McMullen, Scholten, Steenbergen rack up PDTR main events wins

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 12, 2023 – For all of his success at tracks throughout the state of Wisconsin, five-time Dirt Kings Late Model tour champion Nick Anvelink of Bonduel had not previously captured a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model main event victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. until besting a strong field of 25 competitors to claim a $2,000 payday in the 30-lap 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series A-main on Saturday, Aug. 12.

At the conclusion of the final event of the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series, Brad Mueller of Random Lake collected his fifth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model championship after recording one victory and top-five finishes in each of the five completed A main events.

In the 25-lap Akright Auto PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association A main, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh tallied his third A-main victory of the 2023 PDTR campaign to retain his points lead heading into the final four nights of the season.

Defending PDTR Grand National champion Luke Scholten of Oostburg picked up his first 25-lap Oostburg Automotive main event win of the 2023 season.

Jeff Steenbergen of Johnson Creek notched his first 2023 Next Step Insurance 25-lap B Mod A-main victory in the car normally driven by two-time PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Malone.

Five-time PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 30-lap Super Six Late Model Series A main from the pole position with third starter Nick Anvelink following in second.

On lap 3, Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha used the low line to work his way into third from the fifth starting position. By lap 5, Schmidt had built up a full straightaway lead over Anvelink before the leaders caught lap traffic three laps later.

With the leaders utilizing the preferred high groove of the well-manicured, multi-groove third-mile clay oval, Anvelink closed to within striking distance of Schmidt on lap 11. As Anvelink began to apply heavy pressure for the lead in dense lapped traffic, Schmidt’s car began to display heavy smoke on lap 14, which prompted him to pull his ailing machine into the infield.

Anvelink, who is the all-time career Shawano Speedway Late Model A-main victory leader, then inherited the lead with Scheffler trailing in second and 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha, who started sixth, following in third. The lone caption flag of the race was displayed on lap 15 for Schmidt’s smoking car in the infield, which necessitated assistance from the track’s fire crew.

When the race resumed, McGrath powered his way past Scheffler into second with a high move exiting turn four on lap 16. Anvelink continued to work the cushion to perfection over the second half of the race as McGrath gave chase in his tire tracks.

With two-wide lapped traffic to work through in the closing laps, Anvelink adjusted his line to move down to the bottom groove on several occasions, which proved successful in extending his lead over McGrath.

Anvelink went on to notch his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and claim the $2,000 first-place prize in the final race of the 2023 PDTR Super Six Late Model Series.

“The track was really top dominant, so I stayed up there most of the race because it was so good,” Anvelink said. “Then I got boxed in behind lapped traffic late in the race and didn’t want to get slid, so I pulled down to the bottom for a few laps and it actually worked well for me. We had a good car. I’m happy. That’s for sure.”

McGrath had to settle for second, Scheffler placed third, Brad Mueller of Random Lake captured the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series title and his fifth overall PDTR Late Model championship by a two-point margin over Taylor Scheffler with a fourth place finish, after starting 10^th and Mike Mullen of Seymour worked his way up from the 11^th starting spot to place fifth.

In the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A main, 2014 MSA Masters Series and three-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champ Paul Pokorski of West Bend took the lead in turn one of the opening lap from the pole behind the wheel of Spyder Akright’s 53A car.

On lap 2, Paul’s son, Alex Pokorski of West Bend, maneuvered his way into second in turn one from the third starting position. Two laps later, Brandon McMullen worked the high groove from his fifth starting spot to assume second from Alex Pokorski in turn two.

McMullen then swept past Paul Pokorski into the lead in turn one on lap six before quickly building up a full straightaway cushion over the rest of the field. On lap 10, 2011 PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Plymouth moved into third from his sixth starting spot before taking over second along the high groove in turn three on lap 12.

The first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 15 when Justin Erickson of Plymouth spun in turn four. After the restart, outside front row starter T.J. Smith of Greenville and Alex Pokorski exchanged slide jobs before Alex Pokorski maintained fourth place in the running order.

Meanwhile, McMullen had built up a half-straightaway lead over Schmidt at the head of the pack. The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 20 just before the second and final caution flag came out on lap 21 when T.J. Haddy of Waupun spun in turn two.

With five laps remaining in the race, a single-file restart was incorporated as McMullen used a strong restart to bolt away from Schmidt in the closing laps en route to his third PDTR 360 Sprint A-main victory and fourth MSA 360 Sprint main event win of the 2023 season. It was also the four-time MSA 360 Sprint Car champion’s all-time division leading 30^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph and 42^nd overall MSA 360 Sprint A-main win to move into sole possession of third place on the all-time MSA victory list.

Schmidt placed second, Paul Pokorski finished third in just his sixth event of the 2023 season, Alex Pokorski was fourth and T.J. Smith rounded out the top five.

Second starter Luke Scholten outpowered polesitter Nick Schumacher of Eagle to assume the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National main event with Schumacher following in second.

On lap 2, third starter Justin Pearson of Horicon moved his way into second before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 3 when Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge stopped along the front stretch, after losing a left front tire in turn four.

Following the restart, Pearson bolted in to pressure Scholten for the lead on lap 11. As the leader weaved their way through lapped traffic, Pearson continued to hound Scholten for the top spot.

Finally, on lap 21, Pearson used the outside groove to swing past Scholten into the lead. Two laps later, Scholten battled back to challenge Pearson for the top spot. However, one lap later Pearson slowed and pulled his car into the infield exiting turn four on lap 24, as the white flag was just about to be displayed to the field.

With Pearson out of the race, Scholten regained the lead and held on through a green-white-checkered flag finish to secure his first PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2023 season and 18^th career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph to move him six wins behind overall division victories leader Brad Lubach.

Fourth starter Will Sorce of Franklin placed second, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed third after starting fifth, Seth Westimayer of Horicon finished fourth after starting fourth and six-time Plymouth Dirt Track Super Stock and Grand National champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth finished fifth after starting seventh.

Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum led the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main from the pole with third starter Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon sliding into second on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Hoeppner began to close in on Knepprath before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Joey Krentz of Denmark spun in turn four.

On the restart, Jeff Steenbergen steered the 03W car normally driven by Tim Warner into third in turn four from the sixth starting spot. Steenbergen advanced to second on lap 5 before powering his way into the lead with a high move in turn two on lap 6.

Two laps later, the second and final caution flag appeared when Michael Strean of Sheboygan stalled his car near the frontstretch infield off of turn four.

Steenbergen powered out to a sizeable advantage over Hoeppner on the restart as fourth starter Barry Maas of Cascade moved into third on lap 11. Steenbergen cruised the rest of the way en route to his first PDTR B Mod A-main victory of the 2023 campaign and fifth career PDTR B Mod main event win. It was also the fifth time Tim Warner’s 03W car had parked in victory lane in PDTR B Mod A-main competition this season.

Hoeppner finished second, Maas placed third, Knepprath wound up fourth and ninth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls wound up fifth.

Taylor Scheffler was the top qualifier in the 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series and set a new Plymouth Dirt Track Late Model track record in the process with a lap of 13.605 seconds.

Ben Schmidt registered the fast qualifier award in the Akright PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.566 seconds.

Tom Naeyaert of Shawano collected the victory in the 12-lap Super Six Late Model Series B Main.

Bill Taylor of Boltonville posted a victory in the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

Extra money was donated to the top 12 finishes in the Grand National and B Mod A-main fields courtesy of Tom Ott and the family of Dave Deicher.

The 13^th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by JDL Automotive and Detailing, drew a total of 80 cars, including 25 Super Six Series Late Models 24 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Grand Nationals, 15 B Mods.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Aug. 19 will feature the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods and the third and final appearance of the 2023 season from the Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

106.5 THE BUZZ SUPER SIX LATE MODEL SERIES

A Main (30 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Anvelink [3]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath [6]; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [5]; 4. 89-Brad Mueller [10]; 5. 99M-Mike Mullen [11]; 6. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [15]; 7. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [4]; 8. 77-Bill Edler [8]; 9. 8R-Bill Rezutek [2]; 10. 70-Justin Ritchie [13]; 11. 19J-Justin Green [16]; 12. 10-Paul Parker [9]; 13. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [17]; 14. 33E-Chris Engels [7]; 15. 24-Turk Letizia [21]; 16. 99-Sawyer Specht [14]; 17. 57M-Eric Michaels [19]; 18. 22-Charlie Schmidt [18]; 19. 54-Kevin Baldry [12]; 20. 97-Justin Schmidt [1]; 21. (DNS) 44-Wayne Freimund

B Main (12 Laps): 1. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [1]; 2. 22-Charlie Schmidt [8]; 3. 57M-Eric Michaels [2]; 4. 44-Wayne Freimund [5]; 5. 24-Turk Letizia [7]; 6. 21-Bobby Gash [3]; 7. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [4]; 8. (DNF) 5X-Chad Ludwigson [6]; 9. (DNS) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 8R-Bill Rezutek [2]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt [6]; 3. 54-Kevin Baldry [1]; 4. 70-Justin Ritchie [3]; 5. 99-Sawyer Specht [5]; 6. 21-Bobby Gash [4]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels [7]; 8. 5X-Chad Ludwigson [8]; 9. (DNS) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [1]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath [2]; 3. 77-Bill Edler [3]; 4. 33E-Chris Engels [6]; 5. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [5]; 6. 19J-Justin Green [7]; 7. 22-Charlie Schmidt [4]; 8. 24-Turk Letizia [8]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Anvelink [1]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller [2]; 4. 99M-Mike Mullen [4]; 5. 10-Paul Parker [7]; 6. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [5]; 7. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [6]; 8. 44-Wayne Freimund [8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.116 [9]; 2. 8R-Bill Rezutek, 14.330 [5]; 3. 54-Kevin Baldry, 14.533 [7]; 4. 21-Bobby Gash, 15.022 [8]; 5. 99-Sawyer Specht, 15.149 [4]; 6. 97-Justin Schmidt, 15.390 [2]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels, 16.225 [1]; 8. 5X-Chad Ludwigson, 17.231 [3]; 9. (DNF) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim, 17.231 [6]

Qualifying 2: 1. 24-Turk Letizia, 13.836 [6]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.868 [3]; 3. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 13.948 [7]; 4. 77-Bill Edler, 14.031 [8]; 5. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 14.085 [4]; 6. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.518 [5]; 7. 33E-Chris Engels, 14.579 [2]; 8. 19J-Justin Green, 14.985 [1]

