower traffic, McMullen continued to pressure Walter over the final five laps. However, Walter was able to hold off McMullen’s last-lap charge to notch his fifth career PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main victory by a half-car length margin over runner-up McMullen.

Defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth moved up from his 11^th starting spot to finish third, Wenninger placed fourth and eighth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun rounded out the top five.

After an aborted initial start for a five-car incident in turn two involved Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee, Tom Naeyeart of Shawano, 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, Dave Jaeger of Slinger and Cedar Grove’s Charlie Schmidt, Taylor Scheffler used his outside front row starting spot to move past defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started on the pole, to lead the opening lap.

By lap 8, Scheffler had built up a half-straightaway lead over Schmidt with third starter Justin Ritchie of New London trailing in third. Scheffler caught the rear of the field on lap 16, which allowed Schmidt to close a bit before the second caution flag of the race flew on lap 18 for an incident involving Adam Jahnke of Bear Creek and four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake in turn two.

On the restart, Schmidt hounded Scheffler along the low groove and mounted a spirited challenge for the top spot on lap 19. However, Scheffler closed the door and successfully fended off Schmidt’s repeated bids for the lead over the final six laps en route to his second career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.

Schmidt had to settle for second, Ritchie placed third, last week’s Late Model A-main winner Paul Parker of Kaukauna, who started sixth, placed fourth and Turk Letizia of Milwaukee moved up from the 11^th starting position to finish fifth.

In the Grand National A main, polesitter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary jumped into the lead on the opening lap while outside front row starter Dave Holm of Quinney dueled with Plymouth’s Steven Weber, who started third, for second place on lap 2.

The lone caution of the race appeared on lap three for a seven-car mishap in turn two, which was triggered by Holm’s spin at the front of the field. On the restart, Tyler Kulow, who started fifth, used the high groove to challenge Pagel for the top spot.

On lap 4, Kulow powered around Pagel to assume the lead in turn two. Pagel then battled back to close to within inches of Kulow’s rear bumper on lap 14. By lap 19, the leaders found themselves in lapped traffic, which gave Pagel another opportunity to pressure Kulow for the lead. However, Kulow held off each of Pagel’s challenges to post his fifth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a quarter-straightaway margin.

Pagel finished second, Weber wound up third, sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg placed fourth and Elkhart Lake’s Donny Kulow, who started fourth, rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Bauer grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the B Mod A main with outside front row starter Steve Lorier of Sheboygan following in second. Lorier moved in to challenge Bauer along the outside line on lap 4 and stayed within striking distance over the next 11 circuits before the first of five caution flags appeared on lap 15 for a one-car spin in turn three.

On the restart, fourth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls dove low to challenge Lorier for second as Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who starter seventh, moved in to join the battle for second on lap 17.

Two laps later, Lorier again initiated a spirit attempt to wrestle the lead away from Bauer just before another caution flag appeared on lap 20, which tipped off a string of incidents over the final five laps.

On the restart, Lorier and Long collided in turn two, which sent Long spinning. Under caution, Lorier claimed responsibility for the incident by tapping on his roof. As a result, Long kept his second-place position in the running order, while Lorier went to the rear of the field on the ensuing restart.

Warner flexed his muscle in the closing laps moving past Long to challenge Bauer for the lead along the high groove on lap 21. However, two more caution flags slowed the pace once again.

On the final restart, Bauer held strong to turn back Warner’s tenacious bid for the lead on the way to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Warner had to settle for second, ninth starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo took third, Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum, who started sixth, placed fourth and Mark Hoeppner of Hartford took fifth after starting 11^th.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Bill Taylor of Kewaskum captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program, which honored Police, Fire and EMS personnel and was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, featured a large field of 40 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 28 B Mods, 18 Grand Nationals and 16 Late Models.

This Saturday, May 18 PDTR will welcome the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series for a combined points event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series.

Retired NASCAR legend and All Star series owner Tony Stewart will compete, along with three-time World of Outlaws Series champion Sammy Swindell and current NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor, 2017 NASCAR Truck Series champion and three-time defending Chili Bowl Midget Car race winner Christopher Bell, in addition to a host of other top-flight national and regional Sprint Car drivers.

Advance general admission tickets are available by calling 920-893-5751. Adult tickets are $30, student tickets for age 6-12 are $10 and children age 5 and under will be admitted free. Pit passes are $35 or $25 with a PDTR Rewards Card. Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. for advance general admission ticket holders and 4 p.m. for those purchasing tickets on race day.

