Miller, Sorce, Schultz earn A-main wins as Kulow, Warner take division titles

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 14, 2019 – Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha continued his recent mastery of The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming his second straight Dirt Kings Late Model Tour victory and second consecutive PDTR Late Model A-main triumph of the 2019 season at the third-mile clay oval at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 14.

In other A-main action, Adam Miller of Plymouth captured his first career 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, former PDTR Late Model champ Dan Sorce of West Allis picked up the win in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main and Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam triumphed in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

In addition, two new PDTR champions were crowned as Tyler Kulow of Plymouth secured his first career Grand National title at Plymouth by edging Luke Scholten of Oostburg by 26 points in the final standings, while Fond du Lac’s Tim Warner wrapped up is first career PDTR B Mod track title by topping Travis Schmidt of Waldo by 24 points.

Outside front row starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha outdueled polesitter Troy Springborn of Shawano to lead the opening circuit of 30-lap Discounttowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A main.

On lap 4, fourth starter Mitch McGrath pulled off a slide job in turn three to work his way into second place. As Scheffler moved out to a solid half-straightaway lead over Springborn, two-time defending Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion Nick Anvelink of Navarino engaged in an epic, back-and-forth battle with fifth starter Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. for fourth beginning on lap 11.

Two laps later, Reed maneuvered past both Anvelink and Springborn to advance to third in the running order as the leaders began to work their way through heavy lapped traffic staring on lap 16.

With six laps to go, Scheffler got briefly pinned behind a pair of lapped cars that were dueling side by side. As Scheffler struggled to dispatch of the slower machine, McGrath moved into striking distance on lap 25, while Anvelink also slipped into the fray to make in a three-way duel for the lead on lap 26.

Anvelink ducked low to briefly steal second from McGrath, who claimed the 2014 PDTR Late model title. However, the 2019 Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) regular powered back around Anvelink one lap later and quickly pulled even with the high-riding Scheffler along the equally fast low line.

Entering turn three on the final circuit, McGrath reeled off a huge slide job, which propelled him into the lead. Scheffler attempted to dive low and race past McGrath going to the checkered flag, but McGrath held on to earn his 13th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, second straight PDTR Late Model A-main win, fifth overall Dirt Kings Tour A-main win and second consecutive Dirt Kings Late Model Tour main event triumph at Plymouth.

Scheffler had to settle for second, Anvelink took third, Reed wound up fourth and Springborn rounded out the top five in the caution-free event.

“There was some good racing in that one, especially at the end,” McGrath said as he was adorned with the customary Dirt Kings Tour winners crown and cape, while sitting on the A-main victor’s throne in victory lane. “Taylor gave plenty of room to race and it was fun. It does feel good to win after we gave one away at the end to Nick Anvelink at Wilmot Speedway last week. I just got up on the wheel and did my best to make it happen.”

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan jumped into the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR Sprint Car A main as third starter Adam Miller moved into second. By lap five, Arenz had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Miller at the front of the field.

As Arenz was setting a blistering pace along the high line of the multi-groove track surface, lapped traffic came into play starting on lap 8. Five laps later, Arenz found himself mired in heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Miller to reduce the gap considerably on lap 15.

After making some impressive moves to work through the slower cars, Arenz was beginning to extend his lead when disaster struck. On lap 23, Arenz tangled with a slower car and flipped hard in turn four. The incident also collected rookie Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake. Both drivers were forced to retire from the race.

On the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh lined up directly behind Miller, who had inherited the lead following Arenz departure from the race. McMullen dove low to pull even with Miller in turn two on lap 23. On the next lap, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth hit the wall hard in turn three, which ended his night.

Miller again held off McMullen’s bid for the lead along the low line on the green-white-checkered flag finish to secure his first career A-main victory of any kind in his 12-year racing career, which has spanned multiple Winged and Non-Winged Sprint Car divisions and series at 38 tracks in six different states.

McMullen wound up second, fourth starter Brandon Berth of Cascade placed third, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged from his 17^th starting spot to place fourth and 12^th starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fifth.

