By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 1, 2020 – On one of the most pleasant nights for racing of the 2020 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season, three of the most polished veteran drivers in the pit area, as well as a rising star in the Sprint Car ranks rolled to A-main victories on Pedal Down Promotions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan racked up his second A-main victory of the 2020 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car main event. Milwaukee veteran Turk Letizia noted his first A-main victory in six years in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Eighteen-year veteran Steven Weber of Plymouth claimed the victory in the 25-lap Klips N Tips Grand National A main and Cascade veteran Barry Maas earned his first career PDTR B Mod main event win in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 360 Sprint Car headliner, outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag before Adam Miller of Plymouth flipped in turn four on the opening lap to bring out a red flag.

Following a complete restart, Wondra again grabbed the lead while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, moved into second with the fifth-starting Arenz bolting into third on the opening circuit.

While Wondra led, Arenz moved in to challenge the high-riding Davis along the low line on lap 4. On lap 5, Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee and Anthony Knierim of Franksville collided in turn two to bring out a caution.

On the restart, Jack Vanderboom of Dousman and Doug Wondra of Campbellsport got together in turn three, which sent Vanderboom flipping on lap 5.

Davis pulled off an impressive low move in turn four on lap 6 to wrestle the lead away from Wondra. Meanwhile, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh was using the high groove to vault into second from his sixth starting spot on lap 7.

McMullen continued to ride the high groove of the lightning fast track surface to pressure Davis for the top spot. On lap 9, McMullen surged ahead of Davis along the outside groove. McMullen maintained a solid cushion as the leaders encountered slower traffic on lap 13.

Two laps later, Arenz moved into second before Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca spun in turn two on lap 16. On the restart, Arenz ducked underneath McMullen to assume the top spot on lap 17 exiting turn one.

After that, Arenz moved up to the high line and pulled away from McMullen, who worked both the bottom and top of the track in an attempt to reel in the leader over the next nine laps.

Just as the leaders were about to catch the back of the field, the checkered flag flew with Arenz claiming his third career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and ninth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

McMullen wound up second, Davis was third, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett took fourth after starting eighth and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged up from his 16^th starting spot to take fifth.

Polesitter Justin Ritchie of New London seized the lead in turn of the opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main. On lap 2, Letizia used a big run on the frontstretch to dive under Ritchie for the lead in turn one. As Letizia encountered lapped traffic on lap 8, Ritchie began to close.

On lap 12, Ritchie moved to withing striking distance in heavy lapped traffic before making contact with Letizia along the front stretch, which caused Ritchie to spin into the infield and bring out the first of four caution flags.

One lap later, Ted Dolhun Sr. of Franklin spun in turn two to bring out the second caution of the race. On the restart, two-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, moved in to challenge Letizia for the top spot along the low line on lap 14.

Meanwhile, the racing behind Letizia and Schmidt was hot and heavy as Mike Mullen of Seymour, who started ninth, and 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started seventh, dueled side by side for third place on lap 21.

The third caution appeared on lap 22 when Mullen spun in turn three. On the restart, Ritchie, Eric Michaels of Cleveland and Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove collided exiting turn four to bring out the fourth and final caution.

On the restart, Letizia held strong to pull away from Schmidt over the final four laps en route to his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and first main event win at Plymouth since 2014.

Schmidt was second, four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started fourth, placed third, Buhler took fourth and 2017 PDTR B Mod champion Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls placed fifth in his first ever night behind the wheel of his father Glen Blanke’s 4B Late Model after starting 15^th.

Outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg grabbed the lead on lap 1 with Steven Weber, who started on the pole, sliding into second. On lap 3, Weber pulled into challenge Scholten for the top spot before the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 4 for a spin involving Dylan Struve of Plymouth.

Following the restart, Weber moved in to pressure Scholten for the top spot and he continued to hound the leader for the next 14 laps. After sizing Scholten up patiently lap after lap, Weber finally pounced entering turn one on lap 18 to seize the lead.

Two laps later, Weber hit lapped traffic, who allowed Scholten to stay in contention for the win. The second and final caution appeared on lap 20 when Paul Perronne stopped in turn one.

Following a single-file restart with five laps to go, Weber stayed tied to the inside lane of the track and fended off Scholten’s advances to notch his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Scholten placed second, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished third after starting sixth, Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee charged up from the 11^th starting spot to place fourth and 2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth finished fifth after starting ninth.

In the 25-lap B Mod A main, rookie outside front row starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan grabbed the lead from the start. The first of three cautions appeared on lap four when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan stopped in turn three.

On the restart, fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton moved up from his fourth starting spot to take second with a move along the high line before polesitter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum battled back to challenge for the runner-up spot.

The second caution appeared on lap 10 when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four. Two laps later, defending PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Fond du Lac and Cullen made contact, which sent Cullen spinning in turn four to bring out the third caution flag.

On lap 13, Maas, who started sixth, began to make his presence felt as he moved into second along the high groove. One lap later, Maas, who owns one career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, worked the inside groove to work past Frank for the lead with a nifty low move in turn three.

Knepprath wasn’t finished though, as he worked around Frank and closed on Maas over the final circuits. On lap 23, Knepprath ducked under Maas and stayed within striking distance all the way to the checkered flag before Maas, a former Winged Super Modified racer at Plymouth, prevailed by a one-car margin to seize his first career PDTR B Mod A main victory.

Knepprath recorded a career-best second-place finish, Warner placed third, Frank equaled his career-best A-main finish by placing fourth and 11^th starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed fifth.

Jack Vanderboom won the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The seventh PDTR racing program of the 2020 season drew a total of 80 cars, including 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 17 Grand Nationals and 15 B Mods.

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will next be in action on Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

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

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Chris Clayton 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Mike Decker 8, Alex Pokorski.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Travis Arenz 3, Scott Conger 4, Justin Miller 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Scott Armstrong 7, Will Gerrits 8, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 3

1, Bill Taylor 2, Kurt Davis 3, Adam Miller 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tim Haddy 8, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Justin Erickson 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tyler Davis 5, Preston Ruh 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Kevin Seidler 8, Mike MacFarlane.

B MAIN

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Brandon Berth 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Tim Haddy 7, Austin Hartmann 8, Preston Ruh 9, Mike Decker 10, Alex Pokorski 11, Scott Armstrong 12, Blake Wondra 13, Kevin Seidler 14, Mike MacFarlane 15, Will Gerrits (DNS) 16, Tyler Brabant (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Tony Wondra 7, Justin Miller 8, Justin Erickson 9, Brandon Berth 10, Kevin Karnitz 11, Bill Taylor 12, Scott Conger 13, Chris Clayton 14, Tim Haddy 15, Josh Teunissen 16, Tyler Tischendorf 17, Shane Wenninger 18, Doug Wondra 19, Tyler Davis 20, Anthony Knierim 21, Jack Vanderboom 22, Adam Miller.