Qualifying 3: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.605 [5]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.742 [7]; 3. 15-Nick Anvelink, 13.855 [4]; 4. 99M-Mike Mullen, 13.876 [2]; 5. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.120 [3]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 14.180 [8]; 7. 10-Paul Parker, 14.273 [6]; 8. 44-Wayne Freimund, 14.902 [1]

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [5]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [6]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski [1]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [7]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [9]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [12]; 9. 7-Lance Fassbender [8]; 10. 85J-Logan Julien [14]; 11. 30-Doug Wondra [10]; 12. 66-Nick Daywalt [11]; 13. 66T-Tristan Koenings [15]; 14. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 15. 51-Chris Larson [18]; 16. 11-Tony Wondra [21]; 17. 24-Scott Conger [17]; 18. 69-Bill Taylor [16]; 19. 54-Randy Post [19]; 20. 7L-Ellie Hensley [20]; 21. 21H-TJ Haddy [4]; 22. 38-Ben Doak [22]; 23. (DNS) 08-Katelyn Krebsbach

B Main: 1. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 2. 24-Scott Conger [4]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [3]; 4. 54-Randy Post [2]; 5. 7L-Ellie Hensley [8]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 7. 38-Ben Doak [7]; 8. (DNF) 88-Chris Flick [5]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 66T-Tristan Koenings [2]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt [5]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton [7]; 7. 24-Scott Conger [6]; 8. 88-Chris Flick [8]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski [5]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien [2]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [1]; 7. 54-Randy Post [7]; 8. 38-Ben Doak [8]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [3]; 3. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra [5]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 7. 51-Chris Larson [6]; 8. 7L-Ellie Hensley [8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.753 [2]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.768 [5]; 3. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 12.823 [4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.854 [8]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt, 12.908 [7]; 6. 24-Scott Conger, 13.129 [6]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.172 [1]; 8. 88-Chris Flick, 13.410 [3]

Qualifying 2: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.566 [6]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.808 [5]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.811 [3]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.986 [1]; 5. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 13.109 [7]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.158 [4]; 7. 54-Randy Post, 13.192 [2]; 8. 38-Ben Doak, 15.270 [8]

Qualifying 3: 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.899 [5]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.996 [7]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.031 [1]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.112 [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.223 [3]; 6. 51-Chris Larson, 13.281 [4]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.358 [6]; 8. 7L-Ellie Hensley, 13.652 [8]

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main: 1. 80-Luke Scholten [2]; 2. 14X-Will Sorce [8]; 3. 24K-Tyler Kulow [5]; 4. 14-Seth Westimayer [4]; 5. 89-Brian Gilles [7]; 6. 47-Nick Schumacher [1]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow [9]; 8. 5R-Nate Ruh [13]; 9. 87-Eric Lingford [14]; 10. 34-Steven Weber [6]; 11. 6-Dick Hed [15]; 12. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [16]; 13. 42S-Jackson Specht [12]; 14. E85-Justin Pearson [3]; 15. 23-Matt Loehr [11]; 16. 53W-Dustin Weiss [10]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 34-Steven Weber [1]; 2. 14-Seth Westimayer [3]; 3. 89-Brian Gilles [8]; 4. 80-Luke Scholten [6]; 5. 23-Matt Loehr [2]; 6. 5R-Nate Ruh [4]; 7. 42S-Jackson Specht [7]; 8. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [5]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 14X-Will Sorce [5]; 2. E85-Justin Pearson [1]; 3. 24K-Tyler Kulow [6]; 4. 47-Nick Schumacher [2]; 5. 53W-Dustin Weiss [4]; 6. 95-Donny Kulow [7]; 7. 6-Dick Hed [3]; 8. 87-Eric Lingford [8]

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 03W-Jeff Steenbergen [6]; 2. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 3. 22M-Barry Maas [4]; 4. 17-Brandon Knepprath [1]; 5. 17S-Shane Long [9]; 6. 66-Steve Lorier [5]; 7. 73-Rory Welch [7]; 8. 26-David Paskiewicz [8]; 9. 59S-Spencer Long [11]; 10. 19-Parker Glander [13]; 11. 117-Tom Barnharst [12]; 12. 54-Michael Strean [15]; 13. 3-Travis Schmidt [10]; 14. 26JK-Joey Krentz [14]; 15. 25-Jim Fischer [2]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 17S-Shane Long [2]; 2. 3-Travis Schmidt [5]; 3. 03W-Jeff Steenbergen [6]; 4. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 5. 17-Brandon Knepprath [4]; 6. 25-Jim Fischer [8]; 7. 19-Parker Glander [1]; 8. (DNF) 26JK-Joey Krentz [7]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 73-Rory Welch [1]; 2. 66-Steve Lorier [2]; 3. 26-David Paskiewicz [6]; 4. 22M-Barry Maas [5]; 5. 59S-Spencer Long [3]; 6. 117-Tom Barnharst [4]; 7. (DNS) 54-Michael Strean

Pearson, Warner, Heinert claim PDTR A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 5, 2023 – Twelve years after collecting his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car championship, Ben Schmidt of Plymouth continued his quest for a second division crown by racking up his seventh Akright Auto PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2023 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 5.

Justin Pearson of Horicon tallied his second 25-lap Oostburg Auto Grand National A-main triumph of the 2023 campaign.

In the 25-lap Next Step Insurance B Mod main event, Malone’s Tim Warner earned his fourth A-main victory of the 2023 PDTR season.

Mark Heinert of Oak Creek notched his second IRA Lightning Sprints A-main triumph of the 2023 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season and sixth overall 2023 A-main victory by topping the 20-lap 106.5 The Buzz guest division main event.

Outside front row starter Brandon Berth of Cascade outpowered rookie polesitter Hayden Johnson of Campbellsport to grab the lead in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A main, while sixth starter Ben Schmidt used the extreme outside groove to vault into third in turn two.

On lap 2, T.J. Smith of Greenville spun in turn two to bring out the first of two caution flags. On the restart, Schmidt wasted no time as he blasted his way around Berth in turn two on lap 3 to take over the top spot.

Schmidt built up a solid cushion at the head of the field over the next four laps before catching up to the back of the pack on lap 8, which allowed Berth to reduce the lead gap.

On lap 12, Berth closed to within striking distance of Schmidt, as the leaders weaved their way through thick lapped traffic on the well-manicured, multi-groove track surface. Berth continued to hound Schmidt over the next 12 circuits until the second and final caution flag was displayed on 24 when Chris Flick of Beaver Dam spun to a stop near the turn four wall.

Following a single-file green-white-checkered flag restart, Schmidt bolted away from Berth and the rest of the pack en route to his 22^nd career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, 41^st career MSA 360 Sprint Car triumph, seventh A-main win of the 2023 PDTR 360 Sprint Car season and ninth over MSA main event win of his stellar 2023 campaign.

The win moved Schmidt, who captured the 2011 MSA 360 Sprint Car title, into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list and into a tie for third on the all-time MSA 360 Sprint A-main win list with four-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh.

“Hats off to the track prep crew tonight for giving us a great track to race on,” Schmidt said. “The track was fast and smooth and there was a nice cushion to run tonight.”

Berth wound up second, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen charged up from the 14^th starting spot to finish third, rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc placed fourth after starting seventh and fifth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Chad Espen of West Bend jumped into the lead in the first turn of the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR Grand National A main. On lap 2, fourth starter Justin Pearson moved up to take over the second spot in turn two.

One lap later, Pearson used a high move to power his way into the lead along the back stretch. On lap 4, third starter Will Sorce of Franklin engaged in a duel with Espen for second before taking over the runner-up spot in turn two on lap five.

As Pearson controlled the lead, Brian Gilles of Plymouth, a six-time Plymouth track champion in the Super Stock and Grand National divisions, moved up from his sixth starting position to work past Espen to secure third on lap 10.

Sorce caught Pearson on lap 13 and the two ran nose to tail along primarily the high line and middle groove of the third-mile clay oval during the second half of the race. The leaders caught lapped traffic on lap 20, which allowed Sorce to duck under Pearson on a couple of occasions.

However, Pearson was up to the challenge as he held off Sorce over the final five laps en route to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in the caution-free race.

Sorce placed second, Gilles finished third, 2022 PDTR Grand National champ Luke Scholten of Oostburg wound up fourth after starting eighth and Espen rounded out the top five.

Steve Lorier of Sheboygan, who started second, bolted into the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main with fourth starter Barry Maas of Cascade taking second.

On the second go around, Tim Warner maneuvered up from the sixth starting spot to take third. One lap later, Maas moved in to challenge the high-riding Lorier for the lead along the low groove.

Over the next four laps, Lorier, Maas and Warner engaged in a heated duel for the top spot before the red flag appeared when the car of Hunter Larson of Oostburg flipped on its side during a three-car incident, which also involved Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon and Jonathan Hitsman of Newton.

On the restart, Warner used the low groove to take over second from Maas on lap 8. Warner challenged Lorier repeatedly for the top spot by working the high and low grooves during the next 11 laps before finally taking over the lead with a low move in turn two on lap 19 with Maas following in second.

Warner built up a huge lead over the final six laps en route to his division-leading 11^th career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph and fourth PDTR B Mod main event victory of the 2023 campaign.

Polesitter Ron Brannam of Holiday Hills, Ill. moved into the lead in turn one of the opening lap of the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints main event with outside front row starter Max Brannam of Holiday Hills, Ill., who started second, taking second.

On lap 3, Mark Heinert, who started third, used a high move to assume second from Max Brannam. After moving in to challenge for the lead on lap 4, Heinert swept his way into the top spot exiting turn four on lap 5.

Once out front, Heinert switched his pace into overdrive, as he built up a solid cushion before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 19 when the second place car of Ron Brannam got tangled up with Jordan Funderburk of Wadsworth, Ill. in turn two.

Following a single-file restart green-white-checkered flag restart, Heinert continued to lead, while the second place car of Max Brannam spun in turn four on the final lap.

Heinert, who won the IRA Lightning Sprints A-main at Plymouth on July 1, went on to notch his second IRA Lightning Sprints main event victory of The Plymouth Dirt Track 2023 campaign and sixth overall 2023 IRA Lightning Sprints A-main triumph.

Third starter Brian Strane Jr. of Paris took second, Derek Fortier of Franksville placed third after starting sixth, Jacob Irwin of Genoa City finished fourth after starting eighth and 13^th starter John Kirk of Johnsburg, Ill. was fifth.

