Pierce, Schmidt, Sivia claim PDTR A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 15, 2026 – One week after dropping to second on the Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car all-time A-main victory list, three-time division champion Brandon McMullen of Oostburg regained a share of the career win crown on the strength of his first 25-lap main event victory in nearly three years on Saturday, Aug. 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis.

Filling in for the injured Billy Kreutz behind the wheel of the 3BK car, McMullen’s 34^th career A-main win vaulted him back into a first-place deadlock with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who had claimed sole possession of the top spot with a victory one week ago.

Josh Pierce of Adell captured his first victory of the 2026 season in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National main event.

Current Sheboygan Flooring B Mod point leader and former division champion Travis Schmidt of Cascade secured his second 25-lap A-main win of the season.

14-year-old Colin Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. recorded his first career Plymouth Dirt Track A-main victory in the 20-lap Autometer Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car Series presented by Sheboygan’s Rock Station 106.5 The Buzz headliner.

The 360 Sprint Car main event got off to a rough start when T.J. Smith of Greenville drew a red flag after flipping in turn one.

When the race got underway, rookie Ethan Stear of Hebron, Ill. jumped into the lead from the pole with Steven Ruh of New Holstein, who started on the outside of the front row, settling into second, and fourth starter Josh Walter of Plymouth slotting into third.

On lap 6, Stear caught the rear of the field and began to work his way through slower traffic when a caution flag was displayed for the stalled car of Chris Larson of Franksville in turn two.

Following the restart, Walter slipped past Ruh to take second before Justin Erickson stopped in turn two, producing another caution flag on lap 9. Stear used a strong restart to bolt away from Walter, while Brandon McMullen, who started fifth, took over third on lap 12.

The final caution flag came out on lap 16 for Jake Zimmermann’s disabled car in turn two. After the green flag reappeared, McMullen slipped underneath Walter to assume second and quickly reeled in Stear.

The leaders caught up to slower traffic on lap 20, which allowed McMullen to cut the lead gap. While Stear rode the high groove of the lightning-fast track surface, McMullen rolled the bottom to draw within striking distance on lap 23.

One lap later, McMullen ducked underneath Stear to grab the lead in lapped traffic on lap 24. McMullen, who stepped away from full-time racing competition after the 2023 season, went on to earn his first PDTR 360 Sprint A-main victory since Sept. 2, 2023.

The victory allowed the Plymouth native to move back into a tie with Ben Schmidt and regain a piece of the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory record with his 34^th career triumph. It was also McMullen’s 46^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win.

Stear finished second, Walter was third, and 2026 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fourth after starting sixth. Just after crossing the finish line, Ben Schmidt collided with the spinning car of Joseph Hintz and flipped into the infield, but not before he wrapped up a fifth-place showing from the 18^th starting spot.

“It’s an honor to be tied for lead with Ben [Schmidt],” McMullen said. “He’s a great driver with a great team. He races full time, so he will eventually have the record for himself. To get a win in the second night out in a different car is a great feeling.”

Last week’s A-main winner Derek Kaat of Plymouth led the first four laps of the Grand National main event before Josh Pierce grabbed the top spot with a low move in turn four on lap 5.

On lap 7, eighth starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge moved up to second and pulled in to pressure Pierce at the point. However, Pierce held strong at the front, negotiating slower traffic on the way to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main win.

Weiss wound up second, eighth starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge took third, Kaat placed fourth, and sixth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth rounded out the top five in the non-stop race.

Third starter Tim Thrun of Horicon worked past polesitter Kevin Braaksma of Juneau to lead the opening lap of the B Mod A main. On lap 3, Matt Urban moved up from the fifth starting spot to assume the top spot just as PDTR B Mod champion and current point leader Travis Schmidt, who started seventh, moved into second.

As Schmidt closed in on the lead, Urban pulled off the track with an apparent mechanical issue on lap 10.  After inheriting the lead, Schmidt never looked back on the way to his 10^th career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Braaksma placed second, 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam worked his way up from the ninth starting position to take third, Thrun was fourth and eighth starter Tony Gates of Chilton wound up fifth in the caution-free race.

Polesitter Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. led the opening two laps of the Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car main event before fourth starter Colin Sivia used the high line to sweep into the lead in turn two on lap 3.

From there, Sivia built up a solid cushion on the way to his second career Wisconsin WingLESS Sprint Car main event win and first triumph at Plymouth.

Cox was second, second starter Ralph Johnson of Silver Lake took third, Ryan Zielkski of Oconomowoc moved up from sixth to finish fourth, and Trinity Uttech of New Berlin started and finished fifth in the non-stop event.

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

Ethon Stear secured fastest overall qualifier honors in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car division with a lap of 12.432 seconds.

Ryan Zielski was the top Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Car qualifier with a fast lap of 13.669 seconds.

