Arenz storms to fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car victory of 2021

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 1, 2021 – Nearly one month after claiming his first career FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., 10-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series champion Bill Balog of Hartland continued his winning ways at the third-mile clay oval by bagging the special 30-lap Road America NASCAR Weekend Kickoff IRA main event before a huge crowd of spectators on Thursday, July 1.

In the 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car A main, point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls rolled to his fourth PDTR A-main victory of the 2021 season.

After the initial start of the 30-lap IRA A main was erased when Mike Reinke of Howards Grove spun in turn three, visiting NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe of Mitchell, Ind. bolted into the lead from the pole position with Bill Balog, who started fifth, sliding into second.

Briscoe, who was making his first Winged Sprint Car start since 2018, caught the rear of the field on lap 5, which allowed Balog to close the gap significantly. On lap 6, Balog swept past Briscoe in heavy lapped traffic to take over the lead in turn three.

The second of eight yellow/red flag periods appeared on lap 8 when Briscoe spun Paul May’s 71M car in turn 3 before being collected by Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, who had been running third.

Following the restart, two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, who started fourth, charged in to briefly pressure Balog for the lead as the leaders weaved their way through slower traffic.

On lap 14, 2018 IRA champion Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who started seventh, worked past Neitzel to seize second. A red flag was displayed on lap 15 when Russel Borland of Kewaskum flipped along the back stretch.

Shortly after, Briscoe brought out another caution flag when he spun in turn two on lap 16. On the restart, Danny Schlafer of Sussex slowed to a stop in turn four to bring out the fifth stoppage of the race.

After the restart, Blackhurst turned up the heat to close in on Balog in lapped traffic on lap 20. However, Blackhurst’s progress was slowed by three more caution flags over the next five laps for the stalled car of Scotty Neitzel on lap 22, an infield tire on the track on lap 24 and a flip involving Dave Uttech of Kenosha in turn two on lap 24.

Uttech’s flip prompted an open red period to allow pit crews to add fuel to help each team get their cars to the end of the lengthy race.

When the race resumed, Balog flexed his muscle once again to pull away from Blackhurst over the final six laps en route to his 132^nd career IRA A-main victory, fifth overall A-main win of the 2021 campaign, third IRA main event victory of the season and fourth straight main event victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Blackhurst had to settle for second, 2016 IRA champ Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam finished third after starting ninth, Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. placed fourth after starting eighth and 14^th starter Josh Schneiderman of West Burlington, Iowa rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Adam Miller of Plymouth grabbed the lead on the drop of the green field of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main with fourth starter Jack Vanderboom of Dousman following in second.

As Miller paced the field, the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Justin Erickson of Plymouth and Tony Wondra of Campbellsport collided in turn two.

Following the restart, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth moved in from his sixth starting spot to pressure his brother, Adam, for the lead on lap 7. Adam fended off Justin in the battle of the Miller brothers to maintain the top spot before Travis Arenz, who started ninth, began to make his presence felt at the front of the field.

After moving into third on lap 14 on the lightning fast track surface, Arenz worked around Justin Miller to take second on lap 15.

One lap later, Arenz powered past Adam Miller and into the lead exiting turn four and quickly built up a sizeable cushion. The second caution flag appeared on lap 18 when Will Gerrits of Waupun stopped in turn four.

Arenz bolted away from the pack on the restart and held a half-lap lead when Austin Hartmann of Sheboygan Falls flipped on the back stretch on lap 24 to bring out a red flag and set up a green-white-checkered flag finish.

On the restart, Arenz again wired the field as he pulled away from Adam Miller to notch his eighth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event win, 18^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory and fourth feature victory of the 2021 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Adam Miller placed second, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, finished third, Justin Miller was fourth and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh finished fifth after starting eighth.

Tony Wondra captured the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

In time trials, Scotty Thiel set a new track record with a lap of 11.300 to earn the IRA fast qualifier award.

Chase Briscoe and Scotty Thiel earned IRA dash victories.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was sponsored by Jensen Sales and Service, drew a total of 54 Sprint Cars, including 24 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 30 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, July 10 with action in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

As an addition to last week’s race report, four new race track records were set in PDTR action on Friday, June 25.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett set a new 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main track record with a time of three minutes and 12 seconds. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland established a new 12-lap Late Model B main track record in two minutes and 40 seconds.

Brad Mueller of Random Lake tied Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler for the 10-lap Late Model heat race track record in two minutes and 12 seconds, while Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam and Craig Gessner of Beechwood tied Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam by completing 10-lap B Mod heat races in a track record time of two minutes and 32 seconds.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

Qualifying

1, Scotty Thiel 11.300 2, Dave Uttech 11.589 3, Bill Balog 11.590 4, Jake Blackhurst 11.619 5, Chase Briscoe 11.630 6, Scott Neitzel 11.649 7, Mike Reinke 11.718 8, Jordan Goldesberry 11.730 9, Kyle Schuett 11.735 10, Jeremy Schultz 11.809 11, Kris Spitz 11.897 12, Robbie Pribnow 11.898 13, Josh Schneiderman 11.946 14, Josh Walter 11.978 15, Hunter Custer 11.978 16, Danny Schlafer 11.983 17, Jack Berger 12.039 18, Russel Borland 12.054 19, Wayne Modjeski 12.115 20, John Fahl 12.306 21, Andy Rein 12.411 22, Ben Schmidt 12.464 23, Scott Conger 12.524 24, Jordan Paulsen 12.581.

HEAT 1

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scotty Thiel 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Josh Schneiderman 6, Danny Schlafer 7, Wayne Modjeski 8, Ben Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Jordan Goldesberry 2, Chase Briscoe 3, Kris Spitz 4, Josh Walter 5, Dave Uttech 6, Jack Berger 7, Scott Conger 8, John Fahl.

HEAT 3

1, Bill Balog 2, Robbie Pribnow 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Russel Borland 5, Hunter Custer 6, Jordan Paulsen 7, Andy Rein 8, Kyle Schuett.

DASH 1

1, Chase Briscoe 2, Mike Reinke 3, Bill Balog 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Jeremy Schultz.

DASH 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Scotty Neitzel 3, Dave Uttech 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Kris Spitz.