 

GASROOT PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Brad Mueller 2, Joe Bongiorno 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Eric Michaels 5, Ted Dolhun Sr. 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Tim Buhler 5, Mike Mullen 6, Jared Siefert 7, Kevin Baldry 8, Justin Green.

A MAIN’

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Tim Buhler 5, Justin Green 6, Ted Dolhun Sr. 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Eric Michaels 9, Eric Michaels, 10, Joe Bongiorno 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Justin Ritchie 13, Kevin Baldry 14, Chad Ludwigson 15, Jared Siefert 16, Mike Mullen.

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Brad Weiss 3, Derek Kaat 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Jim Rohrbeck 7, Dave Holm 8, Dick Hed 9, Paul Perronne.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Wirtz 2, Luke Scholten 3, Steven Weber 4, Donny Kulow 5, Aaron Stolp 6, Matt Yancey 7, Dylan Struve 8, Who Racing.

A MAIN

1, Steven Weber 2, Luke Scholten 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Aaron Stolp 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Steven Wirtz 7, Jeff Muehlbauer 8, Dick Hed 9, Matt Yancey 10, Donny Kulow 11, Who Racing 12, Dylan Struve 13, Jim Rohrbeck 14, Brad Weiss 15, Paul Perronne 16, Dave Holm 17, Derek Kaat.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jason Schilling 2, Tim Warner 3, James Rautmann 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Trevor Frank 6, Jonathan Hitsman 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Jim Fischer.

HEAT 2

1, Phil Campanella 2, Barry Maas 3, Steve Lorier 4, Rory Welch 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Gary Glander 7, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Barry Maas 2, Brandon Knepprath 3, Tim Warner 4, Trevor Frank 5, Gary Glander 6, Jason Schilling 7, Jesse Cullen 8, Jonathan Hitsman 9, Donny Singer 10, Rory Welch 11, Patrick Hanson 12, James Rautmann 13, Phil Campanella 14, Steve Lorier 15, Jim Fischer.

Davis moves to top of all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win list

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 30, 2020 – The hottest Sprint Car driver in the world, Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., paid his first visit to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. for the second annual Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Interstate Racing Association Rayce Rudeen Foundation $26,000-to-win event on Thursday, July 30 and promptly shined over a stellar field to claim his sixth straight A-main victory in All Star Series competition and his 26^th overall triumph on dirt during the 2020 season in the highest-paying Winged Sprint Car race in Wisconsin history.

In the companion, non-points Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 26-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee nipped the hard-charging Travis Arenz of Sheboygan by mere feet to claim his second overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event victory of the 2020 campaign and first A-main victory of the year at Plymouth.

All eyes were on Larson throughout the night as his has been a dominant force everywhere he has raced this season whether in the 410 Winged Sprint Car ranks with the All Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series or with the USAC Midget Series, with victories coming in droves for the 28-year-old racing phenom.

After laying down the fastest qualifying lap of the night with a circuit of 11.459 seconds around the third-mile clay oval, Larson placed fourth in the fourth 10-lap heat race and won the second four-lap dash to start on the outside of the front row for the $26,000-to-win Rayce Rudeen Foundation 35-lap A main.

The race got off to a rough start as Austin McCarl of Altoona, Iowa flipped into the turn two catch fence on the initial start and Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind. spun in turn four on the second start attempt.

When the race finally got under way, polesitter Gio Scelzi of Fresno, Calif. bolted into the lead with Larson following in second and Gio’s brother Dominic Scelzi of Fresno, Calif., who started third, settling into third in the early going.

With Gio Scelzi running the cushion, Larson worked the low and middle groove to reel in the leader on lap 6. On lap 7, the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Larson to close even further.

On lap 12, Larson pounced as he pulled off a well-executed slide job in turn four to wrestle the led away from Gio Scelzi. Meanwhile, Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia, who started seventh, was marching his way to the front of the pack along the high groove.

On lap 14, Madsen worked his way into fourth before charged past Dominic Scelzi into third on lap 16 and eventually powering around Gio Scelzi for second in thick lapped traffic.

As Larson appeared to be biding his time in getting around the slower car of Tyler Courtney for a number of laps, Madsen closed to within two car lengths of Larson on lap 22. However, once Larson cleared Courtney on lap 24, he quickly pulled away from Madsen to build up a quarter-straightaway cushion on lap 26.

Larson, who has six NASCAR Cup Series victories to his credit, skillfully worked his way through lapped traffic over the final nine laps to score his 20^th career All Star Series victory and his 11^th triumph in 17 All Star starts in 2020 in the third-ever All Star event to be contested at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This feels really good,” Larson said in victory lane. “I had to earn it for sure. The track was extremely technical and a lot of fun. The curb was just not going anywhere and it was getting trickier and trickier to run. The lappers were all so even that I couldn’t get by for the longest time, but I was able to follow Sunshine [Tyler Courtney] past a few guys, so that helped.

“I was just making a lot of mistakes, but the track was tough, so I didn’t know how close second was to me,” he said. “Once I got past Tyler though, I felt like I got a good rhythm going again and lapped some pretty decent cars there toward the end. We just had a really good car tonight. It’s not often that you get to chase this kind of money in Sprint Cars, especially this year, so thanks to the Rudeen family and what they’ve done for this race. It’s really cool.”

Madsen, who appeared that he might overtake Larson for the lead in the middle stages of the race, finished a full straightaway behind in second at the finish.

“We had a great race car and we were really running Kyle down for the lead,” Madsen said after the race. “I was trying to be patient and pick my spots, but it just didn’t turn out to be our night.”

Gio Scelzi placed third after a strong run in the early laps of the race.

“I felt pretty good in the early going running the top then Kyle got past me on the bottom, which surprised me because I didn’t think the bottom would be that good,” Gio Scelzi said. “I just have to do a better job in these races. Third is not bad, but we want to win.”

Dominic Scelzi came home fourth and fourth starter Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif. placed fifth.

In the 26-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started on the pole, second starter Kurt Davis and fourth starter Adam Miller of Plymouth dueled three-wide for the entire first lap before Justin Miller surged ahead in turn one on lap 2.

One lap later, Davis ventured up to the high groove to challenge Miller for the top spot. Miller and Davis battled side by side over the next three circuits before Miller eventually regained control of the lead just as the leaders hit slower traffic on lap 10.

Meanwhile, current PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started fifth, vaulted into third on lap 15 before surging past Davis into second on lap 18.

One lap later, rookie Alex Pokorski of West Bend spun in turn two to bring out the first of three caution flags. On the restart, Davis bolted back up to the high line to power around Arenz into second before surging past Miller into the lead in turn four on lap 20.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 21 when Adam Miller and Matt Vandevere of Zion, Ill. spun in turn four. One lap later, the third and final caution flag flew when Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee spun in turn two.

On the restart, Arenz charged in to apply heavy pressure along the high line as Davis switched to the inside lane. On the final lap, Arenz pulled even with Davis entering turn one. Davis battled back to regain the top spot going into turn three.