The program, which is sponsored by JDL Automotive, will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. On-track action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: May 11, 2019

HEAT 1

1, NICH MELIS. 2, PAUL POKORSKI. 3, CHRIS FLICK. 4, BILL TAYLOR. 5, DOUG WONDRA. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, SEAN RAYHALL. 8, SCOTT

CONGER. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, TIM HADDY. 2, DANNY SCHLAFER. 3, SCOTTY NEITZEL. 4,

KEVIN KARNITZ. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 7, MIKE

DECKER. 8, WAYNE MODJESKI.

HEAT 3

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, KURT DAVIS. 4, JUSTIN

MILLER. 5, SCOTTY THIEL. 6, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 7, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 8, BLAKE WONDRA.

HEAT 4

1, TONY WONDRA. 2, TYLER BRABANT. 3, WILL GERRITS. 4, JIM MELIS

. 5, CHRIS LARSON. 6, AL SCHLAFER. 7, JUSTIN

ERICKSON. 8, PRESTON RUH. (DNS).

HEAT 5

1, TRAVIS ARENZ. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, ADAM MILLER. 4, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 5, CHRIS CLAYTON. 6, BRYCE SCHMITT. 7, TYLER

DAVIS. 8, TYLER TISCHENDORF.

B FEATURE

1, LANCE FASSBENDER. 2, KEVIN KARNITZ. 3, DOUG WONDRA. 4, CHRIS

CLAYTON. 5, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 6, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 7, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 8, TYLER TISCHENDORF. 9, MIKE DECKER. 10, CHRIS

LARSON. 11, SEAN RAYHALL. 12, SCOTT CONGER.

B FEATURE

1, BILL TAYLOR. 2, SCOTTY THIEL. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, CHRIS FLICK. 5,

JOSH TEUNISSEN. 6, BRANDON BERTH. 7, WAYNE MODJESKI. 8,

TYLER DAVIS. 9, BRYCE SCHMITT. 10, BLAKE WONDRA. 11, ROBBIE

PRIBNOW. 12, PRESTON RUH. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, JUSTIN MILLER. 4,

SHANE WENNINGER. 5, TIM HADDY. 6, PAUL POKORSKI. 7, WILL

GERRITS. 8, SCOTTY NEITZEL. 9, KURT DAVIS. 10, JIM MELIS.

11, NICH MELIS. 12, ADAM MILLER. 13, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 14, TONY WONDRA. 15, SCOTTY THIEL. 16, TYLER

BRABANT. 17, BILL TAYLOR. 18, DOUG WONDRA. 19, DANNY

SCHLAFER. 20, AL SCHLAFER. 21, TRAVIS ARENZ. 22, KEVIN KARNITZ.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, BRAD MUELLER. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 4, JOE

BONGIORNO. 5, ADAM JANKE. 6, DAVE JAEGER. 7, BRIAN KONITZER. 8,

CHARLIE SCHMIDT. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, PAUL PARKER. 2, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, TOM

NAEYAERT. 5, KEVIN BALDRY. 6, TURK LETIZIA. 7, ERIC MICHAELS. 8,

KYLE RADDANT. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 4,

PAUL PARKER. 5, TURK LETIZIA. 6, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 7, DAVE

JAEGER. 8, KEVIN BALDRY. 9, BRIAN KONITZER. 10, BRAD MUELLER.

11, ADAM JANKE. 12, ERIC MICHAELS. 13, TIM BUHLER. 14, JOE

BONGIORNO. 15, TOM NAEYAERT. 16, KYLE RADDANT. (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 2, DONNY KULOW. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, DEREK

KAAT. 5, BRAD WEISS. 6, CHAD ESPEN.

HEAT 2

1, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 2, STEVEN WEBER. 3, JJ PAGEL. 4, JIM FISCHER.

5, DONNY SINGER. 6, TRAVIS MOEHRING.

HEAT 3

1, DICK HED. 2, DAVE HOLM. 3, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 4, JASON JUECH.

5, DYLAN MAY. 6, JOSH HITSMAN.

A FEATURE

1, TYLER KULOW. 2, JJ PAGEL. 3, STEVEN WEBER. 4, LUKE

SCHOLTEN. 5, DONNY KULOW. 6, DICK HED. 7, JASON JUECH. 8, JEFF

MUEHLBAUER. 9, DEREK KAAT. 10, DONNY SINGER. 11, BRAD WEISS.

12, CHAD ESPEN. 13, JIM FISCHER. 14, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 15, JOSH

HITSMAN. 16, DYLAN MAY. 17, DAVE HOLM. 18, TRAVIS MOEHRING.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, SHANE LONG. 2, JUSTIN BAUER. 3, BARRY MAAS. 4, TRAVIS

SCHMIDT. 5, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, AARON

BUTTERBRODT. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, RICK KRETSCHMANN. 2, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 3, BRIAN WIELAND.

4, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. 5, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 6, PATRICK

HANSON. 7, JEFF STEENBERGEN. (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, TIM WARNER. 2, MARK HOEPPNER. 3, TIM LANGE. 4, DONNY

SINGER. 5, RORY WELCH. 6, JOSHUA MAVIS. 7, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI.

HEAT 4

1, JAMES RAUTMANN. 2, GARY GLANDER. 3, STEVE LORIER. 4, CRAIG

GESSNER. 5, MICHAEL GILSON. 6, ANDY SINGER. 7, BRADY

HARSHBARGER.

B FEATURE

1, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 2, SPENCER LONG. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4,

AARON BUTTERBRODT. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, CHRISTOPHER

GILSON. 7, RORY WELCH. 8, BRADY HARSHBARGER. 9, ANDY SINGER.

10, JOSHUA MAVIS. 11, MICHAEL GILSON. 12, JEFF STEENBERGEN.

A FEATURE

1, JUSTIN BAUER. 2, TIM WARNER. 3, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 4, BRANDON

KNEPPRATH. 5, MARK HOEPPNER. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, AARON

BUTTERBRODT. 8, GARY GLANDER. 9, BRIAN WIELAND. 10, STEVE

LORIER. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, CRAIG GESSNER. 13, MARCUS

HOEPPNER. 14, TIM LANGE. 15, BARRY MAAS. 16, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. 17, SHANE LONG. 18, JAMES RAUTMANN. 19, NATHAN

JAKUBOWSKI. 20, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI.

May 12, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing endure challenges in PDTR opener

Josh Walter of Plymouth opened the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 8, 2019 – With anticipation and emotions running high, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team opened the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car season at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4.

The season-opening program, which drew a huge field of 39 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, produced a mixed bag of results for Walter and his Torque Racing comrades, including a pair of spins in heat race competition, an impressive B-main victory and a strong run in the first half of the A main yielding to an early ending to the evening.

After a poor pill draw put Walter in the sixth starting spot in the fifth PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race, Walter passed Paul Pokorski and Josh Teunissen to move into fourth place on the first lap of the 10-lap race.

After a caution on lap 2, Walter restarted fourth. However, he spun his machine in turn four shortly after the restart and was forced to restart at the rear of the field. One lap later, Walter was involved in another incident in turn two to bring out the third caution of the race. On the restart, Walter passed Preston Ruh and Josh Teunissen to advance to fifth place, which is where he ended up at the conclusion of the event.

“The heat race started our night off rocky with another stellar pill draw and my head wasn’t quite in the game,” Walter said. “I was overdriving with frustration and let my emotions get the best of me. Had a run in with Brandon McMullen at one point and immediately went to apologize after the race. Racing is a mental game and I wasn’t in the right state of mind early in the night. That’s 100 percent on me.”

Walter lined up second in the 12-lap B Main and worked the low groove to perfection to slip past Al Schlafer on lap 10 on the way to the victory and a berth in the 25-lap A main.

“By the time the B main rolled out, I was able to curb the emotions and gain the composure I needed to drive for the win,” Walter said. “My crew did a stellar job and I couldn’t be happier with the support of them and my fans. I owe it to them to be the best racer and person in and out of the car.”

Walter started the 25-lap A main from the 16^th position and quickly worked his way through the field on the wide, smooth and slick track surface. A five-car incident in turn two on lap 2 forced all five cars to retire from the race, which helped Walter advance several spots toward the front of the field.

On lap 4, Walter used the high groove to power into seventh place. One lap later, Walter slipped past Tim Haddy to take over sixth. However, sensing something was not right with his machine, Walter pulled into the infield just after the halfway point of the race, which relegated him to a 14^th-place finish.

“For the A main, we were scheduled to start 18^th, but got moved up to 16^th when a rookie was mandated to the tail of the A,” Walter said. “I had 100 percent confidence in the car and felt pretty good coming off the win in the B. We made our way through the field and had some help with others piling up in turn 2, which thankfully we were able to avoid.

“We were running well, but late in the race the car just didn’t feel like it was running correctly and with safety in mind, I decided to pull into the infield,” he said. “It wasn’t worth doing more damage to the car if I didn’t need to. We’re assessing the issues and getting things situated. We feel pretty confident after an opening night win and being able to drive up through the field.”

With the opening night jitters now hopefully behind them, Walter and his Torque Racing squad will head back to The Plymouth Dirt Track for more PDTR 360 Sprint Car racing action this Saturday, May 11. The program, which will honor all police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission for all credentialed fans, is set to begin one-hour earlier with spectator gates opening at 3:30 p.m. and racing to start at 5 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to the next race and hopefully be able to outperform last week’s results,” Walter said. “Now that we’re so far back in points, they’re no longer a concern at this point so early in the season. Now it’s time to just concentrate on wins, which should make an exciting event each week for our fans to watch.”