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Jeremy Schultz 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Josh Schneiderman 6, Josh Walter 7, Scotty Thiel 8, Mike Reinke 9, Robbie Pribnow 10, Kris Spitz 11, Wayne Modjeski 12, Jordan Paulsen 13, Hunter Custer 14, John Fahl 15, Ben Schmidt 16, Dave Uttech 17, Scotty Neitzel 18, Andy Rein 19, Chase Briscoe 20, Danny Schlafer 21, Scott Conger 22, Russel Borland 23, Jack Berger 24, Kyle Schuett (DNS).

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tom Kreutz 2, Chris Larson 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Bill Taylor 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 2

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Tim Haddy 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Chris Clayton 7, Blake Wondra 8, Cole Possi.

HEAT 3

1, Kurt Davis 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Will Gerrits 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Justin Erickson 6, Brandon Berth 7, Dylan Winkel.

HEAT 4

1, Adam Miller 2, Matt Rechek 3, Justin Miller 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Preston Ruh 7, Katelyn Krebsbach.

B MAIN

1, Tony Wondra 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Brandon Berth 4, Justin Erickson 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Chris Clayton 8, Bill Taylor 9, Blake Wondra 10, Preston Ruh 11, Josh Teunissen 12, Cole Possi 13, Dylan Winkel 14, Katelyn Krebsbach.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Adam Miller 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Miller 5, Brandon McMullen 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Ben Schmidt 9, Brandon Berth 10, Tim Haddy 11, Alex Pokorski 12, Tyler Brabant 13, Kevin Karnitz 14, Matt Rechek 15, Tyler Tischendorf 16, Tony Wondra 17, Chris Larson 18, Tom Kreutz 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Nick Daywalt 21, Will Gerrits 22, Justin Erickson.

Arenz, Sorce, Schmidt notch PDTR A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 25, 2021 – On a night when Plymouth Dirt Track Racing honored its winningest driver, Ron Berna of Abrams scored his very first PDTR Late Model main event win in the fourth and final 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute Night Presented by KSI Construction Late Model A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 25.

Berna’s initial PDTR Late Model A-main victory was worth a cool $2,874 in honor of Scheffler, who raced the No. 74 Late Model with PDTR for 12 years, while earning 92 overall race victories and 45 A-main wins, which both still stand as PDTR records far surpassing any other driver in all four regular divisions. Scheffler, who last competed at the Plymouth Dirt Track in 2016 and earned the PDTR Late Model championship in 2007, passed away in September 2017 at the age of 54.

In the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls continued his recent hot streak by storming to his third PDTR Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event win and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap headliner.

Will Sorce of Franklin earned his third Oostburg Automotive 25-lap Grand National A-main triumph in just his fourth Plymouth start of the 2021 campaign and Waldo’s Travis Schmidt claimed his first Cellcom B Mod A-main victory of the 2021 PDTR season.

After an aborted initial start during which a spin by Jayme Zidar of Greenfield triggered contact with Adam Janke of Bear Creek, Jim Schmidt of Cleveland and Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha, Ron Berna jumped into the lead on the opening lap from his outside front row starting spot.

By lap five, Berna had built up a half-straightaway lead over polesitter Tom Naeyaert of Shawano on the lightning fast and narrow racing surface.

On lap 8, Berna caught the rear of the field and began to work his way through slower traffic. Two laps later, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started third, slipped past Naeyaert to take over second in the running order.

On lap 12, Mueller moved in to pressure Berna for the top spot in heavy lapped traffic. After hounding Berna for four laps, Mueller pounced on lap 16 to seize the lead entering turn one.

Mueller began to pull away from Berna in dense lapped traffic before disaster struck on lap 19 when Mueller made contact with a lapped car along the backstretch, which sent his car into a series of hard flips before coming to rest against the turn three wall. Despite the severity of the incident, Mueller emerged from his battered machine uninjured.

On the restart, fifth starter Nick Anvelink of Navarino moved in to mount a challenge for the top spot before a caution flag appeared on lap 21 for a two-car incident involving Adam Janke and Kyle Raddant of Shawano.

Anvelink stayed glued to the low groove to again challenge Berna for the lead following the final restart. However, Berna held strong to fend off Anvelink’s advances and pull away over the final three laps en route to his first career PDTR Sheboygan’s County B93.7 Late Model A-main victory in the final running of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race.

Anvelink had to settle for second, seventh starter Justin Ritchie of New London placed third, fourth starter Jayme Zidar wound up fourth and Naeyaert rounded out the top five in an attrition-filled race that saw just nine of the 20 starters complete the full 30 laps.

“In lapped traffic, I kind of lost my groove for a while and feel asleep a bit I guess and Brad [Mueller] got by,” Berna said in victory lane. “Then Brad rolled, which was really bad. I hope he is okay. When we started up again, I got up on the wheel and turned some good laps and it turned out well for us.”

Outside front row starter Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac grabbed the lead of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main on the opening lap and paced the field for the first four circuits.

On lap five, third starter Travis Arenz powered in to seize the top spot from Wondra in turn four. Arenz wasted no time in throttling the field as he built up a half-lap cushion before he entered lapped traffic on lap 11.

On lap 14, Adam Miller of Plymouth, who was running second after starting fourth, flipped his machine in turn two to bring out the red flag, which turned out to be the only stoppage of the race. Miller was able to emerge from his car without serious injury.

Arenz lined up for the restart with five lapped cars placed between his machine and the second-place car of polesitter Justin Erickson of Plymouth. With an ample cushion to work with, Arenz bolted away from the field to again run away and hide from the pack.

On lap 16, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started 10^th, moved into second and began to trim away at Arenz’s lead. However, Arenz continued to set a frantic pace at the front of the field over the final 10 laps en route to his seventh career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 17^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main-event triumph.

McMullen finished second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth finished third after starting sixth, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fourth after starting ninth and Erickson rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg jumped out to the early lead in the 25-lap Grand National main event with fourth starter Will Sorce sliding into second.

The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Collin Skindzelewski of West Allis spun in turn four. Following the restart, Sorce made his presence felt as he powered in to pressure Scholten for the lead.

The second and final caution flag was displayed on lap 7 for a spin involving Jacob Falk of Fond du Lac. Sorce flexed his muscle on the ensuing restart before slipping past Scholten to assume the lead on lap 11.

By lap 20, Sorce had built up a full straightaway cushion over Scholten as he went on to post his fourth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, including his third win in four starts at The Plymouth Dirt Track this year.

