Walter, Torque Racing fall short at Plymouth, prep for Dodge County

Josh Walter of Plymouth turns a lap in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 28. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 2, 2019 – For the second time during the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season, Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team found themselves on the outside looking in for A-main competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 28.

With a season-high 40 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars registered for the special Friday night event, Walter drew the fifth starting position in the third heat race. After dropping back to sixth on the opening lap, Walter moved in to pass Mike Yurmanovich for fifth place on lap 4.

Walter was gaining on the fourth-place machine of Brandon McMullen on lap 7. However, he was not able to move into striking distance over the final three laps and held on to finish the race in fifth.

“The car was good in the heat race,” Walter said. “We just had a difficult time navigating around traffic early in the race. Once I caught up to the top four, it was difficult to pass on such a fast track early in the night.

After lining up fifth in the first 12-lap B main, Walter needed to finish third or better to advance to the 22-car A main. The 14th-year driver passed Tony Wondra to take fourth place on lap one. Walter gradually moved closer to the third-place car of Lance Fassbender over the next eight laps and appeared to be gaining on a potential A-main transfer position when the caution flag flew on lap 11 for a spin in turn four involving rookie Preston Ruh.

After another spin in turn four involving rookie Tyler Tischendorf, Nich Melis used the high groove to power around Walter on the lap 11 restart, which relegated Walter to fifth. The yellow flag was displayed again for the stalled car of rookie Tyler Davis in turn four just as the leader took the white flag, which resulted in the completion of the race with Walter finishing fifth, two spots out of an A-main transfer position.

“In the B main, the car was okay,” Walter said. “It was still somewhat of a single-groove track at that point with the bottom just being too fast yet to do much passing.”

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will compete on Wednesday, July 3 in the third annual Harry Neitzel Tribute Race at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis. in conjunction with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Modifieds.

Grandstands will open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

“We are looking forward to running at the Dodge County Fairgrounds with the MSA on Wednesday night,” Walter said. “After that, we will be enjoying a long weekend of family time. We will also be taking the car through the Elkhart Lake Fourth of July weekend parade on Sunday, July 7th to represent our sponsors.”

In addition, Walter has announced that the Torque Racing team has elected not pursue 100-percent participation in the remainder of the Midwest Sprint Car Association schedule. As a result, the team will not compete at TNT Speedway in Three Lakes, Wis. on Saturday, July 6.

“The Torque Racing team has made the decision to no longer run 100 percent of the MSA schedule,” Walter said. “We will still be running all of the races at Plymouth and the majority of the other MSA races. However, due to family obligations and safety concerns, we will not be racing the remaining Angell Park Speedway or TNT Speedway events this year.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Platinum Restoration, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

“I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

“I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

“Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

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

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

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, July 20 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Thursday, July 25 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 11

MSA events – 10

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 2

 

Pokorski Motorsports makes the show, holds own at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski (4) of West Bend duels with Ben Schmidt (35) of Howards Grove, during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Friday, June 28. -RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

 (PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 1, 2019 – With a season-high 40 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars packing the pit area, Paul Pokorski and the Pokorski Motorsports team earned one of 22 coveted starting spots in the A main field and held on to post a solid 13th-place showing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 28.

After drawing the fifth starting spot in the fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race, Pokorski used a strong start to power past Mike Decker into fourth place on the opening lap. Five laps later, Pokorski pulled off a bold move as he dove low in turn three to work past Robbie Pribnow into third place.

The 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion then held onto third over the final four laps to earn enough passing points to transfer into the 22-car A-main field.

Following the heat race passing points invert, Pokorski lined up 11th in the 25-lap A main. Pokorski hovered around the top-10 through the first half of the race on the wide and multi-groove track surface. Following a caution period on lap 11, Pokorski moved up to the high groove where he struggled to find grip and fell back a few spots.

After jockeying for position mainly utilizing the low groove over the final 10 laps, Pokorski crossed the finish 13th place in the race, which was won by Scotty Thiel.

“The car was good in the heat race again, but I struggled with it in the A main,” Pokorski said. “For some reason, it seemed that the car was a handful throughout most of the A main. We will try to figure it out and make the car better for our two MSA races this week.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will take part on a pair of Midwest Sprint Car Association travelling events this week. On Wednesday, July 3, the team will compete in the third annual Harry Neitzel Tribute Race at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis. in conjunction with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Modifieds.

Grandstands will open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

On Saturday, July 6, the Pokorski Motorsports team will venture to the TNT Speedway in Three Lakes, Wis. with the MSA Series for the Badger 30. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing beginning at 6 p.m. Also on the card are Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Street Stocks and Trucks.

“I am really looking forward to going to Dodge County this week,” Pokorski said. “The last four times we have been there, our car has been good and we’ve had solid results. TNT should be fun. I’m hoping for a good crowd on the holiday weekend up north.”

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, July 20 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth

Sunday, July 21 – Angell Park Speedway, Plymouth, Wis.

Thursday, July 25 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 11

MSA events – 10

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 1

Rick Scheffler keeps it all in the family with Russ Scheffler Tribute Race victory

Rick Scheffler of Waukesha was victorious in the second edition of the 30-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Russ Scheffler Tribute Race for the Late Model divisions in honor of his late brother on Friday, June 28 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – C-MarQ Photography photo

Thiel, Cullen, Pierce claim PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 28, 2019 – For a driver that has raced sparingly in recent years, Rick Scheffler of Waukesha was certainly on top of his game in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model competition at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. as he powered his way to a fitting victory in the 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute race, a special event honoring his late brother’s memory on Friday, June 28.

With a stellar field of 28 of the region’s top Late Model competitors signed in, Rick Scheffler topped them all to bag the big $2,574 first-place check and gigantic trophy in the second edition of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race presented by Allied Resource Recovery, which was organized by Late Model supporters Chad Marquardt and Greg Wester, along with promotional assistant Nicole Rehberg Carlson, who worked tirelessly to raise funds to support a huge boost in the Gasroots Project Late Model purse throughout the field.

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan claimed his first PDTR Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the season at Plymouth and second overall win of the 2019 season in Randy Sippel’s 39s car. Josh Pierce of Random Lake pulled off a last-lap pass to claim his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory at Plymouth, while Chilton’s Jesse Cullen earned his second Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph of the 2019 season in PDTR competition.

In the 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute Late Model headliner, polesitter Troy Springborn of Shawano bolted into the lead with Rick Scheffler, who started on the outside of the front row, in tow in second. On the beginning of lap 2, a seven-car incident in turn two involving Green Bay’s Joe Reuter, Nick Anvelink, Ron Stroika, Justin Reed, Turk Letizia, Brett Swedberg and Tom Naeyaert brought out the first and only caution of the event.

The incident knocked Anvelink, Naeyaert, Stroika and Swedberg out of the event. On the restart, Springborn again charged out to a solid advantage over 2010 PDTR Late Model champion Rick Scheffler on the smooth and multi-groove racing surface. As Springborn was showing the way at the front of the field, eighth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha used the outside groove to power his way into fifth place on lap 4.

One lap later, Taylor Scheffler, who is Russ Scheffler’s nephew and Rick Sheffler’s son, worked past 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fifth, to seize fourth.

On lap 6, Rick Scheffler had closed the gap on Springborn and began applying heavy pressure for the top spot along the inside groove. After three laps of dueling side by side with Springborn, Rick Scheffler ducked low to power his way into the lead in turn two on lap 8.

Once in front, Rick Scheffler proceeded to pull away from Springborn along the inside line of the track. Meanwhile, Taylor Scheffler continued to put on a show on the cushion as he worked his way around Joel Bennett, who started third, to take over third place on lap 9.

Over the final 20 laps of the event, Rick Scheffler was locked in to the low groove and maintained a solid full straightaway cushion over Springborn and the fast-closing Taylor Scheffler on the way to his 14th career PDTR A-main victory and his first career victory in the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race.

Springborn finished second, Taylor Scheffler placed third, Bennett wound up fourth and Buhler rounded out the top five.

“This was a great race to win, that’s for sure,” Rick Scheffler said after the race. “There are a great group of people that worked really hard to put this race together. They raised a lot of extra money for all the Late Model drivers to race for tonight. I’m sure my brother would have appreciated it.”

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan (right) celebrates a victory in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 28th with car owner Randy Sippel of Elkhart Lake (left). – RC Custom Design photo

Outside front row starter Tyler Brabant of Waupun outpowered polesitter Anthony Knierim of Franksville to grab the lead of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A-main in turn three of the opening lap. On lap two, sixth starter Scotty Thiel bolted into third place with a power move along the high groove of the track. Four laps later, Thiel worked his way past Knierim to seize second place.

On lap 10, Glenbeulah’s Jim Melis, who started fifth, maneuvered past both Knierim and third starter Brandon Berth of Cascade to secure third. Meanwhile, Thiel had cut the gap substantially on Brabant for the top spot as the leaders approached slower traffic on lap 11.

The first caution flag of the race flew seconds later when Waldo’s Chris Clayton spun in turn three. Another caution was displayed on the ensuing restart when Josh Teunissen of Waldo, Chris Clayton, 2008 PDTR champion Lance Fassbender of Burentt and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum got together entering turn one. All four drivers were able to continue the race at the rear of the field.

When the race resumed, Thiel went to work to wrestle the lead away from Brabant along the high grove exiting turn four on lap 13. Utilizing the low line, Brabant battled back three laps later to give Thiel a real run for his money over the closing nine circuits.

As the leaders worked their way through slower traffic over the final five circuits, Brabant pulled event with the high-riding Thiel on a couple of occasions exiting turn four. However, Thiel proved to be too strong as he held on to secure his second career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and his 12th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

Brabant finished a career-best second in PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition, Melis finished third, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth charged from the ninth starting spot to place fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fifth after starting eighth.

“Hats off to the track crew for getting the track ready tonight with all the rain we had,” Thiel said. “It was really a great racetrack tonight. I can’t thank Randy Sippel enough for giving me a great car to run. This is the second time I’ve won in this car now this year and it feels really good to get another win. I have to hand it to Tyler Brabant for putting up a good fight there at the end. He ran the bottom very well and I got little nervous a few times when he pulled even with me for the lead in the closing laps.”

In the 25-lap Grand National A main, polesitter Steven Weber of Plymouth dueled side by side with outside front row starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake throughout the opening lap before finally taking the lead in turn four on lap two.

As Weber held the top spot, fourth starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake used the outside groove to challenge Donny Kulow for second starting on lap 6. Two laps later, Pierce surged into second along the outside groove and quickly set his sights on the lead. On lap 9, Pierce charged in along the high line to pressure Weber, who was clinging to the low grove of the third-mile clay oval.

The two drivers waged a heated duel for the remaining 16 laps while eighth starter Will Sorce of Franklin moved in to challenge take over third on lap 20. On lap 21, Pierce, who was the 2012 PDTR Outlaw Compact division champion, switched lanes, moving from the high to the low grove to mount one finish push for the lead.

After attempting to duck low to gain the top spot on three consecutive laps, Pierce eventually made it work on the final lap as he found an opening exiting turn two on the final circuit and charged underneath Weber for good entering turn three. Pierce then held on to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph with a thrilling last-lap pass.

Sorce finished second, Weber placed third, Kulow wound up fourth and third starter Jason Juech of Plymouth rounded out the top five.

“We’ve been trying to get a win at Plymouth for seven years in the Grand National division and it finally happened tonight,” Pierce said. “We’ve come close a lot lately, and it feels great to get the job done with a last-lap pass and a clean sweep too.”

Polesitter Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main with outside front row starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls falling into second. The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 2 when Rick Kretschmann spun in turn two.

Another yellow flag was displayed on lap 3 when Rory Welch and Phil Campanella collided in turn three. On the restart, Wieland again led while third starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo and Glander dueled side by side for second on lap 4 while Schmidt surging into second on lap 5.

As Wieland continued to lead, sixth starter Jesse Cullen was making noise as he used the high groove to move into third place on lap 8. The final caution slowed the field on lap 16 when Justin Bauer stopped on the backstretch.

One lap later, Cullen bolted around Wieland to secure the top spot on lap 17. Fourth starter Barry Maas of Cascade also rode the high groove past Wieland into second on lap 18 and attempted to reel in Cullen over the final seven laps.

However, Cullen proved to be too formidable as he maintained the top spot over the final seven circuits en route to his second career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph. Maas placed second, Wieland wound up third, Schmidt placed fourth and 17th starter Tim Warner of Fond du Lac charged all the way up to post a fifth-place finish.

Brett Swedberg of Shawano won the Late Model B main and Kyle Raddant of Shawano captured the Late Model non-qualifiers dash. Travis Arenz of Sheboygan captured the first 360 Sprint Car B main and Kewaskum’s Shane Wenninger was victorious in the second 360 Sprint Car B main.

The special second edition of the Rus Scheffler Tribute Race drew a PDTR season-high total of 104 cars, including 28 Late Models, 40 360 Sprint Cars, 22 B Mods and 14 Grand Nationals.

The Friday night event was a non-points program for the Late Models, B Mods and Grand Nations with full PDTR points distributed in the 360 Sprint Car division.

Next Saturday, July 6 there will be no PDTR racing in conjunction with the Fourth of July weekend.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, July 13 and include a special Remembering Randy Tracy tribute in honor of the former Winged Super Modified racer, who recently passed away. Additional money will be awarded in the 360 Sprint Car division on July 13. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to start at 6 p.m.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

Date of Race: June 28, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Joel Bennett 2, Jesse Glenz 3, Chris Engels 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Eric Michaels 7, Justin Reed.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Rick Scheffler 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Kyle Raddant 7, Jim Juneau.

HEAT 3

1, Tim Buhler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Brett Swedberg 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Mark Rose 7, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 4

1, Troy Springborn 2, Joe Reuter 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Ron Stroika 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Chad Vetting 7, Bily Rezutek.

B MAIN

1, Brett Swedberg 2, Tom Naeyaert 3, Mark Rose, 4, Justin Reed 5, Kyle Raddant 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Chad Vetting 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Billy Rezutek 10, Zack Kessler 11, Eric Michaels (DNS) 12, Jim Juneau (DNS).

