Schmidt secures second straight Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 17, 2019 – On a night when Plymouth Dirt Track Racing honored both its past champions and its loyal fans, several record-setting performances highlighted a eventful evening of action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth, Wis.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2010 PDTR champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee moved to the top of the track’s all-time 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list by recording his third main event victory of the 2019 season at Plymouth. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland wrapped up his second consecutive PDTR Late Model championship by earning his first Gasroots Project Late Model A-main victory of the season. Cedar Grove’s Jonathan Otte made a rare PDTR appearance pay off by collecting his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main triumph. Regular 360 Sprint Car competitor Travis Arenz of Sheboygan found victory lane in the Cellcom B Mod A-main in a guest driving role in the car normally wheeled by PDTR B Mod point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac.

After lining up on the inside of the second row, Adam Miller of Plymouth powered past rookie polesitter Nick Daywalt of Slinger and outside front row starter Tim Haddy of Waupun to take the lead in turn four of the opening circuit.

On lap 3, Kurt Davis, who started fourth worked the outside line of the tacky and two-groove racing surface to take over second, while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved in from the eighth starting spot to seize third with a low move in turn four on lap 7.

The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 9, which allowed Davis to close in on Miller before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 10 for the slowing car of rookie Jack Vanderboom of Dousman.

On the restart, Davis dove down low to take over the top spot from Miller in turn two on lap 11, while McMullen followed into second on lap 14. One lap later, rookie Brandon Berth of Cascade made his presence felt as he also worked his way past Miller to take over the third position after starting sixth.

On lap 17, Miller spun to a stop in turn two with a driveline failure to bring out the second caution flag of the race.

After another caution on the restart for a spin involving Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum in turn two, Davis showed his strength by bolting away from the field. As the laps wound down, McMullen cut the gap and attempted to mount one final using both the high and low grooves to try to find a way past Davis.

However, Davis fended off McMullen’s challenges to post his record 23^rd career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory to break a tie with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex. It was also Davis’ 60^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory, which also leads the series.

“I wasn’t going to run for points this year, but then we found ourselves leading and it was hard to stop racing,” Davis said in victory lane. “Travis Arenz has been really fast this year and someone needs to step up and give him a run. I have to thank everyone that works on this car all week, every week. This is a great overall team effort.”

McMullen finished second, Berth recorded a PDTR 360 Sprint Car career-best third-place showing, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah, who started ninth, placed fourth and 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth moved up from the 12^th starting spot to finish fifth.

Chad Vetting of Valders led the Late Model A-main on the drop of the green flag from the pole position while Brian Konitzer of Sheboygan, who started second, fell into second with Justin Schmidt, who started fourth, taking third on the opening lap.

On lap 2, Schmidt worked around Konitzer to seize second and quickly set his sights on Vetting for the lead. Schmidt ventured up to the outside lane on lap four two sweep around Vetting in turn two and secure the top spot.

Two laps later, Schmidt had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Vetting and his lead extended to a full straightaway on lap 10 as Schmidt skillfully worked his way through lapped traffic.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 18 for Konitzer’s slowing car. On the restart, ninth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee worked the high groove to power into fourth, while third starter Ron Stroika of Milwaukee and Vetting battled side by side for second on lap 20.

Letizia quickly moved in to make it a three-car duel for second on lap 21 before engaging in a heated back-and-forth duel with Stroika for the runner-up spot over the next two laps.

Just after Letizia gained second for good, the second caution appeared on lap 22 for the stalled car of Kevin Baldry of Omro. The restart yielded the third caution flag when Mark Rose of Dorchester hit the turn one wall hard.

Following the final restart, Schmidt pulled away to earn his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory of the season and 10^th career PDTR Late Model main event win. The victory also gap Schmidt an insurmountable 96-point lead over Buhler heading into the final PDTR Late Model points race of the 2019 season next Friday, Aug. 23.

Letizia was second, Stroika finished third, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed fourth after starting seventh and fifth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

“I’ve been waiting all season for this,” Schmidt said. “It feels good to get a win, which also helps a lot in sealing the track championship.”

Polesitter Jonathan Otte got the jump on the drop of the green flag to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main, followed by second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake and third starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia.

On lap 3, Pierce, Kulow and sixth starter Dan Sorce of West Allis battled three-wide for second with Kulow emerging with the spot followed by Sorce in third before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 for a spin involving J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary in turn two.

Pierce surged into second on lap six along the low groove while sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg used the high line to power into third.

As Otte was setting a blistering pace at the front of the field, plenty of action was going on behind him as Scholten shot around Pierce using the high line on lap 11 to gain second. However, Pierce battled back on lap 13 along the low groove as the two drivers dueled side by side for the spot over the next two laps before Scholten finally secured the position.

On lap 15, Scholten moved in to pressure Otte for the top spot in turn three. Scholten and Otte raced door to door over the next three laps before Otte gradually opened up a sizable gap starting on lap 18.

Meanwhile, PDTR Grand National point leader Tyler Kulow moved in to challenge Pierce for third on lap 19 before the second and final caution appearance on lap 23 for an infield tire, which had been pushed onto the track in turn three.

On the restart, Otte pulled away while Kulow worked around Pierce and moved into duel with Scholten for second before securing the runner-up spot at the finish line.

Otte held on to collect his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Kulow was second, Scholten placed third, Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started 10th, finished fourth and Dan Sorce completed the top five.

“This is my first A-main win at Plymouth, which is the track where I started my racing career,” Otte said. “It is just the third time I’ve raced at Plymouth in the last three years, so maybe I should come back a little more often. I saw Luke [Scholten] there and I have a lot of respect for him. He raced with my dad. When I saw him, I knew I had to give it a little more.”

After starting on the pole, Travis Arenz grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the B Mod A main as 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started third, moved into second.

On lap 8, Sheppard closed in on Arenz, who was driving for Tim Warner, as the leaders began to maneuver through lapped traffic. Arenz and Sheppard got bottled up behind a large group of slower cars on lap 12, which allowed fourth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls to pass Sheppard and seize second in turn four on lap 13.

Once he cleared the lapped traffic, Arenz opened up a half-straightaway cushion over Glander on lap 19. However, lapped traffic again played a role at the end as Glander made a huge run on the final lap as Arenz was held up behind a slew of slower cars.

On the white-flag lap, Glander went hard into turn three and made contact with Arenz, which caused Glander to spin into the infield. Glander eventually recovered to finish eighth, while Arenz continued to the checkered flag unscathed.