Scholten finished second, seventh starter Chad Espen of West Bend finished third, Derek Kaat of Plymouth, who started 10^th, finished fourth and 2018 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who started eighth, rounded out the top five.

Travis Schmidt, who started third, worked his way past front row starters Michael Gilson of Manitowoc and Dustin Wudstrack of Tigerton to seize the lead in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

The first of three caution flags was thrown on lap 2 for debris along the front strech. On the restart, Schmidt took control again as sixth starter Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam powered into second and began to close in on the leader.

By lap 13, Schmidt and Schultz began to work their way through slower traffic before the second caution flag flew on lap 14 for a spin in turn four involving Phil Campanella of Sheboygan Falls.

Another third caution flag was displayed on lap 16 for a four-car incident in turn four before Schmidt again showed his strength following the final restart.

Schmidt went on to post his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory as Schultz wound up second. Fourth starter Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth finished third, Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth after starting ninth and seventh starter Brian Wieland of Sheboygan Falls rounded out the top five.

Three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland won the 12-lap Late Model B main and 2005 PDTR Late Model champ Scott Specht of Sheboygan Falls returned to action at Plymouth after a lengthy absence to win the five-lap Late Model non-qualifiers dash.

2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The ninth PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by KSI Construction and Cellcom, drew 89 total cars, including 29 360 Sprint Cars, 26 Late Models, 18 B Mods and 16 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Thursday, July 1 with a special all-Sprint Car program featuring a $5,000-to-win Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Car.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe will compete with the IRA Sprint Car Series in the NASCAR Kickoff event that will be held in conjunction with the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at nearby Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. July 2-4.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Tom Naeyaert 2, Adam Janke 3, Justin Green 4, Ron Stroika 5, Tim Buhler 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Lukas Postl 8, Jake Van Engen 9, Brett Swedberg.

HEAT 2

1, Ron Berna 2, Jayme Zidar 3, Troy Springborn 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Turk Letizia 6, Chris Engels 7, Taylor Scheffler 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Joe Bongiorno.

HEAT 3

1, Brad Mueller 2, Joel Bennett 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Scott Specht 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Kyle Raddant 8, Billy Rezutek 9, Donny Singer.

B MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Kyle Raddant 4, Lukas Postl 5, Scott Specht 6, Jake Van Engen 7, Donny Singer 8, Billy Rezutek 9, Brett Swedberg (DNS) 10, Chad Ludwigson (DNS) 11, Joe Bongiorno (DNS).

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

1, Scott Specht 2, Jake Van Engen 3, Donny Singer 4, Billy Rezutek.

A MAIN

1, Ron Berna 2, Nick Anvelink 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Jayme Zidar 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Troy Springborn 8, Turk Letizia 9, Ron Stroika 10, Justin Green 11, Charlie Schmidt 12, Tim Buhler 13, Kyle Raddant 14, Adam Janke 15, Brad Mueller 16, Jim Schmidt 17, Joel Bennett 18, Lukas Postl 19, Chris Engels 20, Taylor Scheffler.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Bill Taylor 5, Tyler Davis 6, Scott Conger 7, Paul Pokorski 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Kurt Davis 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Preston Ruh 7, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Adam Miller 2, Doug Wondra 3, Tim Haddy 4, Brandon Berth 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Justin Miller 7, Chris Clayton.

HEAT 4

1, Blake Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Dylan Winkel 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Jordan Paulsen.

B MAIN

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Brandon Berth 3, Preston Ruh 4, Justin Miller 5, Chris Clayton 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Scott Conger 9, Tyler Tischendorf 10, Tom Kreutz 11, Jordan Paulsen 12, Dylan Winkel 13, Doug Wondra (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Kurt Davis 5, Justin Erickson 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Justin Miller 9, Tim Haddy 10, Lance Fassbender 11, Tyler Brabant 12, Chris Clayton 13, Will Gerrits 14, Preston Ruh 15, Blake Wondra 16, Tyler Davis 17, Paul Pokorski 18, Austin Hartmann 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tony Wondra 21, Adam Miller 22, Brandon Berth.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS 

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Chad Espen 3, Seth Westimayer 4, Nicholas Goeman 5, Matt Loehr 6, Steven Weber 7, Maverick Ruh 8, Jacob Falk.

HEAT 2

1, Kyle Caswell 2, Will Sorce 3, Marc Caswell 4, Luke Scholten 5, Alex Lester 6, Derek Kaat 7, Collin Skindzelewski 8, Randy Post.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Luke Scholten 3, Chad Espen 4, Derek Kaat 5, Matt Loehr 6, Alex Lester 7, Steven Weber 8, Collin Skindzelewski 9, Seth Westimayer 10, Marc Caswell 11, Kyle Caswell 12, Randy Post 13, Nick Schumacher 14, Jacob Falk 15, Maverick Ruh 16, Nicholas Goeman (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Nick Schultz 3, Gary Glander 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Dustin Wudstrack 6, Rory Welch 7, Michael Gilson 8, Andy Singer 9, Michael Bailey.

HEAT 2

1, Craig Gessner 2, Rick Kretschmann 3, Brian Wieland 4, Kyle Odekirk 5, Ryan Mech 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Phil Campanella 8, Jerry Duggan 9, Patrick Hanson.

A MAIN

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Nick Schultz 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Gary Glander 5, Brian Wieland 6, Rick Kretschmann 7, Tim Sheppard 8, Dustin Wudstrack 9, Craig Gessner 10, Jerry Duggan 11, Michael Bailey 12, Andy Singer 13, Phil Campanella 14, Patrick Hanson 15, Ryan Mech 16, Brandon Ostrowski 17, Michael Gilson, Rory Welch (DQ).

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 19, 2021 – Three drivers took their first trip to Kunes RV victory lane of the 2021 season, while a three-time and defending track champion returned to the winner’s circle for the second straight week, as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its eighth consecutive program of the 2021 campaign at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 19.

After a two-year absence, Kevin Karnitz of West Bend returned to victory lane in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event.

Following a string of early-season struggles, three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland continued to recapture his title-winning form by notching his second consecutive 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event victory of 2021

22-year veteran Luke Scholten of Oostburg snapped a two-year winless drought by claiming the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main, while Beaver Dam’s Elijah Koenig made a rare PDTR appearance count by storming to victory in the time-shortened, incident-plagued 21-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main, a red flag and caution flag flew before the first lap of the race was completed. The red flag appeared on the initial start when Nick Daywalt of Hubertus flipped exiting turn two on the opening lap.

