Defending Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan earned his 15th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main and fifth victory of the 2022 season in the 25-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 16, 2022 – On a night that produced a close-quarters brand of wheel-to-wheel competition contested on a lightning-fast racing surface, two first-time winners collected main-event hardware in a five-division Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program featuring a special appearance from the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ and current point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan notched his fifth main event triumph of the 2022 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track in flag-to-flag fashion.

2016 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Micro Sprint champion Zach Boden of Cambridge posted his second career Badger Midget A-main victory in the 25-lap Badger Midget Auto Racing Association main event.

Late Model newcomer Paul Niznik of Medford used a late-race pass to secure his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model A main in his debut PDTR appearance.

2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville cruised to his third 25-lap Oostburg Automotive PDTR Grand National A-main triumph of the 2022 campaign.

Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls led from start to finish to earn his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the 25-lap Next Stop Insurance B Mod main event.

Travis Arenz led the 360 Sprint Car field to the green flag from the pole position and outpowered outside front row starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend at the start of the 25-lap A main to lead the opening lap.

Arenz then proceeded to open up a comfortable half-straightaway cushion over Pokorski with fourth starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport in third. On lap 5, Pokorski got sideways and flipped into the turn four fence, while 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth simultaneously flipped in turn three to bring out the red flag. Both drivers emerged from their damaged cars uninjured.

On the restart, two-time PDTR champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started seventh, moved into fourth. One lap later, the caution flag was displayed to the field for the stalled car of Bill Taylor of Boltonville in turn four.

When the race resumed, Arenz again bolted into the lead while 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started eighth, moved into third in the running order. Two laps later, the hard-charging Schmidt worked past Wondra to advance to second in turn four.

As the leaders started to work their way through slower traffic on lap 10, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh began to make his presence felt as he moved into third on lap 15 before powering past Schmidt into second on lap 20.

Meanwhile, Arenz successfully negotiated his way through the rear of the field as the laps wound down to secure his 15^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 27^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

McMullen had to settle for second, Schmidt was third, fifth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum finished fourth and Davis rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Aaron Muhle of Beaver Dam grabbed the lead with third starter Kevin Douglas of Madison slipping into second on the opening lap of the 25-lap Badger Midget A main.

After Douglas drifted high in turn four lap 4, which allowed 10^th starter Zach Boden and R.J. Corson of Markham, Ill. to move past and engage in a duel for second place. On lap 6, Boden used the low groove to gain second and quickly cut the gap on Muhle.

Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Micro Sprint champion Zach Boden of Cambridge collected his second career Badger Midget Auto Racing Association 25-lap A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Boden reeled in Muhle on lap 8 and two laps later he powered into the lead in turn two as Badger Midgets points leader Todd Kluever of Sun Prairie moved into third from his eighth starting spot.

By lap 16, Boden, who owns nine PDTR Micro Sprint A-main victories, had built up a full-straightaway cushion over Muhle before the lone caution of the race appeared on lap 20 for the stalled car of Denny Smith of Mukwonago in turn four.

On the restart, Boden again pulled away from Muhle on the way to his second career Badger Midget A-main victory.

Muhle finished second, Kluever placed third, Corson was fourth and seventh starter Daltyn England of Springfield, Ill. placed fifth.

After the initial start of the 25-lap Late Model A main was aborted for a spin involving Don Singer in turn two, outside front row starter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee bolted into the lead on the drop of the green flag with polesitter Paul Niznik following in second.

On lap 2, the second and final caution flag was displayed when four-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland spun in turn two and was collected by Don Singer and Chad Ludwigson of Sheboygan Falls.

The race was red flagged as Schmidt received medical assistance after exiting his car under his own power, while the cars of Singer and Ludwigson had to be separated after being wedged together in the incident.

Paul Niznik of Medford earned his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory in his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Bongiorno held the top spot on the restart with Niznik following close behind. On lap 6, four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake moved into third after starting seventh. Three laps later, Mueller moved in to pressure Niznik for second. However, Niznik pulled ahead on the ensuing circuits and moved in to hound Bongiorno for the lead on lap 14.

On lap 17, Niznik ducked low to pull even with the high-riding Bongiorno as the two drivers engaged in an entertaining side-by-side duel for the lead over the next six laps before Niznik finally powered his way into the lead on lap 23.

Niznik held tight over the final two circuits to secure his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory in his Plymouth Dirt Track Racing debut.

Bongiorno finished second, eighth starter Charlie Schmidt of Oostburg placed third, Jim Schmidt of Cleveland moved up from the 11^th starting spot to place fourth and ninth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee finished fifth.

2010 PDTR Grand National champ Brian Gilles of Plymouth drove the Bender Racing 23K car into the lead from the pole position on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main.

On lap 6, third starter Matt Loehr steered the Bender Racing 89 machine around Gilles into the lead along the high groove in turn three.

2018 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville notched his 12th career 25-lap PDTR Grand National A-main triumph at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Loehr then proceeded to build up a comfortable lead before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 10 for a two-car incident in turn two involving Steven Weber of Plymouth and Mavrick Ruh of Elkhart Lake.

On the restart, eighth starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia worked the high groove to move into second on lap 14.

Loehr remained strong at the head of the field in the closing stages of the race en route to his 12^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Pierce finished second, sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg finished third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth finished fourth after starting fourth and Steven Weber recovered to finish fifth.

Polesitter Shane Long seized the top spot on lap 1 of the 25-lap B Mod A main before the lone caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 3 when rookie Parker Glander of Sheboygan Falls stopped in turn two.

On the restart, sixth starter Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan worked the outside groove to vault his way into fourth in turn three.  Meanwhile, fifth starter and current PDTR B Mod points leader Andy Welter of Hartford and Brendan Ostrowski of Milwaukee, who started fourth, engaged in a heated duel for second before Welter assumed the runner-up spot on lap 5.

Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls racked up his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 16. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Three laps later, Welter moved in to pressure Long for the lead. However, Long would have none of Welter’s challenges as he proceeded to pull away to extend his lead to five car lengths on lap 15 and 10 car lengths on lap 20.

