News - Page 24 of 32 - Pedal Down Promotions

Pokorski Motorsports tallies another top-10 showing

Paul Pokorski (4) duels with Tim Haddy (21H) during 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, May 11. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 14, 2019 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team made the most of the hand they were dealt 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, May 11.

On an unseasonably cold evening, ultra dry-slick track conditions proved to limit the overall level of competition among the entire 40-car field. However, Pokorski still managed to place second in his heat race and register a sixth-place showing in the 25-lap A-main to secure the team’s second straight top-10 A-main finish at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

After lining up fourth in the first PDTR 360 sprint car heat race, Pokorski used the high groove to power around Bill Taylor and secure third place on lap one. On lap 2, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion worked his way around Chris Flick to take over second.

Pokorski cut Nich Melis’ full straightaway lead to five car lengths by lap 8. However, he ran out of the laps and posted a second-place showing to gain a berth in the A main.

The West Bend driver rolled off from the sixth starting spot in the A main and maintained his position in the early going while dueling with Nich Melis for sixth place. After a lap 13 restart, Pokorski ducked under Melis to move into fifth on lap 14. One lap later, Tim Haddy ventured to the high grove of the rubber-down racing surface to seize fifth and shuffle Pokorski back to sixth in the running order.

Pokorski held is spot over the final 10 laps as the majority of the field ran in single file formation along the rubber-down inside lane on the way to a sixth-place finish behind race winner Josh Walter.

“I was happy with the car all night again,” Pokorski said. “I knew the track would take rubber at some point in the first 10 laps and there is only so much you can do when the track rubbers down.”

After placing third and sixth in the first two A-mains of the 2019 season, Pokorski currently stands at the top of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings with 162 points, six points ahead of Tim Haddy and 10 points in front of 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen.

This Saturday May 18 the Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, PDTR will welcome the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series for a combined points event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series.

Retired NASCAR legend and All Star series owner Tony Stewart will compete, along with three-time World of Outlaws Series champion Sammy Swindell and host of other top national and regional drivers.

Pokorski is looking forward to a memorable night of racing.

“I’m hoping for warm weather and a little more moisture in the track, so it doesn’t rubber down,” Pokorski said. “If that happens, it will be a great night on Saturday. I am hoping the crowd is good. It always adds to the excitement when the grandstand is packed. I’m thinking there should be 80 sprint cars in the pits.”

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.

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 Showcase – Goeden’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, 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 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 2

MSA events – 2

IRA events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 2

Heat Race Victories – 0

May 15, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Scheffler, Kulow, Bauer heat up frigid PDTR racing program

Josh Walter of Plymouth recorded a clean sweep in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action with a victory in the third 360 Sprint Car heat race and the 25-lap A main 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 11, 2019 – An impressive field of 102 cars in four divisions and a hearty contingent of racing fans braved an unseasonably chilly evening to get their racing fix as three veteran drivers earned return visits to victory lane, while another celebrated the first A-main triumph of his career in Plymouth Track Racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 11.

Josh Walter of Plymouth held off a pair of heated challenges to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main. Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler scored a wire-to-wire victory in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth came out on top in the 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls held off a late charge from last week’s A-main winner Tim Warner of Fond du Lac to earn his very first 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph.

In the 360 Sprint Car A-main, Walter outpowered outside front row starter Nich Melis of Plymouth to take the lead in turn one of the opening lap from the pole position. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 2, when Waupun’s Tyler Brabant spun in turn four.

On the restart, sixth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan began to make his march to the front of the field as he pulled off a slide job in turn three to move past fourth starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started third, and Melis to secure second place in the running order on lap 3.

Arenz then ducked low on lap 7 to pressure Walter for the top spot. On lap 8, Arenz slipped underneath Walter in turn one to take over the top spot. However, Walter did not back down as he held tight to Arenz and dove low in turn three on lap 11 as the two drivers raced side by side before Walter regained the top spot on lap 12.

On lap 13, Arenz dropped from contention as he slowed to a stop in turn four with a magneto failure to bring out the second caution flag of the race. After the restart, the low line prevailed for nearly every competitor searching for traction on the ultra-slick racing surface.

Walter stayed glued to the inside lane until he had to negotiate lapped traffic starting on lap 20, which allowed McMullen to close the gap significantly. On lap 22, McMullen attempted a high move in turn one, but Walter was too strong along the inside lane.

As the leaders continued to weave their way through slower traffic, McMullen continued to pressure Walter over the final five laps. However, Walter was able to hold off McMullen’s last-lap charge to notch his fifth career PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main victory by a half-car length margin over runner-up McMullen.

Defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth moved up from his 11^th starting spot to finish third, Wenninger placed fourth and eighth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun rounded out the top five.

After an aborted initial start for a five-car incident in turn two involved Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee, Tom Naeyeart of Shawano, 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, Dave Jaeger of Slinger and Cedar Grove’s Charlie Schmidt, Taylor Scheffler used his outside front row starting spot to move past defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started on the pole, to lead the opening lap.

By lap 8, Scheffler had built up a half-straightaway lead over Schmidt with third starter Justin Ritchie of New London trailing in third. Scheffler caught the rear of the field on lap 16, which allowed Schmidt to close a bit before the second caution flag of the race flew on lap 18 for an incident involving Adam Jahnke of Bear Creek and four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake in turn two.