On the ensuing start attempt, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth got sideways while running second in turn four and collected two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh. McMullen retired from the race with heavy front-end damage, while Miller was able to continue.

When the race finally got underway, Kevin Karnitz bolted into the lead from the pole position with Justin Miller, who started second, falling into second in the running order.

By lap 6, Karnitz had built up a full straightaway lead over Miller. Three laps later Karnitz encountered heavy lapped traffic. However, Karnitz dispatched the slower cars in quick order to maintain a solid cushion over the field.

On lap 20, Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca and Scott Conger of Eagle collided in turn four, which also collected Justin Miller and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt, who started sixth and was running fifth. Schmidt was able to continue after going to the work area, while Miller was done for the night.

Following the single-file restart, Karnitz was firmly in control as he pulled away from seventh starter Will Gerrits of Waupun, who was running second.

Karnitz went on to notch his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and seventh Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph, while notching his first victory at Plymouth since June 1, 2019.

Gerrits finished second, 16^th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls charged up to finish third, 13^th starter Brandon Berth of Cascade placed fourth and Tyler Brabant of Waupun, who started third, rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove jumped into the lead on the drop of the green field of the 25-lap Late Model A main with fourth starter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee following in second and four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started sixth, moving into third in his second appearance of the  2021 season with PDTR.

As Schmidt paced the field, the lone caution of the event appeared on lap 9 when Justin Ritchie of New London stopped in turn four on lap 9. On the restart, Mueller used the preferred outside groove to power around Bongiorno into second.

On lap 12, Mueller moved in to pressure Schmidt for the lead along the fast and often treacherous cushion. While Schmidt held Mueller at bay, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush ducked low to briefly take third after starting fifth on lap 19.

One lap later, third starter Justin Schmidt following suit along in the inside line to duck under Buhler to secure third on lap 20 and second in lap 21. On lap 22, Justin Schmidt surged past Charlie Schmidt into the lead in turn one with Mueller in tow as the leader worked through slower traffic.

Justin Schmidt held on over the final three laps to wrap up his 15^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Mueller placed second, Charlie Schmidt finished third, Buhler wound up fourth and Bongiorno rounded out the top five.

Luke Scholten started the accident-marred 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole and quickly took over the top spot on the opening lap with second starter Dick Hed of Plymouth following in second.

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 3 for a two-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge, who started fourth, worked the outside groove to challenge Hed for second.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 6 when Steven Weber of Plymouth spun on lap 6. Dustin Weiss followed off a nifty high move on the restart to secure second on lap 7.

The third caution was displayed on lap 9 for a four-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Hed and Weiss continued to mount an epic duel for the runner-up spot. The fourth and final caution came out for a single-car spin on lap 12.

Weiss bolted around Hed on the restart before moving in to pressure Scholten for the lead. However, Scholten proved to be too strong as he fended off Weiss’ advances to notch his 14^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to move into second on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main victory list. It was Scholten first PDTR Grand National A-main win since July 29, 2019.

Weiss placed second, Nick Schumacher of Eagle placed third after starting 10^th, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished fourth after starting ninth and fifth starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake finished fifth.

Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the time shortened 21-lap B Mod A main from the pole.

The first of six caution flags appeared on lap four when Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam spun in turn four. Following the restart, fifth starter Elijah Koenig of Beaver Dam charged up to challenge Bauer for the top spot.

On lap 9, Koenig surged past Bauer and into the lead along the high groove. By lap 12, Koenig had already built up a full straightaway cushion over Bauer.

The final 13 laps of the race featured Koenig pulling away from the field in between stoppages in the racing action for four additional caution flags.

Koenig held a healthy lead over Bauer when the sixth and final caution flag was displayed on lap 22 to bring the race to an early end due to the time limit. Koenig earned his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory, while Bauer placed second, 10^th starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls finished third, Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon, who started second, placed fourth and fourth starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls rounded out the top five.

Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the first 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The eighth PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Frank Motorsports Professional Services, drew 81 total cars, including 29 360 Sprint Cars, 20 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 17 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Friday, June 25 with the final edition of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race honoring the winningest driver in PDTR history.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

 

HEAT 1

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Blake Wondra 3, Jordan Paulsen 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Justin Erickson 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Adam Miller.

 

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Brabant 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Scott Conger 4, Tony Wondra 5, Tim Haddy 6, Chris Clayton 7, Doug Wondra.

 

HEAT 3

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Brandon Berth 5, Katelyn Krebsbach 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Dylan Winkel.

 

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Preston Ruh 4, Bill Taylor 5, Travis Arenz 6, Matt Rechek 7, Cole Possi.

 

B MAIN

1, Bill Taylor 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Chris Clayton 4, Tim Haddy 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Adam Miller 7, Matt Rechek 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Dylan Winkel 10, Cole Possi 11, Justin Erickson 12, Josh Teunissen 13, Doug Wondra.

 

A MAIN

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Will Gerrits 3, Travis Arenz 4, Brandon Berth 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Jordan Paulsen 9, Bill Taylor 10, Adam Miller 11, Alex Pokorski 12, Ben Schmidt 13, Tony Wondra 14, Tyler Tischendorf 15, Chris Clayton 16, Tim Haddy 17, Preston Ruh 18, Scott Conger 19, Justin Miller 20, Blake Wondra 21, Brandon McMullen 22, Nick Daywalt.

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

 

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Green 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Eric Michaels 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Jake Van Engen 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

 

HEAT 2

1, Tim Buhler 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Chris Engels 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Donny Singer.

 

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Brad Mueller 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Tim Buhler 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Chris Engels 7, Billy Rezutek 8, Justin Green 9, Jim Schmidt 10, Jake Van Engen 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Eric Michaels 13, Justin Ritchie 14, Donny Singer 15, Turk Letizia.

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

 

HEAT 1

1, Brad Weiss 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Luke Scholten 4, Dick Hed 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Maverick Ruh 7, Jacob Falk 8, Chad Espen 9, Dylan Struve

 

HEAT 2

1, Donny Kulow 2, Derek Kaat 3, Matt Yancey 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Nick Schumacher 6, Steven Weber 7, J.J. Pagel 8, Jason Schilling.