“This has been a lot long time coming,” Adam Miller said in victory lane. “I’ve been working for an A-main for many, many years. What made it even better was holding off the 98 car [Brandon McMullen]. He’s as tough as you get around here. I didn’t need those cautions at the end, but I hit my marks and had good enough restarts to finish it off.”

In the Grand National A main, Dan Sorce got the jump at the drop of the green flag from the pole position followed by third starter Luke Scholten in second and sixth starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake in third.

On lap 6, the first of three caution flags appeared when Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake hit the frontstretch wall head on. Damage to the wall forced the race to be red flagged to make repairs to the wall.

When the race resumed, Scholten and Tyler Kulow, who started fifth, waged a side-by-side duel for second starting on lap 6 and continuing over the next seven laps until Scholten finally surged ahead on lap 13 exiting turn two.

Scholten, who entered the night 24 points behind Kulow in the race for the 2019 PDTR Grand National track title, gradually reeled in Sorce over the next eight laps before challenging for the lead with a low move in turn four on lap 21.

On the same lap, the second caution of the race appeared for an infield tire, which had been moved onto the track after contact in turn two. Following the restart, 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started 12^th, used the high groove to move into third on lap 23 before the third caution was displayed for Bruce Troesch’s spun in turn one on lap 23.

On the restart, Yancey powered around Scholten along the cushion on the final circuit to take second behind Sorce, who collected his ninth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Yancey wound up second, Scholten placed third, Kulow wrapped up the 2019 PDTR Grand National championship with a fourth-place showing and 17^th starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth.

Nick Schultz grabbed the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main on the opening lap from the pole, followed by outside front row starter Tim Warner, who came into the program with a 16-point lead of Travis Schmidt in the chase for the 2019 PDTR B Mod title.

The first of six cautions in the incident-plagued event appeared on lap 2 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan and Barrett Hummelmeier of Pardeeville spun out in turn two.

Following the restart, 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started fourth, moved in to take second with a high move on lap 3. The second caution flag was then displayed on lap 5 when Hummelmeier spun again in turn three.

Sheppard and James Rautmann of Howards Grove triggered the third caution flag when they spun in turn one on the ensuing restart attempt. One more caution appeared on the next restart when Lorier and Rautmann got together in turn three.

On lap 7, eighth starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown slipped into third before the fifth caution came out when Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth and Tony Gates of Chilton collided in turn two on lap 8.

Steenbergen advanced another spot in the next restart when he moved into second on lap 9 in advance of the sixth and final caution flag for an incident involving Sheboygan Falls drivers Rick Kretschmann and Brian Wieland.

Since the race was nearing the time limit, a single-file restart was incorporated on the ensuing restart, which yielded non-stop racing action for the remaining 16 laps with Nick Schultz pulling away from Steenbergen to collect his second career PDTR B Mod A main victory.

Steenbergen placed second, Warner wrapped up his first PDTR B Mod title with a third-place finish, Barry Maas of Cascade charged up from his 17^th starting position to place fourth and 12^th starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls finished fifth.

B-main winners included Ben Schmidt (360 Sprint Car), Turk Letizia of Milwaukee (Dirt Kings Late Model Tour), Dustin Weiss (Grand National) and Barry Maas (B Mod).

A season-high total of 109 cars packed the pit area, including 29 B Mods, 28 360 Sprint Cars, 27 Dirt Kings Late Models and 25 Grand Nationals for the second-to-last PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Jensen Sales & Service.

The final event of the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28. The Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships will serve as the final points night of the season for the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series and the Interstate Racing Association Lightning Sprint Cars.

On track-action is set to begin at 5 p.m. with qualifying and racing to follow.

 

DIRT KINGS LATE MODEL TOUR

Date of Race: September 14, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Mark Rose 3, Brett Swedberg 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Turk Letizia 7, Kyle Raddant 8, Derek Janke 9, Jim Juneau.

HEAT 2

1, Troy Springborn 2, Joel Bennett 3, Chris Engels 4, Ron Stroika 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Tim Buhler 7, Ron Berna 8, Jim Letizia 9, Brian Gerber.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Reed 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Charlie Schmidt 7, Aaron Wickersheim 8, Cody Welch 9, Chad Ludwigson.

