Scholten, Kemkes score A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Both Junghans and Weiss were pleased with their podium finishes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Sheboygan County Fairgrounds

Plymouth, Wis.

July 29, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

Date of Race: July 29, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

A MAIN

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

Arenz bags first PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Plymouth, Wis.

July 25, 2019

Qualifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 25, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

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

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 13, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

B MAIN

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

A MAIN

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thiel, Cullen, Pierce claim PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

Date of Race: June 28, 2019

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN

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

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

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

A MAIN

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

HEAT 5

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

A MAIN

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

 

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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, 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.

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 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).

 

 

 

 

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.

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 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.

 

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 4, 2019 – The excitement of a brand new season brought dirt track racing competitors, crews, fans and supporters out in full force to usher in the 15^th season of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing (PDTR) sanctioned competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4.

With a strong contingent of 95 cars in PDTR’s four regular divisions packing the pit area, a pair of veteran drivers claimed their first career A-main victories as Paul Parker of Kaukauna scored a wire-to-wire triumph in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main and Chad Espen of West Bend survived an incident-filled 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main to notch his first career PDTR main event victory.

In other action, West Bend’s Kevin Karnitz mounted a late charge to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main and Tim Warner of Malone pulled off the winning move with two laps to go to claim the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade led the Sprint Car A-main to the green flag from the pole position with Paul Pokorski of West Bend lining up on the outside of the front row. Pokorski got the jump on the start to power into the lead along the high groove of the smooth, wide and slick track surface.

As Pokorski rocketed away from 2005 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started third, the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 2 when Nich Melis of Plymouth spun his machine in turn four.

On the restart, Schlafer got sideways and spun in turn two, triggering a five-car melee involving 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, Al Schlafer of Sussex and Adam Miller of Plymouth. All five drivers emerged uninjured, but none of them were able to return to the race.

Pokorski grabbed the lead on the restart while sixth starter Kevin Karnitz used the high grove to move around fourth starter Robbie Pribnow of Lomira to secure second on lap 3.

By lap 7, Pokorski had built up a full-straightaway lead over Karnitz. Three laps later, 14^th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan moved in to take third from Pribnow. Meanwhile, Karnitz was quickly reeling in the high-riding Pokorski along the low groove.

On lap 16, Karnitz ducked underneath Pokorski to seize the top spot exiting turn four, while Arenz followed Karnitz into second place one lap later. Arenz appeared poised to challenge Karnitz as he drew within striking distance along the cushion on lap 19.

However, Karnitz was too strong as he pulled away over the final five laps to notch his third career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and fifth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association triumph of his career. Arenz had to settle for second, Pokorski held on to finish third, fifth starter Tyler Brabant of Waupun placed fourth and Pribnow wound up fifth.

Polesitter Paul Parker outdueled defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main.

The lone caution of the event appeared on lap 2 when 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush stopped on the frontstretch with a flat tire. Parker was strong again on the restart as he pulled away from Schmidt along the extreme inside lane to gain a quarter-straightaway cushion by lap 15.

Parker encountered lapped traffic on lap 18, which allowed Schmidt to close the gap and mount a late challenge for the lead. Schmidt took a peek under Parker in turn one on lap 22, but Parker shut the door and maintained a solid edge over the final three laps to post his first career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph.

Schmidt was second, fourth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee placed third, Justin Ritchie of New London finished fourth after starting sixth and eight starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove placed fifth.

Donny Singer of Waldo led the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole. On lap three, third starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake slipped under Singer to gain the top spot in turn three before the first of five cautions slowed the field.

On the restart, Chad Espen, who started fifth, began to make his presence felt as he moved into to challenge Muehlbauer along the long groove before the second caution was displayed for debris on the backstretch.

After the restart, further starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth used the high line to pressure to make it a three-car battle for the lead. As Kulow worked the outside groove, both Espen and Muehlbauer held tight to the low line as the three raced in close quarters for seven consecutive laps before a pair of cautions appeared on lap 15 and lap 16 for single-car spins.

On the restart, Kulow ducked low, Espen swung out high and Muehlbauer held the middle lane as they raced three-wide through turn four on lap 17. On lap later, Espen seized the lead along the high groove in turn two.

Following another caution for a single-car spin on lap 21, Kulow worked the high line to mount one last shot at the victory. Kulow and Espen dueled side by side on lap 23, but Espen successfully fended off the challenge while sixth starter J.J. Pagel of Campbellsport snuck in to steal second from the high-riding Kulow on the final lap.

Espen held on to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, Pagel placed second, Kulow finished third, Muehlbauer wound up fourth and second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake placed fifth.

Steve Lorier of Sheboygan grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main from his outside front row starting position before the first of two caution flags flew for a three-car incident in turn two.

On the restart, Lorier again seized the top spot as Jesse Jakubowski of Sheboygan Falls, who started on the pole, settled into second. By lap 8, Lorier had built up a half-straightaway lead over Jakubowski, while Tim Warner, who started eighth, was making a charge to the front of the pack.

On lap 12, Warner worked the high groove to power his way into third as Lorier caught the rear of the field on lap 15, which allowed Jakubowski and Warner to cut the gap.

As Jakubowski and Warner moved into striking range, the second caution appeared on lap 22 when Travis Schmidt of Waldo spun in turn two. On the restart, Warner again charged hard along the outside line to capture the lead in turn two on lap 23. Warner then pulled away to secure his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Lorier had to settle for second, Jakubowski placed third, Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford finished fourth after starting fourth and third starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls was fifth.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Josh Walter of Plymouth captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program, which was sponsored by Collins State Bank, featured a huge field of 39 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 25 B Mods, 17 Grand Nationals and 14 Late Models.

PDTR racing action will continue next Saturday, May 11 with an earlier starting time. Grandstands gates will open at 3:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. The evening will honor all police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission with proper credentials.

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 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

1, MICHAEL YURMANOVICH. 2, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 3, ADAM MILLER. 4,

WILL GERRITS. 5, JUSTIN MILLER. 6, DOUG WONDRA. 7, BILL TAYLOR.

8, TYLER TISCHENDORF.

HEAT 2

1, DANNY SCHLAFER. 2, KEVIN KARNITZ. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, TIM

HADDY. 5, SHANE WENNINGER. 6, BRANDON BERTH. 7, SPYDER

AKRIGHT. 8, BRYCE SCHMITT.

HEAT 3

1, KURT DAVIS. 2, NICH MELIS. 3, SCOTT CONGER. 4, CHRIS CLAYTON.

5, CHRIS FLICK. 6, SEAN RAYHALL. 7, BLAKE WONDRA. 8, MIKE

DECKER. (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, TYLER BRABANT. 2, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 3, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 4,

LANCE FASSBENDER. 5, TONY WONDRA. 6, JACK VANDERBOOM. 7,

TYLER DAVIS. 8, TYLER NELSON.

HEAT 5

1, JIM MELIS. 2, PAUL POKORSKI. 3, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 4,

TRAVIS ARENZ. 5, JOSH WALTER. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, PRESTON

RUH. (DNS).

B FEATURE

1, JUSTIN MILLER. 2, LANCE FASSBENDER. 3, WILL GERRITS. 4, JOSH

TEUNISSEN. 5, JACK VANDERBOOM. 6, TYLER DAVIS. 7, BRYCE

SCHMITT. 8, BLAKE WONDRA. 9, SCOTT CONGER. 10, BRANDON

BERTH. 11, DOUG WONDRA. 12, PRESTON RUH.

B FEATURE

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, TONY

WONDRA. 5, BILL TAYLOR. 6, SPYDER AKRIGHT. 7, MIKE DECKER. 8,

CHRIS FLICK. 9, TYLER NELSON. 10, TYLER TISCHENDORF. 11, SEAN

RAYHALL.

A FEATURE

1, KEVIN KARNITZ. 2, TRAVIS ARENZ. 3, PAUL POKORSKI. 4, TYLER

BRABANT. 5, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 6, TIM HADDY. 7, JUSTIN MILLER. 8,

WILL GERRITS. 9, CHRIS CLAYTON. 10, LANCE FASSBENDER. 11,

BRANDON MCMULLEN. 12, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 13, MICHAEL

YURMANOVICH. 14, JOSH WALTER. 15, JIM MELIS. 16, JUSTIN

ERICKSON. 17, DANNY SCHLAFER. 18, KURT DAVIS. 19, ADAM MILLER.

20, SHANE WENNINGER. 21, AL SCHLAFER. 22, NICH MELIS.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, TURK

LETIZIA. 5, BRIAN KONITZER. 6, ZACK KESSLER. (DNS).7, RICK

SCHEFFLER. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 2, JOE BONGIORNO. 3, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 4,

PAUL PARKER. 5, KEVIN BALDRY. 6, BRAD MUELLER. 7, RON STROIKA.

A FEATURE

1, PAUL PARKER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, TURK LETIZIA. 4, JUSTIN

RITCHIE. 5, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 6, KEVIN BALDRY. 7, TAYLOR

SCHEFFLER. 8, RON STROIKA. 9, TIM BUHLER. 10, BRIAN KONITZER.

11, BRAD MUELLER. 12, JOE BONGIORNO. 13, ZACK KESSLER.

(DNS).14, RICK SCHEFFLER. (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, CHAD ESPEN. 2, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, JOSH

PIERCE. 5, JIM FISCHER. 6, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 7, DEREK KAAT. 8, DYLAN

MAY. 9, JOSH HITSMAN.

HEAT 2

1, JJ PAGEL. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, DONNY KULOW. 4, BRAD WEISS. 5,

DICK HED. 6, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 7, MARK FIEBER. 8, STEVEN

WEBER. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, CHAD ESPEN. 2, JJ PAGEL. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, JEFF MUEHLBAUER.

5, DONNY KULOW. 6, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 7, DICK HED. 8, STEVEN WEBER.

9, BRAD WEISS. 10, MARK FIEBER. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, JACOB

MUEHLBAUER. 13, JOSH PIERCE. 14, JOSH HITSMAN. 15, DYLAN MAY.

16, DEREK KAAT. 17, JIM FISCHER. (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, SHANE LONG. 2, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 3, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 4,

GARY GLANDER. 5, TIM LANGE. 6, CRAIG GESSNER. 7, ANDY SINGER.

8, BRIAN WIELAND. 9, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, MARK HOEPPNER. 2, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 3, STEVE LORIER. 4,

RICK KRETSCHMANN. 5, DONNY SINGER. 6, JAMES RAUTMANN. 7,

CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 8, JOSHUA MAVIS.

HEAT 3

1, TIM WARNER. 2, JUSTIN BAUER. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4, RORY

WELCH. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, MICHAEL GILSON.

(DNS).8, PHIL CAMPANELLA. (DNS).

