Schmidt secures second straight Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 17, 2019 – On a night when Plymouth Dirt Track Racing honored both its past champions and its loyal fans, several record-setting performances highlighted a eventful evening of action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth, Wis.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2010 PDTR champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee moved to the top of the track’s all-time 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list by recording his third main event victory of the 2019 season at Plymouth. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland wrapped up his second consecutive PDTR Late Model championship by earning his first Gasroots Project Late Model A-main victory of the season. Cedar Grove’s Jonathan Otte made a rare PDTR appearance pay off by collecting his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main triumph. Regular 360 Sprint Car competitor Travis Arenz of Sheboygan found victory lane in the Cellcom B Mod A-main in a guest driving role in the car normally wheeled by PDTR B Mod point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac.

After lining up on the inside of the second row, Adam Miller of Plymouth powered past rookie polesitter Nick Daywalt of Slinger and outside front row starter Tim Haddy of Waupun to take the lead in turn four of the opening circuit.

On lap 3, Kurt Davis, who started fourth worked the outside line of the tacky and two-groove racing surface to take over second, while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved in from the eighth starting spot to seize third with a low move in turn four on lap 7.

The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 9, which allowed Davis to close in on Miller before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 10 for the slowing car of rookie Jack Vanderboom of Dousman.

On the restart, Davis dove down low to take over the top spot from Miller in turn two on lap 11, while McMullen followed into second on lap 14. One lap later, rookie Brandon Berth of Cascade made his presence felt as he also worked his way past Miller to take over the third position after starting sixth.

On lap 17, Miller spun to a stop in turn two with a driveline failure to bring out the second caution flag of the race.

After another caution on the restart for a spin involving Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum in turn two, Davis showed his strength by bolting away from the field. As the laps wound down, McMullen cut the gap and attempted to mount one final using both the high and low grooves to try to find a way past Davis.

However, Davis fended off McMullen’s challenges to post his record 23^rd career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory to break a tie with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex. It was also Davis’ 60^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory, which also leads the series.

“I wasn’t going to run for points this year, but then we found ourselves leading and it was hard to stop racing,” Davis said in victory lane. “Travis Arenz has been really fast this year and someone needs to step up and give him a run. I have to thank everyone that works on this car all week, every week. This is a great overall team effort.”

McMullen finished second, Berth recorded a PDTR 360 Sprint Car career-best third-place showing, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah, who started ninth, placed fourth and 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth moved up from the 12^th starting spot to finish fifth.

Chad Vetting of Valders led the Late Model A-main on the drop of the green flag from the pole position while Brian Konitzer of Sheboygan, who started second, fell into second with Justin Schmidt, who started fourth, taking third on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Schmidt worked around Konitzer to seize second and quickly set his sights on Vetting for the lead. Schmidt ventured up to the outside lane on lap four two sweep around Vetting in turn two and secure the top spot.

Two laps later, Schmidt had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Vetting and his lead extended to a full straightaway on lap 10 as Schmidt skillfully worked his way through lapped traffic.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 18 for Konitzer’s slowing car. On the restart, ninth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee worked the high groove to power into fourth, while third starter Ron Stroika of Milwaukee and Vetting battled side by side for second on lap 20.

Letizia quickly moved in to make it a three-car duel for second on lap 21 before engaging in a heated back-and-forth duel with Stroika for the runner-up spot over the next two laps.

Just after Letizia gained second for good, the second caution appeared on lap 22 for the stalled car of Kevin Baldry of Omro. The restart yielded the third caution flag when Mark Rose of Dorchester hit the turn one wall hard.

Following the final restart, Schmidt pulled away to earn his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory of the season and 10^th career PDTR Late Model main event win. The victory also gap Schmidt an insurmountable 96-point lead over Buhler heading into the final PDTR Late Model points race of the 2019 season next Friday, Aug. 23.

Letizia was second, Stroika finished third, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed fourth after starting seventh and fifth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

“I’ve been waiting all season for this,” Schmidt said. “It feels good to get a win, which also helps a lot in sealing the track championship.”

Polesitter Jonathan Otte got the jump on the drop of the green flag to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main, followed by second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake and third starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia.

On lap 3, Pierce, Kulow and sixth starter Dan Sorce of West Allis battled three-wide for second with Kulow emerging with the spot followed by Sorce in third before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 for a spin involving J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary in turn two.

Pierce surged into second on lap six along the low groove while sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg used the high line to power into third.

As Otte was setting a blistering pace at the front of the field, plenty of action was going on behind him as Scholten shot around Pierce using the high line on lap 11 to gain second. However, Pierce battled back on lap 13 along the low groove as the two drivers dueled side by side for the spot over the next two laps before Scholten finally secured the position.

On lap 15, Scholten moved in to pressure Otte for the top spot in turn three. Scholten and Otte raced door to door over the next three laps before Otte gradually opened up a sizable gap starting on lap 18.

Meanwhile, PDTR Grand National point leader Tyler Kulow moved in to challenge Pierce for third on lap 19 before the second and final caution appearance on lap 23 for an infield tire, which had been pushed onto the track in turn three.