Long was not to be denied as he cruised over the final five laps on the way to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Welter finished second, Ostrowski wound up third, seventh starter James Rautmann of Howards Grove placed fourth and eighth starter Brian Konitzer of Sheboygan rounded out the top five.

Ben Schmidt was the fastest 360 Sprint Car overall qualifier with a lap of 12.030 seconds.

Zach Boden earned the Badger Midgets fast qualifier award with a lap of 13.186.

Anthony Knierim of Caledonia won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The eighth full PDTR program of the 2022 campaign, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total field of 89 cars, including 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 19 Badger Midgets, 13 Late Models, 11 Grand Nationals, 14 B Mods.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 23 will feature the inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 induction with 10 drivers, four track workers and three racing families honored for their contributions to the racing program at Plymouth since its inception in 1950.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with 360 Sprint Car hot laps/group qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing to begin at 6 p.m. for the PDTR program sponsored by Josfo Electric.

The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours 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.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Ben Schmidt 12.030 2, Anthony Knierim 12.218 3, Scott Conger 12.266 4, Brandon Berth 12.272 5, Travis Arenz 12.437 6, Tommy Colburn 12.480 7, Dylan Winkel 12.489 8, Justin Erickson 12.546 9, Justin Miller 12.596 10, Shane Wenninger 12.600 11, Tony Wondra 12.685 12, Chris Clayton 12.721 13, Kurt Davis 12.738 14, Mike Yurmanovich 12.754 15, Cole Possi 12.776 16, Katelyn Krebsbach 12.782 17, Alex Pokorski 12.816 18, Tyler Davis 12.829 19, Tim Haddy 12.852 20, Brandon McMullen 12.932 21, Bill Taylor 12.967 22, Will Gerrits 12.990 23, Robbie Pribnow 13.028 24, Donny Goeden 13.049 25, Johnny Fahl 13.128 26, J.J. Pagel 13.137 27, Doug Wondra 13.299 28, Eric Wilke 13.352 29, Lance Fassbender 13.413 30, Mike Decker no time 31, Randy Post no time 32, Tyler Brabant no time.

HEAT 1

1, Bill Taylor 2, Alex Pokorski 3, Tim Haddy 4, Will Gerrits 5, Donny Goeden 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Katelyn Krebsbach.

HEAT 2

1, Cole Possi 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon Berth 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Tyler Davis 6, J.J. Pagel 7, Doug Wondra 8, Mike Decker.

HEAT 3

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Tommy Colburn 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Randy Post 8, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 4

1, Tony Wondra 2, Justin Miller 3, Kurt Davis 4, Scott Conger 5, Dylan Winkel 6, Johnny Fahl 7, Eric Wilke 8, Chris Clayton DNS.

B MAIN

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Tyler Davis 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Johnny Fahl 10, Mike Decker 11, Eric Wilke 12, Randy Post 13, J.J. Pagel 14, Justin Erickson 15, Doug Wondra 16, Chris Clayton.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Kurt Davis 6, Brandon Berth 7, Will Gerrits 8, Donny Goeden 9, Tony Wondra 10, Tim Haddy 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Cole Possi 13, Anthony Knierim 14, Robbie Pribnow 15, Tyler Davis 16, Tyler Brabant 17, Scott Conger 18, Mike Yurmanovich 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tommy Colburn 21, Alex Pokorski 22, Justin Miller.

BADGER MIDGETS

QUALIFYING

1, Zach Boden 13.186 2, Kyle Stark 13.492 3, Todd Kluever 13.511 4, Daltyn England 13.699 5, R.J. Corson 13.773 6, Dave Collins Jr. 13.775 7, Bryon Walters 13.802 8, Kevin Douglas 13.854 9, Aaron Muhle 13.928 10, Jordan Nelson 13.977 11, Jim Fuerst 14.344 12, Jace Sparks 14.694 13, Denny Smith 14.785 14, Charles Rufi 14.790 15, Harrison Kleven 14.794 16, Kyle Koch 14.899 17, Jake Goeglein 15.272 18, Trey Weishoff 15.456 19, Mike Stroik 19.000.

HEAT 1

1, Kyle Stark 2, Datlyn England 3, Kyle Koch 4, Kevin Douglas 5, Dave Collins Jr. 6, Charles Rufi 7, Mike Stroik 8, Jake Goeglein 9, Jordan Nelson DQ Jace Sparks.

HEAT 2

1, Aaron Muhle 2, Zach Boden 3, R.J. Corson 4, Todd Kluever 5, Bryon Walters 6, Jim Fuerst 7, Trey Weishoff 8, Harrison Kleven 9, Denny Smith.

A MAIN

1, Zach Boden 2, Aaron Muhle 3, Todd Kluever 4, R.J. Corson 5, Daltyn England 6, Dave Collins Jr. 7, Kevin Douglas 8, Kyle Koch 9, Mike Stroik 10, Jim Fuerst 11, Charles Rufi 12, Jordan Nelson 13, Harrison Kleven 14, Denny Smith 15, Trey Weishoff 16, Kyle Stark 17, Jake Goeglein 18, Jace Sparks

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS 

HEAT 1

1, Charlie Schmidt 2, Bill Edler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Paul Niznik 6, Don Singer 7, Jim Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Turk Letizia 3, Sawyer Specht 4, Eric Michaels 5, Dan White 6, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Paul Niznik 2, Joe Bongiorno 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Turk Letizia 6, Bill Edler 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Dan White 9, Eric Michaels 10, Brad Mueller 11, Justin Schmidt 12, Don Singer 13, Chad Ludwigson.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Josh Pierce 2, Luke Scholten 3, Mavrick Ruh 4, Matt Loehr 5, Shaun Goetsch 6, Mark Kuhfuss.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Yancey 2, Steven Weber 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Brian Gilles 5, Donny Kulow.

A MAIN

1, Matt Loehr 2, Josh Pierce 3, Luke Scholten 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Steven Weber 6, Matt Yancey 7, Brian Gilles 8, Donny Kulow 9, Mavrick Ruh 10, Mark Kuhfuss 11, Shaun Goetsch.