Arenz went on to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-free race and shatter the previous B Mod A-main track record by 20 seconds. Sheppard finished second, fifth starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo placed third, Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth after starting eighth and Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls, who started second, placed fifth.

Darrin Allard won the main event for the visiting Vintage Modifieds.

Travis Arenz won the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B Main and Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford won the PDTR B Mod B Main.

A total of 102 cars were on hand, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 20 Late Models, 17 Grand Nationals and nine Vintage Modifieds.

The racing program, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Show Cattle, also featured past champions night, autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms and kids’ backpack night sponsored by Cupcake Wonders.

The next PDTR racing program will take place this Friday, Aug. 23 with hot laps scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and racing slated to begin at 6 p.m. It will be the final points race of the season for the PDTR Late Model division.

Four events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 17, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Will Gerrits 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Doug Wondra 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Bill Taylor.

HEAT 2

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Adam Miller 3, Tim Haddy 4, Chris Clayton 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Travis Arenz 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Brandon Berth 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Miller 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Chris Larson.

HEAT 4

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Jim Melis 3, Preston Ruh 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Davis 6, Nich Melis 7, Bake Wondra.

B MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Chris Clayton 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Tyler Tischendorf 8, Doug Wondra 9, Justin Erickson 10, Bill Taylor 11, Tyler Nelson 12, Blake Wondra 13, Chris Larson 14, Nich Melis 15, Lance Fassbender.

A MAIN

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Mark Rose 3, Turk Letizia 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Zack Kessler 6, Jim Juneau 7, David Jaeger (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Chad Vetting 3, Brian Konitzer 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Glen Blanke 6, Paul Parker 7, Justin Ritchie.

HEAT 3

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Ron Stroika 4, Kevin Baldry 5, Eric Michaels 6, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Ron Stroika 4, Tim Buhler 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Brad Mueller 7, Chad Vetting 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Eric Michaels 10, Kevin Baldry 11, Glen Blanke 12, Zack Kesler 13, Donny Singer 14, Jim Juneau 15, Brian Konitzer 16, Joe Bongiorno 17, Paul Parker (DNS) 18, Justin Ritchie (DNS) 19, Dave Jaeger (DNS) 20, Mark Rose (DQ).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Dan Sorce 2, Jason Juech 3, Matt Loehr 4, Josh Pierce 5, Donny Kulow 6, Dave Holm 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Jeff Muehlbauer.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Jonathan Otte 3, Tyler Kulow 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Travis Schmidt 8, Matt Yancey.

A MAIN

1, Jonathan Otte 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Luke Scholten 4, Dick Hed 5, Dan Sorce 6, Josh Pierce 7, Matt Yancey 8, Donny Kulow 9, Matt Loehr 10, Jason Juech 11, Travis Schmidt 12, Jeff Muehlebauer 13, Dave Holm 14, Jacob Muehlbauer 15, Derek Kaat 16, J.J. Pagel 17, Steven Weber (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Barry Maas 3, Travis Arenz 4, Dan Melton 5, Justin Bauer 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Mark Hoeppner 9, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Gary Glander 2, Rick Kretschmann 3, Shane Long 4, Tim Lange 5, Rory Welch 6, Donny Singer 7, Brady Harshbarger 8, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Steve Lorier 3, Brian Wieland 4, James Rautmann 5, Jesse Jakubowski 6, Phil Campanella 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson.

B MAIN

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Brady Harshbarger 5, Donny Singer 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Michael Gilson 9, Christopher Gilson.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Shane Long 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Dan Melton 8, Gary Glander 9, Steve Lorier 10, Jesse Jakubowski 11, Brian Wieland 12, Barry Maas 13, Mark Hoeppner 14, Brandon Knepprath 15, Brady Harshbarger 16, Justin Bauer 17, Rory Welch 18, James Rautmann 19, Phil Campanella 20, Tim Lange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 10, 2019 – As the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season turned down the home stretch, the on-track action remained as hot as ever at The Plymouth Dirt Tack at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 10.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main, veteran Jim Melis of Glenbeulah emerged victorious for the first time at Plymouth in 2019. Justin Ritchie of New London turned in an impressive effort to earn his second 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A-main win of the 2019 season. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth padded his points lead with a wire-to-wire victory in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Travis Schmidt of Waldo drew closer in his quest for his first Cellcom B Mod championship by earning the victory in the 25-lap A main.

The front row of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main featured one of the most experienced drivers in the pit area, 38-year veteran Jim Melis, on the pole and teenage rookie Jack Vanderboon of Dousman on the outside of the front row.

The race got off to a rough start when Josh Teunissen of Waldo spun in turn two on the opening lap, which collected Bill Taylor of Boltonville, Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove and Chris Clayton of Waldo to bring out a red flag. Of the four cars that were involved in the incident, only Clayton was unable to continue in the race after turning his car over on its side.

After a complete restart, Melis and Vanderboom dueled side by side throughout the opening lap before Melis used the high groove to inch ahead of the young rookie to lead the opening lap.

Melis, who notched a Midwest Sprint Car Association victory at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on July 3, continued to ride the cushion in the early stages of the race, while Vanderboom stayed glued to the inside lane to stay within striking distance. On lap 12, Melis began to encounter some heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Vanderboom to close the gap considerably.

On lap 13, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started eighth, moved in to pressure third starter Will Gerrits of Waupun for third. On the next lap, Miller powered past Gerrit into third.

Meanwhile, Vanderboom was giving Melis all he could handle at the front of the field as he pulled in to challenge for the lead on lap 15. One lap later, Vanderboom ducked low to seize the top spot from Melis in turn four. Miller then surged underneath Melis to gain second place and mounted a brief challenge for the lead on lap 16 before the second and final caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 17 when rookie Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee spun exiting turn four.

Following the restart, Melis and Vanderboom continued to wage war for the lead, as Melis pounded the cushion harder and harder each lap before regaining the top spot for good in turn four on lap 21.

Vanderboom refused to back down in the closing laps as he stayed within reach along the low groove. However, Melis was not to be denied as he held off the talented rookie to secure his 17^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 21^st overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph of his career.

Vanderboom posted a career-best runner-up showing, Miller finished third, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh finished fourth after starting 13^th and Gerrits rounded out the top five.

After starting on the pole, 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha emerged from a three-wide duel with 2018 PDTR Late Model champ Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started second, and third starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee to lead the opening circuit of the 25-lap Late Model main event.