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

1, Kyle Raddant 2, Chad Vetting 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Billy Rezutek 5, Zack Kessler 6, Charlie Schmidt (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Rick Scheffler 2, Troy Springborn 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Joel Bennett, 5, Tim Buhler 6, Brad Mueller 7, Jesse Glenz 8, Justin Schmidt 9, Justin Reed 10, Chris Engels 11, Joe Bongiorno 12, Turk Letizia 13, Kevin Baldry 14, Justin Ritchie 15, Mark Rose 16, Joe Reuter 17, Nick Anvelink 18, Ron Stroika 19, Brett Swedberg 20, Tom Naeyaert.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR 360 SPRINT CAR

HEAT 1

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Al Schlafer 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Tim Haddy 6, Blake Wondra 7, Preston Ruh 8, Nick Daywalt.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Brandon Berth 3, Kurt Davis 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Adam Miller 6, Chris Larson 7, Chris Flick 8, Tyler Tischendorf (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Chris Clayton 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Josh Walter 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Will Gerrits 8, Nich Melis.

HEAT 4

1, Anthony Knierim 2, Doug Wondra 3, Paul Pokorski 4, Robbie Pribnow 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Tony Wondra 7, Tyler Davis 8. Mike Decker.

HEAT 5

1, Scott Conger 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Justin Miller 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Travis Arenz 6, Justin Erickson 7, Bill Taylor 8, Ken Schmick (DNS).

B MAIN 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Nich Melis 5, Josh Walter 6, Chris Flick 7, Nick Daywalt 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Tyler Davis 10, Chris Larson 11, Preston Ruh 12, Tony Wondra.

B MAIN 2

1, Tim Haddy 2, Tim Haddy 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Adam Miller 5, Robbie Pribnow 6, Justin Erickson 7, Will Gerrits 8, Mike Decker 9, Bill Taylor 10, Mike Yurmanovich 11, Blake Wondra 12, Ken Schmick (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Jim Melis 4, Justin Miller 5, Kurt Davis 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Ben Schmidt 8, Anthony Knierim 9, Brandon Berth 10, Travis Arenz 11, Tim Haddy 12, Kevin Karnitz 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Scott Conger 15, Chris Clayton 16, Lance Fassbender 17, Jack Vanderboom 18, Josh Teunissen 19, Danny Schlafer 20, Al Schlafer 21, Shane Wenninger 22, Doug Wondra.

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Will Sorce 3, Donny Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Steven Weber 6, Josh Hitsman 7, Juke Scholten.

HEAT 2

1, Josh Pierce 2, Dan Sorce 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Brue Troesch 5, Collin Skindzwelewski 6, Derek Kaat 7, Dakota Cabunac (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Josh Pierce 2, Will Sorce 3, Steven Weber 4, Donny Kulow 5, Jason Juech 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Josh Hitsman 8, Nick Schumacher 9, Bruce Troesch 10, Dan Sorce 11, Dakota Cabunac 12, Derek Kaat (DNS) 13, Collin Skindzelwski (DNS) 14, Luke Scholten (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Justin Bauer 3, Donny Singer 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Steve Lorier 6, Randy Theys 7, Tim Warner 8, Patrick Hanson.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Valiquette 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Gary Glander 4, James Rautmann 5, Tim Lange 6, Rory Welch 7, John Fleury.

HEAT 3

1, Barry Maas 2, Travis Hansen 3, Brian Wieland 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Phil Campanella 6, Nick Schultz 7, Joshua Mavis.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Barry Maas 3, Brian Wieland 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Tim Warner 6, Travis Hansen 7, Nick Schultz 8, Steve Lorier 9, Rick Kretschmann 10, Matt Valiquette 11, Brandon Knepprath 12, Gary Glander 13, Randy Theys 14, James Rautmann 15, John Fleury 16, Tim Lange 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Rory Welch 19, Justin Bauer 20, Donny Singer 21, Phil Campanella 22, Joshua Mavis (DNS).

 

Walter, Torque Racing add to top-10 tally in MSA doubleheader

Josh Walter of Plymouth turns a lap in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 22. -C-MarQ Photography photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 26, 2019 – A double dose of Midwest Sprint Car Association racing action yielded a solid top-10 showing at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. and a narrow miss on another top-10 result at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. for Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team last weekend.

On Friday, June 21, Walter and the Torque Racing team made their second annual trip to SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. as 27 MSA Sprint Cars signed in to do battle on the banked third-mile dirt oval.

Walter drew the ninth starting spot in the second MSA 10-lap heat race and passed rookie Brandon Berth to take eighth on lap 4. Two laps later, Walter maneuvered around Josh Teunissen to take seventh before sliding by rookie Jack Vanderboom to secure sixth on lap 9, which is where he finished to secure the 14th starting spot in the 25-lap A main.

“Friday at SK speedway was a challenge,” Walter said. “The track was in good shape early and we were able to pass some cars in the heat race starting ninth and finishing sixth.”

After lining up on the outside of the seventh row in the MSA headliner, Walter was running 12th when he slowed to a stop in turn two on lap 9 with a flat right front tire. After having to restart the race from the rear of the field in 22nd, Walter went to work to move back up through the field.

By lap 20, Walter had advanced to 16th in a race that was slowed by a seven caution flags. Walter continued to pick off cars on each and every restart eventually coming home 11th in a race won by Scotty Thiel.

“We started 14th in the A and had our work cut out for us,” Walter said. “The track I believe was still in pretty good shape. However, traffic was a bit of an issue along with the restarts. It was just guys playing games up front causing issues mid-pack and back. I had tagged the wall early on and punctured a right front tire. We stopped and got that fixed to come out and continue the A main. The car had a good set up, but again traffic was difficult and unknowingly the right rear rim had damage and was slowly losing tire pressure through the remaining laps of the A.”

The following night Josh and the Torque Racing team returned home to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. where another solid field of 31 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle.

Josh started and finished third in the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race to earn the 12th starting spot in the 25-lap headliner. Walter found his stride in the early going of the A main and mounted a strong charge to the front, passing six cars en route to a solid sixth-place finish in a race won by Kurt Davis.

“On Saturday we had another okay draw starting us third in the heat and finishing there,” Walter said. “I just felt like the car was lacking in speed and the crew did a great job getting the car ready for the A making some big changes. The crew did a great Job setting up the car for the A. We were able to pass six cars and finish sixth. I couldn’t be prouder of the crew and our sponsors for all the support.”

On Friday, June 28, Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a special Friday night program, featuring the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race for the Late Model division. Also included on the card will be the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with racing slated to start at 7 p.m.

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

“I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

“I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

“Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

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

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

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, July 20 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 10

MSA events – 9

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 2

 

Pokorski Motorsports battles back from tough luck in MSA twinbill

Paul Pokorski (4) leads Justin Miller (15M) in a Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main event at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. on Friday, June 21. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 25, 2019 – Despite encountering misfortune in back-to-back Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main competition, during a doubleheader weekend of 360 Sprint Car racing action at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. and The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports displayed commendable perseverance in salvaging two respectable showings.

The MSA twinbill of action began with the team’s third trip to SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. where 27 MSA Sprint Cars signed in for an evening of action on the third-mile banked dirt oval.

Pokorski drew the seventh starting spot in the second MSA heat race. After falling back to eighth on lap 1, Pokorski slipped past rookie Brandon Berth to take seventh on lap 2. One lap later, the 2014 MSA Masters Series champion worked his way past Josh Teunissen to seize sixth in turn one and Jack Vanderboom in turn four to move into fifth.

Pokorski crossed the finish line in fifth, but moved up to fourth when Scotty Thiel, who took the checkered flag in third, was penalized two spots for jumping the initial start.

After the tabulation of heat race passing points and the invert draw, Pokorski lined up fifth in the 25-lap A main. After jockeying for position on the smooth and slick track surface in the opening laps, Pokorski found himself dueling for seventh place with Kurt Davis on lap 8.

Following a spirited duel between the two former MSA champions, Davis eventually claimed the seventh spot for good on lap 13 moving Pokorski back to eighth. Pokorski held strong in the eighth spot through a string of caution flags until the fifth caution flag of the race appeared on lap 17. On the restart, a chain-reaction incident at the front of the field forced Pokorski to make contact with several other cars, which resulted in a flat right front tire.

After going to the work area to replace the tire, Pokorski had to restart the race in the 19th position. Pokorski worked his way back up through the field in the closing eight laps to salvage a 13th-place finish in a race won by Scotty Thiel.

“Friday at SK was a great event,” Pokorski said. “The fans seemed very excited for the show. The track conditions were also the best we have had there. The heat race went well, and the main was good until the restart with about five to go. I’m not sure who got crossed up in the front or why, but we started stacking up really quickly. Someone got into the left side nerf bar and somehow we broke a radius rod on the right front that put us in the work area.”

On Saturday, June 22, Pokorski returned to The Plymouth Dirt Track where 31 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars were on hand for the evening. Pokorski started third in the second PDTR Sprint Car heat race and placed second to earn the ninth starting spot in the 25-lap A main.

Early in the main event, Pokorski spun in turn one to bring out a yellow flag. After restarting at the rear of the field, he moved up steadily over the remaining laps to earn a 13th-place showing for the second time in as many nights in a race won by Kurt Davis.

“Saturday the night started out good,” Pokorski said. “In the feature, we were doing okay, running about eighth and I missed the cushion on entry. I got into the slick and spun all by myself. It was a straight-up driver error. Looking at the rest of the guys bearing down on you sucks. Luckily, everyone was on the ball and missed me. We had tried some new stuff and learned some things, but won’t be doing exactly the same thing this Friday.”

On Friday, June 28, the Pokorski Motorsports team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a special Friday night program, featuring the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race for the Late Model division. PDTR 360 Sprints, Grand Nationals and B Mods will also be on the card. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with racing slated to start at 7 p.m.

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, July 20 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 10

MSA events – 9

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 1

Davis, Schmidt, Kulow, Schultz claim PDTR A-main hardware

Tyler Kulow of Plymouth earned his second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory of the 2019 season on Saturday, June 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – C-MarQ Photography photo

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 22, 2019 – Racers and fans arrived at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. amidst warm weather and clear skies for the first time during the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season on Saturday, June 22.

Two drivers won for the second time this season, one for the first time in nearly a year, and another for the first time with PDTR. The four divisions of competitors would give the fans an evening of exciting racing on a well-prepared track, which provided two and sometimes three-wide racing.

The 25-lap Richard’s Supper Club and Motel of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main saw 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis from South Milwaukee take advantage of his outside front row starting position and edge ahead of polesitter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan on the second lap. Davis would show his 30 plus years of experience and drive to his 22nd win with PDTR and series leading 59th overall win with the Midwest Sprint Car Association.

In the Gasroots Project Late Model division, Jim Schmidt from Cleveland won for the first time since last August, besting a field of fast cars that raced hard. In the Klips and Tips Grand National A-main, Plymouth’s Tyler Kulow took his second win of the season and sixth career checkered with PDTR.

Visiting driving Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam won for the first time with PDTR besting the field in the Cellcom B-Mod division.

In getting his second win in his last three races with PDTR, Kurt Davis had to take the lead away from a determined Arenz, who started on the pole. Davis used a wide track to pass Arenz on the outside early and survived several restarts to stay in front.

While Davis and Arenz stayed close until a caution flag waved on lap four, others were charging ahead. After the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh would move into third coming from his sixth-place starting spot. Another driver on the move was Josh Walter from Plymouth, who came from his 12th starting spot to settle into seventh in the running order.

The second caution flag for a spin in turn three bunched the field again, but still Davis was too fast to be passed. At this point, Davis, Arenz, McMullen, Kevin Karnitz of West Bend and Glenbuelah’s Jim Melis would be the front five cars.

Davis would eventually build a six car-length lead and would soon catch the back of the field. While Davis was weaving past cars high and low, last year’s PDTR 360 Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, Arenz, would catch him with five laps remaining and make for an exciting finish, but again it would be 30-plus year veteran, Davis, the winner.

Finishing in the top-five behind Davis were Arenz in second, McMullen third, Melis fourth and Karnitz rounding out the top five.

For Jim Schmidt, who was making only his third start of the season with PDTR, despite starting outside the front row next to polesitter “Diamond” Jim Letizia of Milwaukee, the win was anything but easy. A high-side pass in turn four gave Schmidt the lead, but a caution would slow the pace after Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee and Rick Scheffler of Waukesha tangled between turns three and four. Both drivers would make a quick visit to the pits and promptly return.

Back under the green, Tim “The Toolman” Buhler from Greenbush would move into second from his fourth starting spot before Letizia would spin on lap 3, resulting in a flat tire and another caution. Defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland would now settle into third and soon he would be in second challenging his father. Justin’s attempted inside pass was negated by Jim, who would stay in front.

Four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake picked up a several spots moving from sixth to fourth before racing side by side with Buhler. Meanwhile, last week’s winner Justin Ritchie from New London closed in from his seventh starting spot.

After a restart when two cars tangled on the backstretch, Ritchie and Mueller would swap positions creating a lot of excitement for the fans. With 10 laps left, Jim Schmidt would enjoy a nice lead with Justin Schmidt and Ritchie behind. Then with six laps left Oostburg’s Charlie Schmidt would squeeze past Buhler for fourth.

By the final lap, Justin Schmidt would move in close to the leader, but the veteran Jim Schmidt would hold on for the win, which would be his 15th Late Model A-main victory with PDTR.

Rounding out the top behind the winner were Justin Schmidt in second, Ritchie third, Charlie Schmidt in fourth and Mueller rounding out the top five.

The Grand National feature, which was the first run in the program was also raced hard. Polesitter Josh Pierce from Fredonia would establish an early lead from the pole. On the second lap, three cars tangled and the yellow flag waved.

On the restart, Tyler Kulow who started in the fourth position, would be in second. They would stay that way until lap 10 when Kulow would make a pass coming into turn three for the lead.

J.J. Pagel of St. Cloud and Will Sorce of Franksville would run a number of laps side by side for third and fourth, but later they would get together bringing out a yellow. Oostburg’s Luke Scholten, who started 11th, raced hard on the high side of the track, as did Dick Hed from Plymouth. With 10 laps left, Kulow would be ahead of Pierce, Steven Weber of Plymouth, Nick Schumacher of Eagle and Jess Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake.