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

HEAT 1

1, Andy Welter 2, Brendan Ostrowski 3, James Rautmann 4, Shane Long 5, Rory Welch 6, Spencer Long 7, Jonathan Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Jonathon Baumann 2, Brandon Knepprath 3, Steve Lorier 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Patrick Hansen 7, Parker Glander.

A MAIN

1, Shane Long 2, Andy Welter 3, Brendan Ostrowski 4, James Rautmann 5, Brian Konitzer 6, Jonathon Baumann 7, Steve Lorier 8, Jonathan Hitsman 9, Brandon Knepprath 10, Rory Welch 11, Patrick Hanson 12, Travis Schmidt 13, Spencer Long 14, Parker Glander.

2011 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth notched his 14th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory in the 25-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 9, 2022 – As the 2022 campaign hit the half-way mark, four drivers paid their first visits of the season to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing victory lane in A-main competition on Fan Appreciation Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth held off former track champions Travis Arenz of Sheboygan and Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh to claim his first A-main victory of the 2022 season.

Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha made the most of a rare appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track by capturing the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model A main.

2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth earned his first 2022 triumph in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main.

Andy Welter of Hartford rolled to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the 25-lap Next Stop Insurance B Mod main event.

Polesitter Justin Erickson of Plymouth led the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main before outside front row starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum used the outside groove to sweep into the lead in turn two on lap two.

Seconds later, the lone caution flag of the event appeared for a five-car incident in turn one involving Tyler Brabant of Waupun, Doug Wondra of Oakfield, Tommy Colburn of New Berlin, Tony Wondra of Campbellsport and Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade. The incident knocked Colburn and Yurmanovich out of the remainder of the race, while Doug Wondra, Tony Wondra and Brabant were able to continue.

On the restart, Ben Schmidt, who started fourth, worked the high line to move past Erickson into second and quickly close in on Wenninger for the lead. Three laps later, Schmidt moved within striking distance, while 2021 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current points leader Travis Arenz, who started sixth, moved into third.

On lap 9, Schmidt maneuvered his way past Wenninger in turn two to take the lead, while Arenz followed suit by moving around Wenninger into second on the following lap.

Over the final 16 laps, the leaders had their hands full as they sliced their way through heavy lapped traffic. As the laps wound down, Arenz worked primarily the low line to reel in the high-riding Schmidt, while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen, who started seventh, moved into third to join in a spirited three-car duel at the front of the field.

With Arenz and McMullen hot on his heels, Schmidt stayed smooth and consistent to successfully negotiate a dense gaggle of slower traffic in the closing laps en route to his 14^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 31^st career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Arenz had to settle for second, McMullen finished third, Wenninger placed fourth and Erickson wound up fifth.

Polesitter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee took the lead at the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap Late Model main event.

Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha posted his sixth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory in the 25-lap headliner at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9. – RC Custom Design photo

On lap 2, outside front row starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee used the low line to pressure the cushion-running Bongiorno for the top spot. As Bongiorno and Letizia continued to wage an early duel at the front of the pack, Taylor Scheffler, who started fourth, dove low to move past Letizia into second on lap 5.

Scheffler then bolted past Bongiorno to assume the lead in turn one on lap six. The first of two caution flags appeared later on lap 6 for the slowing car of Charlie Schmidt Oostburg along the backstretch.

On the restart, Scheffler worked the preferred outside groove to open up a full straightaway cushion over Bongiorno. The second and final caution flag was displayed on lap 16 when Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two.

Late Model rookie Bill Edler of Howards Grove charged up to briefly take second in the running order on the restart before four-time defending PDTR Late Model champion and current point leader Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started 10^th, used a low move to take second from Edler on lap 17.

Schmidt cut into Scheffler’s lead over the final eight circuits, but he was not able to mount a serious challenge as Scheffler went on to notch his sixth career PDTR Late Model A-main victory in his second appearance of the 2022 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main. On lap 3, fourth starter Tyler Kulow moved into second with current PDTR Grand National point leader Luke Scholten of Oostburg moving into third from his sixth starting position.

The first of three caution flags was displayed on lap 5 for debris in turn four. On lap restart, Scholten used the high line to move around Kulow and pressure Weber for the top spot. Weber and Scholten battled side by side over the next several circuits as 2010 PDTR Grand National champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth, who started fifth, moved the Bender Racing No. 89 car into third on lap 9.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 10 when Scott Kafka of Kiel spun along the backstretch. On the restart, Kulow worked his way past Scholten into second as Weber built up a solid half-straightaway lead at the front of the field.

With three laps remaining, Weber’s machine began to slow, which allowed Kulow close the gap significantly. After slight contact with Kulow and the third-place car of Gilles on lap 23, the third and final caution flag of the race flew when Weber stopped along the backstretch and Gilles slowed with a flat right front tire.

2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth posted his 11th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in the 25-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9. – RC Custom Design photo

With Weber out of the race, Kulow inherited the lead and he maintained the top spot over the final two circuits on the way to his 11^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Scholten finished second, 2008 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started third, finished third, Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake, who started seventh, placed fourth and Gilles recovered to finish fifth.

After the initial start was aborted for a fourth car incident involving Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls, Jonathan Hitsman of Newton, Rory Welch of Grafton and Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls, James Rautmann of Howards Grove seized the top spot from the pole position on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

On lap 5, third starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo worked the low line to move into second in turn one. By lap 10, Schmidt pulled up to challenge Rautmann for the top spot as the leaders held tight to the low groove.

The second caution flag was presented on lap 15 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan spun in turn two. On the restart, Andy Welter made his presence felt as he moved up from his fifth starting spot to pressure Schmidt’s slowing car for second on lap 17.

The third and final caution flag appeared on lap 16 for a four-car incident in turn three involving Jonathan Hitsman, Spencer Long, Patrick Hansen of Sheboygan Falls and Matthew Roehl of Fond du Lac.

Andy Welter of Hartford claimed his first-career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Welter took second from Schmidt following the final restart on lap 17 and quickly set his sights on Rautmann. On lap 20, Welter powered his way past Rautmann into the lead in turn two.