Arenz didn’t back down as he reeled in Davis in the final corner and pulled alongside heading the checkered flag. However, Davis held on to nip Arenz by a half-car length to secure his 24^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and record 62^nd career MSA main event win. The triumph pushed Davis past Danny Schlafer of Sussex and to sole possession of first place on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win list.

Arenz placed second, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved up from his sixth starting spot to finish third, Justin Miller finished fourth and seventh starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum placed fifth.

The sixth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season drew a total of 68 cars, including 41 All Star Circuit of Champions-Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars and 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will be in action on Saturday, Aug. 1 with trophies sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

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

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

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

 QUALIFYING

1, Kyle Larson 11.450 2, Gio Scelzi 11.575 3, Dominic Scelzi 4, Kerry Madsen 11.682 5, Cory Eliason 11.707 6, Tyler Courtney 11.720 7, Cale Thomas 11.760 8, Aaron Reutzel 11.764 9, Sam Haftertepe Jr. 11.791 10, Scotty Thiel 11.850 11, Parker Price-Miller 11.850 12, Terry McCarl 11.878 13, Jeremy Schultz 11.878 14, Josh Baughman 11.917 15, Hunter Schuerenberg 11.922 16, Zeb Wise 11.941 17, Paul McMahan 11.979 18, Skylar Gee 12.006 19, Austin McCarl 12.012 20, Greg Wilson 12.041 21, Bill Balog 12.087 22, Russel Borland 12.115, 23, Mike Reinke 12.125 24, Dave Uttech 12.149 25, Gerard McIntrye 12.185, 26, Jake Blackhurst 12.246 27, Shane Stewart 12.291 28, Robbie Pribnow 12.445 29, Todd King 12.46 30, Scotty Neitzel 12.520 31, Josh Walter 12.632 32, Sean Rayhall 12.697 33, Matt Vandevere 12.731 34, Danny Schlafer 12.739 35, Kris Spitz 12.739 36, John Fahl 12.778 37, Scott Biertzer 12.956 38, Bryce Schmitt 12.988 39, Hunter Custer 13.198 40, Wayne Modjeski 13.288 41, Paige Polyak no time.

HEAT 1

1, Paul McMahan 2, Josh Baughman 3, Cory Eliason 4, Scotty Thiel 5, Russel Borland 6, Dave Uttech 7, Mike Reinke 8, Shane Stewart 9, John Fahl.

HEAT 2

1, Zeb Wise 2, Hunter Schuerenberg 3, Cale Thomas 4, Gio Scelzi 5, Greg Wilson 6, Gerard McIntyre Jr. 8, Hunter Custer 9, Bryce Schmitt.

HEAT 3

1, Austin McCarl 2, Aaron Reutzel 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Kerry Madsen 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Scott Biertzer 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Wayne Modjeski.

HEAT 4

1, Jake Blackhurst 2, Parker Price-Miller 3, Dominic Scelzi 4, Kyle Larson 5, Robbie Pribnow 6, Matt Vandevere 7. Josh Walter 8, Paige Polyak (DNS).

HEAT 5

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Terry McCarl 3, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 4, Skylar Gee 5, Bill Balog 6, Tyler Courtney 7, Todd King 8, Kris Spitz.

C MAIN

1, Mike Reinke 2, Todd King 3, Sean Rayhall 4, Josh Walter 5, Kris Spitz 6, Hunter Custer 7, Wayne Modjeski 8, John Fahl 9, Bryce Schmidt 10, Paige Polyak (DNS), 11, Shane Stewart (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Tyler Courtney 2, Bill Balog, 3, Greg Wilson 4, Danny Schlafer 5 Russel Borland 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Gerard McIntyre Jr. 8, Dave Uttech 9, Mike Reinke 10, Matt Vandevere 11, Todd King 12, Scott Biertzer.

DASH 1

1, Gio Scelzi 2, Dominic Scelzi 3, Zeb Wise 4, Kerry Madsen 5, Jake Blackhurst 6, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

DASH 2

1, Kyle Larson 2, Cory Eliason 3, Austin McCarl 4, Paul McMahan 5, Cale Thomas 6, Jeremy Schultz.

A MAIN

1, Kyle Larson 2, Kerry Madsen 3, Gio Scelzi 4, Dominic Scelzi 5, Cory Eliason 6, Paul McMahan 7, Zeb Wise 8, Parker Price-Miller 9, Cale Thomas 10, Josh Baughman 11, Aaron Reutzel 12, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13, Skylar Gee 14, Tyler Courtney 15, Jeremy Schultz 16, Bill Balog 17, Scotty Thiel 18, Scotty Neitzel 19, Greg Wilson 20, Jake Blackhurst 21, Terry McCarl 22, Hunter Schuerenberg 23, Danny Schlafer 24, Austin McCarl.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Will Gerrits 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Doug Wondra 8, Austin Hartmann 9, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Tony Wondra 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tim Haddy 6, Mike Decker 7, Bill Taylor 8, Alex Pokorski 9, Lance Fassbender.

HEAT 3

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Adam Miller 3, Tyler Davis 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Matt Vandevere 6, Blake Wondra 7, Chris Larson 8, Preston Ruh 9, Scott Armstrong.

A MAIN

1, Kurt Davis 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Justin Miller 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Kevin Karnitz 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Tony Wondra 10, Nick Daywalt, 11, Bill Taylor 12, Will Gerrits 13, Tyler Brabant 14, Adam Miller 15, Tim Haddy 16, Alex Pokorski 17, Matt Vandevere 18, Blake Wondra 19, Mike Decker 20, Preston Ruh 21, Chris Larson 22, Tyler Davis 23, Austin Hartmann 24, Doug Wondra.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 25, 2020 – Another hot and humid evening for racing produced some even steamier action on the track as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its fifth racing program of the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds third-mile clay oval in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 25.

Point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan claimed his first A-main victory of the season in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car A main, four-time PDTR Late Model track champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake racked up his A-main first victory of the season in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model main event, Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee notched his second straight Klips N Tips 25-lap Grand National A-main triumph and Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier rolled to his initial A-main win of the 2020 campaign in the time limit-shortened 22-lap B Mod A main.

Polesitter Brandon Berth of Cascade of grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, while 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth worked the low groove to pass outside front row starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum for second on lap 2.

Berth held a sold cushion over Miller before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Waldo’s Chris Clayton spun in turn three. On the restart, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started fourth, used the high groove to challenge the low-riding Miller for second on lap 6.

One lap later, Tim Haddy of Waupun spun in turn two to bring out the second and final caution flag of the race. When the race resumed, Schmidt again worked the high groove to pass Miller for second on lap 7, while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started fifth, also pounded the high line to move into third on lap 8.

By lap 12, Berth had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Schmidt. Two laps later, 11^th starter Travis Arenz used the preferred low line to work underneath Miller into third before quickly setting his sights on the leaders.

Berth began to encounter slower traffic on lap 16, which allowed Schmidt and Arenz to close the gap significantly. On lap 18, Arenz dove under Schmidt for second before using another low move in turn one on lap 19 to wrestle the lead away from Berth in heavy lapped traffic.