Justin Erickson of Plymouth turned in the fast qualifier award in the Akright PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.674 seconds.

Mark Heinert was the top qualifier in the 106.5 The Buzz IRA Lightning Sprints division with a lap of 13.440 seconds.

The 12^th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Racers Hall, drew a total of 68 cars, including 24 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 15 Grand Nationals, 14 B Mods and 15 IRA Lightning Sprints.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Aug. 12 will feature the sixth and final event of the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series, along with the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods.

The Super Six Late Model Series A main will pay $2,000 to win and $200 to start. In addition, extra money will be added to the PDTR Grand National and B Mod purses courtesy of Judy Deicher and an anonymous donor.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [6]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 3. 98-Brandon McMullen [14]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [5]; 6. 7-Lance Fassbender [3]; 7. 4-Alex Pokorski [17]; 8. 44-Hayden Johnson [1]; 9. 69-Bill Taylor [4]; 10. 30-Doug Wondra [9]; 11. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [16]; 12. 66-Nick Daywalt [12]; 13. 11-Tony Wondra [18]; 14. 51-Chris Larson [13]; 15. 66T-Tristan Koenings [19]; 16. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 17. 12P-JJ Pagel [10]; 18. 54-Randy Post [15]; 19. 21H-TJ Haddy [21]; 20. 88-Chris Flick [11]; 21. 53A-Spyder Akright [20]; 22. 92-Kevin Seidler [22]; 23. (DNS) 53-Shane Wenninger; 24. (DNS) 3-Justin Erickson

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth [3]; 3. 12P-JJ Pagel [1]; 4. 30-Doug Wondra [4]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt [6]; 6. 66T-Tristan Koenings [5]; 7. 53A-Spyder Akright [7]; 8. (DNF) 92-Kevin Seidler [8]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien [2]; 3. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 4. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 5. 51-Chris Larson [6]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [5]; 7. 4-Alex Pokorski [8]; 8. 21H-TJ Haddy [7]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 2. 7-Lance Fassbender [3]; 3. 44-Hayden Johnson [5]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 5. 88-Chris Flick [6]; 6. 54-Randy Post [7]; 7. (DNF) 53-Shane Wenninger [4]; 8. (DNS) 3-Justin Erickson

Qualifying 1: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.394 [4]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.429 [5]; 3. 53A-Spyder Akright, 13.937 [8]; 4. 12P-JJ Pagel, 14.043 [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra, 14.189 [7]; 6. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 14.224 [6]; 7. 66-Nick Daywalt, 14.605 [3]; 8. 92-Kevin Seidler, 14.863 [1]

Qualifying 2: 1. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.794 [8]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.927 [7]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien, 13.093 [3]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.105 [4]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.201 [2]; 6. 51-Chris Larson, 13.215 [6]; 7. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.294 [1]; 8. 4-Alex Pokorski, 13.294 [5]

Qualifying 3: 1. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.674 [1]; 2. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.743 [3]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.866 [8]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.893 [4]; 5. 53-Shane Wenninger, 12.988 [5]; 6. 44-Hayden Johnson, 13.000 [7]; 7. 88-Chris Flick, 13.400 [2]; 8. 54-Randy Post, 13.519 [6]

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main: 1. E85-Justin Pearson [4]; 2. 14X-Will Sorce [3]; 3. 89-Brian Gilles [6]; 4. 80-Luke Scholten [8]; 5. 72E-Chad Espen [2]; 6. 24K-Tyler Kulow [5]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow [10]; 8. 53W-Dustin Weiss [7]; 9. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 10. 34-Steven Weber [15]; 11. 23-Matt Loehr [13]; 12. 5R-Nate Ruh [11]; 13. 15-Derek Kaat [14]; 14. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [9]; 15. 6-Dick Hed [12]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 24K-Tyler Kulow [2]; 2. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 3. 72E-Chad Espen [5]; 4. 80-Luke Scholten [3]; 5. 53W-Dustin Weiss [8]; 6. 23-Matt Loehr [4]; 7. 6-Dick Hed [7]; 8. 34-Steven Weber [6]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 89-Brian Gilles [3]; 2. 14X-Will Sorce [4]; 3. E85-Justin Pearson [7]; 4. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [1]; 5. 5R-Nate Ruh [2]; 6. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 7. 15-Derek Kaat [6]

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 03W-Tim Warner [6]; 2. 22M-Barry Maas [4]; 3. 3-Travis Schmidt [8]; 4. 66-Steve Lorier [2]; 5. 17S-Shane Long [7]; 6. 73-Rory Welch [11]; 7. 17-Brandon Knepprath [1]; 8. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 9. 59S-Spencer Long [9]; 10. 19-Parker Glander [13]; 11. 117-Tom Barnharst [14]; 12. 117H-Jonathon Hitsman [5]; 13. 25-Jim Fischer [12]; 14. 9L-Hunter Larson [10]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 03W-Timothy Warner [4]; 2. 66-Steve Lorier [2]; 3. 84-Mark Hoeppner [6]; 4. 17S-Shane Long [3]; 5. 59S-Spencer Long [5]; 6. 73-Rory Welch [1]; 7. 117-Tom Barnharst [7]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 117H-Jonathan Hitsman [4]; 2. 22M-Barry Maas [6]; 3. 17-Brandon Knepprath [1]; 4. 3-Travis Schmidt [3]; 5. 9L-Hunter Larson [5]; 6. (DNF) 25-Jim Fischer [7]; 7. (DNF) 19-Parker Glander [2]

106.5 THE BUZZ IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 55H-Mark Heinert [4]; 2. 22S-Brian Strane Jr. [3]; 3. 11-Derek Fortier [6]; 4. 63-Jacob Irwin [8]; 5. 9-John Kirk [13]; 6. 6-Jeff Schmidt [5]; 7. 3-Ron Curasi [7]; 8. 55X-Xander York [11]; 9. 33-David Powers [10]; 10. 74M-Max Brannam [2]; 11. (DNF) 21T-Mitchell Reich [14]; 12. (DNF) 23-Dominick Swierad [15]; 13. (DNF) 01-Ron Brannam [1]; 14. (DNF) 17-Jordan Funderburk [12]; 15. (DNF) 74-Tim Brannam [9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 55H-Mark Heinert [4]; 2. 3-Ron Curasi [1]; 3. 74M-Max Brannam [3]; 4. 6-Jeff Schmidt [2]; 5. 74-Tim Brannam [5]; 6. 9-John Kirk [8]; 7. 21T-Mitchell Reich [7]; 8. 17-Jordan Funderburk [6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Derek Fortier [2]; 2. 63-Jacob Irwin [1]; 3. 22S-Brian Strane Jr. [4]; 4. 01-Ron Brannam [3]; 5. 33-David Powers [6]; 6. 55X-Xander York [5]; 7. 23-Dominick Swierad [7]

Qualifying: 1. 55H-Mark Heinert, 13.440 [2]; 2. 22S-Brian Strane Jr, 13.585 [9]; 3. 74M-Max Brannam, 13.592 [13]; 4. 01-Ron Brannam, 13.667[ 6]; 5. 6-Jeff Schmidt, 13.897 [4]; 6. 11-Derek Fortier, 13.997 [15]; 7. 3-Ron Curasi, 14.063 [5]; 8. 63-Jacob Irwin, 14.133 [11]; 9. 74-Tim Brannam, 14.206 [3]; 10. 55X-Xander York, 14.556 [8]; 11. 17-Jordan Funderburk, 14.803 [1]; 12. 33-David Powers, 14.923 [14]; 13. 21T-Mitchell Reich, 15.336 [12]; 14. 23-Dominick Swierad, 15.336 [10]; 15. 9-John Kirk, 15.336 [7]

Karnitz, Sorce, Maas score PDTR A-main wins

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 15, 2023 – With 11 accomplished competitors, five valued contributors and three dedicated racing families  representing various eras of the track’s 73-year history in attendance as part of the second annual Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Night induction program, four modern-day racers carved out their own slice of history by notching Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main victories at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 15.

In the fourth Super Six Late Model Series main event of the 2023 campaign, 2014 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha outdueled Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha following a late restart and fended off a a spirited charge from four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake in the closing laps to earn his second straight 30-lap 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series A-main triumph.

Kevin Karnitz of West Bend survived five caution and red flag restarts to secure his first Akright Auto PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory of the 2023 season in the incident-plagued time-shortened 19-lap main event.

Will Sorce of Franklin earned his second straight and fourth overall 25-lap Oostburg Automotive PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2023 season.

Cascade’s Barry Maas rolled to his first main event victory of the 2023 campaign in the caution-free 25-lap Next Step Insurance PDTR B Mod main event.

The initial start of the Super Six Late Model Series A main was negated when Bill Edler of Howards Grove spun in turn four. After dueling side by side on the opening circuit, outside front row starter Jayme Zidar of Greenfield used the outside groove to outpower polesitter Mitch McGrath and grab the lead on lap 2.

On lap 4, fourth starter Taylor Scheffler used the extreme high groove of the third-mile clay oval, which approached the outside fence, to take second away from McGrath on lap 6. One lap later, Scheffler blasted his way past Zidar into the lead exiting turn four on lap 7.

Scheffler wasted no time in building up a huge lead over Zidar during the next 10 laps before he caught the rear of the field on lap 17. Two laps later, McGrath used the outside lane to surge past Zidar into second on 19 lap, while Scheffler continued to enjoy a half-lap lead at the front of the field.

Just as Scheffler appeared to be locked on cruise control, his half-lap cushion evaporated when the lone caution flag was displayed on lap 23 for the slowing car of Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls.

The ensuing restart kicked off a spirited display of slide jobs on the smooth and slick racing surface as Scheffler and McGrath exchanged the lead in turn two and turn four on laps 24 and 25 before McGrath ducked low to beat Scheffler into turn one on lap 26, following a lap 25 turn-four slide job, to secure the top spot for the first time in the race.

Meanwhile, eighth starter Brad Mueller worked the low groove to power his way into third on lap 26. Mueller’s late drive to the front saw him move past Scheffler into second on lap 28 before setting his sights on McGrath for the lead.

Mueller moved to within striking distance of the lead on the final circuit. However, he was unable to unleash a serious challenge for the lead on the white-flag lap as McGrath held on to pocket $1,500 and notch his 15^th career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph to move into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time PDTR Late Model main event victory list.

Mueller had to settle for second, Scheffler placed third, Late Model rookie Jayden Schmidt of Seymour moved up from his 11^th starting spot to finish fourth and fifth starter Justin Ritchie of New London rounded out the top five.