Welter then pulled away to earn his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory and assume the point lead in the B Mod division at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Sixth starter Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan rode the high line to a second-place finish, Rautmann placed third, third starter Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville took fourth and Steve Lorier bounced back after restarting at the rear of the field on lap 15 to round out the top five.

Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport captured the special 12-lap Vintage Modified A main.

Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport won the special 12-lap Vintage Modified main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 9. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The seventh full PDTR program of the 2022 campaign, which was sponsored by Butch and Blondie Hafemann, drew a total field of 68 cars, including 26 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 12 Late Models, 8 Grand Nationals, 14 B Mods and 8 Vintage Modifieds.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 16 will include the first of two scheduled appearances of the 2022 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track for the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, in addition to the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with 360 Sprint Car hot laps/group qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing to begin at 6 p.m. for the PDTR program sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza on July 16.

The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours 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.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Blake Wondra 2, Chris Larson 3, Justin Erickson 4, Preston Ruh 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Will Gerrits 7, Dylan Winkel 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Lance Fassbender.

HEAT 2

1, Scott Conger 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Justin Miller 5, Tommy Colburn 6, Bill Taylor 7, Tony Wondra 8, Chris Clayton 9, Randy Post.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Travis Arenz 3, Katelyn Krebsbach 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Tim Haddy 7, Doug Wondra 8, Kevin Seidler.

B MAIN

1, Bill Taylor 2, Tommy Colburn 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tony Wondra 5, Dylan Winkel 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Chris Clayton 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Randy Post 10, Kevin Seidler.

A MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Justin Erickson 6, Chris Larson 7, Justin Miller 8, Will Gerrits 9, Scott Conger 10, Blake Wondra 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Tyler Brabant 13, Tim Haddy 14, Alex Pokorski 15, Bill Taylor 16, Preston Ruh 17, Dylan Winkel 18, Tony Wondra 19, Katelyn Krebsbach 20, Doug Wondra 21, Mike Yurmanovich 22, Tommy Colburn.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Jon Bongiorno 3, Turk Letizia 4, Sawyer Specht 5, Tony Peterson 6, Justin Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Bill Edler 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Donny Singer 4, Chad Ludwigson 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Eric Michaels.

A MAIN

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Bill Edler 5, Turk Letizia 6, Tony Peterson 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Eric Michaels 9, Donny Singer 10, Sawyer Specht 11, Charlie Schmidt 12, Chad Ludwigson.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT

1, Luke Scholten 2, Brian Gilles 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Matt Yancey 5, Steven Weber 6, Donny Kulow 7, Scott Kafka 8, Shaun Goetsch.

A MAIN

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Luke Scholten 3, Matt Yancey 4, Donny Kulow 5, Brian Gilles 6, Scott Kafka 7, Steven Weber, 8, Shaun Goetsch.

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS 

HEAT 1

1, Steve Lorier 2, Brandon Knepprath 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Shane Long 5, Rory Welch 6, Spencer Long 7, Michael Strean.

HEAT 2

1, Jonathon Baumann 2, Jonathan Hitsman 3, Andy Welter 4, James Rautmann 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Gary Glander 7, Matthew Roehl.

A MAIN

1, Andy Welter 2, Jonathon Baumann 3, James Rautmann 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Steve Lorier 6, Rory Welch 7, Jonathan Hitsman 8, Matthew Roehl 9, Spencer Long 10, Patrick Hanson 11, Travis Schmidt 12, Shane Long 13, Gary Glander (DNS) 14, Michael Strean (DNS).

Current Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions regular and 10-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland collected his 134th career IRA A-main victory and six straight main event victory in All Stars and IRA 410 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. during the 30-lap Road America Challenge main event on Thursday, June 30.  – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 30, 2022 – With the cars and stars of NASCAR Cup Series set to compete just a few miles down the road during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the largest crowd of the season packed the grandstands and a solid field of Sprint Cars filled the pit area for the second Road America Challenge event presented by Kunes RV featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing – Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car Series Thursday, June 30 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Current Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions regular and 10-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series champion Bill Balog of Hartland continued his dominance at The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming his sixth consecutive victory at the third-mile clay oval in his last six starts in All Stars and IRA competition dating back to the 2020 season by topping the $5,000-to-win 30-lap IRA A main.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett rolled to his first MSA main event victory since the 2019 season, following a spirited race-long duel with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee.

Outside front row started Jake Neuman of New Berlin, Ill. jumped into the lead on the drop of the green field of the 30-lap IRA Road America Challenge headliner with fourth starter Blake Nimee of Oswego, Ill. sliding into second and third starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan settled into third on the opening lap.

By lap 5, Neuman caught the back of the field, which allowed Nimee to close the gap. Just as Nimee moved within striking distance in thick lapped traffic, the first of six caution flags flew on lap 8 when Scott Biertzer of West Bend spun in turn two.

On the restart, Bill Balog, who started fifth, began to flex his muscle has he pulled off consecutive slide jobs to move past eighth starter Danny Schlafer of Sussex and two-time and defending IRA champion Jack Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who started on the pole, to move into fourth in the running order on the restart.

The second caution flag was displayed on lap 11 when former IRA champ Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam slowed in turn three after losing a right rear tire. Shortly after the ensuing restart, the red flag was displayed when two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam made contact with the turn two wall and flipped.

Neuman controlled the lead with Nimee running second on the following restart until the fourth caution flag was shown after Hunter Custer of Chippewa Falls spun to a stop in turn four on lap 15.

On the next restart, Thiel, who had been running third, spun into the turn four infield after contact with Balog coming to the green flag, which brought out the fifth caution of the race.

When the race resumed, Balog bolted past Nimee to assume second and quickly set his sights on the lead before the sixth and final caution flag was displayed on lap 17 when Scott Biertzer and Jack Routson of Waterman, Ill. spun in turn four.

On the race, Blackhurst charged up to exchange slide jobs with Balog for second place before Balog secured the spot on lap 19. Three laps later, Neuman encountered heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Balog to move into striking range. On lap 24, Balog swept past Neuman in turn two and wasted no time in opening up a sizable lead as he weaved his way skillfully through dense slower traffic.