On the restart, Schmidt hounded Scheffler along the low groove and mounted a spirited challenge for the top spot on lap 19. However, Scheffler closed the door and successfully fended off Schmidt’s repeated bids for the lead over the final six laps en route to his second career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.

Schmidt had to settle for second, Ritchie placed third, last week’s Late Model A-main winner Paul Parker of Kaukauna, who started sixth, placed fourth and Turk Letizia of Milwaukee moved up from the 11^th starting position to finish fifth.

In the Grand National A main, polesitter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary jumped into the lead on the opening lap while outside front row starter Dave Holm of Quinney dueled with Plymouth’s Steven Weber, who started third, for second place on lap 2.

The lone caution of the race appeared on lap three for a seven-car mishap in turn two, which was triggered by Holm’s spin at the front of the field. On the restart, Tyler Kulow, who started fifth, used the high groove to challenge Pagel for the top spot.

On lap 4, Kulow powered around Pagel to assume the lead in turn two. Pagel then battled back to close to within inches of Kulow’s rear bumper on lap 14. By lap 19, the leaders found themselves in lapped traffic, which gave Pagel another opportunity to pressure Kulow for the lead. However, Kulow held off each of Pagel’s challenges to post his fifth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a quarter-straightaway margin.

Pagel finished second, Weber wound up third, sixth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg placed fourth and Elkhart Lake’s Donny Kulow, who started fourth, rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Bauer grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the B Mod A main with outside front row starter Steve Lorier of Sheboygan following in second. Lorier moved in to challenge Bauer along the outside line on lap 4 and stayed within striking distance over the next 11 circuits before the first of five caution flags appeared on lap 15 for a one-car spin in turn three.

On the restart, fourth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls dove low to challenge Lorier for second as Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who starter seventh, moved in to join the battle for second on lap 17.

Two laps later, Lorier again initiated a spirit attempt to wrestle the lead away from Bauer just before another caution flag appeared on lap 20, which tipped off a string of incidents over the final five laps.

On the restart, Lorier and Long collided in turn two, which sent Long spinning. Under caution, Lorier claimed responsibility for the incident by tapping on his roof. As a result, Long kept his second-place position in the running order, while Lorier went to the rear of the field on the ensuing restart.

Warner flexed his muscle in the closing laps moving past Long to challenge Bauer for the lead along the high groove on lap 21. However, two more caution flags slowed the pace once again.

On the final restart, Bauer held strong to turn back Warner’s tenacious bid for the lead on the way to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Warner had to settle for second, ninth starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo took third, Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum, who started sixth, placed fourth and Mark Hoeppner of Hartford took fifth after starting 11^th.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Bill Taylor of Kewaskum captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program, which honored Police, Fire and EMS personnel and was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, featured a large field of 40 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 28 B Mods, 18 Grand Nationals and 16 Late Models.

This Saturday, May 18 PDTR will welcome the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions national touring 410 Sprint Car series for a combined points event with the regional touring Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series.

Retired NASCAR legend and All Star series owner Tony Stewart will compete, along with three-time World of Outlaws Series champion Sammy Swindell and current NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor, 2017 NASCAR Truck Series champion and three-time defending Chili Bowl Midget Car race winner Christopher Bell, in addition to a host of other top-flight national and regional Sprint Car drivers.

Advance general admission tickets are available 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.

The program, which is sponsored by JDL Automotive, will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. On-track action is scheduled to begin at 5:30 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 11, 2019

HEAT 1

1, NICH MELIS. 2, PAUL POKORSKI. 3, CHRIS FLICK. 4, BILL TAYLOR. 5, DOUG WONDRA. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, SEAN RAYHALL. 8, SCOTT

CONGER. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, TIM HADDY. 2, DANNY SCHLAFER. 3, SCOTTY NEITZEL. 4,

KEVIN KARNITZ. 5, BRANDON BERTH. 6, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 7, MIKE

DECKER. 8, WAYNE MODJESKI.

HEAT 3

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, KURT DAVIS. 4, JUSTIN

MILLER. 5, SCOTTY THIEL. 6, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 7, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 8, BLAKE WONDRA.

HEAT 4

1, TONY WONDRA. 2, TYLER BRABANT. 3, WILL GERRITS. 4, JIM MELIS

. 5, CHRIS LARSON. 6, AL SCHLAFER. 7, JUSTIN

ERICKSON. 8, PRESTON RUH. (DNS).

HEAT 5

1, TRAVIS ARENZ. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, ADAM MILLER. 4, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 5, CHRIS CLAYTON. 6, BRYCE SCHMITT. 7, TYLER

DAVIS. 8, TYLER TISCHENDORF.

B FEATURE

1, LANCE FASSBENDER. 2, KEVIN KARNITZ. 3, DOUG WONDRA. 4, CHRIS

CLAYTON. 5, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 6, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 7, JACK

VANDERBOOM. 8, TYLER TISCHENDORF. 9, MIKE DECKER. 10, CHRIS

LARSON. 11, SEAN RAYHALL. 12, SCOTT CONGER.