Letizia then secured second place along the low groove by powering past Schmidt in turn two on lap two. Three laps later, Justin Ritchie moved in from the fourth starting spot to pressure Schmidt for third.

Schmidt built up some major momentum along the high grove of the slick and racy multi-groove racing surface, to challenge Letizia for second entering turn one on lap 6. However, the two drivers made contact, which resulted in Schmidt falling back to fourth behind Ritchie.

On lap 11, Ritchie used the low line to pressure Letizia for second before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 13 when Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Ritchie ventured up to the high groove and Schmidt ducked low as the two drivers split Letizia with Ritchie seizing second and Schmidt sliding into third heading down the backstretch on lap 14.

Ritchie dug hard along the low grove to take over the top spot from McGrath on lap 15 with Schmidt following into second on lap 18 after a heated side-by-side duel with McGrath, who has been competing as a regular on the Lucas Oil Midwest Latemodel Racing Association (MLRA) tour this year.

Once in front, Ritchie controlled the final laps of the race and he held on to post his second PDTR Late Model A-main victory of the 2019 season and second career main event win at Plymouth.

Schmidt was second, McGrath finished third, Letizia placed fourth and sixth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Grand National A main, Tyler Kulow bolted into the lead on the drop of the green flag followed by second starter Steven Weber of Plymouth and Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started third.

On lap 5, Hed moved up to the high line to challenge the low-riding Weber for second as Kulow had built up a full-straightaway cushion over the field by lap 6. Hed finally wrestled second from Weber with a high move in turn three on lap 10 and then started his search for Kulow, who had extended his advantage to a half lap on lap 12.

Fifth starter Brad Weiss of West Bend then engaged in a side-by-side battle with Weber for third on lap 15 with Weber holding the spot when the only caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 21 when rookie Justin Muehlbauer spun in turn two.

On the restart, Weiss gained third and eighth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary slipped into fourth before Pagel powered past Weiss into third on lap 23.

Meanwhile, it was all Kulow at the front of the field as he went on to post his second PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2019 and seventh career Grand National main event win at Plymouth by a four-car length margin.

Hed finished second, Pagel placed third, Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake, who started seventh, finished fourth and ninth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo used the high groove to move past polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls and take over the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main on the opening lap.

On lap 2, 2019 PDTR B Mod champ Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam rode the high line from his sixth starting spot to take second in turn four. With Schmidt holding a solid cushion over Sheppard, the first of two consecutive caution periods came on lap 7 when Jesse Cullen of Chilton spun in turn four. Another caution flag came out on the ensuing restart attempt when Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two.

When the race returned to green flag action, Sheppard moved in to pressure Schmidt for the top spot on lap 12. By lap 16, current B Mod point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who starter fourth, joined in to make it a three-way battle for the lead.

With the laps winding down and the leaders working through lapped traffic, Sheppard broke out of line along the low groove and attempted to pass Schmidt for the lead using the outside lane. However, after briefly pulling even with Schmidt, a lapped car impeded Sheppard’s progress, which allowed Warner to sneak by into second on lap 23.

Schmidt maintained the top spot over the final two circuits to secure his first PDTR B Mod A-main victory of the 2019 season and his second career main event win in the B Mod division at Plymouth.

Warner placed second, Sheppard was third, Bauer claimed fourth and 11^th starter Barry Maas of Cascade finished fifth.

Anthony Knierim of Franksville won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Randy Theys of Algoma captured the 12-lap PDTR B Mod B main.

The program, which was sponsored by Roger and Dan’s Auto Service, drew a total of 80 cars, including 29 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 16 Late Models and 12 Grand Nationals.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, Aug. 17 with autograph night presented by Hopf Farms highlighting the evening with checkered flags and drawstring bags distributed at the gate. The evening will also feature past champion’s night and kids’ backpack night.

Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

Five events remain on the 2019 PDTR schedule, which concludes on Saturday, Sept. 28.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: August 10, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Jim Melis 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Travis Arenz 6, Brandon Berth 7, Scott Conger 8, Sean Rayhall.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Adam Miller 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Doug Wondra 7, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 3

1, Tyler Brabant 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Chris Clayton 5, Tim Haddy 6, Preston Ruh 7, Tyler Nelson.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Davis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Bill Taylor 6, Blake Wondra 7, Tony Wondra (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Justin Erickson 4, Tim Haddy 5, Bill Taylor 6, Tony Wondra 7, Doug Wondra 8, Scott Conger 9, Brandon Berth 10, Tyler Nelson 11, Blake Wondra 12, Preston Ruh 13, Sean Rayhall.

A MAIN

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Tim Buhler 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Zack Kessler 7, Jim Juneau 8, Chad Ludwigson.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Kevin Baldry 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Glen Blanke 7, Donny Singer 8, Brad Mueller.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Mitch McGrath 4, Turk Letizia 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Brian Konitzer 9, Joe Bongiorno 10, Glen Blanke 11, Jim Juneau 12, Chad Ludwigson 13, Kevin Baldry, 14, Donny Singer 15, Zack Kessler (DNS) 16, Brad Mueller (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Brad Weiss 3, Jason Juech 4, Dick Hed 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Josh Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, J.J. Pagel 3, Donny Kulow 4, Steven Weber 5, Derek Kaat 6, Justin Muehlbauer.

A MAIN

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Dick Hed 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Luke Scholten 6, Brad Weiss 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Derek Kaat 10, Jason Juech 11, Josh Hitsman 12, Justin Muehlbauer.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Sawyer Haese 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Jesse Jakubowski 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Jesse Cullen 6, Tim Lange 7, Donny Singer 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Gary Glander 2, Justin Bauer 3, Travis Schmidt 4, James Rautmann 5, Marcus Hoeppner 6, Randy Theys 7, Rory Welch 8, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Warner 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Steve Lorier 4, Barry Maas 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Phil Campanella 7, Brian Wieland.

B MAIN

1, Randy Theys 2, Patrick Hanson 3, Rory Welch 4, Joshua Mavis 5, Phil Campanella 6, Donny Singer (DNS) 7, Brian Wieland (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Tim Warner 3, Tim Sheppard 4, Justin Bauer 5, Barry Maas 6, Sawyer Haese 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Jesse Cullen 9, Jesse Jakubowski 10, Mark Hoeppner 11, Marcus Hoeppner 12, Gary Glander 13, Randy Theys 14, Rick Kretschmann 15, James Rautmann 16, Tim Lange 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Steve Lorier 19, Joshua Mavis 20, Rory Welch.