Balog cruised over the final six laps to secure his 134^th career IRA A-main victory and his second A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track of the 2022 season after collecting a combined Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions and Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association A-main triumph at The Plymouth Dirt Track on May 21.

“This win means a lot,” Balog said. “I have to thank Road America, the IRA and The Plymouth Dirt Track for putting this deal on. We weren’t real good at the start. I think we just needed some green flag laps to get going. I feel terrible about Scotty [Thiel]. I don’t know if maybe I jumped on it a little too soon or he got sideways and I clipped him on that restart. That wasn’t good at all.

“It is good to race close to home here at Plymouth,” he said. “I love Plymouth. Even though I’m from Alaska, I’ve called Wisconsin home for a long time now. It feels good to be back in victory lane here.”

Neuman had to settle for second, Blackhurst hung on to place third, Schlafer, who is a two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion, placed fourth and Nimee rounded out the top five.

“Bill [Balog] was the best of the All Stars a few weeks ago,” Neuman said. “He’s run a lot of laps in a Sprint Car and a lot of laps here as well. We were fast early and at the end, I was too nice to the lapped cars and you can’t do that.”

“Our car was really good tonight, but my restarts were so awful that I’d get gapped right off the bat,” Blackhurst said. “Bill [Balog] threw a few sliders at me. He’s just so smart and drove a great race. We just need to be better on the restarts. It’s disappointing to fall back when you start on the pole, but we will get better and come back stronger.”

Lance Fassbender bolted into the lead on the opening lap of the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car 25-lap A main from the pole with outside front row starter Kurt Davis sliding into second and sixth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun moving into third in the early going.

2008 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett claimed his seventh career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, during the Road America Challenge 25-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 30. – JW.’s Car and Raccing Photos

On lap five, Davis closed the gap on the low-riding Fassbender along the outside groove of the increasingly black-slick racing surface. One lap later, Davis pulled off a slide job to take over the top spot in turn four.

Fassbender battled back as the two veteran drivers dueled side by side over the next lap before Davis surged ahead and began to open up a measurable lead as the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 9.

On lap 14, Fassbender stuck to the low line to briefly gain the lead before Davis battled back to secure the top spot and pull away once again.

The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 19 when Will Gerrits of Waupun spun in turn four. Due to the track conditions, a single-file restart was utilized, which allowed Fassbender to dive underneath Davis to regain the top spot with a low move in turn four following the ensuing restart.

The second and final caution flag was thrown on lap 23 when Anthony Knierim of Franksville rolled to a stop in turn two. After another single-file restart, Fassbender held firm to the lead along the bottom groove and pulled away to notch his seventh career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, 21^st career MSA main event triumph and first A-main victory in three years.

Fassbender was elated with the win as his family-based pit crew joined him in a jubilant victory lane celebration.

“This win is a result of a lot of hard work from everyone on the crew,” Fassbender said. “Everyone on this team makes sacrifices to do this and we are a family team that has stuck together through everything over the years. This win feels really good.”

Davis placed second, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls, who had come into the night as the winner of four of the first five PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main events of the 2022 season, placed third after starting 10^th, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh finished fourth after starting seventh and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth wound up fifth after being forced to start 21^st when a flat left rear tire on the parade lap prompted a tire change before the start of the race.

Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls won the 12-lap IRA B main. Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

In IRA qualifying, Jake Blackhurst recorded the fastest lap of 11.622 seconds.

Ben Schmidt earned overall fast qualifier honors in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car division with a lap of 12.550 seconds.

The sixth PDTR program of the 2022 campaign, which was sponsored by Road America, drew a total field of 57 Sprints, including 28 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 29 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 9 is Fan Appreciation Night with all spectators receiving $5 off the regular adult and student admission price.

The trophy sponsor for the racing program on Saturday, July 9 will be Butch and Blondie Hafemann with Vintage Modifieds joining the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with 360 Sprint Car hot laps/group qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing to begin at 6 p.m.

The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours 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, Jake Blackhurst 11.622 2, Blake Nimee 11.655 3, Jordan Goldesberry 11.669 4, Scotty Thiel 11.684 5, Kyle Schuett 11.775 6, Bill Balog 11.808 7, Jake Neuman 11.867 8, Chase Briscoe 11.969 9, Danny Schlafer 11.988 10, Riley Goodno 12.012 11, Travis Arenz 12.038 12, Todd Daun 12.038 13, Tyler Tischendorf 12.065 14, Hunter Custer 12.124 15, Jack Routson 12.183 16, Jack Vanderboom 12.188 17, Scotty Neitzel 12.240 18, Jeremy Schultz 12.289 19, Russel Borland 12.318 20, Josh Schneiderman 12.350 21, Austin Hartmann 12.457 22, Kris Spitz 12.470 23, Steve Meyer 12.489 24, Scott Biertzer 12.549 25, Scott Conger 12.577 26, Jereme Schroeder 12.616 27, Andy Rein 12.635 28, Dave Uttech no time.

HEAT 1

1, Riley Goodno 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Jake Neuman 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Russel Borland 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Scott Conger 8, Kris Spitz 9, Jack Vanderboom 10, Dave Uttech (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Chase Briscoe 2, Travis Arenz 3, Blake Nimee 4, Kyle Schuett 5, Scotty Neitzel 6, Josh Schneiderman 7, Steve Meyer 8, Hunter Custer 9, Jereme Schroeder (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Bill Balog 3, Todd Daun 4, Jeremy Schultz 5, Jordan Goldesberry 6, Jack Routson 7, Austin Hartmann 8, Scott Biertzer 9, Andy Rein.

Dash 1

1, Jake Blackhurst 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Bill Balog 4, Kyle Schuett 5, Chase Briscoe

Dash 2

1, Jake Neuman 2, Blake Nimee 3, Jordan Goldesberry 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Riley Goodno.