Arenz then pulled away over the final six laps to secure his second career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and eighth career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win by a half-straightaway margin.

After the race, Arenz was penalized for passing below the infield track tires, which resulted in the loss of points and pay. Despite the penalty, Arenz was still credited with the victory.

“I was told by an MSA/PDTR official that I was the race winner, but I am getting third-place pay and points because I advanced a spot earlier in the race with the left front over the tires,” Arenz said. “The reason they gave me the win was because there were a lot of other cars passing below the tires tonight and not just me. It’s not how I want to win. I really wish we had a two-lane track like last week. Unfortunately, the bottom was so fast, it made it difficult to pass.”

Berth came home second to record a career-best 360 Sprint Car A main showing, Schmidt finished third, Miller wound up fourth and 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh worked his way up from the 10^th starting spot to round out the top five.

In his first appearance of the year at the Plymouth Dirt Track, polesitter Tony Peterson of Mukwonago seized the lead on the opening lap, while outside front row starter Brad Mueller slipped into second.

The lone caution of the race appeared on lap 2 when Eric Michaels of Cleveland spun to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Mueller began to reel in Peterson along the low line, while 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha, who started fifth, worked the high groove to secure third on lap 6. After Mueller, Peterson and McGrath went into turn four on lap 6 three wide for the lead, Mueller emerged as the race leader in turn on lap 7 with McGrath sliding into second.

On lap 9, Mark Rose of Dorchester, who started eighth, passed Peterson to assume third. As McGrath continued to stick primarily to the high grove in an attempt to track down the low-riding Mueller, the leaders hit slower traffic starting on lap 19.

With lapped cars racing in the preferred low groove, Mueller had to slow his pace a bit, which allowed McGrath to close in the final five laps. However, Mueller held off McGrath’s advances by three car lengths to secure his 21^st career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.

McGrath had to settle for second, Rose placed third, fourth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee finished fourth and New London’s Justin Ritchie charged from his 16^th starting spot to place fifth.

Outside front row starter Aaron Stolp outpowered 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started on the pole, to pace the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National main event.

On lap 3, the first of three caution flags appeared when Steven Weber of Plymouth and defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth spun in turn two.

On the restart, third starter Derek Kaat of Plymouth, two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fifth, and eighth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg dueled three wide in turn three on lap 4 for third with Scholten taking over the third spot.

Two laps later, the second caution appeared when Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake stopped along the frontstretch. On the restart, Scholten when high to seize second on lap 7. Three laps later, Sorce Jr. maneuvered past Yancey to gain third in the running order.

With Stolp in clear command at the front of the field, Sorce Jr. closed on Scholten over the final 10 laps, but he could not pull off the pass.

Stolp went on to secure his second career and second consecutive PDTR Grand National A main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Scholten. Sorce Jr. was third, Yancy placed fourth and Kaat completed the top five.

Polesitter Steve Lorier outpowered outside front row starter Jason Schilling of Greenfield to lead the opening lap of the B Mod A main before fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton seized second on lap 2.

The first of six caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two. Two laps later a red flag appeared when Rory Welch of Grafton, Jesse Jakubowski of Sheboygan Falls, James Rautmann of Howards Grove and David McCutcheon made hard contact near the backstretch wall.

On the restart, Cullen and Schilling waged a heated duel for second before the third caution period on lap 7 when Patrick Hansen of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn three. When the race resumed, sixth starter Elijah Koenig of Beaver Dam made his presence felt as he moved in third on lap 7 and then advanced to second in turn two on lap 8.

One lap later, Koenig was quickly closing on Lorier for the lead, while defending PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Fond du Lac worked up from his fifth starting spot into third on lap 9.

The fourth caution flag appeared on lap 10 when Patrick Hanson spun again in turn four. Following the restart, Warner and Koenig waged a torrid battle for second, which culminated with Koenig seizing control on the runner-up spot on lap 13.

The fifth caution flag was presented on lap 16 when Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four. On the restart, Koenig charged in to pressure Lorier for the top spot along the low line. Koenig pulled alongside Lorier for the lead on lap 22 when the sixth caution was displayed for a three-car incident in turn two, which brought the race to an end due to the 25-minute per A-main race time limit.

Lorier secured his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory with Koenig finishing second and Warner in third. Schilling ended the race in fourth, but was disqualified after failing to meet the minimum weight requirement following the race. Rookie Trevor Frank of Sheboygan, who started third, earned a career-best fourth-place finish and Cullen rounded out the top five.

Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake won the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The fifth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by Hopf Farms, drew a total of 86 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models, 15 Grand Nationals and 23 B Mods.

This week will feature two events in three days at The Plymouth Dirt Track as the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions joins with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series for the second annual Rayce Rudeen Foundation event on Thursday, July 30 and the regular PDTR program presented by Pedal Down Promotions is set to take place two nights later on Saturday, Aug. 1.

The July 30 event, which was rescheduled from May 26, will feature the highest-paying Winged 410 Sprint Car race in Wisconsin history as a cool $26,000 will go to the winner. The large purse is expected to attract a stellar field featuring many of the country’s top Sprint Car drivers.

Last season Australian standout James McFadden captured the victory aboard retired NASCAR star Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 machine in the first All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car A-main at the Plymouth facility since 1995. The July 30 all-Sprint Car event will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Among the drivers expected to compete are retired All Star Series owner and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ohio, who won last year’s Rayce Rudeen event at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa as well as an IRA event at The Plymouth Dirt Track last Aug. 31, two-time defending All Star Series point champ Aaron Reutzel of Clute, Texas, two-time All Star Series champion Greg Wilson of Benton Ridge, Ohio and nine-time IRA champ Bill Balog of Hartland, along with All Star and IRA series regulars Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif., Jeb Wise of Angola, Ind., Paul McMahan of Nashville, Tenn., two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, former IRA champ Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam, former IRA champ Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. and Russel Borland of Kewaskum.

Grandstand gates are scheduled to open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and qualifying and racing to follow.

