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.

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.

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.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).