B MAIN

1, Steve Meyer 2, Hunter Custer 3, Scott Biertzer 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Kris Spitz 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Jeremy Schroeder 8, Andy Rein 9, Scott Conger 10, Dave Uttech (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Jake Neuman 3, Jake Blackhurst 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Blake Nimee 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Chase Briscoe 8, Riley Goodno 9, Scotty Thiel 10, Travis Arenz 11, Kyle Schuett 12, Steve Meyer 13, Todd Daun 14, Russel Borland 15, Josh Schneiderman 16, Jeremy Schultz 17, Kris Spitz 18, Jack Vanderboom 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Tyler Tischendorf 21, Hunter Custer 22, Jack Routson 23, Scott Biertzer 24, Scotty Neitzel.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Ben Schmidt 12.550 2, Brandon Berth 12.706 3, Tim Haddy 12.800 4, Brandon McMullen 12.824 5, Travis Arenz 12.843 6, Lance Fassbender 12.892 7, Preston Ruh 12.923 8, Will Gerrits 12.927 9, Doug Wondra 12.944 10, Alex Pokorski 12.999 11, Mike Yurmanovich 12.999 12, Blake Wondra 13.013 13, Tony Wondra 13.029 14, Chris Clayton 13.050 15, Cole Possi 13.091 16, Anthony Knierim 13.100 17, Bill Taylor 13.121 18, Kurt Davis 13.148 19, Shane Wenninger 13.178 20, Tommy Colburn 13.182 21, Justin Erickson 13.203 22, Justin Miller 13.216 23, Chris Larson 13.236 24, Katelyn Krebsbach 13.252 25, Tyler Brabant 13.366 26, Tyler Davis 13.445 27, J.J. Pagel 13.940 28, Randy Post 13.974 29, Andy Rein no time.

HEAT 1

1, Will Gerrits 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Doug Wondra 5, Tommy Colburn 6, Brandon Berth 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Randy Post.

HEAT 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Travis Arenz 4, Preston Ruh 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Justin Miller 7, Chris Larson.

HEAT 3

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Justin Erickson 3, Chris Clayton 4, Tony Wondra 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Tyler Davis 7, Alex Pokorski.

HEAT 4

1, Cole Possi 2, Tim Haddy 3, Blake Wondra 4, Mike Yurmanovich 5, Bill Taylor 6, J.J. Pagel 7, Andy Rein (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Bill Taylor 2, Tony Wondra 3, Brandon Berth 4, Tyler Davis 5, Justin Miller 6, Chris Larson 7, Preston Ruh 8, Shane Wenninger 9, Alex Pokorski 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, J.J. Pagel 12, Randy Post 13, Andy Rein (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Kurt Davis 3, Travis Arenz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Doug Wondra 7, Chris Clayton 8, Justin Erickson 9, Brandon Berth 10, Chris Larson 11, Tony Wondra 12, Bill Taylor 13, Tyler Davis 14, Blake Wondra 15, Mike Yurmanovich 16, Will Gerrits 17, Justin Miller 18, Cole Possi 19, Tim Haddy 20, Anthony Knierim 21, Tommy Colburn 22, Tyler Brabant (DNS).

The inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 inductees include drivers, track workers and racing families that have made outstanding contributions to the racing program at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. since the track’s inception in 1950. The Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 will be recognized during an induction ceremony as part of the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, July 23.

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 28, 2022 – Since the first race car hit the track in 1950, a host of outstanding racers have put their skills to the test over the past 72 years at the dirt track located on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In an effort to honor the spirit of competition and outstanding achievements originating at the Plymouth racing facility over the past 72 years, the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Committee has forged plans to recognize those that have exemplified dirt track racing at the highest level with the creation of the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame, which will launch with the induction of 10 drivers, four track workers and three families as part of the inaugural Class of 2022.

The Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 will be recognized with a short induction ceremony at intermission of the Plymouth Dirt Tracking Racing program at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 23.

The inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 includes the following 10 drivers.

Dick Berth – The Cedar Grove, Wis. driver earned the 1971 and 1972 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Sportsman division championships before claiming the 1987 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified division title at Plymouth.

Etchie Biertzer – After starting his racing career in the Milwaukee area in the 1950s, Biertzer became a regular in the Modified division at Plymouth in the 1970s winning four consecutive Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified titles in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980. He is currently one of four drivers to earn four consecutive division championships at Plymouth.

Buck Carman – The Sheboygan Falls, Wis. driver was a top competitor in the Sportsman division at Plymouth between 1965 and 1984, earning four Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Sportsman division titles at the Plymouth track in 1966, 1967, 1970 and 1981.

Willie Goeden – The St. Michaels, Wis. driver started racing Modifieds in the Milwaukee area in 1963 and retired in 1987 while driving Late Models at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. Goeden earned three Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified championships at Plymouth in 1973, 1974 and 1981. Goeden raced at 38 different race tracks during his 24-year career.

Wayne Goetsch – The Plymouth, Wis. driver began his racing career in 1957 and continued to race into the early 2000s. Goetsch earned back-to-back Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified division titles at Plymouth in 1985 and 1986.

Dick Hed – The Sheboygan Falls, Wis. driver captured the 1966 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Sportsman and 1969 Modified championships at Plymouth. Hed also competed in the Limited Late Model division at Plymouth from 1999 through 2004 and has been a regular competitor in the Grand National division at Plymouth since 2012.

Bill Johnson II – The Slinger, Wis. driver earned Modified championships on the Milwaukee area circuit during the 1960s before competing regularly at Plymouth in the 1970s where he earned Modified championships in 1972 and 1976. Johnson’s ashes were spread at the start/finish line at the Plymouth track.

Carl Kulow – The Plymouth, Wis. driver competed in the Modified division from 1951 through 1970 earning two Modified titles on the Milwaukee Stock Car Circuit in the 1950s before claiming the 1963 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified championship at Plymouth.

Ken Markwardt – The Sheboygan, Wis. driver raced from 1959 to 1974 earning six Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Modified championships at Plymouth in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967 to go along with a Modified title at 141 Speedway in 1966. Markwardt earned a total of 97 A-main feature victories in his career.