B FEATURE

1, BRIAN WIELAND. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, SPENCER LONG. 4, ANDY

SINGER. 5, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. 6, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 7,

JOSHUA MAVIS. 8, MICHAEL GILSON. (DNS).9, PHIL CAMPANELLA.

A FEATURE

1, TIM WARNER. 2, STEVE LORIER. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4, MARCUS

HOEPPNER. 5, JUSTIN BAUER. 6, JAMES RAUTMANN. 7, GARY

GLANDER. 8, MARK HOEPPNER. 9, SHANE LONG. 10, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, ANDY SINGER. 13, BRANDON

KNEPPRATH. 14, CRAIG GESSNER. 15, BRIAN WIELAND. 16, TRAVIS

SCHMIDT. 17, RORY WELCH. 18, TIM LANGE. 19, SPENCER LONG. 20,

PATRICK HANSON.

Balog tops Stewart again, Blackhurst earns first IRA crown

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 29, 2018 – Night two of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships brought the 2018 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season to a close in thrilling fashion before an enthusiastic crowd on a cold fall evening at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Four of Wisconsin’s premier Sprint Car racing series gathered to conclude the 2018 season with champions determined following tight points battles over the better part of the past six months.

Justin Miller of Plymouth nipped 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee by two points to secure his first career PDTR Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car title. Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. collected his initial Interstate Racing Association (IRA) 410 Sprint Car Series championship by a seven-point margin over Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel. Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. picked up his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series champion and Ion Stear of Hebron, Ill. earned the 2018 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint Series title.

Danny Schlafer of Sussex moved to the top of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car all-time victory list by notching his 22^nd career A-main triumph in the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main. For the second time in a month, Bill Balog of Hartland pulled off a last-lap pass of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. to claim the season-ending 30-lap IRA A main contested in memory of Frank Filskov, Roy Fenske, Rick Schmidt, Dick Symoens and Dick Witt. Ryan Zielske of Oconomowoc pulled off a final-lap pass to claim the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main and Mark Heinert of Oak Creek was determined the winner of the rain-shortened 10-lap Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint A main.

Outside front row starter Doug Wondra of Lomira jumped out to the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. With Wondra leading polesitter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum and fourth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun in the early going, the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 4 when Josh Walter of Plymouth spun in turn two.

On the restart, the low-riding Wenninger and the cushion-pounding Haddy moved in to pressure on lap 7. One lap later, Haddy powered around Wenninger and Wondra entering turn one to claim the top spot.

On lap 9, Haddy jumped the cushion and clipped the turn four wall to allow Wondra to regain the top spot just before the second caution came out for Kurt Davis, who entered the program with a 15-point lead over Justin Miller in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings, following heavy contact with the wall between turns three and four after a mechanical failure on his machine.

The accident ended Davis’ night and relegated him to a 22^nd-place finish.

After Haddy pitted following contact with the turn four wall while leading, Wondra held the top spot on the restart with Wenninger and 10^th starter Adam Miller of Plymouth in tow.

On lap 9, Adam Miller powered past Wenninger into second place before moving past Wondra to grab the lead in turn two on lap 10. Meanwhile, seventh starter Danny Schlafer was making his move as he pulled off a perfect slide job to take second on lap 11.

Three laps later, Schlafer slid past Adam Miller take the lead on lap 14. Schlafer then worked the high groove to perfection to maintain a solid lead, while Will Gerrits of Waupun, who was making his first appearance since suffering a broken arm in an accident at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam in early July, assumed second on lap 22.

Schlafer weaved his way through lapped traffic in the closing laps to secure his record 22^nd PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 51^st Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) A-main triumph.

Gerrits registered his best career 360 Sprint Car finish with a second-place showing, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started third, placed third, Adam Miller ended up fourth and Wenninger rounded out the top five.

After starting 12^th, Justin Miller posted an eighth-place finish to secure his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car championship by two points over Kurt Davis, who topped Miller to secure his third career MSA title.

In the 30-lap IRA A main, Mike Reinke of Howards Grove grabbed the early lead from his outside front row starting spot before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 1 for a spin involving Russel Borland of Kewaskum and Scott Biertzer of West Bend.

On the restart Reinke led again, but fourth starter Tony Stewart was on the move as he split Reinke and polesitter Scotty Thiel with a slide job to take the lead on lap 2 in turn four.

With Stewart running strong on the cushion, eight-time IRA champ Bill Balog, who started third, worked the low groove to challenge Reinke for second on lap 4. However, Reinke held strong and closed the gap on Stewart when the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 5.

On lap 9, Reinke was within striking distance when a caution flew for the slowing machine of Todd King of Sheboygan Falls.

On the restart, Balog executed a slide job to seize second from Reinke in turn four on lap 10. With Stewart holding a half-straightaway lead on 13, Balog turned it on to close the gap quickly over the next 12 laps in heavy lapped traffic to move into position to challenge Stewart.

Balog ducked low to pressure Stewart on a pair of occasions on lap 25 and 28, but he was unable to wrestle the lead away from Stewart. On the final lap, Stewart moved to the middle of the track in turn three, which opened the door for Balog to slip underneath and steal the lead away in turn four.

Balog outpowered Stewart to the finish line to earn his fourth IRA A-main victory of the 2018 season worth a hefty $6,000 by a half-car-length margin.

Stewart had to settle for second for the third consecutive time in IRA A-main action at The Plymouth Dirt Track this year. Reinke placed third, Thiel wound up fourth and Jake Blackhurst secured his first career IRA title by a seven-point margin over Thiel with a fifth-place finish after starting sixth.

One night after making his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track of his stellar 46-year career, three-time World of Outlaws champion and Sprint Car veteran Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn. advanced from the 12^th starting spot to finish sixth behind the wheel of the Sheboygan-based Thone Motorsports No. 1 machine.

“Tony was real good early and then I noticed he started to try some different lines and we just kept after it,” Balog said in victory lane. “I just tried to keep him in my sights and it turned out well at the end. It is always a lot of fun racing with Tony. He is just an awesome racer and I think we all appreciate when he comes out and races with us.”

Stewart credited Balog for capitalizing on his mistake on the final lap.

“I just gave it away on the last lap,” Stewart said. “I knew Bill was coming and I was trying to block a slide job on the last lap and I ended up sliding up to the middle, which was enough for him to get by. Bill is an awesome driver. He is the type of driver who you can race wheel to wheel with for the entire race and never touch. That is what makes racing fun.”

Reinke was pleased with his podium performance.

“We stayed with them pretty well for most of the race and to finish third to those guys, I can’t complain,” Reinke said. “They were both better than us tonight, but all in all it was a pretty decent night for us.”

Scotty Thiel was named the winner of the 2018 Hopf Farms Bullring Showdown and Tony Stewart captured the Rocky Rococo Pizza Challenge.

Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. grabbed the lead of the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main from his outside front row starting spot with polesitter Ryan Zielski following in second.

On lap 5, seventh starter Jordan Mattson of Milwaukee ventured up to the high groove to seize fourth. Three laps later Mattson moved in to pressure third starter Chris Dodd of Trevor for third.

As Petska, Zielski, Dodd and Mattson dueled in close quarters at the front of the field, heavy rain began to fall on the racing surface, which forced the race to be stopped on lap 15 with five laps remaining.

After a delay, the race resumed with Petska had to contend with Zielski, who applied heavy pressure beginning on lap 16. On the final lap, Zielski moved high in turn three to power around Petska with Mattson and Dodd in tow.

With the top four competitors spread out four wide in a mad scramble to the finish line Zielski secured his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Mattson placed second, Dodd was third, Petska finished fourth and fourth starter Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Il. wound up fifth.

Tim Cox placed sixth to wrap up his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car championship.

Mark Heinert of Oak Creek grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the scheduled 20-lap Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint A main as fourth starter Mike Neau of Kenosha moved into second on lap 2.

On lap 4, C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill., who started fifth, assumed second as Heinert had built up a full-straightaway lead.

Heavy rain returned and forced the race to be halted on lap 10 with Heinert declared the winner.

Malueg placed second, Neau was third, Tim Brannam wound up fourth and Ron Brannam rounded out the top five.

Ion Stear secured the 2018 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint Series championship.

Round two of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships event drew 98 Sprint Cars in four divisions, including 27 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 27 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 29 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and 15 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprints.

The 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will again feature weekly racing on most Saturday nights, including several special events. The 2019 PDTR season will begin on Saturday, April 27. Visit www.plymouthdtr.com for off-season information.

Cox nets Wingless Sprint Car triumph with last-lap pass

 By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 28, 2018 – On a night when two all-time Sprint Car racing legends mounted spirited bids for victory, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan held off both veteran drivers to stand tall at the end of the 30-lap Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on night one of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships Friday, Sept. 28, at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Thiel, who came into the night trailing IRA point leader Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. by just 36 points in the chase for the 2018 IRA title on the final weekend of points competition, lined up on the front row of the A-main event beside polesitter Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls.

On the drop of the green flag, Thiel shot high to power his way into the lead while Meyer tucked into second along the low groove. In the early going, Meyer patiently worked the low line to close the gap on the high-riding Thiel. On lap 5, Meyer ducked under Thiel to seize the top spot in turn one on lap 6.

However, Thiel battled back to slide underneath Meyer to regain the top spot in turn three before Meyer lost control and spun entering turn four to bring out the first caution of the race on lap 6.

When the race resumed, Thiel held strong to the high line while three-time World of Outlaws Series champion and 46-year Sprint Car veteran Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn., who started fourth, worked the low groove into second. As the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 9, Swindell, who was making his first-ever appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track behind the wheel of the Sheboygan-based Thone Motorsports No. 1 machine, quickly began to close the gap on Thiel.

Swindell pounced on lap 13 with a low move in turn two to gain the top spot. Three laps later, Swindell found himself mired in heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Thiel to recapture the lead in turn four on lap 16.

On the next lap, Swindell moved up to the outside lane to challenge for the top spot before tagging the frontstretch wall attempting to maneuver around Thiel. The contact with the wall produced a flat right rear tire on Swindell’s car, which forced him to slow on the track to bring out the second caution flag of the event.

After going to the work area, Swindell’s crew discovered additional damage to the right rear of the car, which kept him from returning to action and relegated the Sprint Car Hall of Famer to a 23^rd-place finish.

On the restart, three-time NASCAR Cup champion and veteran Sprint Car stalwart Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind., who started 10^th, made his presence known as he worked the high groove to seize third from sixth starter Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh on lap 19 before diving low to pass third starter Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam for second on lap 22.

Stewart, who finished second to eighth-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland by .004 of second in his most recent appearance at The Plymouth Track on Sept. 1, was closing the gap quickly on Thiel along the cushion when Dave Uttech of Kenosha hit the wall existing turn two and flipped along the backstretch just in front of the leaders to bring out a red flag on lap 27.

On the restart, Thiel stuck to the low groove to block Stewart’s ability to pull off a slide job entering turn one. From there, Thiel stayed planted to the low line, while Stewart pounded the cushion, en route to his fourth A-main victory of the 2018 IRA season.