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will be in action on Saturday, Aug. 1 with trophies sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

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

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Travis Arenz 4, Mike Decker 5, Preston Ruh 6, Scott Conger 7, Bill Taylor 8, Nich Melis.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Anthony Knierim 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Chris Clayton 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Scott Armstrong 8, Blake Wondra

HEAT 3

1, Brandon Berth 2, Tyler Davis 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Tim Haddy 5, Doug Wondra 6, Justin Erickson 7, Nick Daywalt 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 4

1, Kurt Davis 2, Adam Miller 3, Davey Ray 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Josh Teunissen (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Preston Ruh 2, Justin Erickson 3, Nick Daywalt 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tony Wondra 6, Bill Taylor 7, Doug Wondra 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Blake Wondra 10, Scott Armstrong 11, Mike Decker 12, Scott Conger 13, Austin Hartmann 14, Nich Melis (DNS) 15, Josh Teunissen (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon Berth 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Justin Miller 5, Brandon McMullen 6, Kurt Davis 7, Justin Erickson 8, Tyler Davis 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Will Gerrits 11, Anthony Knierim 12, Davey Ray 13, Nick Daywalt 14, Tyler Tischendorf 15, Kevin Karnitz 16, Tony Wondra 17, Christ Clayton 18, Tim Haddy 19, Bill Taylor 20, Preston Ruh 21, Adam Miller 22, Shane Wenninger.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Eric Michaels 4, Ted Dolhun Sr. 5, Sawyer Specht 6, Charlie Schmidt 7, Billy Rezutek 8, Justin Ritchie 9, Joe Bongiorno.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Brad Mueller 3, Tony Peterson 4, Mark Rose 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Kevin Baldry 8, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Brad Mueller 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Mark Rose 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Charlie Schmidt, 9, Tim Buhler 10, Joe Bongiorno 11, Ted Dolhun Sr. 12, Kevin Baldry 13, Billy Rezutek 14, Tony Peterson 15, Eric Michaels 16, Sawyer Specht 17, Chad Ludwigson.

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Steven Weber 4, Derek Kaat 5, Brett Wenzel 6, Paul Perronne 7, Eric Lingford 8, Brad Weiss.

HEAT 2

1, Donny Kulow 2, Dick Hed 3, Aaron Stolp 4, Matt Yancey 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Jeff Muehlbauer 7, Ross Rate.

A MAIN

1, Aaron Stolp 2, Luke Scholten 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Matt Yancey 5, Derek Kaat 6, Dick Hed 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Brett Wenzel 10, Brad Weiss 11, Eric Lingford 12, Paul Perronne 13, Ross Rate 14, Jeff Muehlbauer 15, Tyler Kulow.

CELLCOM B MODS

HEAT 1

1, Steve Lorier 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Tim Thrun 4, Justin Bauer 5, Craig Gessner 6, Andy Welter 7, Jesse Jakubowski 8, Travis Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, James Rautmann 3, Barry Maas 4, Spencer Long 5, Gary Glander 6, Jim Fischer 7, Rory Welch 8, David McCutcheon.

HEAT 3

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Jason Schilling 3, Trevor Frank 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Phil Campanella 6, Andy Singer 7, Jonathan Hitsman.

A MAIN

1, Steve Lorier 2, Elijah Koenig 3, Tim Warner 4, Trevor Frank 5, Jesse Cullen, 6, Justin Bauer 7, Jonathan Hitsman 8, Tim Thrun 9, Andy Welter 10, Spencer Long 11, Rory Welch 12, David McCutcheon 13, Craig Gessner 14, Andy Singer 15, Gary Glander 16, Jim Fischer 17, Phil Campanella 18, Barry Maas 19, Patrick Hanson 20, James Rautmann 21, Jesse Jakubowski 22, Travis Schmidt (DNS), 23, Jason Schilling (DQ).

McMullen, Stear claim A-main victories

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 18, 2020 – Nine-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland showcased his considerable skill behind the wheel of a 410 Winged Sprint Car by outmaneuvering Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel in a heart-pumping, back-and-forth battle over the final five circuits on the way to his third IRA A-main victory of the 2020 season in the 30-lap headliner Saturday, July 18 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Former PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh captured his third A-main victory of the 2020 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car main event, while Ion Stear of Hebron, Ill. notched a wire-to-wire victory in the 20-lap Interstate Racing Association Lightning Sprints A main.

In the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car Series headliner, Balog grabbed the lead on the opening lap from the pole position, while Thiel, who started on the outside of the front row, settled into second.

Balog built up a solid half-straightaway lead in the early going before the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 8, which allowed Thiel to close the gap drastically.

On lap 11, Balog found himself boxed in behind a pair of slower cars along the inside groove, which allowed Thiel to use the outside line of the well-prepared, multi-groove track surface to power into the lead in turn one on lap 12.

Once out front, Thiel pulled away to a full straightaway cushion over Balog until the first of five caution flags was displayed for a spin in turn two involving IRA rookie Jack Routson of Waterman, Ill. on lap 17. Three laps later, Routson spun again in turn four right in front of Thiel, who had to take evasive action to avoid getting collected.

Thiel again bolted away to a big lead on the ensuing restart and had built up another full straightaway advantage over Balog when a red flag was displayed when Matt Vandevere of Zion, Ill. flipped in turn two on lap 25.

On the restart, Thiel again held the advantage over Balog, while two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, who started third, moved low to duel with USAC Sprint Car standout Chase Stockon of Fort Branch, Ind., who started fifth, for third.

The fourth caution period came on lap 26 when Scott Biertzer of West Bend stopped in turn two. Balog pulled off what proved to be the winning move on the restart has he ripped off a well-executed slide job in turn two to wrestle the lead away from Thiel, who battled back in turn four to briefly regain the top spot. However, Balog charged back in turn two on the following lap to take the lead for good.

The final caution flag appeared on lap 27 when Todd Daun of Pleasant Prairie spun in turn two. Thiel tried to execute a slide job of his own in turn two on the ensuing restart. However, Balog held strong along the high groove to maintain the top spot.

Thiel was not done yet as he utilized the low line on the final circuit to nearly pull even with Balog in turn four. However, Balog held on to nip Thiel at the finish line by one car length en route to his 116^th career IRA A-main victory.

“I got stuck in the middle there with the lapped cars twice and got boxed in,” Balog said. “He [Thiel] was able to get around and then he set out on a pretty good pace to build up a big lead. I didn’t think we would get him, honestly. We were just a little too tight for most of the race.

“On that restart, I just pulled the wing back and slid him in turn two and it worked out,” he said. “On the last lap, I actually saw his front wheel coming out of turn four and that was pretty intense. It was a great race. Those kind of races are what we are here to do.”

Despite leading much of the race, Thiel had to settle for second.

“That was probably the most fun I’ve had racing with Bill,” Thiel said. “We really pushed each other to the limits. On that second to last caution, I think he timed out what I had been doing on the previous restarts and pulled off that slider to get the lead. I tried fighting back and continued to push hard, but I also wanted to race clean. We just have to improve a little bit to get one spot better and beat the 17B next time.”

Stockon, who is a non-wing regular on the USAC National Sprint Car tour, turned a solid third-place showing in his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This a first-time experience for me here at this track,” Stockon said. “We had a good race car tonight. I’m not that used to running with wings and these guys race hard and clean. It was a fun 30 laps.”

Neitzel placed fourth and former IRA champion Jeremy Schultz placed fifth after starting seventh.

In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, polesitter Tim Haddy of Waupun took the lead on the opening lap with outside front row starter Scott Conger of Eagle slipping into second with fourth starter Brandon McMullen third.

On lap 4, McMullen used the high line to power around Conger into second. Haddy began to encounter slower traffic on lap 10, which allowed McMullen to reel in Haddy considerably.

Three laps later, McMullen dove low to slip underneath the high-riding Haddy for the lead in turn two. The three-time Midwest Sprint Car Association champion wasted no time in building up a solid lead along the middle to low grooves.