 

Scholten, Kemkes score A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 29, 2019 – The hottest Dirt Late model driver in the nation, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., scorched The Plymouth Dirt Track for the second consecutive year as he survived nine caution periods and held off a mid-race challenge from Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan. to secure his 15^th Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-main triumph of the season Monday, July 29 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

The event drew a strong field of 33 World of Outlaws Late Models and a large crowd of spectators for the series’ second appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

In the support divisions, Luke Scholten of Oostburg used a daring three-way pass with three laps to go to secure the 20-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory and Cory Kemkes of Appleton made the most of his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track by claiming the 20-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Three-time World of Outlaws Late Model champion Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky. paced the opening circuit of the 50-lap A main from the pole position before Sheppard, who started fourth, bolted up to the high groove to seize second from outside front row starter Boom Briggs of Bear Lake, Penn. on lap 2.

One lap later, Sheppard powered around Lanigan to take the lead in turn two on lap 3. On lap 4, fifth starter Ricky Weiss of Headingly, Manitoba, Canada used the extreme low groove to challenge Sheppard briefly before the first of nine caution flags was displayed on lap 5 for Briggs, who had stopped in turn two.

After the restart, Sheppard held control of the top spot with Weiss in tow. Just as the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 13, the second caution flag came out on lap 14 when Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, who was scheduled to start third, but lost a tire during a warm-up lap and did not get on the track until the first caution flag on lap 5, stopped in turn two.

Two laps later, the third caution was displayed for Nick Anvelink of Navarino, who spun in turn four on lap 16. Action began to pick up during a 17-lap green-flag run, as Junghans, who started eighth, passed Weiss to gain second on lap 28.

On the next lap, Junghans moved in to challenge Sheppard for the top spot and the two drivers dueled side by side over the next three circuits before Junghans used some heavy lapped traffic to his advantage. With Sheppard boxed in behind two lapped cars running the high and low grooves, Junghans ducked low on lap 32 to seize the lead in turn four and officially lead the 32^nd lap of the race.

However, Sheppard battled back to regain the top spot on the very next lap before the fourth caution appeared when Paul Parker of Kaukauna slowed after contact with Junghans in turn four on lap 33. On the restart, Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. and Justin Ritchie of New London spun after contact in turn three for the fifth caution.

The final 17 laps were plagued by four more caution periods for single-car spins as only 12 of the original 24 starters were still racing in the closing laps.

Sheppard, who captured the 2017 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship, pulled way following the eighth and final caution flag on lap 48 to secure his 52^nd career Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series victory, 15th A-main triumph of the season and second straight win at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This has been a dream season and I’m so lucky to be driving for Mark Richards and this great Rocket Chassis team,” Sheppard said. “I’ve worked a lot of years to get here and I got a great break when Mark first asked me to drive his car in 2012. It is really a unbelievable feeling to drive this thing.

“Things got a bit crazy for a little while and I had to go to the top line to try to work through the lapped traffic,” he said. “I came up to cars that were running the top and the bottom at the same speed, but luckily it worked out in our favor in the end.”

Junghans had to settle for second, Weiss placed third, 2018 and 2019 UMP Summernationals champion Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. came from the seventh starting spot to finish fourth and Dennis Erb. Jr. of Carpentersville, Ill. completed the top five after starting ninth.

Both Junghans and Weiss were pleased with their podium finishes.

“It was a challenge to get around the lapped cars, which helped me to close the gap on Brandon and get the lead very briefly,” Junghans said. “I’m glad that things seem to be going in the right direction for us. We keep getting a little bit better, which is encouraging.”

“We’ve been real good all year with a lot of top-threes and top-fives,” Weiss said. “We’ve been racing really well and I hope we can keep it up. We will just keep digging.”

Justin Pearson of Burnett grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 20-lap Grand National A main from the outside front row starting position before Jason Juech of Plymouth battled back to apply pressure on lap 2. The first of five caution flags appeared later on lap 2 when Dave Holm, Bruce Troesch and Derek Kaat collided in turn three.

After the start, Pearson continued to lead with Juech in second and fourth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moving into third on lap 3. The second caution flag was displayed when Tyler Kulow of Plymouth and 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville got hooked together and stopped in turn four on lap 8.

When green flag action resumed, eighth starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake charged in to pressure Juech for second beginning on lap 12. After three consecutive laps of heated side-by-side action, Juech spun in turn four after apparent contact with Pierce. Both Juech and Pierce were both sent to the rear of the field for causing the caution.

On the restart, sixth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary flexed his muscle to move into second place and mount heavy pressure on Pearson for the lead starting on lap 16. One lap later, Pagel and Pearson collided in turn three, which opened the door for Luke Scholten to charge up from his 13^th starting spot and into the lead with a daring three-wide move entering turn three on lap 17.

One lap later, a five-car caution flag appeared on lap 18 following contact between Pearson and Pagel, along with three other cars. The fifth and final caution flag appeared on lap 18 when Nick Schumacher of Eagle stopped on the frontstretch with an apparent mechanical problem.

Scholten held down the top spot on the final restart to earn his 12^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, which moves him into a tie for second on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main victory list behind Brad Lubach, who leads the way with 24.

Pearson placed second in his PDTR debut, Loehr finished third, Derek Schrauth of Omro wound up fourth after starting 10^th and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake placed fifth after starting ninth.

First-time PDTR competitor Cory Kemkes of Appleton seized the lead of the 20-lap PDTR B Mod A main from the pole. On lap 3, outside front row starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac gained the runner-up spot with fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton settling into third.

The second of three caution flags appeared on lap 6 for a four-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Warner stayed in close contact with Kemkes with Cullen in tow in third and 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started 17^th, and Chris Budzban of Appleton, who started third, dueling for fifth on lap 11.

After the third and final caution was displayed on lap 12 for a single-car spin, Sheppard advanced to fourth and moved in to challenge Cullen for third. Out in front, it was all Kemkes as he fended off Tim Warner to claim his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in his first attempt.

Warner placed second, Cullen wound up third, Sheppard placed fourth and Budzban was fifth.

Brandon Sheppard set a new Late Model track record in Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series qualifying with a circuit of 13.709 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. The World of Outlaws Last Chance Showdown 1 winner was 10-time NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D. and Terry Casey of New London captured the second Last Chance Showdown race.

The evening, which was sponsored by Wisconsin Refrigerated, drew a grand total of 73 cars, including 33 Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model machines, 23 PDTR B Mods and 17 PDTR Grand Nationals.