B MAIN

1, Turk Letizia 2, Kyle Raddant 3, Aaron Wickersheim 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Derek Janke 6, Cody Welch 7, Jim Letizia 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Jim Juneau 10, Brian Gerber.

A MAIN

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Justin Reed 5, Troy Springborn 6, Mark Rose 7, Justin Ritchie 8, Brett Swedberg 9, Brad Mueller 10, Joel Bennett 11, Chris Engels 12, Jim Schmidt 13, Turk Letizia 14, Tom Naeyaert 15, Ron Stroika 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Charlie Schmidt 18, Kyle Raddant 19, Aaron Wickersheim 20, Jim Letizia 21, Tim Buhler 22, Derek Janke.

 

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

1, Nick Daywalt 2, Adam Miller 3, Will Gerrits 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Jim Melis 6, Bill Taylor 7, Doug Wondra (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Justin Miller 4, Kurt Davis 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Chris Larson 7, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Nich Melis 2, Tim Haddy 3, Travis Arenz 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Scott Conger 6, Sean Rayhall 7, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon Berth 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Chris Clayton 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Tony Wondra 7, Preston Ruh.

B MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Tony Wondra 4, Scott Conger 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Preston Ruh 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Chris Larson 10, Blake Wondra 11, Bill Taylor 12, Doug Wondra (DNS).

A MAIN

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

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Steven Weber 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Darryl Traber 6, Jacob Muehlbauer 7, Seth Westimayer 8, Dylan May 9, Chad Espen (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Dan Sorce 3, Brad Weiss 4, Jeff Jungwirth 5, Dick Hed 6, Jason Juech 7, Dustin Weiss 8, Dan Schumacher.

HEAT 3

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Donny Kulow 3, Luke Scholten 4, Matt Yancey 5, Bruce Troesch 6, Derek Kaat 7, Donny Singer 8, Justin Pearson (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Dustin Weiss 2, Chad Espen 3, Dan Schumacher 4, Justin Pearson 5, Jacob Muehlbauer 6, Seth Westimayer 7, Darryl Traber 8, Donny Singer 9, Dylan May (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Dan Sorce 2, Matt Yancey 3, Luke Scholten 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Chad Espen 7, Don Sorce Jr. 8, Jeff Jungwirth 9, Nick Schumacher 10, Brad Weiss 11, Steven Weber 12, Dick Hed 13, Justin Pearson 14, Jason Juech 15, Bruce Troesch 16, Derek Kaat 17, Jeff Muehlbauer 18, Dan Schumacher 19, J.J. Pagel 20, Donny Kulow.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schultz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Marcus Hoeppner 4, James Rautmann 5, Tony Gates 6, Mark Hoeppner 7, Christopher Gilson 8, Brandon Knepprath.

HEAT 2

1, Barrett Hummelmeier 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Tim Lange 5, Rory Welch 6, Donny Singer 7, Michael Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Rick Kretschmann 2, Derek Schrauth 3, Steve Lorier 4, Justin Bauer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Joshua Mavis 7, Tim Thrun.

HEAT 4

1, Jeff Steenbergen 2, Tim Warner 3, Brian Wieland 4, Gary Glander 5, Barry Maas 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Jason Schilling.

B MAIN

1, Barry Maas 2, Tony Gates 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Tim Thrun 6, Michael Gilson 7, Jason Schilling 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Rory Welch 10, Christopher Gilson 11, Joshua Mavis, 12, Donny Singer 13, Jesse Jakubowski.

A MAIN

1, Nick Schultz 2, Jeff Steenbergen 3, Tim Warner 4, Barry Maas 5, Justin Bauer 6, Derek Schrauth 7, Travis Schmidt 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Steve Lorier 10, Gary Glander 11, Brian Wieland 12, Mark Hoeppner 13, Rick Kretschmann 14, Tony Gates 15, Tim Lange 16, Brandon Knepprath 17, James Rautmann, 18, Kyle Odekirk 19, Tim Sheppard 20, Barrett Hummelmeier.