B FEATURE

1, BILL TAYLOR. 2, SCOTTY THIEL. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, CHRIS FLICK. 5,

JOSH TEUNISSEN. 6, BRANDON BERTH. 7, WAYNE MODJESKI. 8,

TYLER DAVIS. 9, BRYCE SCHMITT. 10, BLAKE WONDRA. 11, ROBBIE

PRIBNOW. 12, PRESTON RUH. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 3, JUSTIN MILLER. 4,

SHANE WENNINGER. 5, TIM HADDY. 6, PAUL POKORSKI. 7, WILL

GERRITS. 8, SCOTTY NEITZEL. 9, KURT DAVIS. 10, JIM MELIS.

11, NICH MELIS. 12, ADAM MILLER. 13, LANCE

FASSBENDER. 14, TONY WONDRA. 15, SCOTTY THIEL. 16, TYLER

BRABANT. 17, BILL TAYLOR. 18, DOUG WONDRA. 19, DANNY

SCHLAFER. 20, AL SCHLAFER. 21, TRAVIS ARENZ. 22, KEVIN KARNITZ.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, BRAD MUELLER. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 4, JOE

BONGIORNO. 5, ADAM JANKE. 6, DAVE JAEGER. 7, BRIAN KONITZER. 8,

CHARLIE SCHMIDT. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, PAUL PARKER. 2, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, TOM

NAEYAERT. 5, KEVIN BALDRY. 6, TURK LETIZIA. 7, ERIC MICHAELS. 8,

KYLE RADDANT. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 4,

PAUL PARKER. 5, TURK LETIZIA. 6, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 7, DAVE

JAEGER. 8, KEVIN BALDRY. 9, BRIAN KONITZER. 10, BRAD MUELLER.

11, ADAM JANKE. 12, ERIC MICHAELS. 13, TIM BUHLER. 14, JOE

BONGIORNO. 15, TOM NAEYAERT. 16, KYLE RADDANT. (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 2, DONNY KULOW. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, DEREK

KAAT. 5, BRAD WEISS. 6, CHAD ESPEN.

HEAT 2

1, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 2, STEVEN WEBER. 3, JJ PAGEL. 4, JIM FISCHER.

5, DONNY SINGER. 6, TRAVIS MOEHRING.

HEAT 3

1, DICK HED. 2, DAVE HOLM. 3, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 4, JASON JUECH.

5, DYLAN MAY. 6, JOSH HITSMAN.

A FEATURE

1, TYLER KULOW. 2, JJ PAGEL. 3, STEVEN WEBER. 4, LUKE

SCHOLTEN. 5, DONNY KULOW. 6, DICK HED. 7, JASON JUECH. 8, JEFF

MUEHLBAUER. 9, DEREK KAAT. 10, DONNY SINGER. 11, BRAD WEISS.

12, CHAD ESPEN. 13, JIM FISCHER. 14, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 15, JOSH

HITSMAN. 16, DYLAN MAY. 17, DAVE HOLM. 18, TRAVIS MOEHRING.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, SHANE LONG. 2, JUSTIN BAUER. 3, BARRY MAAS. 4, TRAVIS

SCHMIDT. 5, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, AARON

BUTTERBRODT. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, RICK KRETSCHMANN. 2, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 3, BRIAN WIELAND.

4, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. 5, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 6, PATRICK

HANSON. 7, JEFF STEENBERGEN. (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, TIM WARNER. 2, MARK HOEPPNER. 3, TIM LANGE. 4, DONNY

SINGER. 5, RORY WELCH. 6, JOSHUA MAVIS. 7, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI.

HEAT 4

1, JAMES RAUTMANN. 2, GARY GLANDER. 3, STEVE LORIER. 4, CRAIG

GESSNER. 5, MICHAEL GILSON. 6, ANDY SINGER. 7, BRADY

HARSHBARGER.

B FEATURE

1, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 2, SPENCER LONG. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4,

AARON BUTTERBRODT. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, CHRISTOPHER

GILSON. 7, RORY WELCH. 8, BRADY HARSHBARGER. 9, ANDY SINGER.

10, JOSHUA MAVIS. 11, MICHAEL GILSON. 12, JEFF STEENBERGEN.

A FEATURE

1, JUSTIN BAUER. 2, TIM WARNER. 3, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 4, BRANDON

KNEPPRATH. 5, MARK HOEPPNER. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, AARON

BUTTERBRODT. 8, GARY GLANDER. 9, BRIAN WIELAND. 10, STEVE

LORIER. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, CRAIG GESSNER. 13, MARCUS

HOEPPNER. 14, TIM LANGE. 15, BARRY MAAS. 16, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. 17, SHANE LONG. 18, JAMES RAUTMANN. 19, NATHAN

JAKUBOWSKI. 20, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI.

May 12, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Walter, Torque Racing endure challenges in PDTR opener

Josh Walter of Plymouth opened the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 8, 2019 – With anticipation and emotions running high, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team opened the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car season at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4.

The season-opening program, which drew a huge field of 39 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, produced a mixed bag of results for Walter and his Torque Racing comrades, including a pair of spins in heat race competition, an impressive B-main victory and a strong run in the first half of the A main yielding to an early ending to the evening.

After a poor pill draw put Walter in the sixth starting spot in the fifth PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race, Walter passed Paul Pokorski and Josh Teunissen to move into fourth place on the first lap of the 10-lap race.