Stewart had to settle for second for the second straight race at Plymouth, Schultz placed third, McMullen wound up fourth and Mike Reinke of Howards Grove started and finished fifth.

Thiel’s victory coupled with Blackhurst’s seventh-place showing, allowed the Sheboygan driver to pull within 15-points of the IRA points lead heading into the final night of the IRA season on Saturday, Sept. 29, at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“It feels great to win this race on the final weekend of the IRA season,” Thiel said in victory lane. “Knowing where we stand going into these last two nights here this weekend, the bottom line is we just need to win races. We were trying to knock down the wall at the start of the race and it worked okay for a while. Then we got to racing with Sammy and the track just seemed to be too wide for us to run up there consistently and keep up a good pace.

“On the last restart, I got a good run on the bottom and managed to hold Tony off,” he said. “I saw the No. 14 gradually moving up the scoreboard and I knew he was probably working the bottom quite a bit like he did last Sunday at LaSalle. We weren’t necessarily set up to run the bottom, but we made it work at the end. I’m so happy for my crew. They always give 110 percent to make the car the best it can be for every race. Now we have one night left tomorrow night back here at Plymouth and we have to go out and try to win that one too.”

After finishing second for the second time in IRA competition at Plymouth in less than a month, Stewart was upbeat and complimentary of his fellow competitors.

“I can’t complain about coming up from 10^th to finish second with these guys,” Stewart said. “All these guys that have a lot of laps here, like Scotty [Thiel] and Bill [Balog], are tough to beat at this track and they just seem to get tougher every year. Tonight, I’m sure Sammy [Swindell] would have also been in the mix for the win too if he hadn’t of had that flat tire. Sometimes people don’t give local guys enough credit, but its tough for someone like me to come here on occasion and run with them for wins. I’m almost at a disadvantage because they have run so many laps here and they know the track so well.”

Schultz, who has fallen short of gaining an IRA A-main victory in 2018, was dejected that he was not able to get his car to victory lane.

“I’m proud of my guys and everything they do to put me in a position to win races, but it just hasn’t happened this year,” Schultz said. “I feel really bad about that. It is weird to say finishing third is one of the highlights of our season, but it has been that kind of year.”

In the 25-lap Wisconsin Wingless A-main Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. grabbed the lead on the opening lap from the pole. On lap 2, fifth starter Matt Vandevere of Zion, Ill. moved past outside front row starter Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. to seize second.

By lap 8, Vandevere had closed to Hafford’s rear bumper and began to pressure for the lead. Meanwhile, current Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series point leader Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. worked his way into third, on lap 11, after starting sixth.

On lap 15, Vandevere ventured up to the high groove in an attempt to challenge Hafford for the top spot, which left the door open for Cox to assume second on lap 16.

Cox closed to within inches of Hafford’s rear bumper on lap 23 and on the final circuit, Cox used a huge run on the backstretch to power under Hafford entering turn three. Cox then held on through turn four and back to the checkered flag to post his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A-main triumph of the 2018 campaign in the caution-free race.

Hafford finished second, Petska was third, ninth starter Craig Campton of Pardeeville placed fourth and Chris Dodd of Trevor wound up fifth after starting fourth.

Todd King of Sheboygan Falls won the IRA B main and Jack Blackhurst was earn the IRA fast qualifier award with a last of 11.803.

Rod Colburn of New Berlin captured the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car B main and Chris Dodd of Trevor was the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car fast qualifier with a lap of 14.358.

The event drew 29 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 33 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars.

IRA Interstate Racing Association, Plymouth Dirt Track, Sept. 28, 2018
A Feature 1 30 laps
1. 64-Scotty Thiel, [2]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, [10]; 3. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, [3]; 4. 10W-Brandon McMullen, [6]; 5. 02-Mike Reinke, [5]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog, [9]; 7. 25-Jake Blackhurst, [7]; 8. 2W-Scott Neitzel, [8]; 9. 1M-Phillip Mock, [20]; 10. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, [12]; 11. 4B-Scott Biertzer, [13]; 12. 7-Scott Uttech, [14]; 13. 23-Russel Borland, [18]; 14. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, [17]; 15. 85M-Steve Meyer, [1]; 16. 22-Todd King, [19]; 17. 4K-Kris Spitz, [15]; 18. 73-Ben Schmidt, [11]; 19. 12-Michael Decker, [23]; 20. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [21]; 21. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [24]; 22. 68-Dave Uttech, [16]; 23. 1-Sammy Swindell, [4]; 24. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [22]
B Feature 1 12 laps
1. 22-Todd King, [1]; 2. 1M-Phillip Mock, [4]; 3. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [3]; 4. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [2]; 5. 12-Michael Decker, [5]; 6. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [6]; 7. 11X-Tony Wondra, [9]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, [7]; 9. 63-Nick Matuszewski, [11]; 10. 45-Matt Wiese, [10]; (DNS) 18-Keith Fellner,
Heat 1 10 laps
1. 2W-Scott Neitzel, [2]; 2. 02-Mike Reinke, [1]; 3. 25-Jake Blackhurst, [4]; 4. 4B-Scott Biertzer, [5]; 5. 10W-Brandon McMullen, [3]; 6. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, [6]; 7. 22-Todd King, [7]; 8. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [10]; 9. 11X-Tony Wondra, [9]; 10. 45-Matt Wiese, [8]
Heat 2 10 laps
1. 1-Sammy Swindell, [3]; 2. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, [2]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog, [4]; 4. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, [1]; 5. 7-Scott Uttech, [5]; 6. 23-Russel Borland, [6]; 7. 1M-Phillip Mock, [10]; 8. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [7]; 9. 18-Keith Fellner, [8]; 10. 63-Nick Matuszewski, [9]
Heat 3 10 laps
1. 14-Tony Stewart, [2]; 2. 73-Ben Schmidt, [1]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, [4]; 4. 85M-Steve Meyer, [3]; 5. 4K-Kris Spitz, [6]; 6. 68-Dave Uttech, [5]; 7. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [8]; 8. 12-Michael Decker, [9]; 9. 29-Hunter Custer, [7]
Qualifying 1 00:00:00
1. 25-Jake Blackhurst, 00:11.803[2]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog, 00:11.853[11]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, 00:11.926[26]; 4. 10W-Brandon McMullen, 00:11.954[5]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell, 00:11.970[28]; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 00:12.023[4]; 7. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 00:12.066[20]; 8. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 00:12.085[27]; 9. 14-Tony Stewart, 00:12.109[17]; 10. 1M-Phillip Mock, 00:12.116[6]; 11. 02-Mike Reinke, 00:12.125[15]; 12. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 00:12.145[18]; 13. 73-Ben Schmidt, 00:12.202[16]; 14. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 00:12.252[9]; 15. 7-Scott Uttech, 00:12.279[1]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech, 00:12.306[14]; 17. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 00:12.316[10]; 18. 23-Russel Borland, 00:12.326[8]; 19. 4K-Kris Spitz, 00:12.469[24]; 20. 22-Todd King, 00:12.547[19]; 21. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 00:12.602[21]; 22. 29-Hunter Custer, 00:12.799[13]; 23. 45-Matt Wiese, 00:12.917[7]; 24. 18-Keith Fellner, 00:12.943[25]; 25. 10V-Matt VandeVere, 00:13.050[3]; 26. 11X-Tony Wondra, 00:13.138[29]; 27. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 00:13.218[22]; 28. 12-Michael Decker, 00:13.313[12]; 29. 32-Jeremy Hunt, 00:14.034[23]
WingLESS Sprints, Plymouth Dirt Track, Sept. 28, 2018
A Feature, 25 laps
1. 40-Tim Cox, [6]; 2. 38-Allen Hafford, [1]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, [2]; 4. 7S-Craig Campton, [9]; 5. 01-Chris Dodd, [4]; 6. 21-Ryan Zielski, [3]; 7. 97-Nathan Crane, [14]; 8. 2-Jordan Mattson, [10]; 9. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, [7]; 10. 19K-Derek Crane, [21]; 11. 70-Chris Klemko, [11]; 12. 1-Rod Colburn, [17]; 13. 0-John Fahl, [20]; 14. 48-Jason Cox, [18]; 15. 20-Natalie Klemko, [16]; 16. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [22]; 17. 91-Jimmy Sivia, [12]; 18. 71S-Doug Schenck, [8]; 19. 9-Greg Olsen, [19]; 20. 15V-Matt VandeVere, [5]; 21. 23Z-Zach Raidart, [15]; 22. 41-Dennis Spitz, [13]
B Feature 1 12 laps | 00:00:00
1. 1-Rod Colburn, [2]; 2. 48-Jason Cox, [3]; 3. 9-Greg Olsen, [1]; 4. 0-John Fahl, [4]; 5. 19K-Derek Crane, [9]; 6. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [6]; 7. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, [8]; 8. 29OG-Tom Eller, [11]; 9. 94-Jim Wehrman, [14]; 10. 00-Paul Shaffer, [10]; 11. 22-Bruce Waterworth, [12]; 12. 12-Shawn Swim, [7]; 13. 39-William Huck, [15]; 14. (DNF) 15H-Kevin Hinich, [5]; (DNS) 29-Randy Stanford, ; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba, ; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,
Heat 1 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 40-Tim Cox, [1]; 2. 01-Chris Dodd, [4]; 3. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, [2]; 4. 38-Allen Hafford, [3]; 5. 0-John Fahl, [6]; 6. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [5]; 7. 22-Bruce Waterworth, [8]; 8. (DNF) 29-Randy Stanford, [7]; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,
Heat 2 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 21-Ryan Zielski, [4]; 2. 70-Chris Klemko, [2]; 3. 41-Dennis Spitz, [1]; 4. 2-Jordan Mattson, [3]; 5. 15H-Kevin Hinich, [6]; 6. 12-Shawn Swim, [5]; 7. 00-Paul Shaffer, [7]; 8. 94-Jim Wehrman, [8]
Heat 3 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 15V-Matt VandeVere, [5]; 2. 7S-Craig Campton, [3]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, [4]; 4. 23Z-Zach Raidart, [2]; 5. 1-Rod Colburn, [1]; 6. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, [6]; 7. 29OG-Tom Eller, [7]; 8. 39-William Huck, [8]
Heat 4 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 71S-Doug Schenck, [3]; 2. 91-Jimmy Sivia, [2]; 3. 97-Nathan Crane, [5]; 4. 20-Natalie Klemko, [7]; 5. 48-Jason Cox, [1]; 6. 19K-Derek Crane, [6]; 7. 9-Greg Olsen, [4]; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba,
Qualifying 1 00:00:00
1. 01-Chris Dodd, 00:14.358[33]; 2. 21-Ryan Zielski, 00:14.437[14]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, 00:14.595[12]; 4. 9-Greg Olsen, 00:14.611[4]; 5. 38-Allen Hafford, 00:14.653[27]; 6. 2-Jordan Mattson, 00:14.660[30]; 7. 7S-Craig Campton, 00:14.675[25]; 8. 71S-Doug Schenck, 00:14.686[19]; 9. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, 00:14.697[3]; 10. 70-Chris Klemko, 00:14.721[26]; 11. 23Z-Zach Raidart, 00:14.740[10]; 12. 91-Jimmy Sivia, 00:14.778[28]; 13. 40-Tim Cox, 00:14.797[7]; 14. 41-Dennis Spitz, 00:14.809[17]; 15. 1-Rod Colburn, 00:14.840[15]; 16. 48-Jason Cox, 00:14.858[1]; 17. 4-Jordan Paulsen, 00:14.860[16]; 18. 12-Shawn Swim, 00:14.886[5]; 19. 15V-Matt VandeVere, 00:14.914[24]; 20. 97-Nathan Crane, 00:15.040[29]; 21. 0-John Fahl, 00:15.113[13]; 22. 15H-Kevin Hinich, 00:15.113[9]; 23. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, 00:15.140[8]; 24. 19K-Derek Crane, 00:15.142[31]; 25. 29-Randy Stanford, 00:15.155[21]; 26. 00-Paul Shaffer, 00:15.400[2]; 27. 29OG-Tom Eller, 00:15.507[22]; 28. 20-Natalie Klemko, 00:15.525[20]; 29. 22-Bruce Waterworth, 00:15.628[6]; 30. 94-Jim Wehrman, 00:15.851[23]; 31. 39-William Huck, 00:16.272[11]; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba, ; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,