After battling side by side with polesitter Anthony Knierim of Franksville on the opening lap, fourth starter Brandon Berth of Cascade swept into the lead along the outside line on lap 2.

One lap later, sixth starter used the cushion to move past Berth into the lead in turn two on lap 3. With the smooth, wide and slick track surface receptive to sliders, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum pulled one off to work past Berth into second lap 9.

As Karnitz ran away to an early half-lead advantage the first of five caution/red flag periods occurred on lap 12 when Alex Pokorski of West Bend brought out a red flag when he flipped his machine on its side in turn two.

On the restart, 2011 PDTR-MSA champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started ninth and came into the event as the winner of four consecutive PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A mains, ripped off a slider to edge two-time PDTR and five-time MSA champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee and gain fourth on lap 13.

Five laps later, Davis charged back to re-engage Schmidt in trading sliders for fourth on lap 18. Just as Karnitz caught the rear of the field, a caution flag was displayed just after the completion of lap 19 when rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc, who started third, and Shane Wenninger collided and spun to a stop in turn three in an incident, which also collected two-time PDTR and four-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh. All three contenders had to restart at the rear of the field.

The next three attempts to restart the event proved to be fruitless as Bill Taylor of Boltonville stopped on the back stretch to bring out the third caution of the race before Justin Erickson of Plymouth hit the turn two wall and stopped to produce the race’s fourth caution flag.

Following a six-car incident involving Randy Post of Oostburg, Shane Wenninger, Doug Wondra of Oakfield, Logan Julien, rookie T.J. Haddy of Waupun and Robbie Pribnow of Lomira sent Julien and Haddy flipping along the back stretch on the third consecutive restart attempt, the race was determined to be complete at the 19-lap mark due to the 25-minute time limit.

In earning his first main event victory of the 2023 campaign, Karnitz claimed his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph and eighth career MSA 360 Sprint Car main event win.

“When they sprinkled the top of the track with water at intermission, I knew it would probably be good on the cushion, but I didn’t know how good it would be or for how long,” Karnitz said. “It turned out to be really good for us. I knew Ben [Schmidt] would be coming as the winner of four in a row and trying to get that fifth one. I figured people behind me would be throwing sliders considering the way the track was shaping up in the A main.

“I have to thank Dan Mayer for the opportunity to drive this Mayor Automotive car this year,” he said. “I also want to thank all of the sponsors and people that have been with me for many years now. This is a great win for us and pretty special as the first one for us together as a team.”

Schmidt placed second to fall just short of extending his record four consecutive PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victories, Davis wound up third, Berth placed fourth and PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car rookie T.J. Smith of Greenville moved up from the 16^th starting spot to earn a fifth place finish.

After a caution flew when Steven Ruh of New Holstein spun along the front stretch on the start of the 25-lap Grand National A main, outside front row starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved into the lead in turn two on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Will Sorce moved up from the fourth starting spot to take second in turn two before working the outside groove to power around Kulow into the lead in turn four one lap later.

The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap eighth when Steven Weber of Plymouth stopped in turn one. On the restart, 2010 PDTR Grand National and six-time overall Plymouth Dirt Track division champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth, who started six, worked the cushion to pass fifth starter Donny Kulow of Plymouth and gain third in turn four.

Two laps later, Gilles maneuvered around Tyler Kulow to seize second, while 2022 PDTR Grand National champ Luke Scholten of Oostburg, who started third, followed in Gilles high-riding tire tracks to gain third on lap 14.

Gilles reeled in the low-riding Sorce in the closing laps, but he was unable to mount a serious challenge for the lead as Sorce went on to secure his fourth main event victory of the 2023 season and eighth career PDTR Grand National main event win.

Gilles placed second, Scholten wound up third, 2008 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan finished fourth after starting on the pole and Tyler Kulow rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the initial lead of the 25-lap PDTR B Mod main event before outside front row starter Barry Maas worked the high line to initiate a side-by-side duel with Long for the top spot over the next two laps.

Maas finally surged into the lead on lap four and began to stretch out a sizable advantage. As the laps wound down, two-time PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Malone, who started fourth, used the outside groove to sweep past Long into second on lap 23.

Two laps later, Warner used a huge run along the cushion on the white-flag lap to make a final run at Maas for the victory. However, Warner’s impressive final-lap charge fell a half car length short at the checkered flag as Maas notched his first A-main victory of the 2023 campaign and second career PDTR B Mod main event victory.

Warner wound up second, Long finished third, third starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo was fourth and 2022 PDTR B Mod champion Andy Welter of Hartford rounded out the top five after starting sixth.

Doug Drews of Sheboygan Falls won the special Milwaukee Stock Car Association Vintage Modified main event.

T.J. Smith earned his first career PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car race victory in the 12-lap B Main.

Kurt Davis collected the fast qualifier award in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.817 seconds.

Turk Letizia of Milwaukee was the fastest qualifier in the Super Six Late Model Series qualifying session with a lap of 14.055 seconds.

NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series driver Josh Bilicki of Menominee Falls, Wis. made the first Winged Sprint Car start of his career, earning a ninth place finish in the shortened 19-lap PDTR-MSA A main behind the wheel of Randy Sippel’s No. 38 car.

The 10^th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Butch and Janet Hafemann, drew a total of 88 cars, including 20 Super Six Late Model Series cars, 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Grand Nationals, 12 B Mods and 12 Milwaukee Stock Car Association Vintage Modifieds.

During intermission, drivers Steve Edler, Frankie Heimerl, Woody Klug, Hal Kulow, Gary Laack, Ron Luedtke, John and Rodney Michaels, Ken Painter, Jim Pitzen and Scott Vollbrecht were inducted into the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.

Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2023 inductees in the Dedication to Racing category include track workers Donna Bader, Beth and Tom Breher and Evie Robel, along with car owner and mechanic Glenn Haddy.

In addition, the Akright, Ruh and Wondra families were inducted to the Plymouth Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023 in the Racing Families category.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, July 22 will feature the fifth event of the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series, along with the 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

106.5 THE BUZZ SUPER SIX LATE MODEL SERIES

A Main (30 Laps): 1. 74-Mitch McGrath [1]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [8]; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [4]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [11]; 5. 70-Justin Ritchie [5]; 6. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [9]; 7. 3-Brett Swedberg [12]; 8. 42-Terry Casey [7]; 9. 19J-Justin Green [13]; 10. 97-Justin Schmidt [6]; 11. 44-Wayne Freimund [14]; 12. 42N-Paul Niznik [15]; 13. 54-Kevin Baldry [17]; 14. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [2]; 15. 22-Charlie Schmidt [10]; 16. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [16]; 17. 57M-Eric Michaels [18]; 18. 99-Sawyer Specht [20]; 19. 24-Turk Letizia [19]; 20. 77-Bill Edler [3]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 74-Mitch McGrath [2]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 3. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [3]; 4. 42-Terry Casey [7]; 5. 44-Wayne Freimund [5]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [6]; 7. (DNF) 99-Sawyer Specht [4]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [1]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 3. 22-Charlie Schmidt [2]; 4. 3-Brett Swedberg [4]; 5. 42N-Paul Niznik [5]; 6. 54-Kevin Baldry [6]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels [7]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 77-Bill Edler [1]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt [2]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [5]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [4]; 5. 19J-Justin Green [6]; 6. 24-Turk Letizia [3]

Qualifying 1: 1. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.387 [5]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath, 14.414 [6]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller, 14.638 [2]; 4. 99-Sawyer Specht 14.995 [7]; 5. 44-Wayne Freimund, 15.433 [3]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 15.576 [1]; 7. 42-Terry Casey, 15.853 [4]

Qualifying 2: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 14.219 [5]; 2. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 14.368 [2]; 3. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 14.376 [1]; 4. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.404 [7]; 5. 42N-Paul Niznik, 14.606 [4]; 6. 54-Kevin Baldry, 15.172 [3]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels, 15.639 [6]

Qualifying 3: 1. 24-Turk Letizia, 14.055 [1]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt, 14.112 [3]; 3. 77-Bill Edler, 14.161 [2]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.338 [6]; 5. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.398 [5]; 6. 19J-Justin Green, 14.632 [4]

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [9]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [5]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [16]; 6. 16-Anthony Knierim [1]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel [20]; 8. 11-Tony Wondra [12]; 9. 38-Josh Bilicki [22]; 10. 4-Alex Pokorski [14]; 11. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [19]; 12. 98-Brandon McMullen [10]; 13. 7-Lance Fassbender [11]; 14. 69-Bill Taylor [17]; 15. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 16. 20-Robbie Pribnow [7]; 17. 54-Randy Post [2]; 18. 30-Doug Wondra [15]; 19. 21H-TJ Haddy [18]; 20. 85J-Logan Julien [3]; 21. 53-Shane Wenninger [8]; 22. 44-Hayden Johnson [21]

B Main (12 Laps): 1. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor [5]; 3. 21H-TJ Haddy [4]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [3]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel [6]; 6. 44-Hayden Johnson [1]; 7. 66T-Tristan Koenings [9]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [8]; 9. 51-Jeff Neubert [11]; 10. 53A-Spyder Akright [7]; 11. (DNF) 92-Kevin Seidler [10]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien [1]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [4]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith [5]; 7. 44-Hayden Johnson [8]; 8. 2-ChrisClayton [7]; 9. 66T-Tristan Koenings [9]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 53-Shane Wenninger [1]; 2. 20-Robbie Pribnow [3]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 16-Anthony Knierim [5]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 6. 30-Doug Wondra [8]; 7. 21H-TJ Haddy [6]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 9. 51-Jeff Neubert [9]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 2. 54-Randy Post [1]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [5]; 4. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson [6]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [2]; 7. 38-Josh Bilicki [9]; 8. 53A-Spyder Akright [7]; 9. (DNF) 92-Kevin Seidler [8]

Qualifying 1 (5 Laps): 1. 6K-Kurt Davis, 12.817 [2]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.818 [3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.854 [6]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.866 [5]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.895 [9]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.069 [4]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.104 [7]; 8. 44-Hayden Johnson, 13.122 [1]; 9. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 13.168 [8]

Qualifying 2 (5 Laps): 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.124 [3]; 2. 20-Robbie Pribnow, 13.174 [1]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.372 [6]; 4. 53-Shane Wenninger, 13.393 [7]; 5. 16-Anthony Knierim, 13.531 [2]; 6. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.603 [4]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 14.035 [5]; 8. 51-Jeff Neubert, 14.117 [9]; 9. 30-Doug Wondra, 14.212 [8]