The next scheduled race at The Plymouth Dirt Track is this Saturday, Aug. 3, featuring autograph night sponsored by Hopf Farms, which will distribute draw string bags and checkered flags to the first 250 kids. It will also be past champions night. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Sheboygan County Fairgrounds

Plymouth, Wis.

July 29, 2019

Morton Buildings Feature (50 Laps) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [4][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [8][$5,000]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss [5][$3,000]; 4. 3s-Brian Shirley [7][$2,500]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [9][$2,000]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard [12][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [6][$1,400]; 8. 942-Terry Casey [18][$1,300]; 9. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,200]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs [2][$1,100]; 11. 89-Brad Mueller [22][$1,050]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [17][$1,000]; 13. 97s-Justin Schmidt [19][$950]; 14. 74-Mitch McGrath [13][$900]; 15. 6-Blake Spencer [23][$850]; 16. 28m-Jimmy Mars [10][$800]; 17. 70-Justin Ritchie [21][$770]; 18. 29-Darrell Lanigan [1][$750]; 19. 11-Justin Reed [15][$730]; 20. 25F-Jason Feger [20][$700]; 21. 10-Paul Parker [24][$700]; 22. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [14][$700]; 23. 15n-Nick Anvelink [16][$700]; 24. 16-Tyler Bruening [3][$700] Hard Charger: 89-Brad Mueller[+11]

Qualifying Flight-A 1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.826; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss, 14.018; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening, 14.123; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 14.201; 5. 97s-Justin Schmidt, 14.223; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 14.286; 7. 18-Chase Junghans, 14.389; 8. 11-Justin Reed, 14.466; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.479; 10. 10-Paul Parker, 14.485; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr., 14.582; 12. 6-Blake Spencer, 14.617; 13. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.732; 14. 79-Jim Schmidt, 14.847; 15. 96-Brian Konitzer, 15.291; 16. 55s-Don Singer, 16.647; 17. 16k-Zack Kessler, NT

Qualifying Flight-B 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 13.709; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 13.71; 3. 10s-Taylor Scheffler, 13.756; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.959; 5. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.053; 6. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.141; 7. 942-Terry Casey, 14.234; 8. 15n-Nick Anvelink, 14.337; 9. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 14.478; 10. 25F-Jason Feger, 14.519; 11. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.527; 12. D1-Turk Letizia, 14.551; 13. 89-Brad Mueller, 14.575; 14. 27-Derek Janke, 14.854; 15. O3-Kyle Raddant, 14.976; 16. 54-Kevin Baldry, NT

Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 16-Tyler Bruening [2]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr. [6]; 4. 74-Mitch McGrath [1]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3]; 7. 70-Justin Ritchie [7]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [8]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9]

Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 29-Darrell Lanigan [2]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [1]; 3. B1-Brent Larson [3]; 4. 11-Justin Reed [4]; 5. 10-Paul Parker [5]; 6. 6-Blake Spencer [6]; 7. 79-Jim Schmidt [7]; 8. 55s-Don Singer [8]

Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton [3]; 3. 28m-Jimmy Mars [5]; 4. 10s-Taylor Scheffler [2]; 5. 942-Terry Casey [4]; 6. 3-Brett Swedberg [6]; 7. 89-Brad Mueller [7]; 8. O3-Kyle Raddant [8]

Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer 1. 99B-Boom Briggs [2]; 2. 3s-Brian Shirley [1]; 3. 97-Cade Dillard [3]; 4. 15n-Nick Anvelink [4]; 5. 25F-Jason Feger [5]; 6. D1-Turk Letizia [6]; 7. 27-Derek Janke [7]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1][-]; 2. 97s-Justin Schmidt [3][-]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [5][-]; 4. 10-Paul Parker [2][$110]; 5. 6-Blake Spencer [4][$110]; 6. 79-Jim Schmidt [6][$110]; 7. 55s-Don Singer [8][$110]; 8. 96-Brian Konitzer [7][]; 9. 16k-Zack Kessler [9][]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer 1. 942-Terry Casey [1][-]; 2. 25F-Jason Feger [2][-]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller [5][-]; 4. D1-Turk Letizia [4][$110]; 5. 27-Derek Janke [6][$110]; 6. O3-Kyle Raddant [7][$110]; 7. 3-Brett Swedberg [3][$110]; 8. 54-Kevin Baldry [8].

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

Date of Race: July 29, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Dick Hed 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Derek Schrauth 7, Luke Scholten 8, Bruce Throesch 9, Derek Kaat.

HEAT 2

1, J.J. Pagel 2, Jason Juech 3, Justin Pearson 4, Josh Pierce 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Matt Loehr 7, Dave Holm 8, Josh Hitsman.

A MAIN

1, Luke Scholten 2, Justin Pearson 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Schrauth 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Dick Hed 7, Josh Hitsman 8, J.J. Pagel 9, Jason Juech 10, Derek Kaat 11, Dave Holm 12, Bruce Troesch 13, Steven Weber 14, Nick Schumacher 15, Josh Pierce 16, Dustin Weiss 17, Tyler Kulow.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Warner 2, Brian Wieland 3, Steve Lorier 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Lee Sohns 7, Donny Singer 8, Tim Sheppard.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Chris Budzban 3, Tim Lange 4, Randy Theys 5, Joshua Mavis 6, Justin Bauer 7, Skyler Woods 8, Tailer Ness.

HEAT 3

1, Cory Kemkes 2, Nick Schultz 3, Steven Wirtz 4, Barry Maas 5, Rory Welch 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Andy Singer.

A MAIN

1, Cory Kemkes, Tim Warner 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tim Sheppard 5, Chris Budzban 6, Nick Schultz, 7, Skyler Woods 8, Brandon Knepprath 9, Randy Theys 10, Travis Schmidt 11, Jesse Jakubowski 12, Tim Lange 13, Steve Lorier 14, Justin Bauer 15, Donny Singer 16, Steven Wirtz, 17, Tailer Ness 18, Andy Singer 19, Rory Welch 20, Joshua Mavis, 21, Barry Maas, 22, Brian Weiland, 23, Lee Sohns.

Arenz bags first PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 25, 2019 – Behind the wheel of the car owned and normally driven by former NASCAR Cup star Kasey Kahne, James McFadden of Oremeau, Queensland, Australia drove a near flawless race en route to victory in the 30-lap Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Challenge A-main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Thursday, July 25.