 

 

Miller, Kulow, Van Hierden, Boden snag A-main victories as Loehr, Sheppard, Ruh claim titles

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 8, 2018 – The final regular Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2018 season brimmed over with a wide variety of racing action, which included runaway statement-style victories, heated side-by-side competition, inspired charges from the back of the pack and a new A-main track record, while three drivers wrapped up division titles before a large contingent of spectators on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Former PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha scored an impressive victory in the 30-lap Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A-main, Plymouth’s Justin Miller established a new track record of 5 minutes and 45 seconds en route to victory in the non-stop 30-lap Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A main. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth emerged with the victory in a hotly contested 30-lap Klips and Tips Grand National A main. Colten Van Hierden of Waupun made his first appearance of the season at PDTR count with a victory from the rear of the field in the time-shortened 26-lap Cellcom B Mod A main. Zach Boden of Madison topped the 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantville Realty Micro Sprint A main.

McGrath, who collected the PDTR Late Model championship in 2014, started the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour headliner from the pole and immediately flexed his muscle to grab the lead on the opening circuit with outside front row starter Paul Parker of Kaukauna settling into second.

As McGrath pulled out to a comfortable lead, third starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano moved in to pressure Parker along the low groove. Just as McGrath was about to encounter lapped traffic, Turk Letizia of Milwaukee spun in turn two to bring out the first of three caution flags.

Following the restart, McGrath bolted away to build up a full-straightaway cushion over Parker. McGrath was closing in on the rear of the field when a red flag was displayed for Eric Michaels of Cleveland, who flipped in turn one after contact with an infield tire on lap 17.

After another caution was thrown on the restart for Joel Bennett, who spun in turn three. When the race resumed, McGrath again shot away from the field while Shawano’s Troy Springborn, who started fourth, used the high groove to pull around seventh starter Chris Engels of Green Bay to secure fourth on lap 18.

Meanwhile, it was all McGrath at the front of the field as he skillfully negotiated lapped traffic in the closing laps to pull away to notch his 11^th career PDTR A-main victory and second career Dirt Kings Late Model Tour main event by a half lap margin over Parker. Swedberg placed third, Springborn wound up fourth and Engels rounded out the top five.

Justin Miller led the field to the green flag in the 30-lap PDTR Sprint Car A main from the pole and bolted into the lead in turn one of the opening lap. On lap 2, 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champ and current point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, shot past second starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum to seize second place in turn two.

Miller stuck to the bottom groove of the third-mile clay oval surface to maintain a solid edge over Davis until the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 14, which allowed Davis to cut the gap a bit.

Miller expertly sliced his way through slower traffic to keep Davis at bay through the mid stages of the race. With five laps to go, Miller was briefly bottled up in slower traffic, which again allowed Davis to close to within striking distance along the low groove.

However, Miller managed to negotiate the slower car and maintain his lead on the way to his third career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and fifth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph in a PDTR Sprint Car 30-lap A-main track record time of five minutes and 45 seconds in the non-stop race.

Davis, who heads into the final night of the 2018 PDTR Sprint Car season on Saturday, Sept. 29 with a 15-point lead over Miller at the top of the point standings, had to settle for second, fifth starter Lance Fassbender of Burnett finished third, Wenninger placed fourth and Bill Taylor of Kewaskum wound up fifth, after starting seventh.

Polesitter Dick Hed of Plymouth and outside front row starter Tyler Kulow dueled side by side during the opening lap of the highly entertaining 30-lap Grand National main event before Hed surged ahead to take the lead in turn two on lap 2.

On lap 3, West Bend’s Brad Weiss, who started fifth, shot up to seize third place and two laps later, Weiss pulled alongside Hed and the two dueled door-to-door for the lead on lap 5. On lap 7, Weiss surged ahead of Hed along the outside groove, while fourth starter Kurt Davis rode the high line to challenge Hed for second.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 8 when Darryl Trabel of Watertown and Dakota Cabunac spun in turn two. On the restart, Davis continued his charge along the high line while Grand National point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who started third, ducked low to challenge for second on lap 9.

As Weiss, Davis and Loehr dueled in close quarters for the top spot, the second caution flag flew when Donny Singer stopped in turn two on lap 15. The action continued to rage on the restart has Davis and Loehr waged an epic battle for second behind Weiss, who stuck to the low groove to maintain a slight lead.

On lap 17, Davis grabbed second up high, while Kulow rallied to gain third on lap 18. Kulow ran the low groove to perfection to work past Davis for second on lap 19. However, Davis returned the favor on the next lap to regain second.

As Weiss, Davis, Kulow, Loehr and seventh starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia ran in close quarters at the front of the pack, the third and final caution flag was displayed on lap 23 when Cubanac stopped in turn two.

On the restart, Kulow moved up high to grab second from Davis on lap 24 and on the next lap he charged past Weiss to secure the top spot. Meanwhile, Davis cleared Weiss to gain second on lap 29.

Once ahead, Kulow pulled away to notch his fourth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Davis placed second, Weiss wound up third, Loehr secured his first career PDTR Grand National championship with a fourth-place finish and Pierce placed fifth.

Loehr topped Davis by 25 points in the final PDTR Grand National standings, while Kulow finished third 32 points behind Loehr.

Jesse Cullen of Chilton led the opening lap of the 30-lap B Mod A main before the first of four caution flags appeared for an incident involving Colten Van Hierden and Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon in turn two on lap 2.

After changing a flat left rear tire, Van Hierden restarted at the rear of the 20-car field. When the race resumed, sixth starter Bill Edler of Howards Grove moved in to take third and seventh starter Barry Maas of Cascade secure fourth in the running order.

As Cullen encountered slower traffic on lap 14, Edler closed in to mount a challenge before the second caution flag was displayed on lap 16 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan and Mark Hoeppner spun in turn two. The incident forced Edler, who was running second, to take evasive action and spin into the infield. He took his car to the pit area and did not return to the track.

On the restart, Cullen led over fifth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls as Van Hierden mounted an epic charge from the rear of the field to seize third on lap 17. After another caution for debris on lap 18, Van Hierden continued his march to the front taking second from Glander on lap 18 and setting his sights on Cullen.

On lap 21, Van Hierden used a low move to take over the top spot in turn four. As Van Hierden pulled away at the front of the field, a caution on lap 26 brought the race to a close due to the 30-minute time limit.

Van Hierden, who was making his first appearance of the 2018 season at Plymouth, claimed his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory, Cullen placed second, 10^th starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth took third, Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam wrapped up his first career PDTR B Mod track title with a fourth-place finish after starting 11^th and Glander completed the top five.

In his first full season racing at Plymouth, Sheppard earned the B Mod championship by 36 points over Gary Glander. Travis Schmidt finished third 75 points behind Sheppard.

Second starter Tory Strauss of Sun Prairie led the first two laps of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main before third starter Zach Boden seized the lead in turn four. Boden, who was the 2016 PDTR Micro Sprint champ, maintained the lead through a pair of caution flags to secure his ninth career PDTR Micro Sprint A-main win.

Jake Dohner of Milton placed second, Strauss was third, 2017 PDTR Micro Sprint champion Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake earned his second consecutive track title with a fourth-place finish and Jack Vanderboom of Dousman rounded out the top five.

Ruh topped Emily Portschy of Plymouth by 117 points to claim his second straight PDTR Micro Sprint title.

Mark Rose of Dorchester claimed the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour B main. Josh Walter of Plymouth won the MSA B main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls captured the B Mod B main.

The final regular PDTR racing program of the 2018 season, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Show Cattle, drew a large field 111 cars, including 28 Dirt Kings Late Model Tour cars, 27 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 21 Grand Nationals and 10 Micro Sprints.

Prior to the racing program, the 2018 PDTR Dedication to Dirt Award was presented to longtime announcer Bill Rood, who stated that he would be retiring after 30 years of involvement with racing at Plymouth.

After two weeks off, the 2018 racing season will conclude with a doubleheader weekend of Sprint Car action on Friday, Sept. 28 and Saturday, Sept. 29. The Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series will be in action, along with the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars on Friday, Sept. 28.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the IRA Sprint Cars and Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars will be joined by the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Wisconsin-Illinois Sprint Car Series for the final points night of the season for all four divisions.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. has indicated his intentions to return to race with the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series on Sept. 28-29, as has three-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champ Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn., who will be making his debut appearance at Plymouth.

McMullen prevails in PDTR 360 Sprint Car action                      

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 1, 2018 – Eight-time Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champ Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. have had their share of spirited duels on dirt tracks throughout the Midwest over the years with the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event held during 2018 Sheboygan County Fair Night all-Winged Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track providing the back drop for another intriguing chapter in this ongoing racing saga on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Reminiscent of their exciting duel at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 15, 2013, which saw Stewart edge Balog by half a car length, Balog turned the tables this time executing a final corner slide job and holding off Stewart by just .004 of a second at the finish to notch his third IRA Series A-main victory of the 2018 campaign before a capacity crowd at the third-mile Sheboygan County Fairgrounds facility in Plymouth, Wis.

In the companion, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh collected his third Sprint Car A-main triumph of the season at Plymouth.

Stewart drew the pole position for the 30-lap IRA A-main with Cory Eliason of Kingsburg, Calif. in the Thone Motorsports No. 59 entry starting on the outside of the front row.