Sorce, after restarting at the back, would charge up to sixth by lap 20 where he would finish. With two laps left, Schumacher, Weber and Muehlbauer would show the fans some three-wide racing before the race ended with Kulow claiming the victory, followed by Pierce in second, Schumacher third, Weber in fourth and Muehlbauer rounding out the top five.

Nick Schultz would start on the pole of the B Mod A main with Skyler Woods of Beaver Dam on the outside. The start was negated immediately when Justin Bauer and Gary Glander came together at the starting cone. Glander’s car was done for the night. However, Bauer would restart at the tail.

The yellow lap would wave after one lap when two cars got together in turn two. Bill Edler of Howards Grove would restart in second with Woods in third and Elijah Koenigs of Beaver Dam ahead of Barry Maas of Cascade.

Schultz and Edler would race hard and on lap seven, making contact in turn one, but both were able to hold their positions. Meanwhile, Koenig would close in on both of them before a caution came out after Koenig and Edler, along with several other cars, would tangle in turn one. Tim Warner of Fond du Lac would go to the pits, but promptly return.

On the restart, Schultz would be followed by Woods, Barry Maas. Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon and Steve Lorier of Sheboygan. After restarting at the back, Bauer would make his way up to sixth where he would finish. With two laps left Hoeppner, Maas and Bauer would be three-wide.

At the finish line, it was Schultz leading the way, followed by Woods in second, Travis Schmidt of Waldo in third, Hoeppner fourth and Maas in fifth.

The 360 Sprint Car B-Main was won by Lance Fassbender of Burnett, while Marcus Hoeppner won the B-Mod B main.

The next PDTR racing program, which will be held on Friday, June 28, will pay tribute to Late Model racer Russ Scheffler, who passed away in the fall 2017. To date, Scheffler has won more races with PDTR than any other driver.

A reported purse of about $18,500 will be paid to the Late Model Division. 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods will also compete. The grandstand will open at 4:30 with hot laps at 5:30 and racing to start at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, June 29, there will no racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track and on Saturday, July 6 again there will be no racing in conjunction with the Fourth of July weekend.

PDTR Saturday night racing will resume on Saturday, July 13 and include a special “Remembering Randy Tracy” tribute in honor of the former Winged Super Modified racer, who recently passed away. Additional money will be awarded in the 360 Sprint Car division on July 13.

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 22, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Josh Walter 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Tim Haddy 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Brandon Berth 8, Mike Decker.

HEAT 2

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Al Schlafer 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Nich Melis 7, Scott Conger 8, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Jim Melis 3, Will Gerrits 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Adam Miller 6, Tony Wondra 7, Chris Clayton 8, Sean Rayhall.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Erickson 5, Tyler Davis 6, Chris Flick 7. Blake Wondra.

B FEATURE

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Chris Flick 5, Justin Erickson 6, Brandon Berth 7, Chris Clayton 8, Mike Decker 9, Scott Conger 10, Josh Teunissen 11, Preston Ruh 12, Sean Rayhill 13, Blake Wondra 14, Tyler Davis 15, Nich Melis (DNS).

A FEATURE

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

 

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Tim Buhler 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Taylor Scheffler 6, Rick Scheffler 7, Brian Konitzer.

HEAT 2

1, Joe Bongiorno 2, Brad Mueller 3, Eric Michaels 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Jim Letizia 6, Kevin Baldry.

A FEATURE

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Brad Mueller 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Rick Scheffler 8, Tim Buhler 9, Joe Bongiorno 10, Taylor Scheffler 11, Eric Michaels 12, Jim Letizia 13, Brian Konitzer (DNS).

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Donny Kulow 2, Dick Hed, 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Derek Kaat 7, Jim Fischer 8, Bruce Troesch 9, Dakota Cabunac.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Nick Schumacher 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Will Source 5, Josh Pierce 6, Luke Scholten 7, Brad Weiss 8, Josh Hitsman 9, Jess Muehlbauer.

A FEATURE

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Josh Pierce 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Steven Weber 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Will Source 7, J.J. Pagel 8, Donny Kulow 9, Luke Scholten 10, Dick Hed 11, Brad Weiss 12, Jess Muehlbauer 13, Derek Kaat 14, Dakota Cabunac 15, Jim Fischer 16, Bruce Troesch 17, Jason Juech 18, Josh Hitsman.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Barry Maas 3, Gary Glander 4, Rory Welch 5, Mark Hoeppner 6, Brandon Knepprath 7, Craig Gessner 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Nathan Jakubowski (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Nick Schultz 3, Bill Edler 4, Skyler Woods 5, James Rautmann 6, Marcus Hoeppner 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Justin Lueck.

HEAT 3

1, Steve Lorier 2, Tim Warner 3, Brian Wieland 4, Justin Bauer 5, Andy Singer 6, Tim Lange 7, Phil Campanella 8, Christopher Gilson.

B FEATURE

1, Marcus Hoeppner 2, Craig Gessner 3, Andy Winger 4, Justin Lueck 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Phil Campanella 7, Christopher Gilson 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Nathan Jakubowski (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, Nick Schultz 2, Skyler Woods 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Barry Maas 6, Justin Mauer 7, Tim Warner 8, Steve Lorier 9, Brain Wieland 10, Andy Singer 11, Brandon Knepprath 12, Rory Welch 13, James Rautmann 14, Tim Langer 15, Craig Gessner 16, Justin Lueck 17, Bill Edler 18, Elijah Koenig 19, Gary Glander 20, Marcus Hoeppner (DQ).

Thiel survives seven cautions to master SK Speedway MSA event

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan claimed his 11th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. on Friday, June 21. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 21, 2019 – In a race that combined the varying elements of a hotly contested Sprint Car event and a survival of the fittest competition, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan endured seven caution periods and turned back spirited challenges from a pair of highly accomplished veteran competitors to score a convincing victory in a Midwest Sprint Car Association 25-lap A-main event at SK Speedway in Unity, Wis. on Friday, June 21.

The second MSA travelling event of the 2019 season drew a stout field of 27 MSA 360 Sprint Car teams and a robust and highly appreciative crowd eager to see the only Sprint Car race of the 2019 season at the SK Speedway third-mile dirt oval, known previously as the Spring Lake Speedway.

Behind the wheel of Randy Sippel’s 39s machine, Thiel led the 22-car A-main field to the green flag flanked by outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport. The current Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series competitor, who began his Sprint Car career as a regular with the MSA series, bolted out to a commanding lead in the early going on the smooth and slick track surface.

Just as Thiel was about to negotiate heavy lapped traffic, the first of seven caution flags appeared on lap 9 when Josh Walter of Plymouth stopped in turn two. After a trip to the work area, Walter restarted at the rear of the field.

Thiel ruled the restart and again opened up a solid lead over Wondra and two-time MSA champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who had worked his way into third. The second caution flag flew on lap 13 when rookie Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun to a stop in turn one.

On the restart, fourth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun made a bold move to advance past Schlafer and Tony Wondra into second on lap 14. Haddy then quickly moved in to pressure Thiel for the top spot. Haddy used the high groove to pull even with Thiel in turn four on lap 15. However, the third caution was then displayed for a spin in turn two involving Robbie Pribnow of Lomira on lap 15.

The restart saw Schlafer get the jump on Haddy and slingshot his way into second while four-time MSA champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started seventh, advanced into the top five on lap 16.

Another caution appeared on lap 17 when Will Gerrits of Waupun stopped along the frontstretch. On the restart, Schlafer dove low in turn three and pulled off a daring slide job in turn four to briefly wrestle the lead away from Thiel.

However, Thiel battled back to return the favor by pulling off a similar move on Schlafer in turn one to regain the top spot. On lap 19, rookie Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee brought out the fifth caution when he spun his machine in turn one.

A ragged restart led to Schlafer getting bottled up and turning sideways in turn four as the field was about to take the green flag, which triggered a chain reaction accident, which resulted in Josh Teunissen of Waldo rolling his car over on its side in turn four to bring out the sixth caution of the race. The damage sustained in the melee forced Schlafer to become the first car to officially retire from the race.

Thiel rocketed away from Haddy on the next restart and appeared on his way to the victory. However, one more caution was displayed for debris in turn two just as the field took the white flag.

The seventh caution set up a green-white-checkered flag finish, which saw Thiel execute another strong restart as he pulled away from Haddy to notch his 11th career MSA A-main victory in the 10th MSA race ever to be contested at the SK Speedway facility.

With the victory, Thiel joins 2018 MSA Rookie of the Year Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who captured the first MSA Series travelling event of 2019 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie on June 2, as a 2019 MSA travelling race winner.

Haddy had to settle for second, Tony Wondra finished third, Kurt Davis placed fourth and defending Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth charged up from the 16th starting spot to place fifth.

Spyder Akright of Sheboygan Falls was victorious in the MSA B main, while Al Schlafer of Sussex, 2005 MSA champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett and Kurt Davis earned heat race victories.

The next travelling MSA Series event will take place at the Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway on Wednesday, July 3 prior to the first of two 2019 appearances at the TNT Speedway in Three Lakes later in the week on Saturday, July 6.

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

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

 

Midwest Sprint Car Association

SK Speedway

Unity, Wis

June 21, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Al Schlafer 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Danny Schlafer 4, Travis Arenz 5, Justin Miller 6, Chris Flick 7, Preston Ruh 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Justin Erickson.

HEAT 2

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Scotty Thiel 6, Josh Walter 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Brandon Berth 9, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 3

1, Kurt Davis 2, Robbie Pribnow 3, Tyler Davis 4, Adam Miller 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Will Gerrits 7, Spyder Akright 8, Blake Wondra 9, Scott Conger.

B FEATURE

1, Spyder Akright 2, Scott Conger 3, Sean Rayhall 4, Blake Wondra 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Chris Flick 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Brandon Berth 9, Preston Ruh 10, Tyler Brabant 11, Justin Erickson (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Tim Haddy 3, Tony Wondra 4, Kurt Davis 5, Justin Miller 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Travis Arenz 8, Adam Miller 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Scott Conger 11, Josh Walter 12, Al Schlafer 13, Paul Pokorski 14, Robbie Pribnow 15, Sean Rayhall 16, Chris Flick 17, Will Gerrits 18, Tyler Davis 19, Josh Teunissen 20, Spyder Akright 21, Blake Wondra 22, Danny Schlafer.

 

 

 

 

Walter, Torque Racing steady the course at Plymouth

Josh Walter of Plymouth, Wis. recorded a 10th-place showing in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15. – C-Marq Photography photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 19, 2019 – After enduring a night which included a heat race flip, heavy duty pit repairs just to make the B main and ultimately a failure to qualify for the A main, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team righted the ship with a clean night and a solid top-10 A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15.

With 36 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle, Walter drew the pole position in the third PDTR Sprint Car heat race of the evening. Outside front row starter Lance Fassbender got the jump on Walter to take the lead in the first turn of the opening lap of the third 360 Sprint Car heat race and controlled the lead throughout the race. The caution flag flew on lap 2 when rookie Jack Vanderboom stalled in turn two.

On the ensuing restart, Walter felt pressure from Tim Haddy, but the 14th-year Sprint Car racer fended off Haddy’s advance to claim second to himself on lap 3. Walter held on to post a second-place finish and punch a ticket to the 25-lap A-main event.

Following the heat race passing points invert, Walter lined up 12th in the A main. The initial start produced a four-car incident exiting turn four, which knocked Brandon McMullen, Adam Miller, Bill Taylor and Josh Teunissen out of the race.

With Miller and Teunissen unable to continue, Walter advanced two spots to start 10th on the complete restart. Walter moved up two spots in the early laps of the race to run eighth on lap 5. As the remainder of the event ran caution-free, Walter fell back to 10th in the second-half of the race, which is where he ended up at the finish in a race won by first-time PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main winner Will Gerrits.

The car felt good throughout the night,” Walter said. “We’ve been experimenting with setups early in the season.”

The Josh Walter-Torque Racing team is set to take part in an MSA doubleheader racing weekend kicking off on Friday, June 21 at SK Speedway (formerly Spring Lake Speedway) in Unity, Wis. Hot laps are slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, June 22, Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

I’m looking forward to the two-day weekend ahead,” Walter said. “SK Speedway in Unity is a great track. I’m just hoping it doesn’t lay rubber down like last year. That gets expensive for tires and can be a boring show for fans to watch. I’m really looking forward to Plymouth on Saturday. We’ve got some more setup things we want to try.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

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

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

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 8

MSA events – 7

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 2

Pokorski Motorsports tallies strong top-five at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski racked up his second top-five and fifth top-10 A-main finish of the 2019 season with a fourth-place showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 18, 2019 – The luck of the heat race passing points invert roll played right into the hands of Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team on the way to a rock solid top-five A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

With yet another impressive field of 36 PDTR 360 Sprint Car drivers and teams assembled to do battle, an unlucky pill draw relegated Pokorski to the seventh starting position in the first 10-lap heat race of the evening.

The 27-year racing veteran wasted little time getting to work as he moved past Mike Decker to gain sixth place in turn one of the before passing Chris Flick for fifth in turn four on lap 1. Pokorski then worked his way around Brandon Berth into fourth place on lap 5 and held the fourth-place position the rest of the way to earn enough passing points to advance to the evening’s 25-lap A main.

“The heat race was very good,” Pokorski said. “We made the best of a bad draw. Then we had a little luck with the heat race passing points invert to start on the pole of the A main.”

The initial start of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main was wiped clean on the opening lap following a four-car incident exiting turn four involving Brandon McMullen, Adam Miller, Bill Taylor and Josh Teunissen.

After rolling off from the pole position on the complete restart, Pokorski felt immediate pressure from outside front row starter Will Gerrits, who outpowered the West Bend driver to seize the lead in turn one of the opening circuit.

Pokorski then fell to third when Danny Schlafer worked his way past in turn three on the first lap. On lap 9, Travis Arenz worked his way around Pokorski to drop the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion to fourth in the running order.