 

A MAIN

1 Luke Scholten 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Don Sorce Jr. 5, Donny Kulow 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Dick Hed 8, Chad Espen 9, Steven Weber 10, Maverick Ruh 12, Jacob Falk 13, Brad Weiss 14, Derek Kaat 15, Matt Yancey 16, Jason Schilling 17, J.J. Pagel 18, Dylan Struve (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

 

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Nick Schultz 3, Phil Campanella 4, Justin Bauer 5, Shane Long 6, Christopher Gilson 7, Brady Harshbarger.

 

HEAT 2

1, Matthew Roehl 2, Tim Thrun 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Donny Singer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Michael Strean 7, Rory Welch.

 

HEAT 3

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Gary Glander 4, Spencer Long 5, Brendan Ostrowski 6, Steve Lorier.

 

A MAIN

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Justin Bauer 3, Spencer Long 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Shane Long 7, Nick Schultz 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Phil Campanella 10, Rory Welch 11, Trevor Frank 12, Tim Thrun 13, Brendan Ostrowski 14, Steve Lorier 15, Gary Glander 16, Donny Singer 17, Matthew Roehl 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Michael Strean (DNS) 20, Brady Harshbarger (DNS).

 

 

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 12, 2021 – The seventh Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season produced plenty of action at the front of the field with three drivers visiting the Kunes RV Winners Circle in A-main action for the first time in 2021 and another earning back-to-back main event victories Saturday, June 12 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan stormed to his second consecutive A-main victory of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner.

Three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland shook off an uncharacteristically slow start to the season by claiming his first 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event victory of 2021.

2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville notched his initial triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A main.

Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier was another 2021 first-time winner in the 25-lap PDTR B Mod A main.

In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main, third starter Will Gerrits of Waupun bolted past polesitter Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade and outside front row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth to take the lead in turn two of the opening lap.

On lap three, Travis Arenz, who started seventh, used the high groove to power his way into second. One lap later, Arenz swept past Gerrits to take over the top spot and he immediately proceeded to leave the field in his dust.

Starting on lap 11, Arenz found himself negotiating heavy lapped traffic on the dry slick third-mile track surface. As Arenz enjoyed a comfortable half-lap lead, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started eighth, worked his way into the runner-up spot.

As the laps wound down, McMullen was able to close the gap slightly, but it was all Arenz at the front of the field as he cruised to his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and second straight main event win at the Plymouth track in the caution-free event.

McMullen had to settle for second, Gerrits wound up third, Erickson placed fourth and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged up to finish fifth after starting 16^th.

Polesitter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap Late Model A main with 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush in tow.

On lap 3, Justin Schmidt used the cushion to shoot into third in the running order. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 4 when Donny Singer of Random Lake spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Justin Schmidt used the high line to move around Buhler into second on lap 5 before the second and final caution flag flew on lap 6 for a spin in turn four involving Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls.

When the race resumed, Justin Schmidt continued to stalk the low-riding Charlie Schmidt along the outside groove. On lap 12, Justin Schmidt assumed the lead utilizing the high line in turn four.

After switching to the low line, Justin Schmidt went on to build up a comfortable cushion in the closing laps en route to his 14th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory by a half-lap margin.

Charlie Schmidt finished second, Buhler placed third, fifth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee placed fourth and sixth starter Justin Ritchie of New London rounded out the top five.

The 25-lap Grand National A main got off to a rousing start as octogenarian polesitter Dick Hed of Plymouth dueled side by side with outside front row starter Matt Loehr for the first six laps of the race.

On lap 7, the cushion-pounding Loehr finally surged ahead of the low-riding Hed in turn four. The lone caution of the race appeared one lap later for a spin involving rookie Jacob Falk.

Loehr used a strong restart to pull away to a commanding full-straightaway lead over third starting Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake over the final 18 laps of the race on the way to his seventh career PDTR Grand National A main victory.

Donny Kulow came home second, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished third after starting sixth, 2019 PDTR Grand national champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed fourth after starting seventh and Hed rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls seized the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod as third starter Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan moved into second on lap 3.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 7 when Travis Schmidt of Waldo spun in turn four after contact with Sheboygan’s Trevor Frank, which sent Frank to the rear of the field.

On the restart, Frank, James Fischer of Oostburg and Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls collided in turn two to bring out the second caution flag. Following the restart, Baumann flexed his muscle along the high groove to take over the top spot on lap 9 in turn two.

The third and final caution flag appeared on lap 12 when Jonathan Hitsman of Sheboygan and Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls made contact in turn four. Fifth starter Steve Lorier used a nifty low move on the restart to steal the lead away from Baumann in turn two on lap 13.

However, Baumann battled back on the cushion to pull even with Lorier three laps later with the two drivers dueling side by side over the next three laps before Lorier finally surged ahead for good on lap 18 along the inside groove.

Lorier went on to claim his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a five-car margin over Baumann, who placed second. Bauer finished third, Rory Welch of Grafton, who started second, finished fourth and 12^th starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls came home fifth.

Jack Vanderboom of Dousman won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Adam Miller of Plymouth claimed the victory in the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The seventh PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Josfo Electric, drew 79 total cars, including 35 360 Sprint Cars, 18 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 11 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 19 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Bill Taylor 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Tyler Davis 9, Tim Haddy.

HEAT 2

1, Tony Wondra 2, Mike Yurmanovich 3, Katelyn Krebsbach 4, Blake Wondra 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Chris Larson 7, Chris Clayton 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Justin Miller 3, Justin Erickson 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Preston Ruh 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Cole Possi 9, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Will Gerrits 2, Brandon Berth 3, Matt Rechek 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Kurt Davis 7, Doug Wondra 8, Adam Miller.

B MAIN 1

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Kurt Davis 3, Doug Wondra 4,  Tim Haddy 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Davis (DNS).