Stewart got the jump on the drop of the green flag and bolted out to a half-straightaway lead over Eliason in the early going on the wide, smooth and fast racing surface.

Just as Stewart began to catch up to the back of the 24-car field, a red flag was displayed when Todd King of Sheboygan Falls hit the turn four wall and flipped his machine. King was uninjured, but his car was done in the night.

When the race resumed, fifth starter Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove dove low to work his way past Eliason into second while Balog, who started seventh, rode the high groove past IRA point leader Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, who started fourth, into third place on lap 12.

By lap 9, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic, which Stewart negotiated expertly to build up a half-lap cushion over Schmidt on lap 10. Four laps later, Eliason spun on the frontstretch after contact with Schmidt, which slowed the pace and forced Eliason to restart the race 17^th on lap 14.

Prior to the restart, Schmidt made contact with Stewart in turn four just as the green flag was to be displayed causing him to spin his car. After repairing a flat right rear tire, Schmidt restarted 17^th, while the contact resulted in damage to the top wing of Stewart’s machine.

Another caution appeared on lap 16 when Mike Reinke of Howards Grove dropped off the pace significantly along the backstretch. On the restart, Thiel dove low to attempt a three-wide pass for the lead in turn two. However, Stewart battled back to maintain the lead along the high groove and Balog retained second place.

Balog hounded Stewart on the preferred outside groove through the final half of the race as the leaders had to negotiate heavy lapped traffic beginning on lap 22. On lap 25, Balog pulled even with Stewart in turn two, but Stewart successfully fended off the challenge and pulled away briefly.

With two laps to go, Balog raced back up to within striking distance and on the final circuit the North Pole, Alaska native unleashed an epic slide job entering turn three to sweep past Stewart in turn four. Stewart turned under Balog and the two drag raced to the finish line with Balog notching his third IRA victory of the season by just .004 of a second, which is the closest margin of victory since the IRA incorporated electronic scoring.

After leading 29 laps, Stewart had to settle for second, Thiel was third, eighth starter and fast qualifier Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. was fourth and Brandon McMullen placed fifth after starting sixth.

Balog was happy that he had a chance on the final lap, after missing on an opportunity to take the lead a few laps earlier.

“The car was working good all night and I was hoping to be close enough to make a move at the end,” Balog said in victory lane. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen because I thought I threw it away when I had a chance a few laps from the end. It was an awesome race. Tony’s one of the best ever and everyone’s gunning for him when he shows up. We were just a little better at the end tonight.”

Despite coming in second, Stewart was upbeat following the race.

“I love coming up here to race,” Stewart said. “This is a really cool part of the country with great fans. Lapped traffic was tough and being the leader, you don’t know what is going on behind you. I was just trying not to make a mistake over the final few laps. Bill is an awesome driver. I love racing with him. It was a fun night and I hope all the fans had a good time.”

Thiel maintained his IRA points lead with a solid third-place run.

“We gave it all we could and we had a run there on one of the restarts,” Thiel said. “I don’t think we were good enough to win tonight. 17 [Balog] drove a really good race. We will take third and try to get a little better for the next race.”

Tony Wondra of Campbellsport lead the opening laps of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main from the pole with third starter Scott Conger of Eagle trailing in second. On lap 7, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started fifth, used the high groove to power past Conger into second.

One lap later, Schlafer bolted past the low-riding Wondra into the lead in turn three, while seventh starter Brandon McMullen followed in Schlafer’s tire tracks to assume second on lap 9.

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 10 for an infield tire that had been moved onto the track in turn four. On the restart, the caution flag flew again when Plymouth’s Justin Miller spun in turn one.

On the restart, McMullen used the low groove to pressure Schlafer for the top spot and the two championship-winning drivers dueled side by side before the third caution was displayed on lap 12 for Chris Larson, who spun in turn two.

The battle between McMullen and Schlafer raged on over the ensuing seven laps with the two drivers exchanging the lead before McMullen surged ahead for good along the low groove in turn one on lap 19.

On lap 22, the fourth caution appeared when Schlafer spun his machine in turn four. McMullen controlled the final three laps en route to his 15^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 21^st overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Josh Walter of Plymouth finished second after starting eighth, Tim Haddy of Waupun used a late charge along the high groove to place third after starting ninth, Conger wound up fourth and second starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum rounded out the top five.

Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam won the IRA B main. Jake Blackhurst topped the IRA field in qualifying with a fast lap of 12.043.

The all-Winged Sprint Car program included 27 IRA 410 Sprint Car entries and 24 PDTR 360 Sprint Car machines.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Sept. 8 will feature the final points event of the 2018 season for the B Mod, Grand National and Micro Sprint divisions, as well as a special appearance by the Dirt Kings Late Model Series in addition to the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

Justin Schmidt secures first PDTR Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 25, 2018 – A pair of veteran racers visited victory lane for the first time in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main competition and another earned his first career PDTR points title, during an action-packed night of competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee racked up his third Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Mitch McGrath of Waukesha earned his first Gasroots Project Late Model A-main victory of the year. Plymouth’s Steven Weber notched his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win. Cellcom B Mod points leader Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam padded his advantage by posting his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Dave Collins of Lake Mills collected his second Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint A-main victory of the 2018 campaign.

After coming into the night third in the PDTR Late Model point standings, eight points out of the lead, Cleveland’s Justin Schmidt secured his first PDTR Late Model points championship on the strength of a heat race victory and a fourth-place showing in the A main. Schmidt, who posted four PDTR Late Model A-main victories this season, edged out his father, Jim, by just two points, in the final 2018 standings.

Two of the most experienced drivers in the pit area lined up on the front row of the 25-lap Sprint Car A main as Jim Melis of Glenbeulah held the pole position with 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis lined up on the outside.

Melis got the jump on the drop of the green flag and held down the top spot along the low groove in the early going while Davis worked the high groove of the wide and smooth racing surface.

After hounding Melis along the cushion for several laps, Davis shot into the lead with a bold high move in turn one on lap 5. As 2017 PDTR Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh who started eighth, and Plymouth’s Josh Walter, who started fifth, dueled hard for fifth, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on lap 10.

With lapped cars in the mix, Melis was able to close the gap on Davis using the high groove, while two-time PDTR Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started third, moved in to make it a three-car battle up front.

Just as it appeared the action was going to get heated in lapped traffic, a red flag appeared on lap 11 when Doug Wondra and Robbie Pribnow collided on the frontstretch, sending Wondra flipping. Both drivers emerged uninjured.

On the restart, Schlafer made an aggressive move to power past Melis in second in turn two, while McMullen slipped past Walter to assume fourth on lap 12.

The final 14 laps clicked off quickly as the majority of the field held tight to the preferred high groove. Schlafer was able to close the gap slightly on Davis in the closing laps, but he was never able to mount a serious threat for the lead.

Davis went on to post his 20^th career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and the 57^th overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph of his long career. Schlafer finished second, Melis was third, McMullen placed fourth and Walter rounded out the top five.

Dan Schlieper of Milwaukee led the field to the green flag in the 25-lap Late Model A main from the pole position. The former Eldora Speedway World 100 winner and Lucas Oil Late Model Series regular held the top spot in the early stages of the race as 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath made his way to the front from the sixth starting spot utilizing the outside line to secure second on lap 2.

By lap 10, McGrath had closed in to challenge Schlieper for the top spot along the cushion, as title contenders Justin Schmidt, who started eighth, and 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fifth, dueled for fifth.

On lap 13, Schmidt made what proved to be a championship-sealing move as he split Buhler and fourth-starting Chad Vetting of Valders to pass both drivers in turn three and vault into fourth.

After running the high groove throughout the first half of the race, McGrath dropped down low to challenge Schlieper on lap 18. Over the next six laps, McGrath tried several different lines in an attempt to seize the lead before diving under Schlieper in turn two on the final lap and surging ahead over the final circuit to notch his 10^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory in the caution-free race.

Schlieper had to settle for second, third-starter Tom Naeyaert of Shawano, finished third in his first appearance of the year at Plymouth, Justin Schmidt finished fourth to secure his first PDTR Late Model championship and Buhler placed fifth.

Justin Schmidt collected 979 points to capture the Late Model title by two points over his father Jim, who finished second with 977 points. Four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake finished third with 971 points and Buhler was fourth with 969 points.

Outside front row starter Chad Espen of West Bend led the opening circuit of the 25-lap Grand National A main before polesitter Steven Weber seized the top spot on lap two.

After the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 6 for an infield tire pushed onto the track in turn one, sixth starter Kurt Davis charged in to pull off a three-wide pass for third on lap 8. On lap 11, Davis used the high groove to maneuver around Espen for second before the second caution flag flew on lap 12 for a two-car incident involving Jacob Muehlbauer and Derek Kaat in turn four.

Following the restart, Davis utilized the high groove to briefly surge into the lead in turn two on lap 16. However, Weber held strong along with the low line as the two veteran drivers dueled side by side over the next two laps with Weber regaining the top spot in turn one on lap 18.

Davis regrouped to mount one final challenge on the final lap pulling nearly even with Weber along the outside groove in turn two. However, again Weber fended off Davis’ advances and maintained the top spot en route to his first career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.

Davis was second, Espen finished third, fourth starter J.J. Pagel of Campbellsport placed fourth and Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started third, wound up fifth.

Polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls assume the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main at the drop of the green flag with second starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth and third starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown falling into second and third respectively.

On lap 5, points leader Tim Sheppard, who started sixth, began to make his presence felt as he powered around Steenbergen along the high groove in turn two. One lap later, Sheppard moved past Schmidt into second and on lap 7, Sheppard shot around Bauer into the lead in turn one before a spin involving Phil Campanella brought out the first of four caution flags on lap 7.

On the restart, a six-car melee involving Derek Fehling, Nat Jakubowski, Mark Fieber (guest driving for Cody Eickberg), J.J. Walvoord, Steve Lorier and Phil Campanella triggered a lengthy caution period. Only Lorier and Campanella were able to continue.

When the race resumed, Schmidt dove under Sheppard to grab the lead in turn three on lap 8. On lap 9, the third caution appeared when Campanella spun in turn four.

Shortly after the ensuing restart, contact resulted in Schmidt spinning sideways in turn with Sheppard moving into the top spot on lap 11. Schmidt was able to recover to maintain third before the fourth caution flew on lap 21 for an incident involving Justin Bauer and Shane Long in turn four.

During the caution, Steenbergen was penalized two spots for aggressive driving, which placed him behind Schmidt and 13^th starter Marcus Hoeppner of Rubicon on the final restart.

Sheppard pulled away over the final four laps to score his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Schmidt was second, Steenbergen finished third, Lorier placed fourth and Tim Lange of Dousman, who started 10^th, finished fifth.

In the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main, outside front row starter Dave Collins led flag to flag in the non-stop race to post his third career PDTR Micro Sprint A main victory.