Pokorski maintained the fourth position the rest of the way on the fast and smooth racing surface to record the team’s fifth top-10 and second top-five A-main finish of the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association campaign, while Gerrits went on to collect his first career MSA A-main victory.

“I was a little disappointed with the A-main,” Pokorski said. “I never like backing up, but it’s hard to complain about a fourth-place finish. We also learned a few things and will try to improve the car for next week with those changes.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to take part in another MSA doubleheader racing weekend kicking off on Friday, June 21 at SK Speedway (formerly Spring Lake Speedway) in Unity, Wis. Hot laps are slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, June 22, the Pokorski Motorsports team returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

“I always look forward to two-race weekends,” Pokorski said. “Going to SK Speedway in Unity is fun. It is always nice to get to race in front of fans who don’t always get to see Sprint Car racing. I hope we [MSA] put on in a good show for them.”

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, July 12 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

Saturday, July 13 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 8

MSA events – 7

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 5

Heat Race Victories – 1

Gerrits, Ritchie, Muehlbauer, Warner star in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A mains

Will Gerrits of Waupun recorded his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory on Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 15, 2019 – On an evening more reminiscent of late fall than early summer, three first-time A-main winners and another competitor that is no stranger to victory lane turned up the heat on an otherwise unseasonably cold evening at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15.

Will Gerrits of Waupun claimed his first career PDTR 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main victory in dominant wire-to-wire fashion. Veteran competitor Justin Ritchie of New London notched his first career 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main in his debut season competing regularly at Plymouth. Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake captured his first Career 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main and Tim Warner of Fond du Lac was victorious in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Gerrits grabbed the lead on the initial start from his outside front row starting spot as polesitter Paul Pokorski of West Bend tucked into second. Before one lap was completed, a four-car incident exiting turn four brought out a red flag as Bill Taylor Boltonville flipped into the frontstretch wall after 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, Plymouth’s Adam Miller and Josh Teunissen of Waldo made heavy contact. All four drivers were forced to retire from the race after their machines suffered heavy damage in the melee.

Following a complete restart, Gerrits again got the jump to lead the opening lap, while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex slid past Pokorski into second in turn three.

By lap 8, Gerrits had built up an impressive full-straightaway advantage over Schlafer on the fast and smooth track surface. On lap 9, Gerrits caught the back of the 22-car field, which allowed Schlafer, to cut the gap on the leader slightly.

One lap later, eighth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan dove underneath Pokorski to claim third and quickly set his sights on Schlafer in third. On lap 18, Arenz worked his way past Schlafer into second place.

Meanwhile, Gerrits had his way at the front of the field, working through lapped traffic expertly on the way to his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph. Arenz finished second, Schlafer finished third, Pokorski wound up fourth and 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fifth after starting seventh.

Justin Ritchie grabbed the lead of the Late Model A main on the opening lap from the pole with 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler powering his way into second from the fourth starting spot.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 1 for debris on the frontstretch, which prompted a completed restart. When the green flag flew, Ritchie again got the jump on outside front row starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland to lead the opening lap.

On lap 3, the second caution appeared for an incident in turn four. Ritchie used a strong restart to bolt away from the field as Jim Schmidt dueled with third starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove for the runner-up spot.

Jim Schmidt assumed second place in turn four on lap 5 before the third and final caution appeared on lap 6 when Charlie Schmidt spun out in turn four. The restart saw defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, work past sixth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee to seize second on lap 7.

On lap 11, Letizia found himself dueling with Jim Schmidt and four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake for third. The trio battled three-wide for third on lap 12 before Mueller grabbed spot for good. As Ritchie began to encounter slower traffic, Justin Schmidt closed the gap significantly on lap 14. Justin Schmidt pulled to within striking distance on lap 18.

Justin Schmidt looked as though he might make a run at Ritchie as the race wound down. However, Ritchie was just too strong as he widened his lead over the final three laps on the way to his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory behind the wheel of the Schueffner Racing No. 70 machine.

Justin Schmidt finished second, Mueller placed third, Jim Schmidt wound up fourth and eighth starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano finished fifth.

Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake posted his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Jeff Muehlbauer outpowered polesitter Jason Juech of Plymouth to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main. Muehlbauer staying glued to the high grove in the early going as third starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moved in to take second away from Juech in turn three on lap 5.

Weber was closing the gap on Muehlbauer before the first caution flag of the race appeared on lap 12 when Dylan May of West Bend spun in turn four. On the restart, Juech regained second place on lap 13, while Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started fourth, pressured Weber for third.

After another caution flag slowed the pace on lap 15, Muehlbauer drifted very high in turn one the ensuing restart, which allowed Juech to take the lead with Kulow sneaking into second on lap 16. However, Muehlbauer recovered along the high line to set up a spirited three-car duel for the top spot, which saw Muehlbauer, Juech and Kulow go three wide exiting turn four on lap 18.

Muehlbauer emerged with the lead with Kulow gaining second and charging in to pressure for the lead on lap 20. The third and final caution flag then appeared on lap 20 when J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary spun in turn two. On the final restart, Muehlbauer darted away from the pack while Kulow and Weber resumed their side-by-side battle for second place in the closing laps.

Muehlbauer pulled away in the waning laps to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Kulow placed second, Weber took third, Luke Scholten of Oostburg charged up from the 10th starting spot to finish fourth and Juech rounded out the top five.

After the first attempt to start the 25-lap B Mod A main was aborted when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn one of the opening lap, polesitter Jesse Cullen of Chilton grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag.

On lap 7, outside front row starter Barry Maas of Cascade applied pressure to Cullen along the low groove. However, three laps later Maas felt pressure of his own as fifth starter Tim Warner used the high line to challenge for second.

As the leaders moved into lapped traffic on lap 12, Warner slipped past Maas on lap 14 and set his sights on the lead. On lap 16, the second caution flag appeared when Tony Gates spun in turn four.

One lap later, Cullen brought out the third and final caution of the race when he looped his machine in turn four while leading. With Cullen relegated to the rear of the field following the spin, Warner assumed the top spot.

With nothing but clear track ahead of him, Warner pulled away over the final eight laps en route to his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory and second main event triumph of the season at Plymouth. Maas placed second, Travis Schmidt of Waldo, who started third, finished third, Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford placed fourth after starting sixth and Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum charged from the 11th starting spot to place fifth.

Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 1 and Tony Wondra of Campbellsport claimed the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 2.

The sixth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Butch and Janet Hafemann, featured a total of 92 cars, including 36 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 20 Late Models, 19 B Mods and 17 Grand Nationals.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 22 will feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 15, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Travis Arenz 3, Bill Taylor 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Brandon Berth 6, Chris Flick 7, Chris Clayton 8, Scott Conger 9, Mike Decker.

HEAT 2

1, Josh Teunissen 2, Adam Miller 3, Jim Melis 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Justin Miller 6, Anthony Knierim 7, Blake Wondra 8, Al Schlafer 9, Robbie Pribnow.

HEAT 3

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Josh Walter 3, Tim Haddy 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Justin Erickson 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Cole Possi 9, Nich Melis.

HEAT 4

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Kurt Davis 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Bryce Schmitt 6, Tyler Davis 7, Doug Wondra 8, Tyler Nelson 9, Preston Ruh.

B FEATURE 1

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Bryce Schmitt 3, Justin Erickson 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Chris Flick 6, Mike Decker 7, Preston Ruh 8, Cole Possi 9, Anthony Knierim 10. Chris Clayton.

B FEATURE 2

1, Tony Wondra 2, Brandon Berth 3, Nich Melis 4, Al Schlafer 5, Doug Wondra 6, Scott Conger 7, Blake Wondra 8, Tyler Davis 9, Tyler Nelson 10, Robbie Pribnow.

A FEATURE

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

 

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Joe Bongiorno 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Billy Rezutek 5, Joel Bennett 6, Brian Konitzer 7, Lukas Postl.

HEAT 2

1, Brett Swedberg 2, Turk Letizia 3, Justin Reed 4, Ron Stroika 5, Paul Parker 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Derek Janke.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Jim Juneau 6, Zack Kessler.

A FEATURE

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Brett Swedberg 6, Justin Reed 7, Joel Bennett 8, Turk Letizia 9, Tim Buhler 10, Kevin Baldry 11, Ron Stroika 12, Billy Rezutek 13, Charlie Schmidt 14, Brian Konitzer 15, Jim Juneau 16, Lukas Postl 17, Derek Jahnke 18, Paul Parker 19, Joe Bongiorno (DNS) 20, Zack Kessler (DNS).

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Matt Loehr 2, Chad Espen 3, Dick Hed 4, Steven Weber 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Josh Pierce 7, Jim Fischer 8, Donny Singer 9, Josh Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Donny Kulow 3, Tyler Kulow 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Jason Juech 6, Dylan May 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Derek Kaat.

A FEATURE

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Steven Weber 4, Luke Scholten 5, Jason Juech 6, Matt Loehr 7, Donny Kulow 8, Donny Singer 9, Jacob Muehlbauer 10, Dylan May 11, J.J. Pagel 12, Josh Pierce 13, Dick Hed 14, Chad Espen 15, Derek Kaat 16, Josh Hitsman 17, Jim Fischer.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Justin Bauer 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tony Gates 5, Phil Campanella 6, Brian Wieland 7, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, Marcus Hoeppner 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Tim Lange 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Barry Maas 2, Gary Glander 3, Mark Hoeppner 4, Andy Singer 5, Brady Harsbarger 6, Steve Lorier.

A FEATURE

1, Tim Warner 2, Barry Maas 3, Travis Schmidt 4, Marcus Hoeppner 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Gary Glander 7, Mark Hoeppner 8, Andy Singer 9, Tony Gates 10, Steve Lorier 11, Brady Harshbarger 12, Brian Wieland 13, Tim Lange 14, Patrick Hanson 15, Joshua Mavis 16, Phil Campanella, 17, Jesse Cullen 18, Justin Bauer 19, Christopher Gilson (DNS).

 

 

 

 

Walter, Torque Racing look forward following challenging night

Josh Walter (12w) challenges Bill Taylor (69) for position, during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 12, 2019 – Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team experienced the kind of night on Saturday, June 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. that is best tucked away in file 13.

With 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Sprint Cars in the pit area for an all-open wheel racing program, which also featured the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, Walter drew the third starting spot in the fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race.

Things went wrong quickly for Walter when outside front row starter Chris Larson’s car failed to get up to speed on the opening lap creating a log jam on the backstretch. An accordion affect ensued, which led to Walter making contact with Larson and Scott Conger and flipping end over end in entering turn three.

Walter emerged uninjured, but heavy damage to the top wing and suspension of the car led to the battered machine being removed from the track on a wrecker with Walter credited with a seventh-place finish.

“Prior to the start of the heat race, we were rolling into turn three slowly picking up pace and the front row jackrabbited the start by slowing down then taking off,” Walter said. “The 51 car [Chris Larson] had an itch to get to the bottom, cutting in front of me. Then the 51 slid up mid corner in turns one and two, so I tried ducking underneath.

“The at the exit of turn two, the 51 came down into my right front tire,” he said. “As that happened, he turned off of me and the 24 car [Scott Conger] got jacked up and turned both of the cars across my nose leaving me nowhere to go. It was all just a racing deal and par for the course with our format.”

The Torque Racing pit crew went to work quickly and made the necessary repairs to get Walter back on track for the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

“As for the car, it was in pretty bad shape,” Walter said. “Hats off to my crew and several others for disassembling and building a car from scratch. We didn’t know if we’d get it done in time, but I’m extremely thankful and blessed with all the support.”

Starting eighth in the 12-lap race, Walter was faced with the task of advancing into the top three to gain a spot in the A main. Walter went to work on the drop of the green flag to advance three spots into fifth place on the opening lap. Walter then moved up to pressure Bill Taylor for fourth place on lap 7.

However, he fell back over the next four laps and eventually stalled on the final lap of the race without reaching the finish line. He was scored ninth in the race and failed to advance to the A main for the first time this season.

“The car didn’t handle as well as I hoped in the B, but it was a car I felt deserved to be in the A,” Walter said. “There’s nothing worse than doing all that work and not making the show. However, we won’t hang our heads and we’ll be back out this Saturday with the same goals we started the season with.

“There is a long season left,” he said. “My confidence is at an all-time high right now. When something like this happens and you see the results of the hard work everyone is putting in, you feel like you can’t fail for the team’s sake and mine as well.”

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will return to action this Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. four a four-division program featuring the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

“I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

“I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

“Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

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

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

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 7

MSA events – 6

IRA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 3

Heat Race Victories – 2

 

Pokorski Motorsports rallies from tough draw at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski of West Bend earned an 11th-place showing the 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 11, 2019 – Finding success when competing against a talented field of 35 to 40 Sprint Car drivers and teams on a weekly basis requires a little bit of good old-fashioned luck.

Just ask Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team who have found the luck of the heat race draw system not to be on their side through the first six events of the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car campaign.

With 35 PDTR Sprint Car signed in at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 8, a very unlucky pill draw found Pokorski lined up ninth in the second heat race. Pokorski worked his way past Bill Taylor on lap 1 and Shane Wenninger on lap 3 to move into seventh place. On lap 7, Pokorski powered past Josh Teunissen to finished sixth in the 10-lap heat race.

After failing to accumulate enough passing points to transfer directly to the A main, Pokorski lined up second next to polesitter Justin Miller in the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Pokorski bolted past Miller into the lead on the drop of the green flag and held the top spot throughout the 12-lap race to post his first B-main victory of the 2019 season and earn a spot in the A main lineup.

After lining up 18th in the 22-car A main, Pokorski advanced to 15th on lap 9 before a caution flag on lap 11 slowed the pace. After the restart, Pokorski hit his stride along the outside groove of the fast and tricky track surface to move past Lance Fassbender, Brandon Berth and Tony Wondra into 11th place on lap 15.

Pokorski moved up to challenge Tyler Brabant for 10th on lap 19, but he fell back over the final five laps to secure an 11th-place finish in a race won by Kurt Davis.

The 27-year racing veteran was pleased that he was able to improve a total of 11 positions in the three races he competed in, while at the same time acknowledging the importance of the heat race pill draw.