Haddy remained within striking distance in the second half of the race and drew within two car lengths of McMullen on the final circuit. However, McMullen held on to secure his 18^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 26^th career MSA main event triumph to move into sole possession of third place on the all-time MSA win list and fourth on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win list in the caution-free, non-stop race.

“Tim was really good in clean air early in the race, but I could tell when we got to the lapped cars that with the air getting taken off the wing, he was getting a little tight,” McMullen said. “I tried to work the middle and through the bottom and it worked out for us tonight.”

Haddy finished second, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started seventh, placed third, third starter Anthony Knierim of Franksville placed fourth and Conger rounded out the top five.

In the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A main, Ion Stear took the lead on the drop of the green flag from the pole. Starting on lap 6, Stear worked skillfully through lapped traffic to extend his lead.

The first of two red flags appeared on lap 11 when Andrew Kiedrowski of Union Grove flipped in turn one. Following the restart, Mark Heinert of Oak Creek, who started second, moved in to pressure Stear, while fifth starter Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. worked his way into third on lap 15.

On lap 18, Heinert brought out another red flag when he flipped following contact with a slower car in turn two. Following a green-white-checkered flag restart, Stear held strong to secure the victory.

“The car felt real good throughout the race,” Stear said. “This place usually gets dry slick, but it was a really good racing surface tonight.”

Petska placed second, C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill. finished third after starting sixth, defending IRA Lightning Sprints champ Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie finished fourth after starting third and Jeff Schmidt of Slinger placed fifth after starting fourth.

Sean Rayhall of Woodstock, Ga. earn the fast qualifier award in IRA 410 Sprint Car Series time trails with a lap of 12.146 seconds. Balog and Thiel won the two IRA four-lap dashes to earn front row starting spots in the A main.

The all-Sprint Car program attracted a total field of 75 cars, including 23 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 36 PDTR/MSA 360 Sprint Cars and 16 IRA Lightning Sprints.

Next Saturday, July 25 The Plymouth Dirt Track will host its 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 to begin at 6 p.m.

BUMPER TO BUMPER IRA 410 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Sean Rayhall 12.146 2, Scotty Thiel 12.152 3, Joey Moughan 12.193 4, Bill Balog 12.267 5, Chase Stockon 12.273 6, Todd King 12.273 7, Jake Blackhurst 12.292 8, Jeremy Schultz 12.465 9, Jordan Goldesberry 12.511 10, Dave Uttech 12.664 11, Russel Borland 12.734 12, Scotty Neitzel 12.748 13, Scott Biertzer 12.811 14, Matt Vandevere 12.819 15, Jack Routson 12.839 16, Robbie Pribnow 12.927 17, Kris Spitz 13.065 18, Wayne Modjeski 13.072 19, Todd Daun 13.076 20, Josh Walter 13.118 21, Johnny Fahl 13.248 22, Chris Larson 13.742 23, Hunter Custer 15.537.

HEAT 1

1, Jake Blackhurst 2, Bill Balog 3, Dave Uttech 4, Robbie Pribnow 5, Scott Biertzer 6, Sean Rayhall 7, Todd Daun 8, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Chase Stockon 3, Jeremy Schultz 4, Russel Borland 5, Matt Vandevere 6, Kris Spitz 7, Josh Walter 8, Hunter Custer.

HEAT 3

1, Scotty Neitzel 2, Jordan Goldesberry 3, Joey Moughan 4, Jack Routson 5, Todd King 6, Wayne Modjeski 7, Johnny Fahl 8,

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Scotty Neitzel 3, Chase Stockton 4, Jeremy Schultz 5, Jake Blackhurst.

DASH 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Jordan Goldesberry 3, Sean Rayhall 4, Todd King 5, Joey Moughan.

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Chase Stockon 4, Scotty Neitzel 5, Jeremy Schultz 6, Joey Moughan 7, Jordan Goldesberry 8, Jake Blackhurst 9, Todd King 10, Dave Uttech 11, Robbie Pribnow 12, Kris Spitz 13, Wayne Modjeski 14, Johnny Fahl 15, Chris Larson 16, Todd Daun 17, Scott Biertzer 18, Matt Vandevere 19, Hunter Custer 20, Josh Walter 21, Jack Routson 22, Sean Rayhall 23, Russel Borland.

KRISTINE HARTMANN REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Justin Erickson 3, Matt Vandevere 4, Justin Miller 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Nick Daywalt 7, Blake Wondra 8, Preston Ruh 9, Scott Armstrong.

HEAT 2

1, Will Gerrits 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Tony Wondra 5, Scotty Neitzel 6, Bill Taylor 7, Mike Decker 8, Austin Hartmann 9, Adam Miller.

HEAT 3

1, Scott Conger 2, Anthony Knierim 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Brandon Berth 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Nich Melis 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Tyler Davis 9, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 4

1, Travis Arenz 2, Tim Haddy 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Chris Clayton 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Kurt Davis 8, Ken Schmick 9, Doug Wondra.

B MAIN 1

1, Brandon Berth 2, Tyler Tischendorf 3, Preston Ruh 4, Blake Wondra 5, Mike Decker 6, Kevin Seidler 7, Austin Hartmann 8, Doug Wondra 9, Ken Schmick 10, Josh Teunissen (DNS).

B MAIN 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Chris Clayton 4, Tyler Davis 5, Bill Taylor 6, Nich Melis 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Scott Armstrong 10, Adam Miller (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Tim Haddy 3, Travis Arenz 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Scott Conger 6, Justin Miller 7, Will Gerrits 8, Ben Schmidt 9, Justin Erickson 10, Kurt Davis 11, Shane Wenninger 12, Scotty Neitzel 13, Lance Fassbender 14, Tony Wondra 15, Tyler Tischendorf 16, Kevin Karnitz 17, Matt Vandevere 18, Brandon Berth 19, Jack Vanderboom 20, Nick Daywalt 21, Chris Clayton 22, Preston Ruh.

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

HEAT 1

1, Ion Stear 2, Mark Heinert 3, C.J. Maleug 4, Jeff Schmidt 5, Shawn McGill 6, Bob Jeziorski 7, Max Brannam

HEAT 2

1, Josh Rehberg 2, Nick Petska 3, Mike Neau 4, Andrew Kiedrowski 5, Kevin Fredericksen 6, Phil Brannam 7, Ron Curasi 8, John Kirk

A MAIN

1, Ion Stear 2, Nick Petska 3, C.J. Malueg 4, Mike Neau 5, Jeff Schmidt 6, Kevin Fredericksen 7, Josh Rehberg 8, Bob Jeriorski 9, Shawn McGill 10, Phil Brannam 11, Max Brannam 12, Ron Curasi 13, Mark Heinert 14, John Kirk 15, Andrew Kiedrowski 16, Ron Brannam.

Stolp, Warner score PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 11, 2020 – Two-time and defending Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model series champion Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. ran his winnings streak at The Plymouth Dirt Track to three straight as he scored a convincing victory in the 50-lap main event at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 11.