Defending PDTR Micro Sprint champion and current points leader Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake was second, Emily Portschy of Plymouth took third, Jack Vanderboom of Dousman finished fourth and Miles Quandt of Watertown placed fifth.

Tony Wondra of Cambpellsport won the Sprint Car B Main, while J.J. Walvoord of Howards Grove posted the victory in the B Mod B Main.

The PDTR program, which was sponsored by Roger and Dan’s Auto Service, showcased a total of 83 cars, including 26 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 15 Grand Nationals, 13 Late Models and six Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program featuring the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will take place on Saturday, Sept. 1, during the Sheboygan County Fair.

NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart will also compete in the IRA portion of the program. On track action is scheduled to begin at 5 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.

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 18, 2018 – Three veteran drivers visited victory lane for the first time in 2018, during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main competition as PDTR held its inaugural Ken Markwardt Memorial Night of racing Saturday, Aug. 18 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Tony Wondra of Campbellsport racked up his first Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Jim Schmidt of Cleveland stayed in the thick of the heated Gasroots Project Late Model points chase with just one points night remaining in the season by notching his third A-main victory of the year. 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee scored his first Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win of 2018, while 2017 Cellcom B Mod champ Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls also found victory lane for the first time this season. Defending Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint champion Preston Ruh posted his fourth A-main triumph of 2018 at Plymouth.

Tony Wondra began the 25-lap Sprint Car A main from the pole position with PDTR Sprint Car point leader Justin Miller of Plymouth on the outside of the front row. Wondra jumped out to the lead on the drop of the green flag before Kevin Karnitz of West Bend flipped hard in turn two to bring out a red flag on lap 2. Karnitz emerged from his machine uninjured, but he was done for the night.

On the restart, fourth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who became the first rookie in the history of the Midwest Sprint Car Association to win an A main last Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, worked his way up to second while eighth starter Paul Pokorski of West Bend rode the high groove into third on lap 4.

On lap 7, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on the fast and wide racing surface. As leaders hit dense lapped traffic, Pokorski used a high move to swing past Arenz into the runner-up spot on lap 11.

Five laps later, Wondra, Pokorski and Miller were running in tight nose-to-tail formation at the head of the pack before the second caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 16 for a collision in turn four involving Travis Arenz and Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade.

Another caution flag flew on the ensuing restart when Robbie Pribnow of Lomira, who was making his 2018 season debut, slowed with a flat fire.

Wondra continued to lead on the final restart with Pokorski and Miller in tow. On lap 20, two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer slipped past the low-riding Miller along the outside groove to seize third place.

Out in front of the field, Wondra held strong running primarily the high groove as Pokorski attempted to close the gap along the cushion over the final five laps. Wondra maintained a solid lead as the laps wound down en route to his second career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

Pokorski racked up a PDTR season-best second-place showing, Schlafer wound up third, Miller was fourth and third starter Kurt Davis rounded out the top five.

Rookie Zack Kessler of Plymouth lead the first two laps of the 25-lap Late Model A main from the pole before third starter Jim Schmidt moved in to grab the top spot along the low groove on lap 3.

2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fourth, charged in to pressure Schmidt for the top spot on lap four before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 6 when 2018 title contender Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who came into the event four points out of first place, spun in turn one.

Following the ensuing restart, four-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake utilized the cushion to power his way into third on lap 7.

By lap 9, the top four cars of Jim Schmidt, Buhler, Mueller and 2008 PDTR Late Model champ Billy Rezutek of Big Bend, who started fifth, were running in close proximity at the head of the field.

On lap 10, Mueller jumped the cushion in turn two, which allowed Rezutek to sneak into third place. Eight laps later, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic as Mueller regained third place from Rezutek on lap 19.

Jim Schmidt proved to be too much to handle as he pulled away to notch his 14^th career PDTR A-main victory by a comfortable half-lap margin. Buhler placed second, Mueller was third, Rezutek secured fourth and Kessler held on to finish a solid fifth.

The 25-lap Grand National A main featured plenty of action at the front of the field, including three different leaders and multiple lead changes during the entertaining race.

Jamie Theobald of Sheboygan led the opening five laps of the event from the pole before third starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake seized the top spot with a low move on lap 2.

On the next lap, fourth starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth worked his way into second place before the first of two caution flags was displayed to the field when an infield tire was pushed onto the track in turn one.

Theobald regrouped to apply pressure to Donny Kulow for the lead along the high groove. After three laps of heated side-by-side action, Theobald surged into the lead on lap 12.

By this time, eighth starter Kurt Davis was making his presence felt in a big way at the front of the field moving into third on lap 10 and using the high line to power his way into second place on lap 14.

On lap 16, Davis pulled even with Theobald for the lead in turn one just before the second and final caution flag appeared on lap 17 for a spin involving Jess Muehlbauer.

Following the restart, Davis again worked the high groove to perfection to surge into the top spot exiting turn four on lap 18. One in the lead, Davis pulled away to a half-straightaway cushion en route to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Donny Kulow had to settle for second, Theobald placed third, point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville move up from the seventh starting spot to finish fourth and Tyler Kulow rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Green grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap B Mod A main with outside front row starter Cody Eickberg of Plymouth trailing in second and fourth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls third.

After a pair of caution flags for spins involving Jess Jakubowski on lap 3 and Mark Hoeppner on lap 7, last week’s B Mod A-main winner Marcus Hoeppner of Rubicon used the high groove to move into second from sixth on lap 7 just before seventh starter and current point leader Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam seized second on lap 8.

The third and final caution flag appeared on lap 12 when Derek Fehling of Beaver Dam spun in turn three. On the restart, Green again bolted into the lead while 10^th starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth was putting on a show as he moved into third with a high move in turn three on lap 16.

As the laps wound down, Green had to deal with heavy lapped traffic, which he negotiated with relative ease. On the final circuit, Schmidt moved in to assume second place in turn four in the middle of heavy lapped traffic.

Green posted his seventh career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph followed by Schmidt in second, Sheppard placed third, Marcus Hoeppner was fourth and Glander completed the top five.

Preston Ruh, who is closing in on his second consecutive PDTR Micro Sprint title, led all 10 laps of the Micro Sprint A main en route to his fifth career A-main victory at Plymouth.

Dave Collins of Plymouth was second, followed by Emily Portschy of Plymouth, who finished third.

Al Schlafer of Sussex won the Sprint Car B Main, while Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum posted the victory in the B Mod B Main.

During Sprint Car heat race action, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum flipped and made hard contact with the turn four catch fence. He was uninjured, but racing was delayed to make repairs to the fence.

The PDTR program, which was sponsored by Butchie and Blondie Hafemann, featured a total of 94 cars, including 28 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 15 Late Models, 13 Grand Nationals, 11 Wisconsin Badger Land Vintage Modifieds and four Micro Sprints.

Prior to the races, the family of Ken Markwardt, who passed away last October, gathered to honor his memory. Markwardt won a total of 97 main events and seven track titles during his outstanding career. Markwardt was inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 25, featuring the final points race night of the 2018 season for the Late Model division. Hot laps 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.

 

 

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 4, 2018 – On a night when previous track champions were honored for their past title-winning accomplishments, five present-day drivers turned in impressive performances to notch A-main victories in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing competition at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 4.

Former PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed his second A-main victory of the 2018 season in the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A main. Jim Schmidt of Cleveland earned his second 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A-main triumph of the year. Two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis claimed his second 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win of the season. Plymouth’s Travis Schmidt racked up his first career 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph and Andy Rein of West Bend notched his first 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty A-main win of 2018.

Two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex led the opening lap of the 25-lap Sprint Car A main from his outside front row starting spot followed closely by Campbellsport’s Jason Johnson, who started on the pole.

On lap 3, fifth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth moved in to challenge Johnson for second along the low groove as the two veterans traded the position several times in the ensuing laps before Johnson secured the position and proceeded to track down Schlafer.

Six laps later, Schlafer encountered slower traffic, which allowed Johnson to cut the gap significantly. Eighth starter Bill Taylor of Boltonville made his presence known starting on lap 16 when he wrestled third place away from Miller and two laps later he worked past Johnson along the extreme inside groove to seize second.

However, on lap 19, Johnson and third starter Kurt Davis powered past Taylor in heavy lapped traffic to work their way into the top three. On lap 20, Davis slipped under Johnson for second and one lap later Davis ducked under Schlafer, who was hung up behind a slower car, to gain the lead exiting turn four.

On the following lap, Schlafer spun his machine in turn two to bring out the lone caution flag of the race and set up a four-lap dash to the finish. As Davis bolted away to a solid lead on the restart, Miller took second from Johnson, while a heated battle brewed just behind the top three cars.

Davis went on to post his 19^th career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and Midwest Sprint Car Association leading 55^th overall A-main triumph. Miller secured second, Johnson wound up third, 12^th starter Josh Walter of Plymouth charged up to finish fourth and ninth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah rounded out the top five.

The opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main saw third starter Jim Schmidt power under front row starters Eric Michaels of Cleveland and Milwaukee’s Jim Letizia to seize the lead in turn two.

Schmidt held the lead throughout the non-stop event with Michaels giving away to Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, for second on lap 2.

By lap 8, Jim Schmidt had built up a full straightaway cushion over his son, Justin. As Jim led Justin by a comfortable margin, four-time PDTR Late Model champion and current point leader Brad Mueller of Random Lake dueled with Michaels for third for several laps until finally securing the position on lap 19.

Jim Schmidt skillfully weaved his way through lapped traffic over the final circuits to collect his 13^th career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph. Justin Schmidt placed second, Mueller was third, Michaels notched a solid fourth-place showing and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush finished fifth after starting sixth.

Polesitter Don Sorce Jr. outpowered outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main.

Two successive caution flags slowed the pace on lap 8 for an infield tire moved onto the track in turn three and a multi-car spin in turn four on lap 10. Sorce Jr. maintained the top spot after both restarts with Weber in tow.

By lap 13, Sorce Jr. had built up a full straightaway cushion over Weber. In the closing laps, 13^th starter Chad Espen of West Bend charged in to pass seventh starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth for sixth and 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started third, for fourth on lap 23.

Sorce Jr. cruised to his 12^th career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph, Weber had to settle for second, fifth starter Kurt Davis placed third, Espen was fourth and Yancey completed the top five.

Polesitter Travis Schmidt paced the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main followed by outside front row starter Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam. As Schmidt held down the top spot along the preferred low groove, third starter Barry Maas of Cascade moved to seize second from Sheppard on lap 12.

As Schmidt encountered dense lapped traffic on lap 14, 2017 PDTR B Mod champion Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls, who started seventh, worked his way into fourth with a nifty move past fourth starter Sawyer Haese on lap 14.

On lap 22, Maas closed in to Schmidt’s rear bumper as the leaders worked through heavy lapped traffic, while Green dove under Sheppard to seize third on lap 24. Although within striking distance, Maas was unable to make a move in the closing laps as Schmidt held on to post his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-free race.