“With 35-40 cars competing with our series on a regular basis, everything makes an impact on your night, including the heat race draw,” Pokorski said. “Considering we haven’t started a heat race better than fifth all year, I’d say we are doing well. We’ll keep trying to make the best of the bad draws and hope the luck switches at some point and try to capitalize when it does.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action this Saturday, June 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track for a four-division program, including the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – SK Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Wednesday, July 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, July 6 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 7

MSA events – 6

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

B Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 1

Blackhurst outduels Balog in IRA thriller, Davis claims PDTR 360 Sprint Car triumph

Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee earned his 21st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory Saturday, June 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Routson bags Badger Midget A main

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 8, 2019 – The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. served as the ultimate paradise for open-wheel racing lovers on Saturday, June 8, as it played host to three premier regional traveling series – Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midget Auto Racing Association – for the first and only time in 2019.

On a beautiful night for racing, 85 open-wheel machines packed the pit area and the largest crowd of spectators of the season turned out to witness the only racing program featuring all three regional touring series in 2019.

The IRA A-main turned out to a barn burner as defending IRA champion Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. edged eight-time IRA champ Bill Balog of Hartland in the closing laps in the 30-lap headliner. 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main in wire-to-wire fashion. Point leader Jack Routson of Waterman, Ill. secured his first career Badger Midget main event triumph in the 20-lap A main.

Fast qualifier Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove used his outside front row starting spot to launch his way into the lead on the opening lap of the 30-lap IRA headliner. Schmidt led polesitter Dave Uttech of Kenosha during the initial stages of the event until lap 5, when Jake Blackhurst moved up from his third starting spot to dive low in turn four to challenge Schmidt and Uttech in breathtaking three-wide fashion.

Uttech, who was in the middle of the three-wide sandwich, emerged with the lead exiting turn four on lap five with Blackhurst second before the first of three caution flags flew on lap 6 when Schmidt stalled in turn four. After Schmidt made repairs and restarted the race at the rear of the field, Uttech assumed command of the race on the restart.

On lap 8, Bill Balog, who started seventh, slipped underneath sixth starter Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls to seize second as positions were being jockeyed around throughout the 24-car field on the ultra-fast, but tricky racing surface.

Balog then bolted in to challenge Uttech for the top spot along the outside groove on lap 10 before the second caution flag was displayed on lap 11 when Wayne Modjeski of Oak Creek stopped in turn four.

After restart, Balog continued to hound Uttech along the heavy cushion of the tacky third-mile clay oval before finally moving into the lead in turn four on lap 13. Meanwhile, Blackhurst was also flexing his muscle as he maneuvered around Uttech into second on lap 14.

With Balog running predominantly the outside groove, Blackhurst stayed stuck to the bottom. On lap 16, Balog got boxed in behind two lapped cars, which allowed Blackhurst to dive low in turn four and wrestle the lead away from the high-riding Balog in heavy traffic.

The race was stopped on lap 17 when National Sprint Car Hall of Fame driver Danny Smith of Chillicothe, Ohio flipped in turn four. On the restart, Blackhurst fended off Balog’s relentless assault on the top spot until lap 22 when Balog moved low as Blackhurst drifted high to regain the lead exiting turn four.

Undaunted, Blackhurst hung within striking distance as the laps wound down. On lap 26, Balog jumped the tall cushion in turn four, which allowed Blackhurst to dart into the lead. Blackhurst then held on over the final four laps to secure his fifth career IRA A-main victory and first IRA main event triumph of the 2019 season.

Balog had to settle for second, Meyer finished third, two-time IRA champ Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam place fourth after starting fifth and Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill. moved up from his ninth starting spot to finish fifth in an entertaining race, which featured four different leaders and a total of six lead changes.

“It was definitely fun racing with Bill Balog there in the final laps,” Blackhurst said. “Bill is one of the best drivers out there right now and a great guy to race with. Sometimes when you are leading one of these races, you are kind of a sitting duck and that’s what happened a couple of times to myself and Bill. I started to hit the bottom pretty good in three and four and that is what eventually helped us win the race.”

Ever the competitor with a total of 106 IRA A-main victories to his credit, Balog was disappointed, but gracious after the race.

“We were really good early and I got the lead, but then lost it in lapped traffic,” Balog said. “I didn’t want to do something stupid in that situation and tried not to get into trouble, but then Jake ended up getting by. We came back to get the lead, but then I jumped the cushion let him by again right near the end. I am happy about how things are coming together. Right now, this Rhine Auto team is developing into a heck of a race team.”

After an up-and-down race, Meyer was satisfied with his third-place showing.

“Navigating the track was a challenge tonight,” Meyer said. “There were some daring moves that were made out there and some real close calls. I screwed up one time in turn two, which caused me to fall back several positions. Luckily, I was able to come back forward and pick up a third-place finish.”

Kurt Davis, who started second, outpowered polesitter Wayne Modjeski to take the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. The red flag was displayed on lap 3 when Chris Flick of Beaver Dam and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex both flipped along the frontstretch.

On the restart, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started eighth, dove low to work past Modjeski into second lap 7. McMullen was closing on Davis in trapped traffic when the caution flag flew on lap 11 for the stalled car of Elkhart Lake’s Preston Ruh in turn four.

Sixth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan pressured McMullen briefly for second on lap 14 before McMullen pulled away and set his sights on Davis as the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic down the stretch. McMullen tried every move in the book over the final eight laps, but the cagey veteran Davis turned them back each time.

Davis successfully fended off McMullen’s determined challenge over the final five laps to post his 21st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and the Midwest Sprint Car Association’s leading 58th A-main triumph of his career.

McMullen placed second, Arenz finished third, 10th starter Adam Miller of Plymouth charged up to finish fourth and Ben Schmidt started and finished fifth in the debut of his new 360 Sprint Car team.

In the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association A-main, Kurt Mayhew of Demotte, Ind. led the first seven laps of the 20-lap headliner from the pole with third starter Ryan Probst of New Lenox, Ill. giving chase.

On lap 8, Mayhew spun along the backstretch and tipped over on his side while leading the field. When the race resumed, Probst inherited the lead while 11th starter Jack Routson used the outside groove to take over third on lap 10.

Routson continued his march to the front by slipping into second place on lap 12. The fourth and final caution flag of the race appeared on lap 16 when Badger Midget legend Kevin Olson of Machesney Park, Ill. spun to a stop in turn four on lap 6.

Routson dialed up the pressure on the final restart in an effort to unseat the lead from Probst’s possession. After two laps of dueling side by side, Routson surged ahead for good with a high move in turn two on lap 18. Routson then cruised away to secure his first career Badger Midget Auto Racing Association A-main victory.

Probst placed second, Chase McDermand of Springfield, Ill. came home third after starting 10th, defending Badger Midget Series champion Scott Hatton came from 12th at the start to finish fourth and Matthew Recheck of Beaver Dam finished fifth after starting fourth in the first Badger Midget event to be contested at Plymouth since September 2007.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 1 and Paul Pokorski of West Bend claimed the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main 2. Kris Spitz of Salem was victorious in the 15-lap IRA B main.

The fifth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by the Interstate Racing Association, featured a total of 85 cars, including 35 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 28 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 22 Badger Midgets.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 15 will feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.

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

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

Richard’s of Dunbar Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars, June 8, 2019

A Main-25 laps

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

 

Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series-Plymouth Dirt Track, June 8, 2019

A Main-30 laps

1. Jake Blackhurst; 2. Bill Balog; 3. Steve Meyer; 4. Scotty Neitzel; 5. Joey Moughan; 6. Mike Reinke; 7. Scotty Thiel; 8. Jeremy Schultz; 9. Russel Borland; 10. Austin Deblauw; 11. Dave Uttech; 12. Scott Biertzer; 13. Brandon Wimmer; 14. Todd Daun; 15. Jereme Schroeder; 16. Ben Schmidt; 17. Jimmy Fifield; 18. Nick Matuszewski; 19. Hunter Custer; 20. Keith Fellner; 21. Kris Spitz; 22. Danny Smith; 23. Wayne Modjeski; 24. Bryon Walters.

Badger Midget Auto Racing Association – Plymouth Dirt Track, June 8, 2019

A Main-20 laps

1. Jack Routson; 2. Ryan Probst; 3. Chase McDermand; 4. Scott Hatton; 5. Matthew Rechek; 6. Zach Boden; 7. Brian Peterson; 8. Jeff Zelinski; 9. Sean Murphy; 10. Mike Stroik; 11. Tristan Koenings; 12. Jim Fuerst; 13. Shay Sassano; 14. Pat Hensen; 15. Dave Collins Jr.; 16. Kyle Koch; 17. Kevin Olson; 18. Harrison Kleven; 19. Kurt Mayhew; 20. Jordan Mattson; 21. Denny Smith; 22. Chase Jones (DNS).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter, Torque Racing ride roller coaster in MSA twinbill

Josh Walter negotiates Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, during a Midwest Sprint Car Association event on Sunday, June 2. – Casey Bollig photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 5, 2019 – Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team experienced the spectrum of the highs and lows of racing as it embarked on the first doubleheader weekend of the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association racing season on Saturday, June 1 the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. and Sunday, June 2 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis.

On Saturday, June 1, Walter was among 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car entries as he drew the sixth starting spot in the first heat race. On the drop of the green flag, Walter took off like a rocket on the fast and smooth, multi-groove racing surface to move into fourth on the opening lap. On lap 2, Walter slipped past Mike Decker to claim third before gaining second place from Tyler Davis on lap 3.

Walter was closing on leader Kevin Karnitz when the checkered flag flew with the 14th-year Plymouth driver placing second to earn a spot in the evening’s 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main event.

After starting sixth, Walter drove a steady race, hovering around the top five throughout. After gaining fifth place when Lance Fassbender dropped out on lap 15, Walter moved to fourth in the running order in the closing laps and he hung on to the spot to finish fourth in a race won by Kevin Karnitz.

“We had a solid run on Saturday at Plymouth,” Walter said. “The heat race was good. We drew a higher number this week, but we were able to capitalize on the track conditions, starting sixth and finishing second. The highlight of the heat race was after we got into second, we were able to run down the leader. That really helped the confidence going into the A main.

“In the A main, the car was handling pretty well,” Walter said. “The track was fairly single file, allowing the high side to really only work on restarts. We started sixth and finished fourth in the A main, and it’s always a good feeling to go forward.”

While acknowledging the ongoing debate about the condition of the racing surface at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Walter weighed in on the topic this week.

“The racing this year at Plymouth has been good so far in my opinion,” Walter said. “However, I don’t know that the track is the reason for that. I don’t know anyone involved in racing who shows up and says, ‘How can we make this a bad track.’  The track is a victim of changing conditions weekly. The last time I checked, none of the track workers are Nostradamus. If they could make every prediction they would.

“The track gets packed tight, so the water will run off when it rains during the week from my understanding,” he said. “They do this so we can race on the weekend.  I’m no expert at track prep, but I do know that I bought a race car to race and the surface is the same for everyone that I am racing with. Starting position plays a huge role late in the night lately, which just puts more emphasis on capitalizing in the heat races.”

On Sunday, June 2, Walter traveled to Sun Prairie, Wis. for the first of three scheduled races at Angell Park Speedway in 2019 where 31 Midwest Sprint Car Association entries packed the pit area.

After lining up second in the third MSA heat race, Walter held down the runner-up spot throughout en route to a second-place finish behind Travis Arenz to gain a berth in the evening’s 25-lap A main.

“We had a good heat race starting spot again, which was advantageous on a fairly narrow track early in the night,” Walter said. “We started second and finished second in the heat race and had a good handling car. We just lacked some speed.”

Walter started the main event from the ninth starting spot and advanced to eighth on lap 4 when he moved past rookie Justin Erickson. Four laps later, Walter powered past rookie Jack Vanderboom and Will Gerrits to seize sixth.

Following a yellow flag restart on lap 8, Walter made contact with the outside retaining wall, which affected the handling of his machine the rest of the way. On lap 13, Walter fell to 10th before clipping an infield tire and spinning in turn two to bring out a caution flag on lap 19.

Walter restarted the race 18th and working his way past three cars in the final seven laps to finish 15th in a race won by Travis Arenz.

“We made some fueling changes and gear changes for the feature and had a really good car,” Walter said. “I slipped up early in the race and hit the wall hard enough to knock out the Jacob’s ladder, which holds the rear end in the center of the car. The car was a handful from that point on, but manageable. Later in the race with handling issues, I was doing all I could to take advantage of other people’s mistakes and try to climb back to the spots I had lost.

“We were racing hard and it seemed like every time we had a good rhythm going, we had another caution and restart,” Walter said. “In the end, I ended up making a choice late in the race to get into a collision with another driver or hit the infield tire. You never want to see anyone get tangled up. It just wrecks cars and potentially hurts people, so I just nicked the infield tire and spun out. We restarted the race 18th and drove back to a 15th place finish.  I think it is a fairly respectable finish for the way the night could have gone when you take on a tractor tire. We’re working on the car this week to get everything back to new. We’ll be ready for this Saturday night June 8th at PDTR.”

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will return to action this Saturday, June 8, at The Plymouth Dirt Track in an all open wheel show featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Plymouth Tap

Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team is pleased to welcome back Plymouth Tap as a returning sponsor for the 2019 season.

Plymouth Tap is the fourth tavern founded by the late Kevin Fetterer. After four years of renovations, Plymouth Tap opened at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth on the day before Thanksgiving in 2016.

As a 5,000-square-foot bar and grill located in the heart of downtown Plymouth, Plymouth Tap features several televisions, pool tables, dartboards and many other games, along with an expansive food and drink menu.

“I like to think there is a little something for everyone here,” Plymouth Tap owner Nate Fetterer said. “We have a large menu and plenty of drink choices. We also have ample space to accommodate groups, both small and large.”

Fetterer has a close connection to the local racing scene and has jumped at the opportunity to be involved as a sponsor with the Torque Racing team.

“I used to go to PDTR as a small child with my grandfather and really enjoyed spending that time with him,” Fetterer said. “As a teenager, I became a pit mechanic for Sean Conrad, who raced motorcycles and just so happened to be my neighbor in Sheboygan Falls. We traveled across the Eastern United States chasing Kawasaki contingency money in several different motorcycle series including AMA, WERA, CRA.