Greg Alt of Watertown was transported to a local hospital for a concussion after a hard flip in the first Wisconsin wingLESS heat race.

The 13^th event of the 2026 PDTR campaign, sponsored by Schwaller’s Painting, Staining, and Drywall, attracted a field of 75 total cars, including 26 360 Sprint Cars, 20 Grand Nationals, 16 Wingless Sprint Cars, and 13 B Mods.

The postponed Independence 30 will take place this Thursday, Aug. 20 at The Plymouth Dirt Track, featuring Late Models, PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, and Street Stocks.

The Late Model division is racing for a top prize of $3,000, with the 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, and Street Stocks competing for $1,776 to win.

Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 5:45 p.m. and racing at 6:45 p.m.

On Saturday, Aug. 22, PDTR will host the 2026 season championship night for the Seubert Calf Ranches Super Six Late Model Series presented by Sheboygan’s Rock Station 106.5 The Buzz. The Akright Auto 360 Sprint Cars, Oostburg Automotive Grand Nationals and Sheboygan Flooring B Mods are also on the card.

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

Weather information for all Plymouth Dirt Track Racing events will be posted on the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram pages, as well as the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing website – www.plymouthdtr.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, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 3BK-Brandon McMullen [5]; 2. 59-Ethon Stear [1]; 3. 67-Josh Walter [4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 5. 35-Ben Schmidt [18]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [12]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh [2]; 8. 68T-Tyler Davis [11]; 9. 69-Bill Taylor [17]; 10. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [22]; 11. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [21]; 12. 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 13. 20W-Weston Finke [20]; 14. 11-Tony Wondra [14]; 15. 51-Chris Larson [9]; 16. 29J-Ralph Johnson [15]; 17. 98M-Ron Malec [10]; 18. (DNF) 37Z-Jake Zimmerman [13]; 19. (DNF) 3-Justin Erickson [19]; 20. (DNF) 22B-Brandon Berth [3]; 21. (DNF) 24-Scott Conger [8]; 22. (DNF) 69S-TJ Smith [16]

B Main (12 Laps): 1. 69-Bill Taylor[2]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt[4]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson[1]; 4. 20W-Weston Finke[3]; 5. 5S-Chad Stouthamer[6]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach[5]; 7. 30-Blake Wondra[9]; 8. 5-Kevin Seidler[7]; 9. 34T-Tom Becker[8]; 10. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 46-Steven Ruh[2]; 2. 3BK-Brandon McMullen[4]; 3. 98M-Ron Malec[3]; 4. 14J-Joseph Hintz[5]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson[6]; 6. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[1]; 7. 34T-Tom Becker[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 67-Josh Walter[4]; 2. 24-Scott Conger[1]; 3. 51-Chris Larson[3]; 4. 68T-Tyler Davis[5]; 5. 5-Kevin Seidler[2]; 6. 35-Ben Schmidt[7]; 7. 30-Blake Wondra[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 12P-JJ Pagel[1]; 2. 59-Ethon Stear[4]; 3. 37Z-Jake Zimmerman[2]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor[3]; 5. 29J-Ralph Johnson[6]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach[5]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 22B-Brandon Berth[2]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz[4]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra[1]; 4. 20W-Weston Finke[3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith[6]; 6. 5S-Chad Stouthamer[5]

Qualifying 1: 1. 3BK-Brandon McMullen, 12.595[7]; 2. 98M-Ron Malec, 13.090[5]; 3. 46-Steven Ruh, 13.290[2]; 4. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 13.817[4]; 5. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 14.027[1]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson, 14.439[6]; 7. 34T-Tom Becker, 14.598[3]

Qualifying 2: 1. 67-Josh Walter, 12.979[1]; 2. 51-Chris Larson, 13.003[6]; 3. 5-Kevin Seidler, 13.145[2]; 4. 24-Scott Conger, 13.191[4]; 5. 68T-Tyler Davis, 13.239[5]; 6. 30-Blake Wondra, 13.267[3]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.854[7]

Qualifying 3: 1. 59-Ethon Stear, 12.432[2]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.652[3]; 3. 37Z-Jake Zimmerman, 12.791[4]; 4. 12P-JJ Pagel, 12.875[6]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.977[5]; 6. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 12.994[1]

Qualifying 4: 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.615[1]; 2. 20W-Weston Finke, 12.681[6]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.758[4]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.780[5]; 5. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 13.194; 6. 5S-Chad Stouthamer, 13.194[3]; 7. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.415[2]