Ken Steffen – After starting his racing career in the early 1960s, Steffen claimed the 1964 and 1968 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Sportsman titles at Plymouth. Steffen waged spirited duels with Buck Carman through his career for Sportsman track titles, feature victories and fast qualifier awards at Plymouth.

Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 inductees in the Dedication to Racing category include track workers Karen and Donny Ruh, Bill Hoftiezer, Happy Laack and Eddie Foy.

In addition, the Goetsch, Laack and Schulz families will be inducted to the Plymouth Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022 in the Racing Families category.

The names of each inductee will be permanently etched on the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame, located underneath the grandstands at The Plymouth Dirt Track racing facility.

The Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Committee intends to honor a new group of inductees on an annual basis, during future racing seasons at The Plymouth Dirt Track facility.

Family members of 2022 Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame inductees are encouraged to attend the induction event at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, July 23. Those wishing to attend are asked to contact Ken Schulz in advance at kenschulz91@gmail.com.

Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping its clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.

For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.

Defending Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls earned his 14th career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 18, 2022 – The cream rose to the top as three former track champions and one of the region’s most versatile and successful competitors rolled to victory lane in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty A main, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls racked up his fourth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing main event triumph in five attempts during the 2022 campaign. Four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake raced to victory in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model A main. Greenville’s T.J. Smith adapted quickly to the Plymouth Dirt Track in a rare appearance at the third-mile clay oval by claiming a victory in the caution-filled 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main. Two-time PDTR Grand National B Mod champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac endured six caution flags to earn the victory in the 25-lap Next Stop Insurance B Mod A-main in his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing appearance of the 2022 season.

Polesitter Doug Wondra of Oakfield jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main with third starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who was competing for the first time since the end of the 2020 season, moving into second and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started fourth, taking third on the opening lap.

Four laps later, Schmidt worked his way around Wenninger to take over second in the running order. On lap 6, the first of three caution flags appeared when Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake spun in turn two. Following the ensuing restart, Travis Arenz, who started sixth, swept past Wenninger and Schmidt to move into the runner-up spot on lap 7.

One lap later, the second caution flag flew when Alex Pokorski West Bend rolled to a stop in turn three. When the race resumed, Arenz used the outside groove to power his way around Wondra and into the lead in turn one on lap 8.

As Arenz bolted away from the field, Schmidt used a low move to pass Wondra and gain second place on lap 12. Schmidt closed the gap slightly on Arenz as the leaders began to weave their way through lapped traffic on lap 18.

On lap 20, the third and final caution flag appeared when Tyler Davis of Franklin spun to a stop in turn two. Arenz then fended off Schmidt over the final five laps en route to his fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2022 season, 14^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event win and 26^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association feature triumph.

Schmidt had to settle for second, Wondra placed third, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett placed fourth after starting fifth and Brandon Berth of Cascade charged up from his 14^th starting spot to round out the top five.

PDTR Late Model rookie Bill Edler of Howards Grove raced to the lead on the opening lap from his outside front row starting spot with polesitter Eric Michaels of Cleveland moving into second.

Four-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake notched his 23rd career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18.  – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 2 when Jim Schmidt of Cleveland stopped in turn four while Wayne Freimund of West Allis spun in turn two. On the restart, four-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fourth, powered his way into second place along the high groove.

The second caution flag was then displayed on lap 3 when Wayne Freimund spun in turn four. When the race resumed, Brad Mueller, who started eighth, moved in to challenge Schmidt for the runner-up spot. On the following lap, Schmidt looped his machine into the infield, but continued on after dropping several spots, while Mueller assumed second.

On lap 8, Mueller began to apply pressure to Edler along the outside groove before securing the lead in turn four on lap 10. Once ahead, Mueller set sail to build up a sizable cushion over Edler.

A pair of cautions slowed the pace and bunched the field on lap 19 when Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two and on lap 23 when Charlie Schmidt of Oostburg stopped in turn two.

However, Mueller was not to be denied as he pulled away after the final restart to notch his 23^rd career PDTR Late Model A main victory.

Edler placed second, Justin Schmidt recovered to finish third, Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee, who started 11^th, finished fourth and Turk Letizia of Milwaukee finished fifth after starting fifth.

Chad Espen of West Bend assumed the initial lead from the pole in the 25-lap Grand National A main. The first of six caution flags appeared on lap four when Marc Caswell of West Allis spun in turn four.

T.J. Smith of Greenville captured his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory in a rare appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

On the restart, 2010 PDTR Grand National champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth, who owns a total of six career track championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track, moved in from his sixth starting spot to take second in the Bender Racing No. 89 car along the high groove on lap 8.

The third caution flag was displayed when Kyle Caswell of Caledonia spun along the front stretch on lap 8. On the restart, T.J. Smith made his presence felt as he powered into second from his fifth starting spot on lap 9 and worked past Espen into the lead on lap 10 before the fourth caution flag flew on lap 10 when Rich Garb spin in turn four.

Gilles, who has returned from a retirement from racing as one of three team drivers in the Bender Racing No. 89 entry this season, battled back to take second from Espen  along the outside line on lap 10 before two more caution flags slowed the pace in succession on lap 11 for single-car spins.

When the race resumed, Luke Scholten of Oostburg, who started 19^th, charged in to duel with Gilles for second before Gilles gained the runner-up spot for good on lap 20. Gilles then mounted one final charge as he again worked the outside lane to pull even with Smith on lap 24.

However, Smith was too strong as he fended off Gilles persistent challenges to earn his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Gilles placed second, Scholten wound up third, Espen placed fourth and 13^th starter Jonathan Otte of Cedar Grove completed the top five.

Outside front row starter Andy Welter of Hartford outpowered polesitter Jonathan Hitsman of Newton to lead the first lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

Two-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac racked up his seventh career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod A-main triumph in the 25-lap main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18. – JW’s Car and Raccing Photos

The first of six caution flags was displayed on lap 4 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan spun and collected Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls in turn two.