In the companion Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan claimed his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main win in dominating flag-to-flag fashion.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was a make-up date for a previous rain out on May 18, marked the second-ever official appearance for the All Star Circuit of Champions at The Plymouth Dirt Track and the first since 1995 when Kevin Huntley of Indianapolis, Ind. claimed the victory.

The event drew a stellar field of 36 All Star-IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 34 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and the largest crowd of the season to the Plymouth one-third mile clay oval.

Polesitter Justin Peck of Monrovia, Ind. grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the All Stars-IRA A main as McFadden, who started fourth, and third starter Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif. engaged in a spirited duel for second place on the opening circuit.

On lap 2, the first of four caution periods was displayed when two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam and Gerard McIntyre Jr. of New Oxford, Penn. spun into the infield after getting locked together in turn four.

On the restart, Peck powered away as McFadden passed Eliason to gain second on lap 2. One lap later two-time All Star Series champion Greg Wilson of Benton Ridge, Ohio slipped past Eliason to seize third.

Peck hit lapped traffic on lap five, which allowed McFadden to close the gap. On lap 9, McFadden closed to Peck’s rear bumper in turn one after the leader had to check up in turn four for a lapped car in turn four on the previous lap.

Peck and McFadden engaged in a heated side-by-side duel over the next three laps before McFadden switched from the outside lane to the low groove on the slick and smooth racing surface on lap 12 to dive under Peck for the lead entering turn three. Seconds after McFadden gained the lead, Peck hooked the cushion and flipped between turns three and four, which brought out a red flag on lap 12.

Following the restart, six-time All Star Series champ Dale Blaney of Hartford, Ohio worked his way into third from the seventh starting spot on lap 13. On the next lap, the third caution flag appeared when Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. spun in turn four. The fourth caution flag of the race appeared two laps later when Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel flipped in turn two.

After the final restart, with McFadden holding the lead and Wilson running a half straightaway behind in second, defending All Stars champion and current point leader Aaron Reutzel of Clute, Texas was flexing his muscle as he worked his way up from the 14^th starting spot to pass Eliason into fifth on lap 25. Two laps later, Reutzel powered around eighth starter Paul McMahan of Nashville, Tenn. to grab fourth in the running order.

Out in front of the field, McFadden had to deal with some slower traffic over the final five circuits, which allowed Wilson to close slightly. However, McFadden held strong to record his third career All Stars A-main victory and first All-Stars main event victory since 2015 in his debut appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

The victory also marked McFadden’s first main event win behind the wheel of Kahne’s No. 9 machine and first IRA A-main triumph. McFadden is presently filling in while Kahne recovers from an injury.

Wilson had to settle for second, Blaney wound up third, Reutzel charged up to finish fourth and McMahan rounded out the top five.

“Oh man this feels good,” McFadden said in victory lane. “We’ve been close on so many occasions, so it just feels great to get it down here tonight. I can’t thank Kasey Kahne and this entire team enough for this opportunity. The track really played into our favor tonight.”

Arenz, who came into the night as the hottest Midwest Sprint Car Association driver in the pit area on the strength of victories in three of the past four MSA events, grabbed the lead of the 25-lap A-main event from the pole.

By lap four, Arenz had built up a full-straightaway cushion over third starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Spyder Akright of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four.

When the race resumed, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh was making his presence felt as he moved up from his ninth starting spot to challenge fifth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum for third on lap 10.

On lap 19, Karnitz closed the gap on Arenz slightly when the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. Two laps later on lap 21, the second caution appeared when McMullen’s strong run was spoiled after contact with a lapped car sent him flipping in turn two, which brought out a red flag.

Following the restart, Arenz again pulled away over the final four laps to seal his fourth A-main victory in the last five MSA main events, sixth career and fifth MSA A-main victory of the 2019 season by a quarter straightaway over Karnitz, who placed second, Wenninger finished third, 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint champion, current PDTR and MSA 360 Sprint Car point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fourth after starting 11^th and second starter Nich Melis of Plymouth rounded out the top five.

“It feels really good to get this win in a Sprint Car at Plymouth,” Arenz said. “My last win at Plymouth was back in 2015 in a Sport Mod.”

In preliminary action, the All Star-IRA fast qualifier was James McFadden, who turned in a fast lap of 11.732 seconds. All Star-IRA heat race winners were Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, Penn., Justin Peck and Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma City, Ok. The All Star-IRA B main winner was Marcus Dumsney of Nelson, New South Wales, Australia, while Peck and Zearfoss recorded dash victories.

PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race winners were Shane Wenninger, Jim Melis of Glenbeulah, Jason Johnson of Kewaskum and Kevin Karnitz. Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Adam Miller of Plymouth claimed the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

After PDTR takes a night off on Saturday, July 27, Plymouth Dirt Track racing will resume on Saturday, Aug. 3 with autograph night and past champion’s night presented by Hopf Farms, which will distribute draw string bags and checkered flags to kids at the gate. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association Challenge Event

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Plymouth, Wis.

July 25, 2019

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 9-James McFadden, 11.732; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 11.845; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.936; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 12.029; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.116; 6. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 12.440; 7. 40-George Hobaugh, 12.484; 8. 73AF-Joey Moughan, 12.625; 9. 45-Matt Wiese, 13.095

Group (B)
1. O2-Mike Reinke, 12.185; 2. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.350; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.399; 4. 11D-Danny Schlafer, 12.560; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt, 12.781; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 12.784; 7. 19-Todd Daun, 12.846; 8. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 12.959; 9. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 13.131

Group (C)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.968; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.014; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, 12.181; 4. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.188; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.303; 6. 14M-Marcus Dumsney, 12.332; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 12.425; 8. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 12.439; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 12.670

Group (D)
1. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.266; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 12.324; 3. 23-Russel Borland, 12.441; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.462; 5. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.597; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.619; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.827; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, 13.459; 9. O-Johnny Fahl, 99.999