B MAIN 1

1, Adam Miller 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Preston Ruh 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Chris Clayton 7, Chris Larson 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Cole Possi 10, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Will Gerrits 4, Justin Erickson 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Mike Yurmanovich 9, Matt Rechek 10, Anthony Knierim 11, Bill Taylor 12, Adam Miller 13, Doug Wondra 14, Preston Ruh 15, Kurt Davis 16, Jack Vanderboom 17, Tony Wondra 18, Blake Wondra 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Katelyn Krebsbach 21, Brandon Berth 22, Justin Miller.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Turk Letizia 3, Tim Buhler 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Donny Singer 6, Eric Michaels 7, Joe Bongiorno 8, Chad Ludwigson (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Justin Green 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Ron Stroika 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Jake Van Engen.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Justin Green 8, Joe Bongiorno 9, Ron Stroika 10, Eric Michaels 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Chad Ludwigson 13, Donny Singer 14, Jake Van Engen 15, Brian Konitzer.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Dick Hed 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Jacob Falk 6, Steven Weber.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Yancey 2, Donny Kulow 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Kaat 5, Maverick Ruh.

A MAIN

1, Matt Loehr 2, Donny Kulow 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Luke Scholten 8, Matt Yancey 9, Jacob Falk 10, Maverick Ruh 11, Steven Weber.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jonathan Hitsman 4, Justin Bauer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Gary Glander.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Long 2, Glen Blanke 3, Matthew Roehl 4, Spencer Long 5, Will Garceau 6, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Jonathon Baumann 3, Rory Welch 4, Donny Singer 5, Jim Fischer 6, Phil Campanella.

A MAIN

1, Steve Lorier 2, Jonathon Baumann 3, Justin Bauer 4, Rory Welch 5, Spencer Long 6, Will Garceau 7, Matthew Roehl 8, Donny Singer 9, Shane Long 10, Patrick Hanson 11, Phil Campanella 12, Jonathan Hitsman 13, Glen Blanke 14, Travis Schmidt 15, Gary Glander 16, Trevor Frank 17, Jim Fischer 18, Christopher Gilson.

Arenz posts first PDTR 360 Sprint Car triumph of 2021

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 5, 2021 – With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s, the action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. was equally hot and heavy during an all-Sprint Car evening of competition featuring the national-touring FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 410 Sprint Car Series in conjunction with the regional Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association Series on Saturday June 5.

In the 30-lap All Star-IRA headliner, 10-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland turned in an exemplary performance en route to his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory on what he has described as one of his favorite tracks in the country.

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan cruised to his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap main event.

After earning All Star-IRA fast qualifier honors with a top lap of 11.357 seconds and winning the first All Star-IRA four-lap dash, Bill Balog earned the pole position for the evening’s 30-lap headline event.

On the drop of the green flag, second starter Ian Madsen of St. Mary’s New South Wales, Australia bolted into the lead with Balog settling in second. On lap 3, Balog attempted a slide job in turn two, but Madsen fended off the 128-time IRA A-main winner’s initial challenge.

Two laps later, Balog came back with the same move in turn two and made it stick to take over the top spot. The North Pole, Alaska native then proceeded to run away and hide from the field as he built up a half-lap cushion over Madsen by lap 13.

As Balog skillfully sliced his way through heavy lapped traffic, third starter Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, Ind., who was filling in for the injured Justin Peck behind the wheel of the No. 13 Buch Motorsports car, moved in to challenge Madsen for second beginning on lap 21.

One lap later, Bayston worked around Madsen to seize second. However, Madsen regained the spot on lap 24 before Madsen took it back on lap 27. On lap 18, eighth starter Rico Abreu of St. Helena, Calif. moved in to pressure Madsen for the runner-up spot.

With Balog cruising at the front of the field, Madsen and Abreu waged an epic duel for second over the final two circuits.

Balog, who is competing in his first full season as an All Star Circuit of Champions regular this year, held on to collect his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory and 129th career IRA main event triumph by a comfortable six-second margin in the caution-free race to claim the $6,000 winner’s prize.

Madsen nipped Abreu for second, Abreu took third, Bayston wound up fourth and All Star Circuit of Champions point leader Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind., who started sixth, came home fifth.

“I would like to thank everybody who supports this team,” Balog said in victory lane. “We put this deal together to run with the All Stars late last fall and into the winter. This is unbelievable. I was scared that I was going to get passed in lapped traffic. I got behind someone that almost spun once and I was getting a little tight running the cushion through traffic.

“It was a good kind of tight though as I was able to stick it through the middle and slide guys in to get through the lapped traffic,” he said. “The guys have been working on this car to make it better and it is really running awesome right now.”

Madsen was pleased with his second-place run, but remains eager to earn his first All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2021 season.

“Bill [Balog] did an awesome job tonight,” Madsen said. “He just spanked us. I have to thank my team for giving me a great car. I am thankful to have such a great team behind me. We have been consistent with a lot of good finishes this year. Hopefully, we can break through and get a win soon.”

Abreu was satisfied with his podium effort in his first official A-main start at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“My guys have been working on the car hard and it has been getting better and better lately,” Abreu said. “All of their hard work is leading us in a better direction. The track crew gave us a nice track to run on tonight and I am thankful for that and all of the support from the fans here tonight.”

In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, polesitter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend grabbed the lead on the opening lap with outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport sliding into second in the early going.

On lap 4, fourth starter Travis Arenz used the outside groove to bolt his way into second. Two laps later, Arenz shot past the low-riding Karnitz with a high move in turn four. Karnitz briefly battled back in an effort to regain the top spot. However, Arenz held off Karnitz’s surge and quickly pulled away.

On lap 14, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started 10^th, moved into fourth as Arenz began to weave his way through slower traffic. On lap 21, McMullen moved into second and was quickly closing on Arenz as the race wound down.

Arenz held on to claim his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event triumph and 14^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory in the non-stop event. McMullen placed second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started eighth, finished third, Karnitz wound up fourth and Wondra rounded out the top five.

Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. won the 12-lap All Star-IRA B main and Will Gerrits of Waupun captured the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was sponsored by JDL Automotive, drew a near capacity crowd of spectators, along with a total of 68 Sprint Cars, including 36 All Star-IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

During pre-race opening ceremonies, PDTR honored Dave Deicher, who raced at The Plymouth Dirt Track and other area tracks for 30 years before serving as the flagman for PDTR for many years. Deicher passed away on Sunday, May 30 at the age of 69.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 12 with action in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

FLORACING ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS-BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

Qualifying

1, Bill Balog 13.357 2, Kyle Reinhardt 11.469 3, Cap Henry 11.488 4, Zeb Wise 11.536 5, Carson Short 11.536 6, Rico Abreu 11.672 7, Ian Madsen 11.680 8, Jake Blackhurst 11.696 9, Paul McMahan 11.701 10, Tyler Courtney 11.729 11, Jeremy Schultz 11.737 12, Spencer Bayston 11.741 13, Scotty Thiel 11.764 14, Sean Rayhall 11.784 15, Josh Schneiderman 11.815 16, Scotty Neitzel 11.819 17, T.J. Michael 11.845 18, Joe B. Miller 11.881 19, Robbie Pribnow 11.906, 20, Hunter Schuerenberg 11.913 21, Kyle Schuett 11.954 22, Jordan Goldesberry 12.002 23, Dave Uttech 12.029 24, Cory Eliason 12.037 25, Skylar Gee 12.047 26, Kris Spitz 12.106 27, Russel Borland 12.172 28, Blake Nimee 12.201 29, Hunter Custer 12.211 30, Greg Wilson 12.229 31, Danny Schlafer 12.314 32, Brian Kristan 12.359 33, Josh Walter 12.380 34, Jereme Schroeder 12.649 35, Bryce Schmitt 12.733 36, Andy Rein 13.480.

HEAT 1

1, Cap Henry 2, Zeb Wise 3, Bill Balog 4, Carson Short 5, Kyle Reinhardt 6, Dave Uttech 7, Hunter Custer 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Scott Neitzel (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Joe B. Miller 2, Rico Abreu 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Cory Eliason 5, Jake Blackhurst 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Josh Walter 8, Jeremy Schroeder 9, Andy Rein.

HEAT 3

1, Spencer Bayston 2, Jeremy Schultz 3, Hunter Schuerenberg 4, Josh Schneiderman 5, Paul McMahan 6, Russel Borland 7, Kris Spitz 8, Bryce Schmitt 9, Greg Wilson.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Courtney 2, Ian Madsen 3, T.J. Michael 4, Kyle Schuett 5, Skylar Gee 6, Danny Schlafer 7, Brian Kristan 8, Blake Nimee 9, Scott Thiel.

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Spencer Bayston 3, Kyle Reinhardt 4, Zeb Wise 5, Joe B. Miller.

DASH 2

1, Ian Madsen 2, Paul McMahan 3, Tyler Courtney 4, Rico Abreu 5, Cap Henry.

B MAIN

1, Jordan Goldesberry 2, Hunter Custer 3, Greg Wilson 4, Dave Uttech 5, Russel Borland 6, Kris Spitz 7, Jereme Schroeder 8, Josh Walter 9, Blake Nimee 10, Scotty Neitzel 11, Brian Kristan 12, Bryce Schmitt 13, Andy Rein 14, Sean Rayhall 15, Danny Schlafer 16, Scotty Thiel (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Ian Madsen 3, Rico Abreu 4, Spencer Bayston 5, Tyler Courtney 6, Paul McMahan 7, Cory Eliason 8, Kyle Reinhardt 9, Cap Henry 10, Hunter Schuerenberg 11, Zeb Wise 12, Joe B. Miller 13, Carson Short 14, Jeremy Schultz 15, Jordan Goldesberry 16, Robbie Pribnow 17, T.J. Michael 18, Jake Blackhurst 19, Greg Wilson 20, Skylar Gee 21, Josh Schneiderman 22, Kyle Schuett 23, Dave Uttech 24, Hunter Custer.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Erickson 2, Matt Rechek 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Brandon Berth 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Mike Yurmanovich.

HEAT 2

1, Chris Clayton 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Adam Miller 4, Preston Ruh 5, Tim Haddy 6, Tyler Davis 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 3

1, Tony Wondra 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Blake Wondra 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Chris Larson 7, Jordan Paulsen 8, Scott Conger.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Bill Taylor 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Will Gerrits 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Dylan Winkel.

B MAIN

1, Will Gerrits 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Blake Wondra 4, Preston Ruh 5, Bill Taylor 6, Tyler Davis 7, Scott Conger 8, Jordan Paulsen 9, Tom Kreutz 10, Jack Vanderboom 11, Austin Hartmann 12, Katelyn Krebsbach 13, Josh Teunissen 14, Chris Larson 15, Dylan Winkel 16, Mike Yurmanovich (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Justin Miller 7, Justin Erickson 8, Matt Rechek 9, Chris Clayton 10, Kurt Davis 11, Adam Miller 12, Brandon Berth 13, Doug Wondra 14, Tyler Brabant 15, Lance Fassbender 16, Alex Pokorski 17, Will Gerrits 18, Preston Ruh 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tyler Davis 21, Tim Haddy 22, Blake Wondra.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 22, 2021 – On a beautiful early summer evening for racing, the fourth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season saw three familiar faces make their initial appearance of the 2021 campaign in victory lane and another racked up his second A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign on Saturday, May 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh led flag-to-flag to earn his first A-main triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner.

Veteran Jim Schmidt of Cleveland survived an incident-plagued Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event to claim his first A-main victory of the season in a time-shortened 12-lap race. Will Sorce of Franklin worked the high groove to perfection to rack up his second 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory of the 2021 campaign and Jesse Cullen of Chilton rolled to his first A-main tally of the season in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

Brandon McMullen outpowered polesitter Tim Haddy of Waupun to seize the lead on in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event from his outside front row starting position as third starting Adam Miller of Plymouth slipped into second.

On lap 3, the first of three caution flags appeared after two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee clipped the turn two water barrel, which resulted in water leaking onto the track.

Following the restart, Haddy and Miller dueled side by side for second before Miller assumed the spot. By lap 4, McMullen had built up a sizeable half-straightaway cushion over Miller at the front of the field.

On lap 8, McMullen caught the back of the field and began working through heavy lapped traffic. McMullen expertly sliced his way through the slower cars to maintain a comfortable lead over Miller.

With seven laps to go, Miller and Haddy made contact entering turn one, which resulted in race-ending damage to Haddy’s car. Miller was able to continue, while the fourth-place car of Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz, who started fifth, had to pay a visit to the work area after suffering a flat tire.

The third caution flag flew for a four-car incident in turn one on the ensuing restart.

With two lapped cars between himself and the second-place car of ninth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth, who had moved up to second, McMullen bolted away from the field on the final restart, while 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started 17^th, worked his way past Miller into second on lap 19.

Mullen pulled away in the closing laps to seal his 21^st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 31^st career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph by a full-straightaway margin over Schmidt, who came home second.