Qualifying 3 (5 Laps): 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 13.305 [8]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 13.444 [2]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.590 [3]; 4. 54-Randy Post, 13.634 [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.636 [1]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.693 [6]; 7. 38-Josh Bilicki, 13.855 [9]; 8. 53A-Spyder Akright, 14.259 [5]; 9. 92-Kevin Seidler, 15.609 [4]

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main: 1. 14X-Will Sorce [4]; 2. 89-Brian Gilles [6]; 3. 80-Luke Scholten [3]; 4. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 5. 24K-Tyler Kulow [2]; 6. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 7. 53W-Dustin Weiss [7]; 8. 93-Mavrick Ruh [12]; 9. 5M-Nate Ruh [10]; 10. E85-Justin Pearson [11]; 11. 6-Dick Hed [13]; 12. 23-Scott Kafka [15]; 13. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [14]; 14. 82H-Steven Ruh [9]; 15. 72E-Chad Espen [16]; 16. 8-Jake Richards [17]; 17. 34-Steven Weber [8]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 89-Brian Gilles [6]; 2. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 3. 80-Luke Scholten [5]; 4. 24K-Tyler Kulow [7]; 5. E85-Justin Pearson [4]; 6. 82H-Steven Ruh [8]; 7. 6-Dick Hed [3]; 8. 8-Jake Richards [9]; 9. (DNF) 72E-Chad Espen [2]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 2. 53W-Dustin Weiss [1]; 3. 14X-Will Sorce [7]; 4. 34-Steven Weber [6]; 5. 93-Mavrick Ruh [4]; 6. 5M-Nate Ruh [8]; 7. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [2]; 8. (DNF) 23-Scott Kafka [3]

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

A Main: 1. 22M-Barry Maas [2]; 2. 03W-Tim Warner [4]; 3. 17S-Shane Long [1]; 4. 3-Travis Schmidt [3]; 5. 32Z-Andy Welter [6]; 6. 84-Mark Hoeppner [7]; 7. 96-Brian Konitzer [5]; 8. 9L-Hunter Larson [8]; 9. 66-Steve Lorier [9]; 10. 62-James Rautmann [11]; 11. 73-Rory Welch [10]; 12. 19-Parker Glander [12]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 3-Travis Schmidt [1]; 2. 17S-Shane Long [2]; 3. 22M-Barry Maas [6]; 4. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 5. 66-Steve Lorier [4]; 6. (DNF) 19-Parker Glander [5]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 03W-Tim Warner [6]; 2. 96-Brian Konitzer [1]; 3. 32Z-Andy Welter [2]; 4. 9L-Hunter Larson [3]; 5. 73-Rory Welch [4]; 6. 62-James Rautmann [5]

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

Sorce, Larson, Zellmer claim main event victories

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 8, 2023 – Going where no 360 Sprint Car racer has gone before at The Plymouth Dirt Track, 2011 Plymouth Dirt Track and 360 Sprint car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth stayed flaming hot behind the wheel of his white and orange No. 35 machine by turning in a record fourth straight Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph of the 2023 campaign at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 8.

In the 25-lap Oostburg Auto PDTR Grand National A-main, Will Sorce of Franklin executed a last-lap pass to rack up his third main event win of the 2023 campaign.

Hunter Larson of Oshkosh collected his first career Next Step Insurance B Mod A-main victory in the 25-lap main event.

Adam Zellmer of Horicon used a final-lap pass to notch his first career 106.5 The Buzz Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series 20-lap A-main win.

Outside front row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth outpowered polesitter Katelyn Krebsbach of Cascade to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car main event. On lap 2, Schmidt, who started fourth, moved up into second and quickly began to pressure Erickson for the top spot.

After hounding Erickson for four laps, the 24-year racing veteran worked his way past Erickson entering turn three. One lap later, the 2011 MSA 360 Sprint Car champ caught the rear of the field as Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who started sixth, charged past Erickson into second.

As Schmidt found himself bottled up in slower traffic, Wenninger closed the gap considerably on lap 17. Four laps later, Wenninger ducked low to pull even with Schmidt in turn four. On the following circuit, Wenninger attempted to wrestle the lead away from Schmidt using the high line.

However, Schmidt fended off Wenninger’s challenge and pulled away over the final three laps while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion, four-time MSA champ and current point leader Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started fifth, worked his way into second.

Schmidt went on to notch his fifth PDTR, sixth MSA and record fourth straight PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2023 season in the caution-free race. It was also Schmidt’s 20^th career PDTR and 38^th career MSA 360 Sprint Car main event triumph.

McMullen placed second, Wenninger wound up third, eighth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend took fourth and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and 2005 MSA champ Lance Fassbender of Burnett placed fifth, after starting third.

Outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth led the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR Grand National main event before 2022 PDTR Grand National champ Luke Scholten of Oostburg, who started on the pole, took the top spot with a low move in turn four on lap 2.

On lap 5, Weber battled back to challenge Scholten for the lead before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 7 when Josh Koslowski of Chilton spun in turn four.

When the race resumed, 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who started seventh, moved into third before taking over second on lap 12.

Scholten encountered slower traffic on lap 18, which allowed Loehr to cut into the lead. Four laps later, Will Sorce, who started third, began to flex his muscle as he maneuvered past Loehr, who got boxed in behind a lapped car along the high groove, to take over second.

Sorce quickly tracked down Scholten as the laps wound down before diving low in turn three on the white final lap to pull off the winning move in last-lap fashion en route to his third PDTR Grand National A-main triumph of the 2023 season and seventh career main event win.

Scholten had to settle for second, Loehr placed third, 2010 PDTR Grand National champ Brian Gilles of Plymouth finished fourth, after starting fifth and fifth starter Chad Espen of West Bend rounded out the top five.

Travis Schmidt of Plymouth took the lead at the start of the 25-lap B Mod main event from his outside front row starting spot with fourth starter Hunter Larson moving into second on the opening lap.

Larson worked the high line to pull even with Schmidt on lap 2 as the two drivers dueled side by side on the fast and tricky track surface over the next two laps until Larson surged ahead on lap 4.

The first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 5 when two-time PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Malone and 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam made contact along the backstretch, resulting in Sheppard hitting the backstretch wall before Jim Fischer of Oostburg collided hard with Sheppard’s disabled machine.

When the race resumed, fifth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls moved into second and seventh starter Barry Maas of Cascade took third. Long charged in to briefly challenge Larson for the top spot before the second caution flag came out when Rory Welch of Plymouth and Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum made contact in turn four.

On the restart, Schmidt moved in to challenge Long for second before seizing the runner-up spot on lap 18. Meanwhile, Larson built up a comfortable full straightaway lead en route to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph.

Schmidt placed second, Long was third, Maas finished fourth and Warner placed fifth, after restarting 12^th following the caution on lap 5.

Hunter Cardinal of Richfield, who started on the pole, grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series A main before Matt Gritt of Plymouth, who started fourth, took over the top spot.

On lap 4, sixth starter Dallas Ross of Sussex charged in to take over second along the high groove before moving in to challenge Gritt for the lead on lap 5.

The first of three caution flags was displayed on lap 5 when Ethan Ross of Waupun stopped in turn two. Following the restart, Ross swept into the lead along the high line in turn one on lap 7 before the second caution flag appeared on lap 8 for the smoking car of Carl Swenson of Hortonville.

When the race resumed ninth starter Adam Zellmer charged in to pressure Gritt for second. Two laps later, the third and final caution period came when Hayden Schmuhl of Beaver Dam stopped in turn one.

Zellmer kicked it into overdrive following the final restart to take control of second on lap 13 and challenge high-riding Ross for the lead along the low line on lap 14.

Zellmer and Ross dueled side by side over the final six laps until Zellmer finally surged into the lead for good in turn one of the final lap and held on to post his first career Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Ross placed second, 13^th starter Austin Winkel of Sheboygan Falls moved up to finish third, Ryan Sullivan of Waupun placed fourth after starting 10^th and Gritt rounded out the top five.

Alex Pokorski of West Bend earned his first-career fast qualifier award in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.368 seconds.

The ninth event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions, drew a total of 62 cars, including 19 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 15 Grand Nationals, 14 B Mods and 14 Legends.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, July 15 will feature the fourth event of the Super Six Late Model Series, along with the 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods and a special appearance from the Vintage Modifieds.

In addition, the program will feature the second annual Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Night program, during which 11 drivers, five track workers and car owners/mechanics and three racing families will be honored during intermission.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [5]; 3. 53-Shane Wenninger [6]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [8]; 5. 7-Lance Fassbender [3]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 7. 22B-Brandon Berth [12]; 8. 4-Alex Pokorski [9]; 9. 85J-Logan Julien [14]; 10. 69S-TJ Smith [18]; 11. 11-Tony Wondra [10]; 12. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [1]; 13. 21H-TJ Haddy [7]; 14. 69-Bill Taylor [13]; 15. 51-Chris Larson [19]; 16. 54-Randy Post [16]; 17. 12P-JJ Pagel [11]; 18. 53A-Spyder Akright [15]; 19. (DNF) 30-Doug Wondra [17]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 11-Tony Wondra [2]; 2. 53-Shane Wenninger [3]; 3. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 4. 30-Doug Wondra [1]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel [6]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 7. (DNF) 51-Chris Larson [5]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson [5]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [3]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright [6]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien [2]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 6. 54-Randy Post [6]

Qualifying 1: 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.524 [4]; 2. 53-Shane Wenninger, 12.829 [3]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.998 [1]; 4. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.154 [7]; 5. 51-Chris Larson, 13.198 [2]; 6. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.316 [6]; 7. (DNS) 69-Bill Taylor, 13.316

Qualifying 2: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.368 [2]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.485 [4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.641 [6]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 12.782 [5]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.801 [3]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright, 12.837 [1]

Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.397 [3]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.557 [4]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.611 [5]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.696 [2]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.696 [1]; 6. 54-Randy Post, 12.870 [6]