After a caution on lap 2, Walter restarted fourth. However, he spun his machine in turn four shortly after the restart and was forced to restart at the rear of the field. One lap later, Walter was involved in another incident in turn two to bring out the third caution of the race. On the restart, Walter passed Preston Ruh and Josh Teunissen to advance to fifth place, which is where he ended up at the conclusion of the event.

“The heat race started our night off rocky with another stellar pill draw and my head wasn’t quite in the game,” Walter said. “I was overdriving with frustration and let my emotions get the best of me. Had a run in with Brandon McMullen at one point and immediately went to apologize after the race. Racing is a mental game and I wasn’t in the right state of mind early in the night. That’s 100 percent on me.”

Walter lined up second in the 12-lap B Main and worked the low groove to perfection to slip past Al Schlafer on lap 10 on the way to the victory and a berth in the 25-lap A main.

“By the time the B main rolled out, I was able to curb the emotions and gain the composure I needed to drive for the win,” Walter said. “My crew did a stellar job and I couldn’t be happier with the support of them and my fans. I owe it to them to be the best racer and person in and out of the car.”

Walter started the 25-lap A main from the 16^th position and quickly worked his way through the field on the wide, smooth and slick track surface. A five-car incident in turn two on lap 2 forced all five cars to retire from the race, which helped Walter advance several spots toward the front of the field.

On lap 4, Walter used the high groove to power into seventh place. One lap later, Walter slipped past Tim Haddy to take over sixth. However, sensing something was not right with his machine, Walter pulled into the infield just after the halfway point of the race, which relegated him to a 14^th-place finish.

“For the A main, we were scheduled to start 18^th, but got moved up to 16^th when a rookie was mandated to the tail of the A,” Walter said. “I had 100 percent confidence in the car and felt pretty good coming off the win in the B. We made our way through the field and had some help with others piling up in turn 2, which thankfully we were able to avoid.

“We were running well, but late in the race the car just didn’t feel like it was running correctly and with safety in mind, I decided to pull into the infield,” he said. “It wasn’t worth doing more damage to the car if I didn’t need to. We’re assessing the issues and getting things situated. We feel pretty confident after an opening night win and being able to drive up through the field.”

With the opening night jitters now hopefully behind them, Walter and his Torque Racing squad will head back to The Plymouth Dirt Track for more PDTR 360 Sprint Car racing action this Saturday, May 11. The program, which will honor all police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission for all credentialed fans, is set to begin one-hour earlier with spectator gates opening at 3:30 p.m. and racing to start at 5 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to the next race and hopefully be able to outperform last week’s results,” Walter said. “Now that we’re so far back in points, they’re no longer a concern at this point so early in the season. Now it’s time to just concentrate on wins, which should make an exciting event each week for our fans to watch.”

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

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 11 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 2

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 1

A-Main Victories – 0

B-Main Victories – 1

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 0

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0

May 8, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports turns in podium run in 2019 lid lifter

Paul Pokorski (4) races with Kevin Karnitz (63K) in 360 Sprint Car competition during the 2109 season opening racing program at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 6, 2019 – After turning in one of their most consistently strong seasons in 26 years of racing a year ago, Paul Pokorski and the Pokorski Motorsports team did not skip a beat in the 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season opener at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4.

Pokorski jump started his 27^th season of racing action in impressive fashion leading the first 16 laps in the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main before registering a strong third-place showing.

“The car was really good all night,” Pokorski said. “I was very happy and it seems like we picked up right where we left off last year. That doesn’t always happen.”

With a gigantic field of 39 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars checked in for the season opener, Pokorski drew the fifth starting spot in the fifth heat race. After a caution on lap 2, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion pulled off a daring slide job in turn three to work his way past Josh Walter and Brandon McMullen into third place on lap 3 of the 10-lap heat race.

After two more caution periods, Pokorski powered around Travis Arenz to secure second place on lap 4 and he held on over the final six circuits to place second behind race winner Jim Melis.

Starting on the outside of the front row, Pokorski utilized the high groove of the wide, smooth and slick track surface to bolt past polesitter Mike Yurmanovich into the lead at the start of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. The West Bend resident set a quick pace at the front of field in the opening laps until the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 2 for the stalled car of Nich Melis in turn four.

On the restart, Danny Schlafer, who was running second, spun in turn two to collect Kurt Davis, Al Schlafer, Bill Wenninger and Adam Miller. Extensive damage forced all five drivers to retire from the event.

Pokorski was again strong on the restart as he used the cushion to bolt away from the second-place car of Robbie Pribnow to build up a full-straightaway lead on lap 7. By lap 14, the inside groove of the track began to take rubber, which allowed the second-place car of Kevin Karnitz to make up ground on the high-riding Pokorski.

On lap 16, Karnitz dove low in turn four to seize the lead away from Pokorski along the inside lane. Travis Arenz followed Karnitz into second place on the next lap to relegate Pokorski to third in the running order. Pokorski held on the rest of the way to secure a third-place showing in the season-opening event behind runner-up Travis Arenz and race winner Kevin Karnitz.

“In the A main, the car was excellent and I thought that the top would be the place to be until the rubber came in,” Pokorski said. “I was expecting that, but when you’re out front it’s hard to figure out when it’s the right time to change lanes. Sometimes being in second and chasing is a better place to be.

“About three laps before Kevin Karnitz passed me for the lead, I knew I was beginning to struggle a little bit in turns 3 and 4,” he said. “I should have taken that as a clue and moved down.”