Justin Miller finished third, sixth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fourth and Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca, who started fourth, came home fifth.

The time-shortened 12-lap Late Model A main was plagued by seven caution flags, including two before the first official lap of the race could be completed.

When the race finally got underway, outside front row starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead from polesitter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee in turn four of the opening lap. On lap 2, back-to-back caution flags again slowed the pace and resulted in single-file restarts as the norm for the remainder of the race.

On lap 3, three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt, moved up from the third starting spot to pressure Charlie Schmidt for the lead before the fifth caution of the race appeared on lap four for a three-car incident along the backstretch.

When the race resumed, Justin Schmidt continued to hound Charlie Schmidt for the top spot. On lap 5, Justin Schmidt spun in turn four while challenging for the lead to bring out the sixth caution of the race. During the yellow flag period, Charlie Schmidt went to the pit area to change a flat tire, which handed the lead over to 11^th starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee.

Following the restart, sixth starter Jim Schmidt mounted a challenge for the lead along the high line. Three laps later, Jim Schmidt powered around Letizia to take over the top spot in turn two.

Jim Schmidt maintained the lead until the seventh caution was displayed on lap 12 for a two-car incident in turn two, which brought the race to an early end after reaching the time limit.

Jim Schmidt earned his 16^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory with Letizia second, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed third after starting eighth, seventh starter Justin Ritchie of New London finished fourth and Justin Schmidt recovered from his early-race spin to place fifth.

Polesitter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake led the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main before outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg worked the high groove to take over the lead in turn four on lap 2.

The lone caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 9 for debris in turn two.

Following the restart, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, and Donny Kulow dueled side by side for second beginning on lap 12 with Kulow eventually maintaining second on lap 13.

On lap 18, fifth starter Will Sorce began to make his presence felt as he moved up to the outside line to gain third. One lap later, Sorce powered around Kulow to take over second and quickly set his sights on Scholten.

Sorce and Scholten battled door to door on lap 21 before Sorce surged past Scholten and into the lead.

Sorce pulled away over the final four laps to earn his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Donny Kulow finished second, Don Sorce Jr. placed third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow finished fourth after starting third and 2018 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Loehr of Dotyville wound up fifth after starting seventh.

Polesitter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

As Long led, fourth starter Jesse Cullen slipped past outside front row starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan to gain second place in the running order. The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 7 for a three-car incident in turn two.

On the restart, Long drifted high in turn two, which allowed Cullen to power into the lead on lap 8 with Frank in tow. After a pair of caution flags ensued on lap 11 and lap 13 for multi-car incidents, Cullen bolted out to a quarter-straightaway lead over Frank by lap 16.

The fourth and final caution flag appeared on lap 20 when Long made contact with the turn three wall. When race resumed, Cullen pulled away over the final five laps to secure his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Frank, who had to settle for second.

Third starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls finished third, Rory Welch of Grafton moved up from his 11^th starting spot to place fourth and eighth starter Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth placed fifth.

Doug Wondra of Lomira claimed the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The fourth PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total of 87 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 20 Grand Nationals and 20 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 29 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions. The Military Night program will offer free admission to all members of the U.S. armed forces with a valid I.D.

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Tischendorf 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tony Wondra 4, Justin Miller 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Matt Rechek 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Mike Yurmanovich 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Will Gerrits 7, Chris Clayton 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Chris Larson 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Justin Erickson 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Dylan Winkel.

HEAT 4

1, Tim Haddy 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Tyler Davis 4, Brandon Berth 5, Doug Wondra 6, Blake Wondra 7, Bill Taylor.

B MAIN

1, Doug Wondra 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Erickson 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Will Gerrits 6, Chris Clayton 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Matt Rechek 9, Alex Pokorski 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, Dylan Winkel 12, Tom Kreutz 13, Tyler Brabant (DNS) 14, Blake Wondra (DNS) 15, Bill Taylor (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Miller 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Justin Erickson 7, Travis Arenz 8, Will Gerrits 9, Tony Wondra 10, Adam Miller 11, Nick Daywalt 12, Lance Fassbender 13, Tyler Davis 14, Austin Hartmann 15, Chris Clayton 16, Doug Wondra 17, Chris Larson 18, Jack Vanderboom 19, Mike Yurmanovich 20, Tim Haddy 21, Kurt Davis 22, Josh Teunissen 23, Brandon Berth (DNS).

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Eric Michaels 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Greg Cantrell 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Turk Letizia 6, Justin Green 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Tim Buhler 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Jon Bongiorno 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Jacob Van Engen 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Donny Singer 11, Greg Cantrell 12, Eric Michaels 13, Justin Green 14, Brian Konitzer 15, Chad Ludwigson 16, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Will Sorce 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Dick Hed 4, Dave Holm 5, Dylan May 6, Dylan Struve 7, Seth Westimayer.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Matt Loehr 4, Dustin Weiss 5, Justin Pearson 6, Nick Schumacher 7, Alex Lester.

HEAT 3

1, Steven Weber 2, Donny Kulow 3, Chad Espen 4, Derek Kaat 5, Nate Ruh 6, Collin Skindzelewski.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Donny Kulow 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Matt Loehr 6, Luke Scholten 7, Steven Weber 8, Dustin Weiss 9, Chad Espen 10, Justin Pearson 11, Nate Ruh 12, Dave Holm 13, Nick Schumacher 14, Dick Hed 15, Seth Westimayer 16, Derek Kaat 17, Collin Skindzelewski 18, Alex Lester 19, Dylan Struve 20, Dylan May.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Shane Long 3, Travis Kleindl 4, Christopher Gilson 5, Patrick Hanson 76, Jim Fischer 7, Brendan Ostrowski.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Steve Lorier 3, Donny Singer 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Rory Welch 6, Gary Glander 7, Craig Gessner.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Bauer 2, Spencer Long 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Phil Campanella 5, Randy Theys 6, Andy Welter.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Trevor Frank 3, Shane Long 4, Rory Welch 5, Jonathan Hitsman 6, Justin Bauer 7, Rick Kretschmann 8, Steve Lorier 9, Andy Welter 10, Donny Singer 11, Patrick Hanson 12, Spencer Long 13, Craig Gessner 14, Travis Kleindl 15, Gary Glander 16, Randy Theys 17, Phil Campanella 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Jim Fischer 20, Brendan Ostrowski.