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [1]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh [7]; 7. 4B-Scott Biertzer [6]; 8. 45-Matt Wiese [9]; 9. 73AF-Joey Moughan [8]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 3. O2-Mike Reinke [4]; 4. 85M-Steve Meyer [6]; 5. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [8]; 6. 19-Todd Daun [7]; 7. 11D-Danny Schlafer [1]; 8. 63-Nick Matuszewski [9]; 9. 73-Ben Schmidt [5]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel [2]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 6. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 7. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [8]; 8. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [6]; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder [9]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1]; 2. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [3]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 4. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [6]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech [5]; 6. 4K-Kris Spitz [7]; 7. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer [8]; 9. 23-Russel Borland [2]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [4]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [2]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [5]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [1]; 2. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [2]; 4. 4B-Scott Biertzer [7]; 5. 73-Ben Schmidt [16]; 6. 23-Russel Borland [13]; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz [4]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [3]; 9. 19-Todd Daun [5]; 10. 11D-Danny Schlafer [8]; 11. 63-Nick Matuszewski [11]; 12. 43-Jereme Schroeder [15]; 13. O-Johnny Fahl [9]; 14. 29-Hunter Custer [12]; 15. 45-Matt Wiese [10]; 16. 73AF-Joey Moughan [14]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 9-James McFadden [4]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [7]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [14]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 9. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [17]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [13]; 12. O2-Mike Reinke [12]; 13. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [15]; 14. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski [19]; 15. O7-Gerard McIntyre [18]; 16. 64-Scotty Thiel [10]; 17. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle [11]; 18. 85M-Steve Meyer [16]; 19. 4B-Scott Biertzer [24]; 20. 14M-Marcus Dumsney [20]; 21. 68-Dave Uttech [21]; 22. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [22]; 23. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [23]; 24. 70X-Justin Peck [1] Lap Leaders: Justin Peck (1-11), James McFadden (12-30)

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 25, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Justin Miller 5, Josh Walter 6, Brandon Berth 7, Chris Clayton 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Al Schlafer.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Justin Erickson 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Mike Yurmanovich 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Jason Johnson 2, Danny Schlafer 3, Tim Haddy 4, Kurt Davis 5, Adam Miller 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Doug Wondra 8, Anthony Knierim.

HEAT 4

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Nich Melis 3, Will Gerrits 4, Bill Taylor 5, Blake Wondra 6, Spyder Akright 7, Preston Ruh 8, Chris Larson.

B MAIN 1

1, Bill Taylor 2, Josh Walter 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Chris Clayton 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Chris Larson.

B MAIN 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Brandon Berth 3, Spyder Akright 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Justin Erickson 6, Al Schlafer 7, Doug Wondra 8, Preston Ruh 9, Anthony Knierim (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Kurt Davis 5, Nich Melis 6, Jim Melis 7, Jason Johnson 8, Tim Haddy 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Justin Miller 11, Robbie Pribnow 12, Bill Taylor 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Brandon Berth 15, Tony Wondra 16, Adam Miller 17, Josh Walter 18, Blake Wondra 19, Will Gerrits, 20, Brandon McMullen 21, Spyder Akright 22, Danny Schlafer.

Scheffler, Pagel, Steenbergen earn Mid-Season Championship A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 13, 2019 – The record book will show that Josh Walter of Plymouth led all 30 laps of the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Remembering Randy Tracy Mid-Season Championship 360 Sprint Car A main at the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 13.

However, a closer examination will find that Walter used all of the skill he has accumulated in his 14 seasons of Sprint Car racing to negotiate heavy lapped traffic and turn back a heated challenge from Travis Arenz of Sheboygan in the closing laps to earn his second A-main victory of the 2019 season in the Richard’s of Dunbar PDTR 360 Sprint Car division in the first Remembering Randy Tracy Night celebrating of the life and racing career popular late driver affectionately dubbed “The Meat” during his 24-year racing career at Plymouth.

In other A-main action, Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha rode the high groove to his second Gasroots Project Late Model A-main win of the 2019 season. J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary earned his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win. Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown raced to victory in the Cellcom B mod A main.

In the 30-lap Remembering Randy Tracy Sprint Car A-main, Walter got the jump on the drop of the green flag from the pole position with third starter Will Gerrits taking second on the opening circuit. Riding the high line around the multi-groove racing surface, Walter had built up a full straightaway cushion over Gerrits when he encountered slower traffic beginning on lap 8.

On lap 9, fifth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah dove underneath Gerrits to wrestle away the second spot in the running order. However, Gerrits battled back to regain the position before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 10 for a three-car incident in turn two involving Paul Pokorski of West Bend, Anthony Knierim of Franksville and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum. Pokorski and Wenninger were forced to drop out of the race, while Knierim was able to return.

Following the restart, Jim Melis pulled off a slide job to move past Gerrits into second in turn four on lap 12, while Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started eighth, used the low line to advance to fifth on lap 13.

By lap 14, Walter had again bolted out to a full-straightaway advantage over Melis. However, lapped traffic began to become a factor starting on lap 16 when Walter had to deal with the cars of Anthony Knierim and Bill Taylor dueling side by side for multiple laps.

As Walter struggled to find a way through the lapped traffic, Melis closed significantly along the high groove before Walter was finally able to split Knierim and Taylor on lap 24. As Melis faded with a power steering issue in the closing laps, Arenz was on a charge as he worked is way past 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started seventh, on lap 26 to secure second.

Arenz pulled even with Walter with a low move in turn two on lap 29, but he was unable to make the move stick as Walter held strong along the cushion. On the final circuit with Arenz still hot on his heels, Walter made a bold low move underneath the slower car of Tyler Brabant in turn three to clinch his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and second A-main triumph of the 2019 season.

Arenz, who came into the event as the winner of the last two Midwest Sprint Car Association A mains, had to settle for second, Schmidt, who was sporting the No. 42 made famous by Randy Tracy for the evening, placed third, Gerrits wound up fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee moved up for the ninth starting spot to place fifth.

Polesitter Kevin Baldy of Omro seized the top spot in turn one of the opening lap of the action-packed 30-lap Late Model A main. On lap 2, second starter Justin Ritchie of New London worked the high groove to challenge Baldy for the top spot. The two drivers dueled side by side for the next five laps before Baldry pulled away.

On lap 9, four-time PDTR Late Model track champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started seventh, worked the cushion to pass Ritchie for second in turn two. One lap later, Mueller shot past Baldry existing turn four to assume the lead.

Meanwhile, 10^th starter Taylor Scheffler was also finding speed along the high line as he darted around Baldry into second on lap 13. Scheffler hounded Mueller over the next eight laps as the leaders found themselves in heavy lapped traffic.

On lap 21, Scheffler played the lapped cars perfectly to power past Mueller into the top spot in turn four. Mueller was able to stay in contact with Scheffler in the closing laps and cut the gap on lap 28. However, he was not able to mount a serious challenge as Scheffler secured his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and his second main event win of the 2019 season at Plymouth.

Mueller was second, defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland placed third, after starting ninth, Ritchie placed fourth and Baldry completed the top five in the caution-free race.