Pokorski was encouraged by the large turnout of 360 Sprint Cars for the 2019 PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association season opener.

“The car count was pretty unbelievable and there are a few guys that weren’t there on opening night,” Pokorski said. “Some of the guys that were there on opening night, aren’t going to run every single night, but nonetheless I believe the car counts are going to be excellent at all of the MSA shows and the MSA rookie of the year battle should be fun to watch all year too.”

This Saturday May 11 the Pokorski Motorsports team will return to action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. The event will again feature an early start time with spectator gates opening at 3:30 p.m. and racing scheduled to start at 5 p.m.

PDTR will honor police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission for all fans with proper credentials.

Sponsors for the 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Gasroots Project, Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden 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 throughout the off season, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Goeden’s Auto Body

Goeden’s Auto Body specializes in quality, top-notch auto body repair, with a focus on collision work. Goeden’s Auto Body 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’s Auto Body tradition, free loaner cars are also available.

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

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, May 11 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 1

MSA events – 1

IRA events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 1

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 1

Heat Race Victories – 0

May 7, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Karnitz, Parker, Espen, Warner star in 2019 PDTR season opener

Kevin Karnitz of West Bend notched his third career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory in the 2019 season opener at The Pymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4. – RC Custom Design photo

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 4, 2019 – The excitement of a brand new season brought dirt track racing competitors, crews, fans and supporters out in full force to usher in the 15^th season of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing (PDTR) sanctioned competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 4.

With a strong contingent of 95 cars in PDTR’s four regular divisions packing the pit area, a pair of veteran drivers claimed their first career A-main victories as Paul Parker of Kaukauna scored a wire-to-wire triumph in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main and Chad Espen of West Bend survived an incident-filled 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A main to notch his first career PDTR main event victory.

In other action, West Bend’s Kevin Karnitz mounted a late charge to capture the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A main and Tim Warner of Malone pulled off the winning move with two laps to go to claim the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade led the Sprint Car A-main to the green flag from the pole position with Paul Pokorski of West Bend lining up on the outside of the front row. Pokorski got the jump on the start to power into the lead along the high groove of the smooth, wide and slick track surface.

As Pokorski rocketed away from 2005 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started third, the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 2 when Nich Melis of Plymouth spun his machine in turn four.

On the restart, Schlafer got sideways and spun in turn two, triggering a five-car melee involving 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, Al Schlafer of Sussex and Adam Miller of Plymouth. All five drivers emerged uninjured, but none of them were able to return to the race.

Pokorski grabbed the lead on the restart while sixth starter Kevin Karnitz used the high grove to move around fourth starter Robbie Pribnow of Lomira to secure second on lap 3.

By lap 7, Pokorski had built up a full-straightaway lead over Karnitz. Three laps later, 14^th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan moved in to take third from Pribnow. Meanwhile, Karnitz was quickly reeling in the high-riding Pokorski along the low groove.

On lap 16, Karnitz ducked underneath Pokorski to seize the top spot exiting turn four, while Arenz followed Karnitz into second place one lap later. Arenz appeared poised to challenge Karnitz as he drew within striking distance along the cushion on lap 19.

However, Karnitz was too strong as he pulled away over the final five laps to notch his third career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and fifth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association triumph of his career. Arenz had to settle for second, Pokorski held on to finish third, fifth starter Tyler Brabant of Waupun placed fourth and Pribnow wound up fifth.

Polesitter Paul Parker outdueled defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main.

The lone caution of the event appeared on lap 2 when 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush stopped on the frontstretch with a flat tire. Parker was strong again on the restart as he pulled away from Schmidt along the extreme inside lane to gain a quarter-straightaway cushion by lap 15.

Parker encountered lapped traffic on lap 18, which allowed Schmidt to close the gap and mount a late challenge for the lead. Schmidt took a peek under Parker in turn one on lap 22, but Parker shut the door and maintained a solid edge over the final three laps to post his first career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph.

Schmidt was second, fourth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee placed third, Justin Ritchie of New London finished fourth after starting sixth and eight starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove placed fifth.

Donny Singer of Waldo led the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole. On lap three, third starter Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake slipped under Singer to gain the top spot in turn three before the first of five cautions slowed the field.

On the restart, Chad Espen, who started fifth, began to make his presence felt as he moved into to challenge Muehlbauer along the long groove before the second caution was displayed for debris on the backstretch.

After the restart, further starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth used the high line to pressure to make it a three-car battle for the lead. As Kulow worked the outside groove, both Espen and Muehlbauer held tight to the low line as the three raced in close quarters for seven consecutive laps before a pair of cautions appeared on lap 15 and lap 16 for single-car spins.

On the restart, Kulow ducked low, Espen swung out high and Muehlbauer held the middle lane as they raced three-wide through turn four on lap 17. On lap later, Espen seized the lead along the high groove in turn two.

Following another caution for a single-car spin on lap 21, Kulow worked the high line to mount one last shot at the victory. Kulow and Espen dueled side by side on lap 23, but Espen successfully fended off the challenge while sixth starter J.J. Pagel of Campbellsport snuck in to steal second from the high-riding Kulow on the final lap.

Espen held on to secure his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, Pagel placed second, Kulow finished third, Muehlbauer wound up fourth and second starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake placed fifth.