“Josh is persistent and a hard worker,” he said. “He also helps out at the bar a ton. He is a great person to have on board when it’s not racing season. Along with the Torque Racing brat fry that is held every year, one of the highlights of this year’s event was the Plymouth Tap/Torque Racing Bar Olympics that we organized and ran together.”

For more information on Plymouth Tap, visit www.plymouthtap.com.

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

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

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Tracks, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 6

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 5

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 2

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 3

Heat Race Victories – 2

Pokorski Motorsports racks up two more top-10s

Paul Pokorski (4) of West Bend duels with South Milwaukee’s Kurt Davis in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, June 1. -RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 4, 2019 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team turned the first doubleheader weekend of Midwest Sprint Car Association racing action of the 2019 season into a pair of solid top-10 A-main finishes at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 1 and Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. on Sunday, June 2.

On Saturday, June 1, the Pokorski Motorsports team was among 35 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car entries registered to do battle on the well-manicured third-mile clay oval.

The evening began with Pokorski starting fifth in the third PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race. On the drop of the green flag, Pokorski passed Brandon Berth to move into fourth on the opening lap. On lap 4, Pokorski slipped past Tony Wondra to move into third. Two laps later, Pokorski was closing in on the second-place car of Spyder Akright when the first caution of the event appeared on lap 7 for Akright’s stalled car in turn two.

After restarting second, used a low move to wrestle the top spot away from Josh Teunissen in turn two on lap 8 en route to his first heat race victory of the 2019 season.

Pokorski rolled out for the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main from the eighth starting spot. After maintaining his eighth position throughout the first 14 laps of the event, Pokorski moved into seventh on lap 15 when Lance Fassbender dropped out of the event.

Following a caution period on lap 18 for Travis Arenz’ stalled car, Pokorski had his hands full over the final seven laps as he slipped back two spots to end up ninth at the finish line in a race won by Kevin Karnitz.

“Saturday night went pretty well,” Pokorski said. “The heat race was great. The car worked awesome. Unfortunately, we were not able to get it to repeat for the A main. We made very few changes, but the car wasn’t the same. We still ended up okay though.”

Pokorski ventured to the first of three scheduled 2019 MSA events at the Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie on Sunday, June 2 with 31 cars signed in for the evening.

A poor pill draw put Pokorski in the eighth starting spot in the second MSA heat race. After passing Tyler Davis to move into seventh on lap 1 Pokorski worked the low groove to pressure Bill Taylor for sixth starting on lap 6. On the following circuit, Pokorski pulled off a slide job entering turn one to briefly take sixth. However, Taylor and Pokorski made contact in turn two, which resulted in Taylor flipping to bring out the red flag.

After heading to the work area, Pokorski restarted the race in seventh before passing Tyler Davis again on lap 8 to secure sixth in the event and a spot in the evening’s B main.

Pokorski started second next to polesitter Danny Schlafer in the 15-lap B Main. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion maintained the runner-up spot throughout the event to nail down the 18th starting spot in the A main.

A bold move in the first turn of the 25-lap main event vaulted Pokorski to 13th at the completion of lap 1 in the caution-plagued race. After running just outside the top 10 for most of the event, Pokorski passed Will Gerrits, Chris Clayton and Tim Haddy to move into eighth.

The fourth and final caution flag on lap 19 for Josh Walter’s spin in turn two resulted in one more restart, which saw Pokorski lose ground to Ben Schmidt in Randy Sippel’s 39s car and Tim Haddy in the closing laps on the way to a 10th-place finish in a race won by Travis Arenz.

“Sunday night at Angell Park was a struggle,” Pokorski said. “I love the history of Angel Park Speedway, but hate the results we’ve had there over the years. It’s a pretty tight little place and stuff happens quickly. That resulted in issues in the heat race and the A main. Despite all of that, we finished pretty well for starting 18th.”

According to Pokorski Motorsports Crew Chief Dave Schultz, the top-10 finish in the A main would likely not have been possible without the assistance of a fellow racing team.

“We are thankful for the generosity of Lloyd Dykstra and the No. 21 and No. 99 NAPA MSA teams for fixing a shock mount on our car between the B Main and the A main,” Schultz said. “Their efforts are greatly appreciated.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action this Saturday, June 8, at The Plymouth Dirt Track in an all open wheel show featuring the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 6

MSA events – 5

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 4

Heat Race Victories – 1

Karnitz, Mueller, Scholten, Budzban tally PDTR A-main victories

Four-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake recorded his first PDTR Late Model A-main victory since Sept. 9, 2017 Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 1, 2019 – Despite threatening skies and unseasonably cold temperatures, the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing show pressed on with a highly competitive night of racing action in all four regular divisions on a well-manicured, multi-groove racing surface at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 1.

Kevin Karnitz of West Bend became the first repear winner in PDTR A-main competition this season as he captured the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car main event. After going winless at Plymouth during the 2018 season, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake broke into the victory column with a win in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Oostburg’s Luke Scholten survived a heated duel with Tyler Kulow of Plymouth to capture the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main, while Chris Budzban of Appleton made his first-ever trip to The Plymouth Dirt Track pay off with a victory in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

The initial start of the 360 Sprint Car A main was aborted when 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh bicycled his machine in turn one and rolled to a stop in turn two to bring out the first of two caution flags in the event. McMullen made suspension repairs in the work area and returned to the track at the rear of the field.

On the complete restart, polesitter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport outpowered 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett, who started second, to seize the lead in turn four of the opening lap. Two laps later, fourth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah found grip in the middle of the fast and smooth racing surface to work his way into second.

On lap 6, Melis used the middle lane to gain the top spot from Wondra in turn two. By lap 10, Melis had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Wondra, while fifth starter Kevin Karnitz passed Fassbender to gain third place on lap 12.

As Melis encountered lapped traffic, Wondra was able to cut the gap significantly as the hard-charging Karnitz, who was hooked up along the inside groove, moved in to make it a three-way duel for the top spot.

Entering turn four on lap 16, the trio went three-wide for the lead with Melis riding high, Wondra using the middle groove and Karnitz working the low line. Karnitz powered under both Wondra and Melis to grab the lead in a thrilling, hold-your-breath move exiting turn four.

Two laps later, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan brought out the second and final caution flag when he stopped in turn four. After Arenz went to the work area, made repairs and returned to the track, Karnitz seized the lead on the restart, while Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who started third, used the high groove to maneuver around Melis into second place in turn two on lap 19.

Karnitz held on the rest of the way en route to his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph. Wenninger finished second, Melis placed third, sixth starter Josh Walter of Plymouth wound up fourth and Wondra completed the top five.

In the Late Model A main, two caution periods for spins negated the first two attempts to start the race. The next attempt to start the race resulted in polesitter and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland and Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha being sent to the rear of the field for failing to comply with restart regulations.

With a revamped front row featuring polesitter and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush and Brad Mueller on the outside of the front row, Buhler snagged the lead on lap 1 along the low groove while Mueller road the high groove and sixth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee ducked low to pressure Mueller for second place.

Mueller continued to work the high line to perfection in the opening laps to pressure Buhler for the lead. On lap 5, Mueller shot around Buhler with a high move in turn four to assume the top spot.

With Mueller holding his own at the front of the field, Schmidt was slicing way through the pack after restarting the race from the rear of the field. On lap 12, Schmidt moved into fourth along the outside lane.

Six laps later, Letizia dove low to slip underneath the high riding Buhler to assume second on lap 18 with Schmidt following into third on lap 19. By lap 20, Mueller had built up a half-lap cushion over Letizia. On lap 21, the hard-charging Schmidt bolted around Letizia with a high move in turn two and quickly cut into Mueller’s large advantage.

Schmidt’s stirring run through the field came up a bit short as he simply ran out of laps in the race, which went non-stop after the initial string of unsuccessful starts. Mueller beat Schmidt to the line by a quarter-straightaway margin to secure his 20th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, which ranks him second on the all-time PDTR Late Model A-main victory list. It was Mueller’s first PDTR Late Model A-main triumph since Sept. 9, 2017.

Schmidt had to settle for second, Letizia was third, Buhler finished fourth and Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee finished fifth after originally starting seventh.

Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake worked around polesitter Josh Pierce of Random Lake to lead the opening lap of the Grand National A main, while 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who was behind the wheel of J.J. Pagel’s car, worked the high groove from his fourth starting spot to take over second lap 2. A pair of caution flags for spins on lap 3 and lap 5 slowed the pace before third starter Tyler Kulow used a well-timed restart to seize the top spot with a high move on lap 6.

Meanwhile, Luke Scholten was making his presence felt moving into third place from his eighth starting spot on lap 8. On lap later, Scholten moved in to pressure Tyler Kulow along the low line. With Scholten running low and Tyler Kulow riding high, the two drivers battled side by side for five consecutive laps before Scholten finally surged ahead in turn four on lap 13.

As the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on lap 15, Tyler Kulow cut the gap and moved into the lead in turn four on lap 19. After two more cautions for spins on lap 19 and lap 21, Tyler Kulow held the top spot as Pierce grabbed ahold of the high line to power into second on lap 22.

However, the fifth and final caution slowed the pace one again for a single-car spin in turn two. On the restart, Scholten used the high groove to find some extra bite, which launched his car into the top spot for good exiting turn two on lap 23.

Scholten then pulled away over the final two laps to secure his 11th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory and his first of the 2019 season. Tyler Kulow took second, Pierce placed third, Steven Weber of Plymouth finished fourth after starting sixth and 10th starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth in his first appearance of the season at Plymouth.

The B Mod A main featured a pair of visiting drivers to PDTR as Bill Edler of Howards Grove rolled off from the pole with Chris Budzban, who was making his first-ever appearance at Plymouth, on the outside of the front row.

After a close battle through the first three corners, Edler grabbed the initial lead in turn four of the opening lap. The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 2 for a spin involving Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford. On the restart, Budzban flexed his muscle to challenge Edler utilizing the inside lane, pulling even briefly on lap 6.

As the leaders negotiated slower traffic, Budzban used the slower cars to his advantage and slipped ahead of Edler and into the lead on lap 9. Not one to back down, Edler regrouped and mounted another challenge for the lead starting on lap 15 as the leaders encountered more lapped machines.

The pace slowed again on lap 18 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan spun in turn two. Another caution appeared on lap 19 for a Marcus Hoeppner spin. On the restart, Budzban powered away from Edler and was not to be denied as he racked up his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in his debut main event start at the Plymouth track.

Edler was second, Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls, who started fourth, placed third, Cascade’s Barry Maas came up from his ninth starting spot to place fourth and seventh starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo rounded out the top five.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The fourth PDTR program of the 2019 season, which was presented by Pit Stop Pizza, featured a total of 92 cars, including 35 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 19 Grand Nationals and 13 Late Models.

PDTR officials have announced that the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series combined challenge event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, which was postponed by weather on Saturday, May 18, has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 25. The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will also be on the card.

Recent NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. is expected to compete along with a large contingent of top national and regional touring 410 Sprint Car competitors. All advance tickets purchased for the May 18 event will be good on July 25. Those unable to use their previously purchased reserved tickets for the original May 18 All Stars date, can receive a refund by returning their tickets to the Sheboygan County Fair office.

With the Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series scheduled to compete at The Plymouth Dirt Track just four days later on Monday, July 29, the regular PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 27 has been cancelled. The PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions will also compete with the World of Outlaws Late Models on Monday, July 29.

The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, June 8 will feature the first of four scheduled appearances during the 2019 season for the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, which will be joined by the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Badger Midgets. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 1, 2019

HEAT 1

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Josh Walter 3, Tyler Davis 4, Mike Decker 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Justin Miller 7, Scott Conger 8, Will Gerrits 9, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Melis 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Travis Arenz 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Tim Haddy, 6, Kurt Davis 7, Chris Flick 8, Anthony Knierim 9, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Paul Pokorski 2, Tony Wondra 3, Bill Taylor 4, Chris Clayton 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Brandon Berth, 7, Al Schlafer 8, Spyder Akright 9, Adam Miller

HEAT 4

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Doug Wondra 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Bryce Schmitt 6, Justin Erickson 7, Preston Ruh 8, Scotty Neitzel.

B FEATURE 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Brandon Berth 4, Chris Flick 5, Justin Erickson 6, Preston Ruh 7, Bryce Schmitt 8, Blake Wondra 9, Mike Decker.

B FEATURE 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Scott Conger 6, Al Schlafer 7, Chris Larson 8, Adam Miller 9, Scotty Neitzel.

A FEATURE

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

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Brad Mueller 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Taylor Scheffler 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Eric Michaels.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Dave Jaeger 5, Brian Konitzer 6, Jim Schmidt.

A FEATURE

1, Brad Mueller 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Turk Letizia 4, Tim Buhler 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Justin Ritchie 9, Brian Konitzer 10, Taylor Scheffler 11, Eric Michaels 12, Dave Jaeger 13, Charlie Schmidt.

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Dick Hed 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Dustin Weiss 5, Josh Hitsman 6, Brian Cesar 7, Dave Holm.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Donny Kulow 4, Jason Juech 5, Derek Kaat 6, Jacob Muehlebauer.

HEAT 3

1, Chad Espen 2, Matt Loehr 3, Josh Pierce 4, Brad Weiss 5, Donny Singer 6, Dylan May.

A FEATURE

1, Luke Scholten 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Josh Pierce 4, Steven Weber 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Donny Kulow 7, Matt Loehr 8, Jason Juech 9, Brian Cesar 10, Chad Espen 11, Dick Hed 12, Derek Kaat 13, Dylan May, 14, Donny Singer 15, Dave Holm 16, Josh Hitsman 17, Jacob Muehlbauer 18, Jeff Muehlbauer 19, Brad Weiss.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Chris Budzban, 2, Jesse Jakubowski 3, Craig Gessner 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Christopher Gilson 6, Rory Welch 7, Andy Singer 8, Brian Wieland 9, Joshua Mavis.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Gary Glander 3, Barry Maas, 4, Marcus Hoeppner 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Mark Hoeppner 7, Phil Campanella 8, Nathan Jakubowski

HEAT 3

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Bill Edler 3, Steve Lorier 4, Justin Bauer 5, Tim Warner 6, Jesse Cullen 7, Donny Singer 8, Jason Schilling.