On the restart, Otte pulled away while Kulow worked around Pierce and moved into duel with Scholten for second before securing the runner-up spot at the finish line.

Otte held on to collect his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Kulow was second, Scholten placed third, Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started 10th, finished fourth and Dan Sorce completed the top five.

“This is my first A-main win at Plymouth, which is the track where I started my racing career,” Otte said. “It is just the third time I’ve raced at Plymouth in the last three years, so maybe I should come back a little more often. I saw Luke [Scholten] there and I have a lot of respect for him. He raced with my dad. When I saw him, I knew I had to give it a little more.”

After starting on the pole, Travis Arenz grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the B Mod A main as 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started third, moved into second.

On lap 8, Sheppard closed in on Arenz, who was driving for Tim Warner, as the leaders began to maneuver through lapped traffic. Arenz and Sheppard got bottled up behind a large group of slower cars on lap 12, which allowed fourth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls to pass Sheppard and seize second in turn four on lap 13.

Once he cleared the lapped traffic, Arenz opened up a half-straightaway cushion over Glander on lap 19. However, lapped traffic again played a role at the end as Glander made a huge run on the final lap as Arenz was held up behind a slew of slower cars.

On the white-flag lap, Glander went hard into turn three and made contact with Arenz, which caused Glander to spin into the infield. Glander eventually recovered to finish eighth, while Arenz continued to the checkered flag unscathed.

Arenz went on to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-free race and shatter the previous B Mod A-main track record by 20 seconds. Sheppard finished second, fifth starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo placed third, Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth after starting eighth and Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls, who started second, placed fifth.

Darrin Allard won the main event for the visiting Vintage Modifieds.

Travis Arenz won the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B Main and Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford won the PDTR B Mod B Main.

A total of 102 cars were on hand, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 20 Late Models, 17 Grand Nationals and nine Vintage Modifieds.

The racing program, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Show Cattle, also featured past champions night, autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms and kids’ backpack night sponsored by Cupcake Wonders.

The next PDTR racing program will take place this Friday, Aug. 23 with hot laps scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and racing slated to begin at 6 p.m. It will be the final points race of the season for the PDTR Late Model division.

Four events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 17, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Will Gerrits 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Doug Wondra 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Bill Taylor.

HEAT 2

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Adam Miller 3, Tim Haddy 4, Chris Clayton 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Travis Arenz 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Brandon Berth 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Miller 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Chris Larson.

HEAT 4

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Jim Melis 3, Preston Ruh 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Davis 6, Nich Melis 7, Bake Wondra.

B MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Chris Clayton 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Tyler Tischendorf 8, Doug Wondra 9, Justin Erickson 10, Bill Taylor 11, Tyler Nelson 12, Blake Wondra 13, Chris Larson 14, Nich Melis 15, Lance Fassbender.

A MAIN

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Mark Rose 3, Turk Letizia 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Zack Kessler 6, Jim Juneau 7, David Jaeger (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Chad Vetting 3, Brian Konitzer 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Glen Blanke 6, Paul Parker 7, Justin Ritchie.

HEAT 3

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Ron Stroika 4, Kevin Baldry 5, Eric Michaels 6, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Ron Stroika 4, Tim Buhler 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Brad Mueller 7, Chad Vetting 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Eric Michaels 10, Kevin Baldry 11, Glen Blanke 12, Zack Kesler 13, Donny Singer 14, Jim Juneau 15, Brian Konitzer 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Paul Parker (DNS) 18, Justin Ritchie (DNS) 19, Dave Jaeger (DNS) 20, Mark Rose (DQ).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Dan Sorce 2, Jason Juech 3, Matt Loehr 4, Josh Pierce 5, Donny Kulow 6, Dave Holm 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Jeff Muehlbauer.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Jonathan Otte 3, Tyler Kulow 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Travis Schmidt 8, Matt Yancey.

A MAIN

1, Jonathan Otte 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Luke Scholten 4, Dick Hed 5, Dan Sorce 6, Josh Pierce 7, Matt Yancey 8, Donny Kulow 9, Matt Loehr 10, Jason Juech 11, Travis Schmidt 12, Jeff Muehlebauer 13, Dave Holm 14, Jacob Muehlbauer 15, Derek Kaat 16, J.J. Pagel 17, Steven Weber (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Barry Maas 3, Travis Arenz 4, Dan Melton 5, Justin Bauer 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Mark Hoeppner 9, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Gary Glander 2, Rick Kretschmann 3, Shane Long 4, Tim Lange 5, Rory Welch 6, Donny Singer 7, Brady Harshbarger 8, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Steve Lorier 3, Brian Wieland 4, James Rautmann 5, Jesse Jakubowski 6, Phil Campanella 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson.

B MAIN

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Brady Harshbarger 5, Donny Singer 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson 9, Christopher Gilson.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Shane Long 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Dan Melton 8, Gary Glander 9, Steve Lorier 10, Jesse Jakubowski 11, Brian Wieland 12, Barry Maas 13, Mark Hoeppner 14, Brandon Knepprath 15, Brady Harshbarger 16, Justin Bauer 17, Rory Welch 18, James Rautmann 19, Phil Campanella 20, Tim Lange.