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main: 1. 14X-Will Sorce [3]; 2. 80-Luke Scholten [1]; 3. 23-Matt Loehr [7]; 4. 89-Brian Gilles [5]; 5. 72E-Chad Espen [6]; 6. 6-Dick Hed [10]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow [9]; 8. 7A-Todd Ascherien [11]; 9. 53W-Dustin Weiss [4]; 10. 24K-Tyler Kulow [14]; 11. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [13]; 12. 9-Josh Koslowski [8]; 13. 5C-Collin Skindzeleski [12]; 14. 03-Timothy Warner [15]; 15. 34-Steven Weber [2]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 89-Brian Gilles [1]; 2. 34-Steven Weber [2]; 3. 14X-Will Sorce [5]; 4. 95-Donny Kulow [4]; 5. 7A-Todd Ascherien [3]; 6. 6-Dick Hed [8]; 7. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [6]; 8. 03-Timothy Warner [7]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 72E-Chad Espen [2]; 2. 80-Luke Scholten [1]; 3. 53W-Dustin Weiss [5]; 4. 23-Matt Loehr [6]; 5. 9-Josh Koslowski [7]; 6. 5C-Collin Skindzeleski [4]; 7. (DNF) 24K-Tyler Kulow [3]

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

A Main: 1. 9L-Hunter Larson [4]; 2. 3-Travis Schmidt [2]; 3. 17S-Shane Long [5]; 4. 22M-Barry Maas [7]; 5. 03W-Tim Warner [6]; 6. 32Z-Andy Welter [8]; 7. 66-Steve Lorier [11]; 8. 84-Mark Hoeppner [9]; 9. 73-Rory Welch [1]; 10. 19-Parker Glander [10]; 11. 17-Brandon Knepprath [13]; 12. 29S-Tim Sheppard [3]; 13. 25-Jim Fischer [12]; 14. 54-Michael Strean [14]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 32Z-Andy Welter [3]; 2. 22M-Barry Maas [5]; 3. 73-Rory Welch [1]; 4. 29S-Tim Sheppard [7]; 5. 84-Mark Hoeppner [6]; 6. 25-Jim Fischer [4]; 7. (DNF) 54-Michael Strean [2]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 03W-Tim Warner [1]; 2. 17S-Shane Long [3]; 3. 9L-Hunter Larson [5]; 4. 3-Travis Schmidt [7]; 5. 66-Steve Lorier [2]; 6. 19-Parker Glander [6]; 7. (DNF) 17-Brandon Knepprath [4]

106.5 THE BUZZ WISCONSIN LEGENDS RACING DIRT SERIES

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 117-Adam Zellmer [9]; 2. 87-Dallas Ross [6]; 3. 88-Austin Winkel [13]; 4. 43S-Ryan Sullivan [10]; 5. 5G-Matt Gritt [4]; 6. 45C-Hunter Cardinal [1]; 7. 7F-Lilly Fassbender [2]; 8. 33S-Mike Swenson [12]; 9. 51-Tim Franz [14]; 10. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl [3]; 11. 7A-Brady Ascherien [11]; 12. 95M-Mike Mueller [5]; 13. 19X-Cal Swenson [7]; 14. 54R-Ethan Ross [8]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 43S-Ryan Sullivan [7]; 2. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl [3]; 3. 95M-Mike Mueller [4]; 4. 19X-Cal Swenson [5]; 5. 7F-Lilly Fassbender [2]; 6. 7A-Brady Ascherien [1]; 7. (DNF) 88-Austin Winkel [6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 45C-Hunter Cardinal [1]; 2. 5G-Matt Gritt [3]; 3. 54R-Ethan Ross [5]; 4. 117-Adam Zellmer [6]; 5. 87-Dallas Ross [4]; 6. 33S-Mike Swenson [7]; 7. (DNF) 51-Tim Franz [2]

Arenz claims first career IRA 410 Sprint Car main event victory

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 1, 2023 – Former Plymouth Dirt Track and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth added another stellar entry to his impressive 2023 main event victory tally by turning in his third straight and fifth overall 25-lap Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory, during the Scott Semmelmann Memorial Saturday, July 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

In the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car series A main, 2021 and 2022 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls collected his first career IRA and 410 Sprint Car A-main victory in fitting fashion on his home track where he has done the bulk of his racing and winning over the course of his 16-year career.

Mark Heinert of Oak Creek earned his fourth A-main victory of the 2023 campaign in the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A-main event.

Ben Schmidt, who started second, outpowered rookie polesitter T.J. Haddy of Waupun to grab the lead in turn one of the opening lap of the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A main with Haddy and 14-year-old rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc, who started fourth, trailing in second and third respectively.

On lap 2, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved past third starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend to assume fourth.

The red flag appeared later on lap 2 when rookie Ryan Sawusch of Lake Villa, Ill. flipped and hit the wall in turn two. On the restart, Schmidt into the lead while Julien worked past Haddy to gain second.

Schmidt, who captured the 2011 PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Car championships, caught the rear of the field on lap 8 before McMullen swept past Julien to take over second on lap 10. One lap later, the caution flag appeared when Tommy Colburn of New Berlin stopped on the backstretch.

Another caution flag was displayed when Haddy spun in turn one. Following the final restart, Schmidt pulled away from the field before finding himself dealing with lapped traffic again on lap 20.

As the leaders wound their way through dense slower traffic, McMullen worked the inside lane of the lightning fast and undulating track surface to duck under Schmidt briefly on the final lap. However, Schmidt held strong en route to his third straight and fifth overall MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2023 season, 19^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event win and 37^th overall career MSA 360 Sprint Car triumph.

“We had another fast track tonight and to get another win is just unbelievable,” Schmidt said. “The crew does a great job week after week setting the car up so nice for me to drive.”

McMullen wound up second, Julien earned a PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car career-best third place showing, Robbie Pribnow of Lomira placed fourth after starting fifth and eighth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum rounded out the top five.

After J.J. Hickle spun in turn three shortly after the initial start, outside front row starter Danny Schlafer of Sussex grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 30-lap IRA Scott Semmelmann Memorial 410 Sprint Car A main, followed by polesitter Caden Englehart of Terre Haute, Ind. in second and sixth starter Travis Arenz in third.

On lap 3, Arenz and eighth starter Mike Reinke of Howards Grove engaged in a heated back and forth duel for third in the running order before Arenz rode the low line to finally secure the spot on lap 5.

Schlafer hit lapped traffic on lap 7, which allowed Englehart to cut into the lead on lap 9 as the leaders negotiated a myriad of slower cars. On lap 12, the second caution flag was displayed when Blake Nimee of Oswego, Ill. spun in turn four.

After the restart, Schlafer maintained the top spot with Englehart in pursuit. However, Englehart’s evening came to an abrupt end on lap 16 when he made contact with the turn four wall before stopping on the front stretch to bring out the third caution flag of the event.

When the race resumed, Arenz held tight to the low line while Schlafer continued to ride the cushion. Arenz’s race-long dedication to the bottom of the third-mile clay oval proved to pay dividends when he reeled in the high riding Schlafer and ducked into the lead in turn one on lap 19.

The pace slowed again on lap 19 when Todd Daun of Pleasant Prairie spun in turn three to bring out the fourth caution. On lap 22, two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel worked the low line to slip past Schlafer into second on lap 22.

With Arenz setting sail in front of the pack, 12^th starter and current IRA point leader Brenham Crouch of Lubbock, Texas entered into a battle with Neitzel for second before the fifth and final caution of the race was displayed on lap 27 when Blake Nimee spun again in turn two.

Arenz again controlled the last restart of the race and pulled away from Neitzel to notch his first career IRA 410 Sprint Car Series A-main victory and 37^th overall main event triumph at the 73-year-old Plymouth Dirt Track facility covering four different divisions (Outlaw Compact 4-Cylinder, B Mod, 360 Sprint Car and 410 Sprint Car).

“This win means a lot,” Arenz said. “From 4-Cylinders to Sport Mods to 360s to now 410s, we’ve been able to find success and get to victory lane at Plymouth. When I was growing up, all I ever wanted to do was race at Plymouth. It feels great to get one here in a 410 Sprint Car.”

Crouch finished second, Schlafer wound up third, Reinke placed fourth and ninth starter Russel Borland of Kewaskum rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Max Brannam of Holiday Hills, Ill. grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A main with fourth starter John Kirk of Johnsburg, Ill. in tow in second.

On lap 4, Kirk used the outside lane to seize the top spot from Brannam. One lap later, Mark Heinert, who started eighth, moved in to pressure Brannam for second before gaining the runner-up spot in turn one on lap 7. Heinert gradually reeled in Kirk before pulling off what proved to be the winning move to take the lead in turn one lap 10.

With Heinert commanding the point, seventh starter Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie moved in to take second in the closing lap. Meanwhile, Heinert went on to secure his fourth IRA Sprints A-main victory of the 2023 campaign in the caution-free race.

Neau placed second, Kirk wound up third, Max Brannam was fourth and third starter Ron Brannam of Barrington, Ill. placed fifth.

Ben Schmidt earned fast qualifier accolades in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.202 seconds.

J.J. Hickle of Quilcene, Wash. collected IRA 410 Sprint Car fast qualifier accolades with a lap of 11.458 seconds.

The eighth event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Jensen Sales and Service and included bonus money from Professional Plating for heat race and A main winners in all three divisions, drew a total of 70 cars, including 25 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 28 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 17 IRA Lightning Sprints.