Maas was second, Green placed third, Sheppard wound up fourth and Haese rounded out the top five.

Andy Rein jumped into the lead of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main from his outside front row starting spot and never looked back. Rein paced the field throughout en route to his third career PDTR B Mod A main triumph in the non-stop event.

Dave Collins of Madison placed second, 2017 PDTR Micro Sprint Champ Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake was third, Emily Portschy of Plymouth placed fourth and Jake Dohner of Milton finished fifth.

Donny Singer of Waldo won the B Mod B Main. In the third Sprint Car heat race, Plymouth’s Adam Miller made hard contact with the turn four wall before flipping. He emerged uninjured, but his car suffered significant damage and did not to return to competition.

The evening also featured an appearance by the Vintage Modifieds and introduction of many past champions from the rich history of racing at the Plymouth facility during a special intermission program.

The PDTR program, who was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, featured 89 cars, including 22 Sprint Cars, 27 B Mods, 22 Grand Nationals, 11 Late Models and seven Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 11 with extra purse money added to the A-main events in each division. Hot laps begin 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.

Erickson and Steenbergen earn second PDTR A-main triumphs of 2018

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) July 30, 2018 – With a large crowd of eager spectators on hand and a pit area filled to the brim with 36 of the best Dirt Late Model drivers in the nation, defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series champion Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. stole the show in the series first-ever visit to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Monday, July 30.

In support division action, Plymouth’s Justin Erickson notched his second PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the season, while Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown rolled to his second PDTR B Mod A-main triumph of 2018.

Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. led the 26-car field to the green flag in the 50-lap World of Outlaws Craftsman Series A-main presented by Wisconsin Refrigerated Express of Sheboygan.

Erb rode the high groove into the lead as he slid past Owens in turn four to pace the opening lap. Brandon Sheppard, who started third followed Erb to the outside line to steal second place away from Owens in turn four on lap 4 before first of seven caution flags flew on lap 4 when 2015 World of Outlaws Series champion Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga. stalled in turn four with a broken driveshaft.

When the race resumed, Sheppard dove low to pressure the high-riding Erb for the top spot. After running side by side with Erb for nearly two laps, Sheppard surged ahead in turn four on lap 5 to seize the top spot.

Two laps later, seventh starter Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. used the high groove to assume fourth on lap 7. After a pair of cautions for the stalled car of Brent Larson of Lake Elmo, Minn., fifth starter Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio ducked under Erb to challenge for second place beginning on lap 9. Three laps later, Sheppard had built up a full straightaway cushion over Moran.

Sheppard encountered his first dose of lapped traffic on lap 15, which allowed Moran to cut the gap by lap 17. Four laps later, the pace slowed for the fifth time when debris was detected in turn two.

Following the restart, sixth starter Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C. slipped past Shirley to gain third place on lap 22. The sixth caution of the event was displayed on lap 23 when former PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha spun in turn two.

Running the low groove, Sheppard controlled the ensuing restart and another restart following the seventh caution flag of the race for debris on lap 33 before action really began to heat up for second as Moran, Madden and Erb dueled high and low on the extremely wide and smooth racing surface.

By lap 41, Sheppard found himself mired in slower traffic, which allowed Moran to cut the gap significantly in the closing laps. As Sheppard got hung up attempting to pass a slower car, Moran pulled in to nearly touch the leader’s rear bumper.

After Sheppard finally cleared the lapped car on lap 48, Moran ventured up to the high groove over the final circuit in an attempt to pry the lead away at the finish line. However, Moran’s late rally fell a car length car as Sheppard posted his ninth World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series victory of the 2018 campaign and 33^rd overall A-main victory of his World of Outlaws career.

Moran had to settle for second, Erb, who was one of the few drivers to stay glued to the high groove just inches from the wall throughout the entire race, came home third, Madden placed fourth and Shirley rounded out the top five.

Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha was the top local finisher with a 13^th-place showing. Four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller posted a 19^th-place finish after taking a provisional to start the main event.

Five other local drivers competed in the main event, including Shawano’s Brett Swedberg (16^th), Nick Anvelink of Navarino (17^th), Paul Parker of Kaukauna (18^th), Mitch McGrath (22^nd) and Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. (24^th).

Polesitter Steven Weber of Plymouth led the 23-car field to the green flag in the 25-lap PDTR Grand National main event before outside front row starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake and inside second row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth pulled up to make it three wide for the lead heading into turn three on the opening circuit.

Erickson finally surged ahead to claim the top spot in turn one on lap 2 before the first of five caution flags slowed the pace. Following the restart, Erickson bolted away from Kulow and eighth starter Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who had worked his way up to challenge for second along the outside groove.

Following another caution flag on lap 12, Davis wrestled second place away from Kulow and point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville worked his way into third from the 12^th starting spot.

Just as Davis began to close the gap on Erickson a trio of consecutive caution flags for spins appeared on lap 16, 17 and 19. When green flag action finally got under way again Erickson again pulled out to a solid lead while Davis and Loehr dueled hard for second.

On lap 23, Loehr surged past Davis along the high line to secure the runner-up spot behind Erickson, who posted his second PDTR Grand National triumph of the 2018 season and his third career Grand National A-main victory at Plymouth.

Loehr placed second, Davis was third, Derek Schrauth of Omro took fourth after starting fourth and Kulow wound up fifth.

Polesitter Mark Hoeppner led the opening six laps of the 25-lap PDTR B Mod A main before sixth starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown moved in to take over the top spot with a low move in turn three on lap 9.

One later, Malone’s Tim Warner raced in to snag the runner-up position. Warner slowly reeled in Steenbergen by staying in his tire tracks around the third-mile clay oval for the better part of 10 laps.

On lap 20, Warner executed a low move on Steenbergen in turn one to assume the top spot. However, Steenbergen battled back to nearly regain the lead on lap 23 in turn one, but Warner successfully fended off the move.

As Warner attempted to negotiate a lapped car on the final circuit, Steenbergen made another bid for the lead in turn three, which worked to vault the veteran driver into the top spot, while Warner lost control and spun in turn three.

Steenbergen went on to rack up his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.     RW Aschenbrenner of Oneida was second, Mark Hoeppner held on to place third, Warner recovered from his spin to finish fourth and Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls, who started eighth, placed fifth.

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill. and Jared Siefert of Luxemburg each captured World of Outlaws Late Models Last Chance Showdown victories, while Devin Moran claimed the World of Outlaws Late Models Series fast qualifier award with a new Late Model record lap of 13.783 seconds.

The special Monday evening program PDTR featured 78 cars, including 36 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Models, 24 Grand Nationals and 18 B Mods.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 4, featuring Past Championships Night, during which all former champions at the Plymouth track will be honored at intermission. Hot laps begin 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.

 World of Outlaws Sears Craftsman Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$10,000]; 2. 9-Devin Moran [5][$5,000]; 3. 91-Tyler Erb [1][$3,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [6][$2,500]; 5. 3s-Brian Shirley [7][$2,000]; 6. 5-Don O’Neal [4][$1,700]; 7. 7-Rick Eckert [15][$1,400]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar [11][$1,300]; 9. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [14][$1,200]; 10. 16-Tyler Bruening [23][$1,100]; 11. 25F-Jason Feger [17][$1,050]; 12. 18c-Chase Junghans [20][$1,000]; 13. 15s-Taylor Scheffler [10][$950]; 14. 54-David Breazeale [9][$900]; 15. 28e-Dennis Erb [16][$850]; 16. 3-Brett Swedberg [19][$800]; 17. 15-Nick Anvelink [25][$770]; 18. 10-Paul Parker [21][$750]; 19. 89-Brad Mueller [26][$730]; 20. 51-Joey Moriarty [24][$700]; 21. 20-Jimmy Owens [2][$700]; 22. 74-Mitch McGrath [12][$700]; 23. 25j-Jared Siefert [18][$700]; 24. 11-Justin Reed [13][$700]; 25. B1-Brent Larson [22][$700]; 26. 25-Shane Clanton [8][$700]

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(Plymouth, Wis.) July 21, 2018 – Rain showers and wet grounds forced Plymouth Dirt Track Racing officials to cancel the PDTR race program featuring the 22^nd annual Frank Filskov Memorial Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on Saturday, July 21, at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

It is the sixth PDTR program of the 2018 season to be adversely impacted by weather conditions.

PDTR will hold its popular Backpack Night program on Saturday, July 28, beginning at 6 p.m. with A-main trophies sponsored by Cellcom. The evening will feature all five regular PDTR divisions, including 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals, B Mods and Micro Sprints.

On Monday, July 30, PDTR will welcome many of the top Dirt Late Model competitors in the nation as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series makes its debut appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track for a $10,000-to-win, 50-lap A-main event presented by Wisconsin Refrigerated Express of Sheboygan. Also on the card will be the PDTR Grand Nationals and PDTR B Mods.

Reserve seat tickets are available for the World of Outlaws Late Models Series event on July 30 by calling 920-893-5751. Additional information can be found at www.plymouthdtr.com.

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.

 

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) July 7, 2018 – A thrilling last lap pass and a pair of first-time A-main winners highlighted the evening as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its annual Mid-Season Championship Night of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 7.

In the extended 30-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main, Plymouth’s Justin Miller stole the lead from Sprint Car rookie Travis Arenz of Sheboygan on the final lap to post an exciting victory. Gasroots Project Late Model rookie Kevin Baldry of Omro notched his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory in the 30-lap main event. Luke Scholten of Oostburg claimed the 30-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory in the Bender Racing entry, while Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls collected his first career Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph. Defending Micro Sprint champion Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake was victorious in the 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint A main.

The Sprint Car A-main headliner began with Tyler Brabant of Waupun and Tony Wondra of Campbellsport lined up on the front row. Despite dry and slick track conditions, the race featured three different leaders and plenty of jockeying for position throughout the field.

Wondra got the jump on the drop of the green flag from his outside front row starting spot as point leader Josh Walter of Plymouth used the outside groove to jump from fourth at the start into second on the opening lap.

The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Scott Conger of Eagle spun in turn three. On the restart, Wondra continued to lead while Travis Arenz, who started third, bolted past Brabant and Walter to secure second on lap 8.

The second caution flag slowed the pace on lap 10 when two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex spun in turn three and was collected by Chris Clayton of Waldo.

On the restart, Arenz flexed his muscle utilizing the extreme low groove to gain ground on Wondra, while Justin Miller, who started 10^th, charged into third on lap 11.

After hounding Wondra for several laps, Arenz made his move on lap 16, taking the lead in turn one. Justin Miller followed suit in getting past Wondra to set up an exciting duel to the finish.

On lap 18, Arenz encountered slower traffic, which allowed Miller to close the gap considerably. The two dueled side-by-side briefly on lap 20 before Arenz pulled away after clearing the lapped car.