On the restart, 2019 and 2020 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner worked his way into second from his seventh starting position. Warner was closing on Welter when the second caution flag came out for Gary Glander, who stopped near turn three while attempting to exit the track on lap 14.

After a series of three caution flags with one on lap 15 and two on lap 18, Warner tracked down Welter and powered in the lead with a high move in turn two on lap 19. The sixth and final caution flag was displayed when Jonathan Hitsman spun in turn four on lap 23.

Following a single-file restart, Warner pulled away to notch his seventh career PDTR B Mod A-main victory, which moved him into second place on the all-time PDTR B Mod A-main win list.

Welter placed second, Travis Schmidt of Waldo wound up third, after starting sixth, fifth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls took fourth and third starter Brendon Ostrowski of Milwaukee placed fifth.

Will Gerrits of Waupun was victorious in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth was the overall fastest qualifier in the group qualifying session with a lap of  seconds.

Thirteen drivers made their first appearance of the 2022 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track with a total of 74 drivers on hand. The program, which as sponsored by Mayer Automotive, included 26 360 Sprint Cars, 11 Late Models, 21 Grand Nationals and 16 B Mods.

With no racing scheduled at The Plymouth Dirt Track next Saturday, June 25, the next PDTR program is set to take place on Thursday, June 30 featuring the Road America Challenge Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event and the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Pit gates open at 2 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 4:30 p.m., qualifying at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.

Advance adult $25 tickets can be purchased for the June 30 Road America Challenge IRA event by visiting https://myracepass.com/406362/tickets/ until Thursday, June 30 at 9 a.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate for at the regular adult price of $30 on Thursday, June 30.

Shuttle buses will be available to transport NASCAR weekend campers from Road America to The Plymouth Dirt Track for the June 30 event.

The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours 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.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Tim Haddy 12.427 2, Alex Pokorski 12.435 3, Ben Schmidt 12.454 4, Doug Wondra 12.576 5, Shane Wenninger 12.617 6, Cole Possi 12.622 7, Kurt Davis 12.638 8, Travis Arenz 12.639 9, Justin Erickson 12.731 10, Tim McMullen 12.731 11, Bill Taylor 12.822 12, Preston Ruh 12.904 13, Will Gerrits 12.909 14, Katelyn Krebsbach 12.998 15, Justin Miller 13.001 16, Lance Fassbender 13.031 17, Tyler Brabant 13.040 18, Tyler Davis 13.111 19, Brandon Berth 13.157 20, Chris Clayton 13.164 21, Mike Yurmanovich 13.197 22, Dylan Winkel 13.329 23, Kevin Seidler 13.593 24, J.J. Pagel 13.883 25, Randy Post 14.335 26, Tony Wondra no time.

HEAT 1

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Tyler Davis 3, Justin Miller 4, Katelyn Krebsbach 5, Brandon Berth 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Chris Clayton 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Tony Wondra(DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Travis Arenz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Kurt Davis 4, Dylan Winkel 5, Tim McMullen 6, Will Gerrits 7, Kevin Seidler 8, Randy Post 9, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 3

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Doug Wondra 3, Alex Pokorski 4, Tim Haddy 5, Preston Ruh 6, Justin Erickson 7, Bill Taylor 8, Cole Possi.

B MAIN

1, Will Gerrits 2, Bill Taylor 3, Chris Clayton 4, Tim McMullen 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Cole Possi 7, Tony Wondra 8, Kevin Seidler 9, J.J. Pagel 10, Randy Post (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Doug Wondra 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Brandon Berth 6, Justin Erickson 7, Chris Clayton 8, Shane Wenninger 9, Will Gerrits 10, Tim Haddy 11, Dylan Winkel 12, Tyler Brabant 13, Justin Miller 14, Bill Taylor 15, Kurt Davis 16, Mike Yurmanovich 17, Tim McMullen 18, Preston Ruh 19, Tyler Davis 20, Cole Possi 21, Katelyn Krebsbach 22, Alex Pokorski.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Sawyer Specht 5, Chad Ludwigson 6, Joe Bongiorno.

HEAT 2

1, Charlie Schmidt 2, Brad Mueller 3, Bill Edler 4, Eric Michaels 5, Wayne Freimund.

A MAIN

1, Brad Mueller 2, Bill Edler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Turk Letizia 6, Eric Michaels 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Sawyer Specht 10, Wayne Freimund 11, Jim Schmidt.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Steven Weber 2, Josh Pierce 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Matt Yancey 5, Jonathan Otte 6, Tim Mitchell 7, Luke Scholten.

HEAT 2

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Kyle Caswell  3, Brian Gilles 4, Chad Espen 5, Marc Caswell 6, Scott Kafka 7, Joshua Koslowski.

HEAT 3

1, Donny Kulow 2, Paul Tod 3, T.J. Smith 4, Rich Garb 5, Will Schumacher 6, Jim Wirtz 7, Dick Hed.

A MAIN

1, T.J. Smith 2, Brian Gilles 3, Luke Scholten 4, Chad Espen 5, Jonathan Otte 6, Josh Pierce 7, Nick Schumacher 8, Matt Yancey 9, Donny Kulow 10, Kyle Caswell 11, Steven Weber  12, Tim Mitchell 13, Rich Garb 14, Jim Wirtz 15, Joshua Koslowski 16, Scott Kafka 17, Tyler Kulow 18, Paul Tod 19, Will Schumacher 20, Marc Caswell 21, Dick Hed (DNS).

NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Jonathan Hitsman 3, Spencer Long 4, Tim Warner 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Don Marquart 8, Gary Glander.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Long 2, Brendan Ostrowski 3, Andy Welter 4, Jonathon Baumann 5, Steve Lorier 6, James Rautmann 7, Tim Thrun 8, Rory Welch.

A MAIN

1, Tim Warner 2, Andy Welter 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Shane Long 5, Brendan Ostrowski 6, Brandon Knepprath 7, James Rautmann 8, Spencer Long 9, Tim Thrun 10, Rory Welch 11, Jonathan Hitsman 12, Jonathon Baumann 13, Patrick Hanson 14, Steve Lorier 15, Gary Glander 16, Don Marquart (DNS).