The next race program at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, July 8 will feature the second appearance of the 2023 season from the Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series, along with the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [6]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien [4]; 4. 30-Robbie Pribnow [5]; 5. 53-Shane Wenninger [8]; 6. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [7]; 8. 6K-Kurt Davis [10]; 9. 69S-TJ Smith [9]; 10. 7-Lance Fassbender [12]; 11. 22B-Brandon Berth [17]; 12. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 13. 2-Chris Clayton [14]; 14. 11-Tony Wondra [19]; 15. 69-Bill Taylor [18]; 16. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [11]; 17. 12P-JJ Pagel [20]; 18. 66T-Tristan Koenings [15]; 19. 54-Randy Post [22]; 20. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 21. 51-Ellie Hensley [25]; 22. 1-Tommy Colburn [16]; 23. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [21]; 24. (DNS) 53A-Paul Pokorski; 25. (DNS) 92-Kevin Seidler

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [1]; 2. 30-Robbie Pribnow [3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [5]; 5. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 6. 51-Ellie Hensley [9]; 7. 53A-Paul Pokorski [2]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [7]; 9. (DNS) 92-Kevin Seidler

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 53-Shane Wenninger [2]; 2. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [3]; 4. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson [6]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel [8]

Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [2]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien [3]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 4. 66T-Tristan Koenings [1]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 6. 1-Tommy Colburn [5]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 8. 54-Randy Post [7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.202 [7]; 2. 30-Robbie Pribnow, 12.427 [1]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 12.455 [3]; 4. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.477 [5]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.650 [2]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 12.843 [6]; 7. 51-Ellie Hensley, 14.238 [9]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 14.831 [8]; 9. (DNS) 92-Kevin Seidler

Qualifying 2: 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.422 [3]; 2. 6K-Kurt Davis, 12.427 [5]; 3. 53-Shane Wenninger, 12.485 [2]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 12.551 [8]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.704 [6]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.759 [1]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.789 [4]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.274 [7]

Qualifying 3: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.412 [1]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.459 [7]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.529 [5]; 4. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 12.564 [6]; 5. 1-Tommy Colburn, 12.590 [4]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.744 [2]; 7. 54-Randy Post, 12.880 [8]; 8. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.892 [3]

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

A Main (30 Laps): 1. 25T-Travis Arenz [6]; 2. 1-Brenham Crouch [12]; 3. 25-Danny Schlafer [2]; 4. 10W-Mike Reinke [8]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [9]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [13]; 7. U2-Jack Vanderboom [11]; 8. 50-JJ Hickle [4]; 9. 9K-Kyle Schuett [7]; 10. 3N-Jake Neuman [19]; 11. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [3]; 12. 99-Tyler Brabant [20]; 13. 68-Dave Uttech [21]; 14. 3B-Shelby Bosie [16]; 15. 87A-Austin Hartmann [14]; 16. 4K-Kris Spitz [18]; 17. 2W-Scott Neitzel [5]; 18. 26R-Preston Ruh [24]; 19. 19-Todd Daun [10]; 20. 24-Scott Conger [17]; 21. (DNF) 79-Blake Nimee [15]; 22. (DNF) 71M-Caden Englehart [1]; 23. (DNF) 50YR-Ryan Ruhl [23]; 24. (DNF) 47-Todd King [22]

B Main (10 Laps): 1. 3N-Jake Neuman [1]; 2. 99-Tyler Brabant [3]; 3. 68-Dave Uttech [4]; 4. 47-Todd King [5]; 5. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl [2]; 6. 26R-Preston Ruh [6]; 7. 21-Will Gerrits [7]; 8. 16-Anthony Knierim [8]; 9. 17W-Dylan Winkel [9]; 10. 39V-William Huck [10]

Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 71M-Caden Englehart [1]; 2. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [2]; 3. 2W-Scott Neitzel [5]; 4. 9K-Kyle Schuett [3]; 5. 23-Russel Borland [4]

Dash 2 (4 Laps): 1. 25-Danny Schlafer [1]; 2. 50-JJ Hickle [4]; 3. 25T-Travis Arenz [5]; 4. 10W-Mike Reinke [3]; 5. 19-Todd Daun [2]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2W-Scott Neitzel [1]; 2. 50-JJ Hickle [4]; 3. 71M-Caden Englehart [2]; 4. U2-Jack Vanderboom [5]; 5. 79-Blake Nimee [9]; 6. 24-Scott Conger [7]; 7. 3N-Jake Neuman [3]; 8. 68-Dave Uttech [6]; 9. 16-Anthony Knierim [8]; 10. 39V-William Huck [10]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Russel Borland [1]; 2. 25T-Travis Arenz [2]; 3. 25-Danny Schlafer [4]; 4. 1-Brenham Crouch [6]; 5. 87A-Austin Hartmann [5]; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz [9]; 7. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl [3]; 8. 26R-Preston Ruh [8]; 9. 21-Will Gerrits [7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [2]; 2. 10W-Mike Reinke [4]; 3. 19-Todd Daun [1]; 4. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [6]; 5. 9K-Kyle Schuett [3]; 6. 3B-Shelby Bosie [5]; 7. 99-Tyler Brabant [8]; 8. 47-Todd King [7]; 9. 17W-Dylan Winkel [9]

Qualifying: 1. 50-JJ Hickle, 11.458 [10]; 2. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.557 [28]; 3. 10W-Mike Reinke, 11.589 [7]; 4. 3N-Jake Neuman, 11.684 [15]; 5. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl, 11.694 [14]; 6. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 11.761 [20]; 7. 71M-Caden Englehart, 11.823 [25]; 8. 25T-Travis Arenz, 11.839 [5]; 9. 26-Tyler Tischendorf, 11.865 [12]; 10. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 11.878 [18]; 11. 23-Russel Borland, 11.911 [23]; 12. 19-Todd Daun, 11.924 [13]; 13. U2-Jack Vanderboom, 11.935 [17]; 14. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 11.968 [2]; 15. 3B-Shelby Bosie, 11.972 [4]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.004 [19]; 17. 1-Brenham Crouch, 00:12.020[26]; 18. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 00:12.031[27]; 19. 24-Scott Conger, 12.054 [16]; 20. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.096 [11]; 21. 47-Todd King, 12.106 [3]; 22. 16-Anthony Knierim, 12.164 [1]; 23. 26R-Preston Ruh, 12.170 [9]; 24. 99-Tyler Brabant, 12.221 [8]; 25. 79-Blake Nimee, 12.260 [21]; 26. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.698 [6]; 27. 17W-Dylan Winkel, 12.834 [22]; 28. 39V-William Huck, 13.118 [24]

Hot Laps: 1. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 11.785 [20]; 2. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.926 [28]; 3. 71M-Caden Englehart, 11.928 [25]; 4. 3N-Jake Neuman, 12.002 [15]; 5. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 12.099 [18]; 6. 50-JJ Hickle, 12.118 [10]; 7. 1-Brenham Crouch, 12.151 [26]; 8. 19-Todd Daun, 12.152 [13]; 9. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 12.169 [27]; 10. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl, 12.183 [14]; 11. 23-Russel Borland, 12.212 [23]; 12. 10W-Mike Reinke, 12.251 [7]; 13. 24-Scott Conger, 12.371 [16]; 14. 79-Blake Nimee, 12.421 [21]; 15. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.455 [11]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.601 [19]; 17. U2-Jack Vanderboom, 12.629 [17]; 18. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 12.661 [2]; 19. 3B-Shelby Bosie, 12.672 [4]; 20. 26-Tyler Tischendorf, 12.732 [12]; 21. 16-Anthony Knierim, 12.775 [1]; 22. 25T-Travis Arenz, 12.867 [5]; 23. 47-Todd King, 13.027 [3]; 24. 39V-William Huck, 13.080 [24]; 25. 17W-Dylan Winkel, 13.206 [22]; 26. 4K-Kris Spitz, 13.261 [6]; 27. 26R-Preston Ruh, 13.269 [9]; 28. 99-Tyler Brabant, 13.284 [8]

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 55H-Mark Heinert [8]; 2. 16-Mike Neau [7]; 3. 9-John Kirk [4]; 4. 74M-Max Brannam [1]; 5. 01-Ron Brannam [3]; 6. 74-Tim Brannam [6]; 7. 22S-Brian Strane Jr [9]; 8. 6-Jeff Schmidt [5]; 9. 87R-Josh Rehberg [13]; 10. 7J-Bob Jeziorski [10]; 11. 17-Jordan Funderburk [11]; 12. 3-Ron Curasi [2]; 13. 63-Jacob Irwin [16]; 14. 21T-Mitchell Reich [15]; 15. (DNF) 11-Derek Fortier [12]; 16. (DNF) 33-David Powers; [17]; 17. (DNS) 18Q-Chris Quillman

Arenz secures second PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car title

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 24, 2022 – Sprint Cars reigned supreme as a healthy contingent of open-wheel racers and teams converged on The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. for the fifth annual Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships to cap off the 2022 racing season at the venerable third-mile clay speed plant on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Jake Neuman of New Berlin, Ill. secured the 2022 Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Award by nailing down his first career IRA A-main victory in flag-to-flag fashion in the 30-lap headliner.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A main, 2022 PDTR and MSA champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth used a late pass to notch his second main event triumph of the 2022 campaign.

Ryan Zielski of Oconomowoc claimed the victory in the 20-lap Wisconsin wingless Sprint Car A-main event, while Mark Heinert of Oak Creek was victorious in the 20-lap Interstate Racing Association Lightning Sprints A main.

Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. secured his first career Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series championship.

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls wrapped up his second straight double championship season in both the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car divisions.

Clayton Rossmann of Wadsworth, Ill. and Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. were named 2022 Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series co-champion, after finishing in a tie for first place in the final point standings.

Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie completed a championship season in the Interstate Racing Association Lightning Sprints division.

In the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car Series main event, Jake Neuman outpowered polesitter Josh Schneiderman of West Burlington, Iowa to grab the initial lead along the high groove of the lightning fast, hammer-down track surface.

On lap five, Neuman caught the back of the field with Schneiderman chasing in second and fifth-starting Danny Schlafer of Sussex in third. As the leaders wound their way through dense lapped traffic, Schneiderman began to chip away at the lead gap to close in on Neuman.

The lone caution flag flew on lap 16 when Jordan Paulsen of Trevor stopped near the turn one wall. When the race resumed, Neuman again maintained control of the lead, while Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, who started ninth, worked his way past visiting Port Royal, Pa. driver Dylan Cisney into fourth.

With time running out as the laps clicked off, Schneiderman mounted one final charge to briefly pull even with Neuman in turn two on lap 29. However, Neuman fended off Schneiderman’s advances en route to his first career IRA 410 A-main victory.

“It’s awesome to get a win here tonight,” Neuman said in victory lane. “We were close to getting our first IRA win earlier this year here, but [Bill] Balog got us and he’s tough to beat here. It was a great year earning the IRA Rookie of the Year Award. We will see what we can do for next year.”

Schneiderman placed second, Schlafer finished third, Thiel was fourth and Cisney, who started eighth, rounded out the top five.

The 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A main got off to a rocky start when a red flag appeared on lap one when Katelyn Krebsbach of Cascade flipped hard along the front stretch.

Following a complete restart, two-time PDTR and four-time MSA 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started second, bolted past polesitter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum to take the lead on the opening lap.

By lap five, McMullen caught the rear of the field with Wenninger in pursuit and 2021 PDTR and MSA champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls following in third, after starting fourth.

The caution was displayed on lap 8 when Brandon Berth of Cascade stopped in turn one. On the restart, Ben Schmidt powered in from his sixth starting spot to bolt past Arenz into third.

Schmidt then reeled in Wenninger to take over second on lap 22 just before the red flag appeared on lap 22 from a flip involving Brandon Berth in turn three. Another caution flag was displayed when Anthony Knierim of Caledonia stopped along the back stretch on the ensuing restart.