B FEATURE

1, Brandon Knepprath 2, Donny Singer 3, Christopher Gilson 4, Brian Wieland 5, Phil Campanella 6, Rory Welch 7, Nathan Jakubowski 8, Joshua Mavis 9, Jason Schilling

A FEATURE

1, Chris Budzban 2, Bill Edler 3, Gary Glander 4, Barry Maas 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Tim Warner 7, Tim Sheppard 8, Marcus Hoeppner 9, Justin Bauer 10, Jesse Jakubowski 11, Mark Hoeppner 12, Andy Singer 13, Brandon Knepprath 14, Brian Wieland 15, Christopher Gilson 16, Steve Lorier 17, Jesse Cullen 18, Donny Singer 19, Patrick Hanson 20, Craig Gessner.

Walter, Torque Racing score solid top-10 showing at Plymouth

Josh Walter steered his Torque Racing machine to a sixth-place showing in a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 25. – Trevor Frank-Frank Motorsports photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

 (PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 29, 2019 – One week after racking up a clean sweep during a near flawless night of racing, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team kept the throttle down in securing another solid top-10 A-main showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

With a strong contingent of 38 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle on the third-mile clay oval, Walter used another favorable draw to earn the pole starting position in the third 10-lap heat race.

Walter seemed unfazed by the fast, tacky and treacherous racing surface as he bolted out to a big lead over the second-place machine of Shane Wenninger in the early going. The 14th-year Sprint Car competitor maintained a solid advantage in the closing laps en route to a full-straightaway margin of victory over Wenninger.

“On a track like this past weekend we really lucked out with another great pill draw,” Walter said. “It seems like things are going in a good direction this season so far. The car felt stable in the heat race on such a rough track. Because of the ruts, the track was a challenge and really required a bit of finesse with the throttle.”

After his second heat race victory of the 2019 season and the invert, Walter lined up fourth in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. After the PDTR track crew reworked the undulating racing surface prior to the main events Walter found the going to be plenty rough during the majority of the A-main as he fell back to seventh on lap 10 before advancing back to sixth in the closing laps.

Walter held on to place sixth for his second straight top-10 A-main showing in PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition in a race won by Bill Taylor.

“We struggled a bit in the A main,” Walter said. “It wasn’t awful, but the car just wasn’t free enough on entry when racing with other cars around me. In order to get the car to turn, I really needed to drive it in to the corner hard to keep the wing speed.

“The track did get slightly better after they worked it during intermission,” he said. “However, it was a one-lane track for the most part and most of the passing up front was done on restarts. I just wasn’t able to capitalize where others were able to.”

The Josh Walter-Torque Racing team is set to compete in an MSA doubleheader this weekend starting on Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to get under way at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, June 2, the team will make its first of three scheduled 2019 MSA appearances at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow.

“This weekend is the first scheduled doubleheader weekend of the season, and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead,” Walter said. “We have a lot of racing ahead of us, so we are trying to take it one night at a time.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions

Sheboygan by Owner was created in 2003 to give sellers of real estate in Sheboygan, Calumet and Manitowoc Counites an avenue to sell their own home, while having a presence on the internet and access to real estate partners at a low flat fee rate, which allows them to keep more money in their own pockets.

Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner” properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on every home they drive by or hear about.

“Homebuyers can search the web to see what the homes have to offer, and then call on only the ones they have an interest in, saving them both time and money,” said Allison Smith of Sheboygan by Owner.

Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for the 2019 racing season.

“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit www.sheboyganbyowner.com

Home Transitions began in 2002 as a referral and buyer-only real estate company. By 2008, it blossomed into a full-service real estate company serving customers located mainly in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, while reaching out to other outlying areas upon request.

“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit www.hometransitions.us

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

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

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 4

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 3

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 2

Tough night halts Pokorski Motorsports’ A-main streak

After nearly two years of qualifying for every Midwest Sprint Car A-main he has attempted, Paul Pokorski of West Bend failed to make the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car main event on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth Wis. following a crash on the first lap of the B main. – Trevor Frank, Frank Motorsports photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 28, 2019 – For the first time in nearly two years, Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team found themselves watching a Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main rather than in the thick of the action on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

After breezing through a very clean 2018 campaign, during which he completed every lap of every race and qualified for all 23 MSA A-mains, Pokorski failed to qualify for an A-main for the first time since magneto issues forced the Pokorski Motorsports team to scratch from a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 17, 2017.

With 38 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars signed in for Pokorski Motorsports sponsor Pedal Down Promotions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track, the forgettable night began with a unfavorable heat race draw, which saw Pokorski start fifth in the third Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car heat race.

A fast and tacky, but highly treacherous racing surface provided little opportunity for Pokorski to work his way up into an A-main transfer spot as he held on to place sixth in a heat race loaded with a host of top competitors.

Pokorski then lined up seventh in the second PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main needing to finish third to earn a spot in the 25-lap A main. On the opening lap, Pokorski dove low and advanced up several spots before contact with Will Gerrits sent the 27-year veteran spinning to a stop in turn two. The contact produced front-suspension damage, which brought Pokorski’s night to an early conclusion.

“Saturday was a tough night,” Pokorski said. “Competing against 35 to 40 cars a night, means everything has to go your way and the heavy track conditions made it hard to pass. In the B-Main, I just had an error in judgement, I guess. I thought that the 21 car [Will Gerrits] was going to push up off the bottom and open a door to squeeze under him. I realized too late that the opening I saw was closing and couldn’t stop quickly enough. I was disappointed in myself as it took away any chance Will Gerrits or I had to make the main. Thankfully, the damage wasn’t major. It was shocks and radius rods mostly.”

On Sunday, May 26, Pokorski made a late decision to compete in the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event at the 141 Speedway in Francis Creek.

Pokorski began the evening by qualifying his 360 Sprint Car 24th in the 25-car IRA field with a lap of 12.581 seconds on the quarter-mile clay oval. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion started and finished eighth in the second IRA 10-lap heat race to earn the 23rd starting spot in the 30-lap A main.

Pokorski worked the inside groove of the smooth, wide and slick track surface throughout the event to gradually advance his way through the field. After dropping back to 24th on the opening lap, Pokorski slipped past Brian Strane and Hunter Custer to secure 22nd on lap four.

On lap 5, Pokorski worked past Matt Wiese to move into 21st. Following a pair of caution flags, which resulted in Scott Biertzer and Joey Moughan retiring from the race, Pokorski restarted in 19th on lap 15. Pokorski moved up to 18th when Adam Miller left the race on lap 18 and restarted 17th following a caution flag on lap 20.

On lap 22, Pokorski powered past Nick Matuszewski to move into 16th place, which is where he finished in a race won by Bill Balog.

“Sunday night was fun,” Pokorski said. “The car felt really good and we did learn a couple of small things that we may use going forward. It was just a fun night and a great show to be a part of.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to compete in an MSA doubleheader this weekend starting on Saturday, June 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing slated to get under way at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, June 2, the team will make its first of three scheduled 2019 MSA appearances at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow.

“I’m looking forward to a better Saturday night at Plymouth this week,” Pokorski said. “I’m also excited to go back to Angel Park. The schedule is about to get hectic.”

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor ShowcaseGoeden’s Auto Body

As one of Pokorski Motorsports’ longest-running and most-valued sponsors, Goeden’s Auto Body, located at 2417 Highway 28 East in Kewaskum, has been in business since 1971. In 2015, David “Dusty” Goeden took over ownership of the family-owned business.

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s also offers classic vehicle restoration and rust repair. In addition, it will work with all insurance companies. Goeden’s Auto Body uses PPG paints and clear coats, offers towing services and a locked fenced storage area. Continuing the Goeden Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

“At Goeden’s Auto Body, we were born to perform,” Dave “Dusty” Goeden, Goeden’s Auto Body owner said. “With over 50 years of doing business and our racing involvement on and off the track, we know how to treat our customers like winners. With every job, we push ourselves to improve our performance and deliver a winning product. We work with all insurance companies, provide free computerized estimates and loaner vehicles while we repair your vehicle. Give us a call when you need a tow or some auto body work. Remember you, not your insurance company, have the right to choose where to take your vehicle for repairs.”

For more information on Goeden’s Auto Body, call 262-334-2759 or e-mail goedenauto@gmail.com.

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

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

 

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule.

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, June 15 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, June 21 – Spring Lake Speedway, Unity, Wis.

Saturday, June 22 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 4

MSA events – 3

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 0

 

 

 

 

First-time winners sweep PDTR A mains

Bill Taylor of Cedar Grove talks with track announcer Loren Kelly after earning his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

Taylor, Schmidt, Juech, Cullen visit victory lane

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 25, 2019 – It was a night of firsts for four Plymouth Dirt Track Racing competitors as victory lane was graced by nothing but first-time A-main winners in their respective divisions, during PDTR’s Military Night Memorial Day weekend racing program on Saturday, May 25 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Despite heavy overnight rain showers, dry and warm weather allowed the show to go on as planned with 100 competitors in four divisions and a solid race-hungry crowd of spectators turning out for the third PDTR racing program of the 2019 season, which was sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

Bill Taylor of Cedar Grove turned back repeated challenges from Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series standout Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main. Cedar Grove veteran Charlie Schmidt scored a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Jason Juech of West Bend notched a wire-to-wire win in the time-shortened 20-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Chilton’s Jesse Cullen survived an action-packed, heated three-way duel with visiting Beaver Dam drivers Tim Sheppard and Elijah Koenig to come out on top in the Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 360 Sprint Car A-main, Taylor started on the pole flanked by Nich Melis of Plymouth. Taylor got the jump on the start and pulled out to a quarter-straightaway advantage over Melis by lap 4. Two laps later, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen brought out a red flag when he flipped his machine in turn two after making contact with Waldo’s Chris Clayton. McMullen was uninjured, but he was done for the night.

On the restart. 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, bolted past Melis to take over the runner-up spot, while seventh starter Tim Haddy of Waupun followed Davis into third place on lap 8. Davis was reeling in Taylor on the lightning fast and tacky, but treacherous third-mile clay oval when the second caution appeared on lap 9 when Plymouth’s Adam Miller spun in turn two.

Visiting IRA 410 Sprint Car Series racer Scotty Thiel, who started eighth, made his presence felt in a big way on the restart as he pushed his Randy Sippel-owned 39s machine up to the outside line to power into third place on lap 10.

Six laps later, Taylor caught the rear of the field, which caused him to alter his line slightly to negotiate slower traffic. Thiel had moved into striking distance when the third and final caution of the event appeared on lap 16 when Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz stopped in turn four.

On the final restart, Melis and Haddy dueled feverishly for third while Thiel reached into his bag of tricks to try everything he could to unseat Taylor from the lead. However, Taylor held strong to turn back Thiel’s challenges on the way to his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory.

Thiel had to settle for second, Haddy placed third, Melis was fourth and Davis rounded out the top five.

With Charlie Schmidt starting the Late Model A main from the pole position and Mark Rose of Dorchester on the outside of the front row, a five-car incident involving Kevin Baldry of Omro, Zack Kessler of Plymouth, four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake, Jim Juneau of Milwaukee and Justin Ritchie of New London brought out a caution flag before the first lap of the race was completed.

Following a complete restart, Schmidt gained the lead with Rose in tow. On lap 6, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush moved in to pressure defending PDTR Late Model champ Justin Schmidt of Cleveland for third. One lap later, Rose powered in to challenge Charlie Schmidt for the top spot, while Justin Schmidt cleared Buhler and closed in on Rose for second.

On lap 12, Justin Schmidt nearly spun as he attempted to duck underneath Rose in turn four, which caused him to lose a lot of ground. Meanwhile, Rose kept hounding Charlie Sch

Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove waves to the crowd, after tallying his first career 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

midt at the front of the field.

However, Charlie Schmidt was too strong as he held on over the second half of the race to secure his first career PDTR Late Model A main victory. Rose placed second in his first appearance of the year at Plymouth, Justin Schmidt placed third, third starter Paul Parker of Kaukauna was fourth and Buhler finished fifth.

Jason Juech grabbed the initial lead of the Grand National A main from the pole position with Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake falling into second from his outside front row starting spot. On lap 3, Oostburg’s Luke Scholten powered up from his eighth starting spot to size third along the outside line.

On lap later, Scholten rode the high line of the narrow track surface to secure second place before a the first of a string of four caution flags appeared on lap 4 for debris. Another caution flew one lap later for a three-car incident in turn two, which involved a lengthy clean-up period to unhook the cars of Jacob Muehlbauer and Don Singer.

After two more caution periods involving multi-car incidents on lap 9, the race ran up against the time limit. On lap 12, seventh starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved to take over second place along the low line. Scholten battled back along the high groove to duel with Tyler Kulow for second for two laps before Tyler Kulow suged ahead for good.

Jason Juech of West Bend celebrates his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

On lap 19, Tyler Kulow closed the gap on Juech as the leaders encountered lapped traffic. However, the race hit the time limit, which caused the checkered flag to fall on lap 20 with Juech earning his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to add to his four previous PDTR Outlaw Compact A-main triumphs.

Tyler Kulow placed second, Scholten was third, Plymouth’s Steven Weber finished fourth after starting ninth and Donny Kulow rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Andy Welter of Milwaukee, who was making his first appearance of the season at Plymouth, led the first two laps of the B Mod A main before third starter Jesse Cullen moved in to grab the top spot in turn three on lap 3.

Meanwhile, 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who was making his first appearance at Plymouth of the season, used the high groove to take third from his sixth starting spot on lap 10

One lap later, Beaver Dam’s Elijah Koenig, who started 11th, used the low line to move past Sheppard to gain the third spot on lap 11. Koenig then ventured to the outside line to take second on lap 14 in turn four with Sheppard following into third.

With Koenig running high and Sheppard down low, the two Beaver Dam visitors continued to duel for second, while also reeling in Cullen for the lead. Just after Sheppard surged into second place he got sideways and spun in turn two, which dropped him back to seventh place in the running order before the first of four cautions appeared on lap 19 for debris in turn two.