The third appearance of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series at the Plymouth third-mile clay oval drew a strong field of 39 competitors, but its was Sheppard who stood tall above the competition by earning his 35^th career series fast qualifier award, winning the first 10-lap heat race and steering his Valvoline-sponsored blue No. 1 machine to his eighth A-main victory of the 2020 season and 63^rd career main event triumph in World of Outlaws Series competition.

Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee led flag to flag en route to his front career 25-lap PDTR Klips & Tips Grand National A main victory, while defending PDTR Cellcom B Mod track champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac came from his dead last starting spot to capture the victory in the 25-lap B Mod A main.

Outside front row starter Cade Dillard of Robeline, La. outpowered polesitter Jimmy Mars of Menomonie to seize the lead in turn four of the opening lap, while Sheppard, who started fourth, dove low on lap two to pressure the high-riding Dillard for the top spot in turn two.

By lap 5, the leaders were already approaching lapped traffic, which required Dillard and Sheppard to explore alternative racing lines to maintain their positions. In heavy lapped traffic, Sheppard pulled event with Dillard on lap 11 and the two World of Outlaws Series standouts dueled side by side over the next lap before the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 12 when Dennis Erb Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. slowed along the frontstrech with a flat tire.

Under caution, Dillard relinquished the lead to Sheppard when he pulled into the pits to change a flat left front tire, he suffered after contact with the lapped car of Brent Larson of Lake Elmo, Minn.

On the restart, Sheppard pulled away along the preferred outside groove, while 2004 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., who started seventh, moved up to fourth and 16^th starter Ashton Winger of Hampton, Ga. advanced into fifth on lap 12.

On lap 17, Sheppard hit slower traffic again, which allowed Mars to cut the gap substantially. Mars had pulled within striking distance when the second caution flag appeared on lap 30 after Jason Rauen of Farley, Iowa slowed along the frontstretch.

With Sheppard firmly in control out front, Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., who started sixth, hit his stride on the restart to rocket past Bloomquist and eighth starter Ricky Weiss of Headingly, Manitoba, Canada into third with a daring slide job in turn three on lap 33.

Junghans quickly moved in two challenge Mars for second lap 40, while New London’s Justin Ritchie, who started 10th, worked the low groove to perfection to move into fifth on lap 41 before advancing to fourth two laps later and finally into third by slipping underneath the cushion-pounding Junghans on lap 48.

At the head of the pack, it was all Sheppard has he expertly sliced his way through lapped traffic to secure his third consecutive World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory and series leading 10^th career win in the state of Wisconsin by a full straightway margin.

“Our car is so consistent right now,” Sheppard said. “I can run it really anywhere on the race track and feel confident about it right now. The guys work so hard to give me a great car. It is really a pleasure to drive and a thrill to race in front of great race fans on a nice track like this.”

Mars held on to place second to lead a healthy contingent of Wisconsin drivers, who fared well against the World of Outlaws touring pros.

“It was a good night for the local guys with myself in second and Justin Ritchie also doing very well,” Mars said. “It is neat to see the locals doing well when the Outlaws come to town. Brandon was obviously real good the whole race and he was really hard to keep up with once he got out front.”

Ritchie, who is a regular competitor in the PDTR Late Model division, finished third, but was penalized three spots by World of Outlaws officials following a quarter panel height check in post-race inspection, which moved him back to sixth in the official running order. The result was still Ritchie’s best career finish in World of Outlaws Late Model Series competition.

Junghans was credited with third, followed by Weiss in fourth and Bloomquist in fifth.

In the 25-lap, Grand National A main, Aaron Stolp outside his outside front row starting spot to get the jump on polesitter Dave Holm of Cascade and take the lead in turn two of the opening lap.

Action quickly got heated behind Stolp as Holm third starter Dick Hed of Plymouth and fourth starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake went three wide into turn three on the opening circuit with Hed prevailing to secure second.

By lap 5, Stolp had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Hed. The first of two caution flags of the race was displayed on lap 10 for a spin involving Derek Kaat of Plymouth in turn two.

Two laps later, another caution flag flew when Paul Perronne of Plymouth, Seth Westimayer and The Who Racing No. 4 car collided in turn four.

On the restart, again Stolp showed his strength as he pulled away to a comfortable full straightaway advantage over the second half of the race to notch his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Hed was second, fifth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg finished third, Muehlbauer was fourth and sixth starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake placed fifth.

After an aborted start for a spin involved David McCutcheon on the opening lap, outside front row starter Steve Lorier of Sheboygan led the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main while polesitter Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan slide into second on the opening circuit.

On lap 3, third starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls moved in to take second with 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started fifth, taking third.

Glander was closing on Lorier when the second caution was displayed on lap 6 for Rory Welch of Grafton, who spun in turn two. On the restart, Sheppard ventured to the outside groove to pass Lorier for second, while seventh starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton charged into challenge Lorier for the top spot along the low line. On lap 8, Cullen grabbed the lead along the extreme inside lane.

After a caution for debris on lap 14, Sheppard powered under Cullen to assume the top spot in turn four as Warner, who started 20^th, followed Cullen’s tire tracks into second.

On the restart, Warner showed his strength by extending the lead while Lorier and Aaron Butterbrodt of Milwaukee, who started 10^th, moved in to duel with Lorier for second on lap 16.

The fifth and final caution was displayed on lap 18 when Baumann spun in turn one. Lorier secured second from Butterbrodt on the restart. Meanwhile, Warner extended his advantage in the closing laps to secure his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

“I’m really proud of my team,” Warner said. “I have to thank Jeff Steenbergen of Ultimate Race Cars for the great car that his really run to drive. The track was pretty racey tonight. I just picked my spots and tried to do my best.”

Lorier finished second, Butterbrodt was third, seventh starter Brian Wieland of Sheboygan placed fourth and Barry Maas of Cascade, who started ninth, finished fifth.

World of Outlaws last chance qualifier race winners were Brent Larson and two-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland.

A total of 78 cars checked into the pit area in three divisions, including 39 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Series cars, 19 Grand Nationals and 20 B mods.

Next Saturday, July 18 The Plymouth Dirt Track will host the first of four scheduled Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series events of the 2020 season, along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and IRA Lightning Sprints.