Following a single-file restart, Schmidt moved to steal the lead away from McMullen with a well-executed low move in turn three on lap 24. Schmidt then held on to wrap up his 15^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, 32^nd career Midwest Sprint Car Association triumph and second 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2022 season.

Schmidt, who came into the night trailing Travis Arenz by 19 points in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car title chase, stated in victory lane that he went into the final A main of the season with a winning mindset.

“We really had nothing to lose tonight, so that was kind of my approach sitting second in points with one night left,” Schmidt said. “Running second to Travis [Arenz] two races in a row at Dodge County frustrated me a bit, so that also lit a fire under me. This race was kind of a replay of opening night with Brandon [McMullen] and I going for the lead in turn three. That incident on opening night proved to be the difference in the points race as I had my only DNF [did not finish] of the season that night. It was almost exactly the same tonight, but I made it through and made the pass this time and it feels great to end the season in victory lane.”

Polesitter Rusty Egan of Round Lake Heights, Ill. jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 20-lap Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series A main with third starter Ryan Zielski following in second and outside front row starter Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. in third.

On lap 10, Egan caught the back of the field, which allowed Zielski to close in on the lead. Zielski moved in to challenge the low riding Egan along the high line of fast and tacky track surface on lap 18 before sweeping into the lead in turn one on lap 19 in dense lapped traffic.

The first of two caution flags appeared for a two-car incident involving the third-place car of Ryan Marshall of Kansasville and Trinity Uttech of New Berlin in turn four on lap 19 and another caution flag was displayed for the stalled car of Dennis Spitz of Lewisburg, Ky. along the back stretch on the restart.

When the race resumed, Zielski pulled away from Egan en route to the victory.

Egan finished second, newly crowned 2022 Wisconsin wingLESS Series co-champion Clayton Rossman of Wadsworth, Ill., who started fifth, placed third, Hafford wound up fourth and ninth starter Chris Klemko of Bristol placed fifth.

After starting third, Mark Heinert used a big push on the start to take the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A main.

The yellow flag appeared on lap 3 when Jordan Funderburk of Wadsworth, Ill. stopped along the front stretch. Heinert again controlled the restart and extended his lead at the front of the field before a red flag was displayed on lap 19 when Shawn Steinpas of Brookfield flipped exiting turn four.

Newly crowned 2022 IRA Lightning Sprints champion Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie, who started fifth, bolted in to challenge Heinert for the top spot on lap 19. However, Heinert held strong on the ensuing restart en route to the victory.

Neu placed second, Derek Fortier of Pleasant Prairie took third after starting fourth, sixth starter John Kirk of Johnsburg, Ill was fourth and 11^th starter Tim Brannam of Holiday Hills, Ill.

Dylan Cisney was the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series fast qualifier with a lap of 11.240 seconds.

Ben Schmidt earned PDTR 360 Sprint Car overall fast qualifier honors with a lap of 12.200 seconds.

John Kirk was the fastest IRA Lightning Sprints driver in group qualifying with a fast lap of 13.383 seconds.

Derek Crane of Racine won the 12-lap Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars B main.

The 14^th official and 13^th full PDTR racing program of the 2022 season, which was sponsored by JosFO Electric, drew a total of 97 cars, including 24 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 24 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 32 Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars and 17 IRA Lightning Sprints.

The 2022 book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls, as well as the 2021 book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich and George Baumann, remain available for purchase at the Sheboygan County Fair office at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. during regular business hours throughout the off season and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

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

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Dylan Cisney 11.240 2, Scotty Thiel 11.310 3, Scotty Neitzel 11.357 4, Shelby Bosie 11.466 5, 11.466 6, Danny Schlafer 11.491 7, Dave Uttech 11.496 8, Jordan Goldesberry 11.519 9, Tyler Tischendorf 11.537 10, Steve Meyer 11.568 11, Austin Hartmann 11.718 12, Josh Schneiderman 11.727 13, Jeremy Schultz 11.732 14, Jake Neuman 11.776 15, Kyle Schuett 11.783 16, Preston Ruh 11.859 17, James Broty 11.874 18, Scott Conger 12.029 19, Jett Mann 12.048 20, Blake Nimee 12.051 21, Kris Spitz 12.090 22, Zach Hansen 12.363 23, Jordan Paulsen 12.417 24, Dylan Winkel 12.508.

HEAT 1

1, Steve Meyer 2, Dave Uttech 3, Shelby Bosie 4, Dylan Cisney 5, Preston Ruh 6, Zach Hansen 7, Jett Mann 8, Jeremy Schultz.

HEAT 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Jake Neuman 3, James Broty 4, Blake Nimee 5, Jordan Paulsen 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Russel Borland 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 3

1, Josh Schneiderman 2, Danny Schlafer 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Scotty Thiel 5, Kyle Schuett 6, Kris Spitz 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Scott Conger.

DASH 1

1, Josh Schneiderman 2, Shelby Bosie 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Scotty Thiel.

DASH 2

1, Jake Neuman 2, Dave Uttech 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Dylan Cisney 5, Steve Meyer.

A MAIN

1, Jake Neuman 2, Josh Schneiderman 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Scotty Thiel 5, Dylan Cisney 6, Scotty Neitzel 7, Shelby Bosie 8, Jeremy Schultz 9, Blake Nimee 10, Steve Meyer 11, James Broty 12, Tyler Tischendorf 13, Jordan Goldesberry 14, Kyle Schuett 15, Preston Ruh 16, Dave Uttech 17, Kris Spitz 18, Russel Borland 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Dylan Winkel 21, Jordan Paulsen 22, Zach Hansen 23, Scott Conger 24, Jett Mann.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Ben Schmidt 12.200 2, Lance Fassbender 12.216 3, Anthony Knierim 12.344 4, Shane Wenninger 12.384 5, Katelyn Krebsbach 12.397 6, Brandon McMullen 12.424 7, Travis Arenz 12.494 8, Brandon Berth 12.500 9, Justin Erickson 12.518 10, Tony Wondra 12.548 11, Tyler Davis 12.594 12, Chris Larson 12.606 13, Blake Wondra 12.621 14, Will Gerrits 12.623 15, Tim Haddy 12.665 16, J.J. Pagel 12.716 17, Bill Taylor 12.734 18, Doug Wondra 12.835 19, Nick Daywalt 12.896 20, Justin Miller 12.902 21, Chris Clayton 12.911 22, Kevin Seidler 13.163 23, Alex Pokorski 13.179 24, Randy Post 13.328.

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Katelyn Krebsbach 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tyler Davis 6, Bill Taylor 7, Tim Haddy 8, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 2

1, Brandon Berth 2, Anthony Knierim 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Chris Larson 5, Justin Miller 6, Nick Daywalt 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Chris Clayton.

HEAT 3

1, Tony Wondra 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Blake Wondra 4, Justin Erickson 5, Will Gerrits 6, J.J. Pagel 7, Doug Wondra 8, Randy Post.

A MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Travis Arenz 5, Blake Wondra 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Tony Wondra 8, Will Gerrits 9, Doug Wondra 10, Alex Pokorski 11, Bill Taylor 12, Tyler Davis 13, Chris Larson 14, Nick Daywalt 15, Chris Clayton 16, J.J. Pagel 17, Kevin Seidler 18, Anthony Knierim 19, Justin Miller 20, Justin Erickson 21, Brandon Berth 22, Tim Haddy 23, Randy Post 24, Katelyn Krebsbach.

 

WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

QUALIFIER 1

1, Eric Wilke 2, Bryce Andrews 3, C.J. Maleug 4, Greg Alt 5, Jake Kouba 6, William Huck 7, Craig Lager 8, Natalie Klemko 9, Jason Young 10, Tom Eller 11, Mike Burba.

QUALIFIER 2

1, Ralph Johnson 2, Dennis Spitz 3, Josh Davidson 4, Dave Wallace 5, Trinity Uttech 6, Derek Crane 7, Ellie Hensley 8, Seth Johnson 9, Tom Brown 10, Tyler Davis. 11, Preston Ruh.

B MAIN

1, Derek Crane 2, William Huck 3, Ellie Hensley 4, Craig Lager 5, Jason Young 6, Preston Ruh 7, Mike Burba 8, Seth Johnson 9, Tom Eller 10, Tom Brown 11, Natalie Klemko 12, Tyler Davis

A MAIN

1, Ryan Zielski 2, Rusty Egan 3, Clayton Rossmann 4, Allen Hafford 5, Chris Klemko 6, Tim Cox 7, Eric Wilke 8, Derek Crane 9, John Fahl 10, Jake Kouba 11, C.J. Malueg 12, Greg Alt 13, Bryce Andrews 14, Mike Sullivan 15, Ellie Hensley 16, Ralph Johnson 17, Trinity Uttech 18, Dave Wallace 19, Craig Lager 20, William Huck 21, Josh Davidson 22, Jimmy Sivia 23, Ryan Marshall 24, Dennis Spitz.

 

INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION LIGHTNING SPRINTS

QUALIFYING

1, John Kirk 13.383 2, Mike Neau 13.467 3, Derek Fortier 13.650 4, Mark Heinert 13.675 5, Ron Brannam 13.963 6, Jeff Schmidt 14.008 7, Tim Brannam 14.018 8, Max Brannam 14.153 9, Xander York 14.362 10, Grant Harvey 14.630 11, David Powers 14.724 12, Ron Curasi 14.939 13, Jordan Funderburk 15.510 14, Shawn Steinpas 15.932 15, Carl Sturt 16.310 16, Jacob Sturt 18.676 17, Chris Quillman (no time).

HEAT 1

1, Derek Fortier 2, John Kirk 3, Ron Brannam 4, Xander York 5, Chris Quillman 6, David Powers 7, Jordan Funderburk 8, Carl Sturt 9, Tim Brannam.

HEAT 2

1, Mark Heinert 2, Mike Neau 3, Jeff Schmidt 4, Max Brannam 5, Ron Curasi 6, Shawn Steinpas 7, Grant Harvey 8, Jacob Sturt.

A MAIN

1, Mark Heinert 2, Mike Neau 3, Derek Fortier 4, John Kirk 5, Tim Brannam 6, Jeff Schmidt 7, Max Brannam 8, Ron Brannam 9, Chris Quillman 10, David Powers 11, Xander York 12, Ron Curasi 13, Shawn Steinpas 14, Grant Harvey 15, Jacob Sturt 16, Jordan Funderburk.