Steve Lorier of Sheboygan grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main from his outside front row starting position before the first of two caution flags flew for a three-car incident in turn two.

On the restart, Lorier again seized the top spot as Jesse Jakubowski of Sheboygan Falls, who started on the pole, settled into second. By lap 8, Lorier had built up a half-straightaway lead over Jakubowski, while Tim Warner, who started eighth, was making a charge to the front of the pack.

On lap 12, Warner worked the high groove to power his way into third as Lorier caught the rear of the field on lap 15, which allowed Jakubowski and Warner to cut the gap.

As Jakubowski and Warner moved into striking range, the second caution appeared on lap 22 when Travis Schmidt of Waldo spun in turn two. On the restart, Warner again charged hard along the outside line to capture the lead in turn two on lap 23. Warner then pulled away to secure his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Lorier had to settle for second, Jakubowski placed third, Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford finished fourth after starting fourth and third starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls was fifth.

Justin Miller of Plymouth won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Josh Walter of Plymouth captured the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main. Brian Wieland of Elkhart Lake was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The program, which was sponsored by Collins State Bank, featured a huge field of 39 PDTR 360 Sprints, along with 25 B Mods, 17 Grand Nationals and 14 Late Models.

PDTR racing action will continue next Saturday, May 11 with an earlier starting time. Grandstands gates will open at 3:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. The evening will honor all police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission with proper credentials.

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

HEAT 1

1, MICHAEL YURMANOVICH. 2, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 3, ADAM MILLER. 4,

WILL GERRITS. 5, JUSTIN MILLER. 6, DOUG WONDRA. 7, BILL TAYLOR.

8, TYLER TISCHENDORF.

HEAT 2

1, DANNY SCHLAFER. 2, KEVIN KARNITZ. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, TIM

HADDY. 5, SHANE WENNINGER. 6, BRANDON BERTH. 7, SPYDER

AKRIGHT. 8, BRYCE SCHMITT.

HEAT 3

1, KURT DAVIS. 2, NICH MELIS. 3, SCOTT CONGER. 4, CHRIS CLAYTON.

5, CHRIS FLICK. 6, SEAN RAYHALL. 7, BLAKE WONDRA. 8, MIKE

DECKER. (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, TYLER BRABANT. 2, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 3, JUSTIN ERICKSON. 4,

LANCE FASSBENDER. 5, TONY WONDRA. 6, JACK VANDERBOOM. 7,

TYLER DAVIS. 8, TYLER NELSON.

HEAT 5

1, JIM MELIS. 2, PAUL POKORSKI. 3, BRANDON MCMULLEN. 4,

TRAVIS ARENZ. 5, JOSH WALTER. 6, JOSH TEUNISSEN. 7, PRESTON

RUH. (DNS).

B FEATURE

1, JUSTIN MILLER. 2, LANCE FASSBENDER. 3, WILL GERRITS. 4, JOSH

TEUNISSEN. 5, JACK VANDERBOOM. 6, TYLER DAVIS. 7, BRYCE

SCHMITT. 8, BLAKE WONDRA. 9, SCOTT CONGER. 10, BRANDON

BERTH. 11, DOUG WONDRA. 12, PRESTON RUH.

B FEATURE

1, JOSH WALTER. 2, SHANE WENNINGER. 3, AL SCHLAFER. 4, TONY

WONDRA. 5, BILL TAYLOR. 6, SPYDER AKRIGHT. 7, MIKE DECKER. 8,

CHRIS FLICK. 9, TYLER NELSON. 10, TYLER TISCHENDORF. 11, SEAN

RAYHALL.

A FEATURE

1, KEVIN KARNITZ. 2, TRAVIS ARENZ. 3, PAUL POKORSKI. 4, TYLER

BRABANT. 5, ROBBIE PRIBNOW. 6, TIM HADDY. 7, JUSTIN MILLER. 8,

WILL GERRITS. 9, CHRIS CLAYTON. 10, LANCE FASSBENDER. 11,

BRANDON MCMULLEN. 12, ANTHONY KNIERIM. 13, MICHAEL

YURMANOVICH. 14, JOSH WALTER. 15, JIM MELIS. 16, JUSTIN

ERICKSON. 17, DANNY SCHLAFER. 18, KURT DAVIS. 19, ADAM MILLER.

20, SHANE WENNINGER. 21, AL SCHLAFER. 22, NICH MELIS.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 2, TIM BUHLER. 3, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 4, TURK

LETIZIA. 5, BRIAN KONITZER. 6, ZACK KESSLER. (DNS).7, RICK

SCHEFFLER. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, JUSTIN RITCHIE. 2, JOE BONGIORNO. 3, TAYLOR SCHEFFLER. 4,

PAUL PARKER. 5, KEVIN BALDRY. 6, BRAD MUELLER. 7, RON STROIKA.

A FEATURE

1, PAUL PARKER. 2, JUSTIN SCHMIDT. 3, TURK LETIZIA. 4, JUSTIN

RITCHIE. 5, CHARLIE SCHMIDT. 6, KEVIN BALDRY. 7, TAYLOR

SCHEFFLER. 8, RON STROIKA. 9, TIM BUHLER. 10, BRIAN KONITZER.

11, BRAD MUELLER. 12, JOE BONGIORNO. 13, ZACK KESSLER.