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

 

MORTON BUILDINGS WORD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES

Date of the Race

July 11, 2020

A-Main

1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [4][$10,000]; 2. 28m-Jimmy Mars [1][$5,000]; 3. 18-Chase Junghans [6][$3,000]; 4. 7-Ricky Weiss [8][$2,500]; 5. 0-Scott Bloomquist [7][$2,000]; 6. 70-Justin Ritchie [10][$1,700]; 7. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [9][$1,400]; 8. 12-Ashton Winger [16][$1,300]; 9. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [13][$1,200]; 10. 20-Rodney Sanders [12][$1,100]; 11. 99b-Boom Briggs [11][$1,050]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard [2][$1,000]; 13. 97s-Justin Schmidt [18][$950]; 14. 11-Justin Reed [21][$900]; 15. B1-Brent Larson [17][$850]; 16. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [5][$800]; 17. D1-Turk Letizia [20][$770]; 18. 49-Jake Timm [15][$750]; 19. 74-Mitch McGrath [3][$730]; 20. 98-Jason Rauen [14][$700]; 21. 79-Jim Schmidt [22][$700]; 22. 1m-Mike Mataragas [19][$700]; 23. 89-Brad Mueller [23][$700]; 24. 54-Kevin Baldry [24][$700]. Lap Leader(s):Dillard 1-11; Sheppard 12-50. Hard Charger Award:12-Ashton Winger [+8]

Qualifying Flight A

1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.412; 2. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.447; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss, 14.462; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr., 14.48; 5. 10s-Taylor Scheffler, 14.527; 6. 99b-Boom Briggs, 14.605; 7. 29v-Darrell Lanigan, 14.751; 8. 49-Jake Timm, 14.836; 9. B1-Brent Larson, 14.955; 10. 1m-Mike Mataragas, 14.972; 11. 89-Brad Mueller, 15.021; 12. 10-Paul Parker, 15.052; 13. 11-Justin Reed, 15.185; 14. 6m-Jeff Massingill, 15.23; 15. 3m-Dale Markham, 15.402; 16. 7B-Tim Buhler, 15.417; 17. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 15.657; 18. 16-Zack Kessler, 15.799; 19. 4b-Glen Blanke, 16.317; 20. 55-Donny Singer, 16.398

Qualifying Flight B

1. 98-Jason Rauen, 14.723; 2. 20-Rodney Sanders, 14.723; 3. 97s-Justin Schmidt, 14.725; 4. 18-Chase Junghans, 14.804; 5. 74-Mitch McGrath, 14.819; 6. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 14.839; 7. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.951; 8. 79-Jim Schmidt, 14.995; 9. 0-Scott Bloomquist, 15.221; 10. 3-Brett Swedberg, 15.297; 11. 15-Nick Anvelink, 15.316; 12. D1-Turk Letizia, 15.368; 13. 25-Jared Siefert, 15.372; 14. 12-Ashton Winger, 15.387; 15. 19-Dustin Sorenson, 15.908; 16. 27-Derek Janke, 15.908; 17. D7-Jim Letizia, 16.047; 18. 33s-Ron Stroika, 16.436; 19. 54-Kevin Baldry, 16.549

Drydene Heat 1 Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [2]; 3. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 4. 29v-Darrell Lanigan [4]; 5. B1-Brent Larson [5]; 6. 89-Brad Mueller [6]; 7. 11-Justin Reed [7]; 8. 22-Charlie Schmidt [9]; 9. 3m-Dale Markham [8]; 10. 4b-Glen Blanke [10]

Drydene Heat 2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 97-Cade Dillard [1]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [2]; 3. 99b-Boom Briggs [3]; 4. 49-Jake Timm [4]; 5. 1m-Mike Mataragas [5]; 6. 6m-Jeff Massingill [7]; 7. 10-Paul Parker [6]; 8. 16-Zack Kessler [9]; 9. 55-Donny Singer [10]; 10. 7B-Tim Buhler [8]

Drydene Heat 3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 74-Mitch McGrath [3]; 2. 0-Scott Bloomquist [5]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [4]; 4. 98-Jason Rauen [1]; 5. 97s-Justin Schmidt [2]; 6. 25-Jared Siefert [7]; 7. 15-Nick Anvelink [6]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [10]; 9. D7-Jim Letizia [9]; 10. 19-Dustin Sorenson [8]

Drydene Heat 4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 28m-Jimmy Mars [3]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [2]; 3. 20-Rodney Sanders [1]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger [7]; 5. 3-Brett Swedberg [5]; 6. D1-Turk Letizia [6]; 7. 27-Derek Janke [8]; 8. 79-Jim Schmidt [4]; 9. 33s-Ron Stroika [9]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer

1. B1-Brent Larson [1][-]; 2. 1m-Mike Mataragas [2][-]; 3. 11-Justin Reed [5][-]; 4. 89-Brad Mueller [3][]; 5. 6m-Jeff Massingill [4][$110]; 6. 22-Charlie Schmidt [7][$110]; 7. 10-Paul Parker [6][$110]; 8. 7B-Tim Buhler [12][$110]; 9. 3m-Dale Markham [9][$110]; 10. 4b-Glen Blanke [11][$110]; 11. 16-Zack Kessler [8][$110]; 12. 55-Donny Singer [10]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer

1. 97s-Justin Schmidt [1][-]; 2. D1-Turk Letizia [4][-]; 3. 79-Jim Schmidt [8][-]; 4. 54-Kevin Baldry [7][]; 5. 19-Dustin Sorenson [11][$110]; 6. 15-Nick Anvelink [5][$110]; 7. 33s-Ron Stroika [10][$110]; 8. D7-Jim Letizia [9][$110]; 9. 27-Derek Janke [6][$110]; 10. 3-Brett Swedberg [2][$110]; 11. 25-Jared Siefert [3][$110]

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Steven Weber 2, Luke Scholten 3, Dylan Struve 4, Dave Holm 5, Bruce Troesch 6, Brad Weiss 7, Seth Westimayer,

HEAT 2

1, Donny Kulow 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Dick Hed 4, Will Sorce 5, Who Racing 6, Paul Perronne.

HEAT 3

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Aaron Stolp 4, Derek Kaat 5, Matt Loehr 6, Jim Rohrbeck.

A MAIN

1, Aaron Stolp 2, Dick Hed 3, Luke Scholten 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Donny Kulow 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Steven Weber 8, Don Sorce Jr. 9, Will Sorce 10, Matt Loehr 11, Dave Holm 12, Dylan Struve 13, Who Racing 14, Derek Kaat 15, Brad Weiss 16, Jim Rohrbeck 17, Bruce Troesch 18, Seth Westimayer 19, Paul Perronne.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Justin Bauer 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jonathon Baumann 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Trevor Frank 7, Tim Warner (DQ).

HEAT 2

1, Brian Wieland 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Rory Welch 4, Brendan Ostrowski 5, Phil Campanella 6, Michael Gilson 7, David McCutcheon

HEAT 3

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Gary Glander 3, Barry Maas 4, Aaron Butterbrodt 5, Donny Singer 6, Dakota Cabunac.

A MAIN

1, Tim Warner 2, Steve Lorier 3, Aaron Butterbrodt 4, Brian Wieland 5, Barry Maas 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Donny Singer 8, Rory Welch 9, Tim Sheppard 10, Jonathon Baumann 11, David McCutcheon 12, Michael Gilson 13, Phil Campanella 14, Jesse Cullen 15, Gary Glander 16, Jonathan Hitsman 17, Trevor Frank 18, Patrick Hanson 19, Dakota Cabunac 20, Justin Bauer (DQ).