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 13-Josh Pierce [6]; 2. 53W-Dustin Weiss [9]; 3. 53B-Matt Urban [8]; 4. 15-Derek Kaat [3]; 5. 15M-Justin Miller [7]; 6. 80-Luke Scholten [12]; 7. 5M-Jeff Muehlbauer [10]; 8. 42-Jason Juech [11]; 9. 54-Matt Yancey [14]; 10. 24K-Tyler Kulow [17]; 11. 41K-Katelyn Sohrweide [4]; 12. 52W-Jack Wiroll [16]; 13. 72E-Chad Espen [15]; 14. 16-Will Schumacher [18]; 15. 53T-Tanner Lorenz [13]; 16. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 17. 87-Parker Derks [20]; 18. 5C-Collin Skindzelewski [19]; 19. 11-Dylan May [2]; 20. (DNS) 77-Ron Johnson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Derek Kaat[2]; 2. 80-Luke Scholten[6]; 3. 5M-Jeff Muehlbauer[5]; 4. 77-Ron Johnson[1]; 5. 53T-Tanner Lorenz[3]; 6. 52W-Jack Wiroll[4]; 7. 5C-Collin Skindzelewski[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 41K-Katelyn Sohrweide[2]; 2. 13-Josh Pierce[3]; 3. 11-Dylan May[1]; 4. 53B-Matt Urban[4]; 5. 54-Matt Yancey[6]; 6. 24K-Tyler Kulow[5]; 7. 87-Parker Derks[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 95-Donny Kulow[2]; 2. 53W-Dustin Weiss[4]; 3. 15M-Justin Miller[3]; 4. 42-Jason Juech[5]; 5. 72E-Chad Espen[6]; 6. 16-Will Schumacher[1]

 

SHEBOYGAN FLOORING B MODS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 3-Travis Schmidt [7]; 2. 85B-Kevin Braaksma [1]; 3. 29S-Tim Sheppard [9]; 4. 12T-Tim Thrun [3]; 5. 5X-Tony Gates [8]; 6. 73-Rory Welch [4]; 7. 19-Parker Glander [11]; 8. 69-Travis Kleindl [13]; 9. 17-Brandon Knepprath [6]; 10. 59S-Spencer Long [10]; 11. 88-Jonathan Hitsman [2]; 12. 48-Matt Urban [5]; 13. (DNS) 11B-Brad Buckman

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 48-Matt Urban[4]; 2. 12T-Tim Thrun[2]; 3. 29S-Tim Sheppard[6]; 4. 85B-Kevin Braaksma[1]; 5. 3-Travis Schmidt[5]; 6. 19-Parker Glander[3]; 7. 69-Travis Kleindl[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 88-Jonathan Hitsman[1]; 2. 73-Rory Welch[2]; 3. 59S-Spencer Long[6]; 4. 17-Brandon Knepprath[4]; 5. 5X-Tony Gates[5]; 6. 11B-Brad Buckman[3]

 

AUTOMETER WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CARS

A Main (20 Laps): 1. 11S-Colin Sivia [4]; 2. 14AJ-Tim Cox [1]; 3. 29J-Ralph Johnson [2]; 4. 14Z-Ryan Zielski [6]; 5. 7-Trinity Uttech [5]; 6. 0-John Fahl [3]; 7. 38-Allen Hafford [7]; 8. 50-Rusty Egan [13]; 9. 24-Eric Wilke [12]; 10. 11-Austin Hansen [8]; 11. 99J-Seth Johnson [9]; 12. 29OG-Tom Eller [10]; 13. 4G-George Gaertner III [11]; 14. 2J-Christian Janssen [15]; 15. 7D-Josh Davidson [14]; 16. (DNS) 22-Greg Alt

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 14AJ-Tim Cox[1]; 2. 11S-Colin Sivia[3]; 3. 11-Austin Hansen[5]; 4. 4G-George Gaertner III[7]; 5. 14Z-Ryan Zielski[4]; 6. 29OG-Tom Eller[6]; 7. (DNF) 22-Greg Alt[2]; 8. (DNF) 2J-Christian Janssen[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Allen Hafford[1]; 2. 29J-Ralph Johnson[2]; 3. 0-John Fahl[3]; 4. 7-Trinity Uttech[4]; 5. 24-Eric Wilke[6]; 6. 99J-Seth Johnson[5]; 7. 50-Rusty Egan[8]; 8. 7D-Josh Davidson[7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 14Z-Ryan Zielski, 13.669[14]; 2. 7-Trinity Uttech, 13.709[4]; 3. 11S-Colin Sivia, 13.736[8]; 4. 0-John Fahl, 13.782[2]; 5. 22-Greg Alt, 13.853[6]; 6. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 13.911[5]; 7. 14AJ-Tim Cox, 13.918[15]; 8. 38-Allen Hafford, 13.930[11]; 9. 11-Austin Hansen, 14.042[7]; 10. 99J-Seth Johnson, 14.048[10]; 11. 29OG-Tom Eller, 14.075[13]; 12. 24-Eric Wilke, 14.092[16]; 13. 4G-George Gaertner III, 14.216[1]; 14. 7D-Josh Davidson, 14.460[12]; 15. 2J-Christian Janssen, 14.500[9]; 16. (DNS) 50-Rusty Egan