After another debris caution, Koenig dove low to take the lead from Cullen in turn three on lap 20. However, the pace slowed again for a spin on the frontstrech involving Don Singer on lap 21.

On the restart, Cullen battled back to regain the lead in turn three as Cullen and Koenig dueled side by side. Contact between Cullen and Koenig in turn four on lap 22 brought out the fourth and final caution flag. Race officials deemed Koenig responsible for Cullen’s spin, which allowed Cullen to keep his spot in the lead, while Koenig exited the track.

On the final restart, Cullen fended off Sheppard, who had recovered from his spin on lap 18 to gain the second spot, to earn his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory to add to a previous PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.

Sheppard placed second, fifth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls was third, Andy Singer of Cedar Grove placed

Jesse Cullen of Chilton has a word with track announcer Loren Kelly after posting his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory on Saturday, May 25 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

fourth and Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford placed fifth after starting 20th.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Travis Arenz captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program featured a large field of 38 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 29 B Mods, 19 Grand Nationals and 14 Late Models.

PDTR officials have announced that the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series combined challenge event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, which was postponed by weather on Saturday, May 18, has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 25. The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will also be on the card.

Recent NASCAR Hall of Fame selection Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. is expected to compete along with a large contingent of top national and regional touring 410 Sprint Car competitors. All advance tickets purchased for the May 18 event will be good on July 25.

With the Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series scheduled to compete at The Plymouth Dirt Track just four days later on Monday, July 29, the regular PDTR racing program on Saturday, July 27 has been cancelled. The PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions will also compete with the World of Outlaws Late Models on Monday, July 29.

The next PDTR racing program, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods, will take place this Saturday, June 1 sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza. Hot laps will start at 5:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.

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

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

RICHARD’S OF DUNBAR SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: May 25, 2019

HEAT 1

1, DANNY SCHLAFER. 2, BILL TAYLOR. 3, LANCE FASSBENDER. 4,

ADAM MILLER. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, CHRIS LARSON. 7, BLAKE

WONDRA. 8, SCOTTY NEITZEL (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, TIM HADDY. 2, CHRIS CLAYTON. 3, KEVIN KARNITZ. 4, JUSTIN

MILLER. 5, WAYNE MODJESKI. 6, WILL GERRITS. 7, JUSTIN ERICKSON.

8, BRYCE SCHMITT.

HEAT 3

1, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 2, KURT DAVIS. 3, DOUG WONDRA. 4, TYLER

BRABANT. 5, MIKE DECKER. 6, CHRIS FLICK. 7, TONY WONDRA. 8,

TYLER TISCHENDORF. (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, JIM MELIS. 4, TRAVIS

ARENZ. 5, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 6, PAUL POKORSKI. 7, TYLER DAVIS.

HEAT 5

1, SCOTTY THIEL. 2, SCOTT CONGER. 3, NICH MELIS. 4, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 5, AL SCHLAFER. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, PRESTON

RUH.

B FEATURE

1, JUSTIN MILLER. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, WAYNE MODJESKI. 4,

TYLER DAVIS. 5, CHRIS FLICK. 6, BRYCE SCHMITT. 7, BLAKE WONDRA.

8, JACK VANDERBOOM. 9, MIKE DECKER. 10, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 11,

SCOTTY NEITZEL.

B FEATURE

1, TRAVIS ARENZ. 2, DOUG WONDRA. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, WILL

GERRITS. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, TONY WONDRA. 7, CHRIS LARSON. 8,

TYLER TISCHENDORF. 9, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 10, PRESTON RUH. 11,

PAUL POKORSKI.

A FEATURE

1, BILL TAYLOR. 2, SCOTTY THIEL. 3, TIM HADDY. 4, NICH MELIS. 5,

KURT DAVIS. 6, JOSH WALTER. 7, SHANE WENNINGER. 8, KEVIN

KARNITZ. 9, DANNY SCHLAFER. 10, JUSTIN MILLER. 11, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 12, TYLER BRABANT. 13, CHRIS CLAYTON. 14, ROBBIE

PRIBNOW. 15, JIM MELIS. 16, WAYNE MODJESKI. 17, ADAM

MILLER. 18, AL SCHLAFER. 19, SCOTT CONGER. 20, TRAVIS ARENZ. 21, DOUG WONDRA. 22, BRANDON MCMULLEN.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, KEVIN BALDRY. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 4, MARK ROSE.

5, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 6, JOE BONGIORNO. 7, JIM JUNEAU.

HEAT 2

1, BRAD MUELLER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, PAUL PARKER. 4, CHAD

VETTING. 5, ZACK KESSLER. 6, BRIAN KONITZER. (DNS).7, JIM

SCHMIDT. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 2, MARK ROSE. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, PAUL

PARKER. 5, TIM BUHLER. 6, JOE BONGIORNO. 7, JIM SCHMIDT. 8, CHAD

VETTING. 9, JIM JUNEAU. 10, BRIAN KONITZER. 11, BRAD MUELLER.

12, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 13, KEVIN BALDRY. 14, ZACK KESSLER.

 

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 2, JIM FISCHER. 3, DONNY KULOW. 4, CHAD

ESPEN. 5, DEREK KAAT. 6, BRUCE TROESCH. 7, JACOB MUEHLBAUER.

HEAT 2

1, TYLER KULOW. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 4, JUSTIN

PEARSON. 5, JOSH HITSMAN. 6, DYLAN MAY. (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, DICK HED. 2, JASON JUECH. 3, STEVEN WEBER. 4, JJ PAGEL. 5,

JEFF LAMMERS. 6, DAKOTA CABUNAC.

A FEATURE

1, JASON JUECH. 2, TYLER KULOW. 3, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 4, STEVEN

WEBER. 5, DONNY KULOW. 6, JJ PAGEL. 7, JEFF LAMMERS. 8, CHAD

ESPEN. 9, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 10, DICK HED. 11, JACOB MUEHLBAUER.

12, DEREK KAAT. 13, DAKOTA CABUNAC. 14, DYLAN MAY. 15, JOSH

HITSMAN. 16, JIM FISCHER. 17, BRUCE TROESCH. 18, JUSTIN

PEARSON. 19, DONNY SINGER.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 2, SPENCER LONG. 3, DONNY SINGER. 4,

CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, BRADY

HARSHBARGER. 7, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 8, MARCUS HOEPPNER.

(DNS).

HEAT 2

1, ANDY SINGER. 2, MICHAEL GILSON. 3, TIM WARNER. 4, PHIL

CAMPANELLA. 5, JUSTIN BAUER. 6, CRAIG GESSNER. 7, TIM LANGE.

HEAT 3

1, TIM SHEPPARD. 2, JAMES RAUTMANN. 3, ANDY WELTER. 4, MARK

HOEPPNER. 5, STEVE LORIER. 6, RORY WELCH. 7, BARRY MAAS.

HEAT 4

1, GARY GLANDER. 2, JESSE CULLEN. 3, ELIJAH KOENIG. 4, SHANE

LONG. 5, BRIAN WIELAND. 6, JOSHUA MAVIS. 7, RICK KRETSCHMANN.

(DNS).

B FEATURE

1, MARK HOEPPNER. 2, STEVE LORIER. 3, PHIL CAMPANELLA. 4,

MARCUS HOEPPNER. 5, RORY WELCH. 6, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 7,

BRIAN WIELAND. 8, TIM LANGE. 9, PATRICK HANSON. 10, JOSHUA

MAVIS. 11, CRAIG GESSNER. 12, BARRY MAAS. (DNS).13, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, JESSE CULLEN. 2, TIM SHEPPARD. 3, GARY GLANDER. 4, ANDY

SINGER. 5, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 6, JUSTIN BAUER. 7, MARK

HOEPPNER. 8, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 9, DONNY SINGER. 10, STEVE

LORIER. 11, JAMES RAUTMANN. 12, TIM WARNER. 13, PHIL

CAMPANELLA. 14, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 15, BRADY HARSHBARGER.

16, ANDY WELTER. 17, MICHAEL GILSON. 18, SHANE LONG. 19,

SPENCER LONG. (DNS).20, ELIJAH KOENIG. (DNS).

 

 

 

 

Walter, Torque Racing storm to clean sweep at Plymouth

Josh Walter of Plymouth registered his fifth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main victory Saturday, May 11 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 15, 2019 – It was one of those rare nights that Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team had never experienced in 13 previous seasons of Sprint Car racing competition and quite possibly may never experience again.

One week after failing to finish the season-opening Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car Racing A main and ending up 14th in final rundown due to a rear end issue, Walter put together a perfect evening during which he scored a victory in his heat race before claiming the victory in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main Saturday, May 11 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

“I felt good going into this week knowing that our car was a good handling car the week prior,” Walter said. “We just missed out on a good finish on May 4th due to an internal issue with the rear end that we had in the car.  I am rarely the most confident person in a car, but I always expect myself to finish where I start or better our position. I hate going backwards, although it happens. I just try to make it a rarity.”

Walter had luck on his side right of the bat drawing the pole position for the third PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race in a stout 40-car field. The Plymouth resident held tight to the low groove of the ultra-dry slick racing surface en route to an impressive half-lap victory over runner-up Shane Wenninger to earn a berth in the A main.

“The car was good in the heat race this week and with track conditions the way they were, it sure didn’t hurt to start on the pole,” Walter said. “We still had a great car and I didn’t push it nearly as hard at the end of the race as I did in the beginning. On a track like that, it feels like you are going so slow and it’s easy to overdrive. Smooth is fast and sometimes slow is smooth.”

After the passing points were tallied and the invert was completed, Walter again found himself on the pole position for the 25-lap headliner. Walter outpowered outside front row starter Nich Melis to lead the opening lap and maintained the top spot until Travis Arenz moved in to challenge along the outside groove on lap 4.

Four laps later, Arenz dove underneath Walter to grab the lead in turn one on lap 8. Not to be denied Walter battled back to draw even with Arenz as the two drivers dueled side by side on lap 11. One lap later, Walter moved ahead for good while Arenz brought out a caution on lap 13 when he stopped in turn four with a mechanical issue.

“The A main was nerve wracking,” Walter said. “The race felt like it was again at a crawling pace. Not wanting to over drive and miss my marks, I did the best I could to keep momentum on my side and keep as much steering out of the car as possible.  I had some in the reserve tank as far as speed went since I was being somewhat conservative. It sounds foolish not to be aggressive, but when you start on the pole, which is a great place to be, it’s really tough to gauge your speed and if no one shows you a nose it doesn’t pay to make a mistake and lose the race for yourself.

“When Travis Arenz showed me a nose, I knew I was being a little too conservative and had to step up my game,” he said. “I couldn’t just let him have it. I knew I had a great car and wasn’t going to go down without a fight.”

As the track started to take rubber along the inside groove, Walter held strong on the low line while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen moved in to mount a challenge for the lead. As the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 20, McMullen was able to close in on Walter. A slight bobble from Walter in the final corner of the last lap of the race allowed McMullen to pull alongside heading to the checkered flag.

However, Walter was able to hold off McMullen’s advances at the finish line to record his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint and Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory by a half-car length margin.

“In the closing laps, I figured someone would be coming,” Walter said. “I wasn’t going to give up the bottom line even though lap traffic was impeding my speed slightly. I made sure to force the hand of whoever was behind me to have to go around me on the outside if they wanted to win this one. Of course, not being one to lack drama, I messed up the last corner of the race pretty bad and opened the door. Brandon is a great competitor and it was a close race. You can’t make mistakes like that with him behind you and that will stick with me for a long time. I am just glad that it didn’t bite me in the end. However, it was a good warning shot.”

Walter marveled how the evening’s sequence of events fell into place to allow him to pull off his first career clean sweep.

“I’ve never had a clean sweep before or even had a night where I technically didn’t need to pass a single car, Walter said. “It’s rare when anyone gets things to go so well in one night. I started on the pole of the heat and the feature, which in itself is rare. Also, that brings a lot of pressure because you can either win or go backwards.”

This Saturday, May 18 marks one of the most anticipated nights of the PDTR season as the All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car Series is set to take on the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series in an All Star-IRA Challenge event featuring NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, three-time World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series champ Sammy Swindell and a host of other top national and regional drivers. The program will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Advance general admission tickets for the All Start-IRA Challenge event are available through Friday, May 17 by calling 920-893-5751. Adult tickets are $30, student tickets for age 6-12 are $10 and children age 5 and under will be admitted free. Pit passes are $35 or $25 with a PDTR Rewards Card.

Spectator gates open at 3 p.m. for advance general admission ticket holders and 4 p.m. for those purchasing tickets on race day. On-track action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend,” Walter said. “The track should be ready for what might be close to 90 sprint cars. We have high expectations all season and we look forward to the challenges ahead.  It’ll be tough. It’s a great group we have in the MSA/PDTR and there are a lot of cars who can win on any given night.

“The week after a win is always an odd one as a driver,” he said. “You are excited that you got the first win of the season out of the way, yet you dread the following week cause you know you are getting penalized for winning with the rule that you need to start behind the pill draw plus three if you make the invert. With all of that being said, I am very happy that we won on Saturday night. It will be exciting to put on a show for a large crowd. I think people are really in for a treat in all divisions.”

Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Platinum Restoration Services, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions

Sheboygan by Owner was created in 2003 to give sellers of real estate in Sheboygan, Calumet and Manitowoc Counites an avenue to sell their own home, while having a presence on the internet and access to real estate partners at a low flat fee rate, which allows them to keep more money in their own pockets.

Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner” properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on every home they drive by or hear about.

“Homebuyers can search the web to see what the homes have to offer, and then call on only the ones they have an interest in, saving them both time and money,” said Allison Smith of Sheboygan by Owner.

Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for the 2019 racing season.

“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit www.sheboyganbyowner.com

Home Transitions began in 2002 as a referral and buyer-only real estate company. By 2008, it blossomed into a full-service real estate company serving customers located mainly in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, while reaching out to other outlying areas upon request.

“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.

For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit www.hometransitions.us

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

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

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, May 18 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 25 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth Wis.

Saturday, June 1 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, June 2 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, June 8 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 3

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 2

A-Main Victories – 1

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 1

Heat Race Victories – 1