(DNS).14, RICK SCHEFFLER. (DNS).

KLIPS & TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, CHAD ESPEN. 2, JEFF MUEHLBAUER. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, JOSH

PIERCE. 5, JIM FISCHER. 6, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 7, DEREK KAAT. 8, DYLAN

MAY. 9, JOSH HITSMAN.

HEAT 2

1, JJ PAGEL. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, DONNY KULOW. 4, BRAD WEISS. 5,

DICK HED. 6, JACOB MUEHLBAUER. 7, MARK FIEBER. 8, STEVEN

WEBER. (DNS).

A FEATURE

1, CHAD ESPEN. 2, JJ PAGEL. 3, TYLER KULOW. 4, JEFF MUEHLBAUER.

5, DONNY KULOW. 6, LUKE SCHOLTEN. 7, DICK HED. 8, STEVEN WEBER.

9, BRAD WEISS. 10, MARK FIEBER. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, JACOB

MUEHLBAUER. 13, JOSH PIERCE. 14, JOSH HITSMAN. 15, DYLAN MAY.

16, DEREK KAAT. 17, JIM FISCHER. (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, SHANE LONG. 2, TRAVIS SCHMIDT. 3, BRANDON KNEPPRATH. 4,

GARY GLANDER. 5, TIM LANGE. 6, CRAIG GESSNER. 7, ANDY SINGER.

8, BRIAN WIELAND. 9, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, MARK HOEPPNER. 2, MARCUS HOEPPNER. 3, STEVE LORIER. 4,

RICK KRETSCHMANN. 5, DONNY SINGER. 6, JAMES RAUTMANN. 7,

CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 8, JOSHUA MAVIS.

HEAT 3

1, TIM WARNER. 2, JUSTIN BAUER. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4, RORY

WELCH. 5, PATRICK HANSON. 6, SPENCER LONG. 7, MICHAEL GILSON.

(DNS).8, PHIL CAMPANELLA. (DNS).

B FEATURE

1, BRIAN WIELAND. 2, DONNY SINGER. 3, SPENCER LONG. 4, ANDY

SINGER. 5, NATHAN JAKUBOWSKI. 6, CHRISTOPHER GILSON. 7,

JOSHUA MAVIS. 8, MICHAEL GILSON. (DNS).9, PHIL CAMPANELLA.

A FEATURE

1, TIM WARNER. 2, STEVE LORIER. 3, JESSE JAKUBOWSKI. 4, MARCUS

HOEPPNER. 5, JUSTIN BAUER. 6, JAMES RAUTMANN. 7, GARY

GLANDER. 8, MARK HOEPPNER. 9, SHANE LONG. 10, RICK

KRETSCHMANN. 11, DONNY SINGER. 12, ANDY SINGER. 13, BRANDON

KNEPPRATH. 14, CRAIG GESSNER. 15, BRIAN WIELAND. 16, TRAVIS

SCHMIDT. 17, RORY WELCH. 18, TIM LANGE. 19, SPENCER LONG. 20,

PATRICK HANSON.

May 5, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Love INC of Sheboygan County 2019 Spring-Summer Newsletter

Click here to read the 2019 Love INC Spring-Summer newsletter!

April 25, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Josh Walter, Torque Racing ignites 2019 season with IRA tune-up

Josh Walter steers his Torque Racing machine through a turn, during the Wipperfurth Memorial Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. on Saturday, April 20. – Casey Bollig photo

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) April 24, 2019 – Aiming to dust off the offseason cobwebs and turn some competitive laps before firing up the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team ventured to the Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. to take part in the Wipperfurth Memorial Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on Saturday, April 20.

Despite facing a significant horsepower disadvantage against the high-powered IRA field, which featured 25 entries, Walter more than held its own throughout the evening in his 360 machine.

“The night went really well for our Torque Racing team in shaking down the car and getting the rust off the driver,” Walter said. “We we’re 15^th fast in hot laps and 20^th in qualifying, which wasn’t bad considering we were the last car to take a qualifying time.”

After lining up seventh in the second 10-lap IRA heat race, the Plymouth driver took advantage of two yellow flag restarts to work past three cars on the way to a fourth-place finish and a spot in the A-main event.

In the 30-lap A-main, Walter rolled off from the 13^th starting spot and flexed his muscle in the early going to move into ninth place on lap 3. After a caution flag restart on lap 4, the 15^th-year racer used the low groove to slip underneath IRA frontrunners Mike Reinke and Scotty Thiel to take seventh on lap 9.

Three laps later, Walter found himself challenging Brandon Wimmer for sixth place before the second caution flag of the race appeared for a spin involving Russel Borland. After the restart, Reinke and Thiel battled back along the high groove to maneuver around the low-riding Walter.

A spin by Scott Biertzer on lap 27 brought out the third and final caution of the event. Following the restart, Justin Miller powered past Walter before Borland charged back from his early spin to take the 10^th spot on the final lap, pushing Walter to an 11^th-place finish in a race won by multi-time IRA champion Bill Balog.

“All in all, it was a good night considering what we we’re up against,” Walter said. “We learned a lot for our return to Beaver Dam Raceway in August with the MSA. We didn’t adjust on the car all night to get a gauge on how conditions would affect the car. Late in the A main, we found the car’s tendencies and now we know what we need to make adjustments. The team did a great job and made the best of this opportunity before our season kicks off. If we would have made changes, we wouldn’t know what we know now and that is to our benefit considering we were pretty fast and will be faster next time.”