In the 30-lap Grand National A main, J.J. Pagel grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag from the pole with second starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake and third starter Dick Hed of Plymouth in hot pursuit.

Muehlbauer worked the high line over the next seventh laps as Pagel and Muehlbauer mounted a spirited side-by-side duel for six straight circuits. On lap 13, Luke Scholten of Oostburg pulled in to join Pagel, Muehlbauer and Hed in a four-way battle for the lead.

On lap 15, the first of two caution flags appeared when an infield tire was pushed onto the track in turn three. On the restart, sixth starter and current point leader Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved in to challenge for second as Muehlbauer, Hed and Kulow went three-wide in turn four on lap 16.

Kulow emerged in second while Scholten worked past Hed to claim third on lap 17 as positions were swapped at a lightning pace. Once again, Muehlbauer ventured up to the high groove to pressure Pagel for the top spot as the laps wound down and the two drivers again waged a side-by-side battle for the victory.

With one lap remaining, the second caution appeared when Jason Juech of Plymouth spun in turn four to set up a green-white-checkered flag finish. Pagel got a big jump on the restart to pull away as Hed made a daring move in turn three on lap 29 to move from fifth to third.

Pagel held on to earn his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Muehlbauer took second, Hed was third, Scholten placed fourth and Kulow completed the top five.

Jesse Cullen of Chilton led the opening circuit of the 30-lap B Mod A main from the pole. Cullen maintained a solid lead over second-starter Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon before sixth starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac passed Hoeppner for second on lap 9. The first of sixth caution flags appeared on lap 10 for debris.

On the restart, Cullen continued to lead with Warner in tow, while Jeff Steenbergen, who started ninth, worked his way into third on lap 12. After another caution flag for a spin on lap 14, Steenbergen moved into second with a low move on Warner on lap 16. Three laps later, Cullen spun in turn four to bring out the third caution flag. With Cullen relegated to the rear of the field for bringing out the caution, Steenbergen assumed the top spot on the restart.

Following the fourth caution period for a spin, seventh starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls darted past Warner into second as Steenbergen built up a big advantage. After a caution on lap 27 for infield tires on the track in turn four, Warner and rookie Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake, who started third, waged a duel for second with Wieland getting the best of Warner on lap 28.

After the sixth and final caution flag on lap 28, Steenbergen again flexed his muscle on the restart to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Wieland finished a career-best second, Glander placed third, 11^th starter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum finished fourth and Randy Theys, who started 18^th, completed the top five.

Danny Schlafer of Sussex won the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Doug Wondra of Lomira captured the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The Remembering Randy Tracy Mid-Season Championship program, which was sponsored by Cupcake Wonders of Sheboygan Falls, drew a total of 90 cars, including 36 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 14 Grand Nationals.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, July 20 with autograph night presented by Hopf Farms highlighting the evening with checkered flags distributed at the gate. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: July 13, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Nich Melis 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Chris Clayton, 9, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Jim Melis 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Scott Conger 7, Tyler Nelson 8, Blake Wondra 9, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Will Gerrits 2, Travis Arenz 3, Kurt Davis 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Bill Taylor 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tim Haddy 8, Bryce Schmitt 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 4

1, Tony Wondra 2, Josh Walter 3, Justin Miller 4, Justin Erickson 5, Tyler Davis 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Doug Wondra 8, Al Schlafer 9, Jack Vanderboom.

B MAIN 1

1, Danny Schafer 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Justin Erickson 4, Chris Clayton 5, Brandon Berth 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Blake Wondra 8, Tim Haddy 9, Bryce Schmitt 10, Tyler Nelson.

B MAIN 2

1, Doug Wondra 2, Tyler Davis 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Al Schlafer 5, Preston Ruh 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Chris Larson 9, Scott Conger 10, Tyler Tischendorf.

A MAIN

1, Josh Walter 2, Travis Arenz 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Will Gerrits 5, Kurt Davis 6, Adam Miller 7, Danny Schlafer 8, Brandon McMullen 9, Justin Miller 10, Jim Melis 11, Nich Melis 12, Kevin Karnitz 13, Doug Wondra 14, Tony Wondra 15, Lance Fassbender 16, Justin Erickson 17, Tyler Brabant 18, Bill Taylor 19, Anthony Knierim 20, Tyler Davis 21, Paul Pokorski 22, Shane Wenninger.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Brad Mueller 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Ron Stroika 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Brian Konitzer 8, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Buhler 2, Jon Bongiorno 3, Turk Letizia 4, Dave Jaeger 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Chad Vetting 7, Charlie Schmidt.

A MAIN

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Turk Letizia 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Tim Buhler 9, Dave Jaeger 10, Charlie Schmidt 11, Ron Stroika 12, Joe Bongiorno 13, Brian Konitzer 14, Chad Vetting 15, Zack Kessler

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Jason Juech 2, Dick Hed 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Donny Kulow 5, Brad Weiss 6, Josh Hitsman 7, Matt Yancey.

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Luke Scholten 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Steven Weber 5, Jacob Muehlbauer 6, Derek Kaat 7, Dave Holm.

A MAIN

1, J.J. Pagel 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Dick Hed 4, Luke Scholten 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Brad Weiss 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Derek Kaat 10, Matt Yancey 11, Dave Holm 12, Jason Juech 13, Jacob Muehlbauer 14, Josh Hitsman.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Gary Glander 2, Brian Wieland 3, Mark Hoeppner 4, Rory Welch 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Tim Lange 7, Joshua Mavis 8, Andy Singer 9, Phil Campanella.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, Barry Maas 3, Jeff Steenbergen 4, James Rautmann 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Justin Bauer 7, Randy Theys 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 3

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Steve Lorier 3, Nathan Jakubowski 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Lee Sohns 7, Tony Gates 8, Donny Singer.

B MAIN

1, Justin Bauer 2, James Rautmann 3, Randy Theys 4, Tony Gates 5, Lee Sohns 6, Andy Singer 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Donny Singer 9, Phil Campanella.

A MAIN

1, Jeff Steenbergen 2, Brian Wieland 3, Gary Glander 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Randy Theys 6, Travis Schmidt 7, Barry Maas 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Mark Hoeppner 10, Rick Kretschmann 11, Tim Warner 12, Steve Lorier 13, Tim Lange 14, James Rautmann 15, Justi Bauer 16, Jesse Cullen 17, Rory Welch 18, Tony Gates 19, Lee Sohns 20, Joshua Mavis 21, Nathan Jakubowski-(DNS).