Miller worked the low line to perfection in the final five circuits to close within striking range. On the final lap, Miller shot underneath Arenz in turn one to seize the top spot. Miller then held on to claim his second career PDTR Sprint Car and fourth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

Arenz, who captured the 2013 PDTR Outlaw Compact championship, posted a career-best runner-up finish in his first season behind the wheel of a Sprint Car. Walter was third, Brabant finished fourth and Wondra rounded out the top five.

Kevin Baldry grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 30-lap Late Model A main from the pole position with four-time PDTR Late Model champion and current point leader Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started second, sliding into the runner-up spot.

Just as Mueller closed the gap along the prevailing inside groove on lap 9 the first of four caution flags appeared for an infield tire on the track surface. On the restart, seventh starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove moved past 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started third, to assume third.

After two more caution periods for spins involving Eric Michaels of Cleveland and Jim Letizia of Milwaukee, fourth starter Justin Schmidt of Cleveland showed some strength, moving into third place and pressuring Mueller for second.

The final caution flag appeared on lap 17 when Late Model rookie Chad Vetting of Valders, Charlie Schmidt and Eric Michaels collided in turn one.

Over the final 13 laps, Baldry clung tight to the inside lane to successfully hold off Mueller and Justin Schmidt en route to his first career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph. Mueller was second, Justin Schmidt finished third, Buhler took fourth and sixth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Chad Espen of West Bend jumped into the lead of the 30-lap Grand National A main followed by third starter Steven Weber of Plymouth. Four caution flags over the first two laps ground the race to a halt in the early going.

When the race returned to green flag action, Luke Scholten, who was behind the wheel of the Bender Racing No. 89 machine, moved into third on lap 3 after starting ninth. After the fifth and final caution flag of the race appeared on lap 12 for an infield tire in turn four, Espen continued to lead with Scholten hot on his heels.

On lap 19, Espen lost control of his car and spun into the infield in turn four. Espen’s misfortune turned the lead over to Scholten, who held off fifth starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth over the final 11 circuits to claim his 10^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Kulow was second, fourth starter Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee recovered from a trip to the pits to repair a flat tire on lap 1 to finish third, Espen battled back from his spin to place fourth and 10^th starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake placed fifth.

Outside front row starter Gary Glander outpowered polesitter Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls to gain the lead of the 30-lap B Mod A main on the opening circuit with third starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls and seventh starter Tim Warner of Malone in tow.

On lap 9, Travis Schmidt of Plymouth, who started ninth, worked his way into third and three laps later Schmidt passed Kretschmann in turn one to assume second.

After a pair of caution flags for spins, Schmidt continued to pressure Glander for the top spot, pulling even with Glander on a few occasions with some contact made between the two on lap 26.

After the fourth and final caution flag appeared on lap 27 for a spin involving Jesse Cullen of Chilton, Glander closed out the race in impressive fashion to post his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

A slight bobble from Schmidt on the final lap allowed 2016 PDTR B Mod champion Brandon Berth of Cascade to steak into second after starting sixth, Schmidt wound up third, Derek Fehling of Beaver Dam charged up from the 17^th starting spot to finish fourth and 16^th starter J.J. Walvoord of Oostburg placed fifth.

Polesitter Jake Dohner of Milton paced the first five laps of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main before fourth starter Preston Ruh assumed the top spot on lap 6.

Dave Collins of Madison, who started second, closed the gap on Ruh on lap 10 before fifth starter Jack Vanderboom of Dousman slipped past Collins to gain the runner-up spot.

After two caution flags on lap 13 and lap 14 for spins, Ruh maintained the top spot over the final two laps to collect his fourth career PDTR Micro Sprint A main victory. Vanderboom was second, Collins took third and Dohner placed fourth.

The Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program, which was sponsored by Dale’s Pale Ale and Oskar Blues Brewery, featured 81 cars, including 28 B Mods, 20 Sprint Cars, 11 Late Models, 16 Grand Nationals and six Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, July 14, topped off by autograph night following the races. The racing program, which begins at 6 p.m., will be sponsored by Hopf Farms.

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.

Miller posts first career PDTR Sprint Car A-main win

By Jeff Pederson, Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 9, 2017 – On a night when four of the five regular Plymouth Dirt Track Racing divisions crowned 2017 champions at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds third-mile clay oval, one of the biggest turnouts of cars and fans of the season gathered to join in the festivities Saturday, Sept. 9.

In the Late Model division, 30-year veteran Brad Mueller of Random Lake claimed his third A-main victory of the 2017 campaign and his fourth career PDTR Late Model title. Cascade’s Mark Fieber racked up his second career title in the Grand National division. Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls collected his first career B Mod championship and rookie Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake secured the Micro Sprint crown.

In main event action, Plymouth’s Justin Miller held off a hard charge from two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex to earn his first career 25-lap Sprint Car A-main victory at Plymouth. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth notched his first PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2017 season in the 25-lap A main. Jared Siefert of Luxemburg raced to his first PDTR B Mod triumph of the season, while Zach Boden of Cambridge captured his third 15-lap Micro Sprint A-main victory of the 20017 PDTR campaign.

Polesitter Justin Miller grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Sprint Car A main with 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started on the outside of the front row, following in second.

On lap 4, Davis closed in to challenge Miller along the high groove. Two laps later, 2008 PDTR Sprint Car champ Lance Fassbender spun in turn two while running third, which brought out the first caution flag of the race.

With Miller running the high groove, Davis worked the middle to low lanes in an attempt to oust the lead from Miller when green flag action resumed. On lap 12, Davis attempted to slide past Miller in turn two, but Miller held strong to retain the lead.

The action really heated up two laps later when seventh starter Danny Schlafer joined the duel for the lead. With Miller sticking to the top, Davis running the middle and Schlafer working the low line, the three drivers raced three-wide on lap 17 with Miller holding the slightest of advantages over the two most successful drivers in the history of the Midwest Sprint Car Association.

On lap 18, Davis worked past Miller exiting turn two to seize the lead. However, Davis got very high in turn three and clipped the wall in turn four to bring out the second caution of the race and end his chance at victory.

Miller regained the lead on the restart with Schlafer trailing in second. Miller got a good job on the restart to pull out to a quarter straightaway cushion before Schlafer battled back to mount a late charge. The hard-charging Schlafer slipped past Miller along the inside lane to seize the lead on lap 24.

However, Miller pulled off a big power move on the cushion in turns one and two to regain the lead on the final lap and nip Schlafer by one car length at the finish line to register his first career PDTR Sprint Car main event victory and his second overall MSA A-main triumph.

Schlafer had to settle for second, eighth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah finished third, fifth starter Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove placed fourth and Kevin Karnitz of West Bend, who started sixth, placed fifth.

With extra money added to the Late Model A-main purse for the evening, courtesy of an effort led by Late Model supporters Chad Marquardt and Greg Wester, a strong field of 28 Late Models checked into the pit area with 22 lining up for the main event.

Outside front row starter Billy Rezutek of Big Bend grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag ahead of polesitter Joe Reuter of Green Bay. On lap 3, Brad Mueller, who started fourth, worked around Reuter to take over second while sixth starter Chris Carlson of Union Grove gained third on lap 5.

With Rezutek running the extreme high groove, Mueller found grip in the middle of the wide, slick track surface to pull even with Rezutek on lap 8. After a brief side-by-side duel, Mueller assumed the top spot on lap 9.

Carlson then moved in to battle Rezutek for second place on lap 14 before taking over the runner-up position one lap later. However, Mueller was not to be denied at the head of the field as he rolled to his third A-main victory of the season and 19^th career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph by five car lengths over Carlson to secure his fourth career PDTR Late Model championship.

Carlson was second, Reuter placed third, third starter Jared Siefert of Luxemburg placed fourth and eighth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha rounded out the top five in the caution-free race.

Polesitter Tyler Kulow assumed the lead on the drop of the green flag in the Grand National main event with 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey trailing in second. The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 2 for a spin involving Matt Jackson of Sheboygan in turn two.

On lap 3, fourth starter Mark Fieber moved past Yancey into second with Dotyville’s Matt Loehr, who started fifth, following into third. With the top three cars running in nose-to-tail fashion along the low groove, Loehr began to apply heavy pressure to Fieber on lap 15 before diving under Fieber to take second on lap 18.

Three consecutive caution periods slowed the race starting on lap 21. When the race resumed, Fieber outpowered Loehr to regain second on lap 22, while seventh starter Jeff Lammers of Plymouth slipped past Loehr to take third.

Meanwhile, Kulow pulled away to claim his second career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph. Fieber secured his second Grand National title by placing second, Lammers was third, Loehr took fourth and Kurt Davis came up for his 10^th starting spot to finish fifth.

After two aborted starts, Jared Siefert gained the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main from his outside front row starting position. On lap 4, third starter Chad Vetting of Valders worked past polesitter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls to take over second, while Travis Schmidt of Plymouth moved up from the fifth starting position to take over third on lap 8.

Siefert was strong out front as he built up a full straightaway lead over Vetting by lap 12. The third and final caution flag of the event was displayed on lap 18 when John Singer spun in turn four.

Four laps later Schmidt used the high groove to work past Vetting into second place. However, it was all Siefert at the head of the field en route to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Schmidt placed second, Vetting was third, Randy Lemieux placed fourth after starting 10^th and Glander rounded out the top five.

Chad Bogar of Sun Prairie took the lead in the early going of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main from the third starting spot. On lap 8, Zach Boden, who started sixth, moved into to challenge Bogar for the lead.

On lap later, Boden executive a low move in turn one to take the lead for good. The 2016 PDTR Micro Sprint champion cruised the rest of the way to a full straightaway victory over Bogar. Jack Vanderboom of Dousman placed third after starting seventh, fifth starting Dave Collins of Madison was fourth and second starter Preston Ruh wrapped up the 2017 PDTR Micro Sprint title with a fifth place showing.

Prior to the racing program, Randy Markwardt of Sheboygan was presented with the PDTR Dedication to Dirt Award for his efforts during a long and successful racing career, which began with Eastern Wisconsin Stock Cars at Plymouth in 1977.

During his career, Markwardt racked up two track championships at Plymouth in the Sportsman (1993) and Limited Late Model (1999) divisions and was one of the most popular drivers with fans. Markwardt, who was inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Racing Hall of Fame in 2014, announced his retirement from racing earlier this year with Saturday’s PDTR program serving as his final race.

Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum won the Sprint Car B main, Dave Fieber of Neenah captured the Late Model B main and Steve Lorier of Sheboygan won the B Mod B main.

A total of 111 cars check into the pit area for the evening, including 29 Sprint Cars, 28 Late Models, 24 B Mods, 22 Grand Nationals and 8 Micro Sprints.

After two weekends off, the final race of the season at The Plymouth Dirt Track is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30. The program will feature the final points night for the PDTR 360 Sprint Car division, along with the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprints.

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

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.