After finishing third in both the MSA and PDTR point standings last year, Walter is eager to make his presence felt in the 360 Sprint Car ranks this season. The team will kickoff the 31-race MSA campaign this Saturday, April 27 at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Spectator gates are set to open at 3:30 p.m. with Sprint Car hot laps at 4:30 p.m. and racing at 5 p.m.

“We are feeling good heading into our 360 season opener at Plymouth,” Walter, “I’m anxious to see how we match up against a level playing field.”

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 Counties 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 Alison 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 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

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, April 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 11 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 1

IRA events – 1

MSA events – 0

A-Main Victories – 0

Top Five A-Main Finishes – 0

Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0

April 24, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Lee Trotta discusses “California Cheese” on The Biz Connection Radio Show

Children’s book author Lee Trotta of Globetrotta Productions was the featured guest on the April 6-7, 2019 episode of The Biz Connection Radio Show.

Trotta joins Biz Connection Radio Show co-hosts Jim Rosetti and Ron Nielsen to discuss how he turned his love for telling children’s stories to his kids into “The Cheese Book Series.” He also describes the process of writing, illustrating, publishing and marketing his own children’s books, including his latest book titled “California Cheese.”

April 9, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports preps to drop hammer on 2019 campaign

Paul Pokorski is set to begin his 27th season of racing competition Saturday, April 27 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) April 1, 2019 – While he is certainly far from a newcomer to the 360 Sprint Car racing scene, the start of a new racing season still ignites a twinge of excitement for 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series Champion Paul Pokorski.

In fact, the 26-year racing veteran exudes the enthusiasm of a rookie when discussing the upcoming 2019 racing season, which kicks off Saturday, April 27 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

A year ago, the West Bend competitor recorded the team’s most consistent season in 14 years by completing every lap of every A main he competed in during the 2018 campaign, while managing to avoid major accidents or mechanical breakdowns.

In addition, Pokorski racked up five top-five A-main finishes, 16 top-10 A-main showings and five heat race triumphs in 24 events during the 2018 campaign.

“The 2018 was really good…not great, but really good,” Pokorski said. “I was very happy with our consistency and having no wrecks. I was a little disappointed that I did not win a feature, but we did come close a few times.”

In preparation for the 2019 campaign, Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports crew have experienced a few challenges in upgrading the team’s equipment and aligning with the latest safety updates.

“My approach did not go as planned,” Pokorski said. “We started out on schedule, got everything apart and sent out to some of our service providers and partners, but then hit a few snags. I was not going to do the new safety updates to the roll cage for 2019 and do it next year instead. Then I decided at kind of the last minute that I should make the update. That set us behind a little. Then we found out that a rear end we sent in for routine service had some issues and I ended up replacing it. Not a huge deal, but we had put an older rear end in the car. Since we have a new one, I had the guys take the old one out and re-install the new one.

“We also decided to change out some body work to save sponsor Goeden’s Auto Body some headaches,” he said. “That resulted in a long wait on some parts that we did not anticipate. In the end, everything is coming together and we hope to be at practice on April 13 in Plymouth.”

The three-time Eastern Wisconsin Conference Winged Super Modified champion is again aiming to chase the entire MSA and PDTR 360 Sprint Car schedules in 2019, after placing fourth in the MSA and fifth in the PDTR standings last year.

“We are planning on running the full MSA schedule,” Pokorski said. “An IRA race or two may sneak in there. I think the MSA schedule for 2019 is almost ideal. It covers the area most of our drivers wish to cover. We get to go to a few tracks that are not traditional Sprint Car hot spots, which is fun for everyone. There is a variety on track size and surfaces. I can’t wait.”

In nailing down goals for 2019, Pokorski is eager to return to victory lane for the first time since May 27, 2017.

“My goal for 2019 is to try to be as consistent as 2018 with a win or maybe two along the way,” Pokorski said. “I’m ambitious, but appreciative and realistic. I’ve had a really good career and have no complaints.”

Along with welcoming back all of its 2018 sponsors, Pokorski Motorsports is pleased that Hopf Farms and Gasroots Project are joining the fold in 2019.

“We are very happy to have an associate sponsorship from Hopf Farms, and a one-year grant from the Gasroots Project on board for 2019,” Pokorski said. “All of our sponsors from the past several seasons are returning as well. I’m very thankful for them all.”

The 2019 Pokorski Motorsports team includes crew chief Dave Schultz, Randy Leamer, Dan Hoerig, Ian Schultz, Aaron Pederson, Alex Pokorski, Lynn Pokorski, Heather Pokorski, Sheila Leamer, Chuck Tuschl, Karin Tuschl and Melissa Schultz.

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

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

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 24

MSA events – 23

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 16

Heat Race Victories – 5

Midwest Sprint Car Association Points – 4^th

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Points – 5^th

2019 Pokorski Motorsports Racing Schedule

Saturday, April 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 11 – Plymouth, Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, July 21 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, July 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 2 – Outagamie Speedway, Wis. (rain date only)

Saturday, August 3 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 10 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, August 11 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, August 17 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 23 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 24 – Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, August 31 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, September 7 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Saturday, September 14 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, September 27 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, September 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, November 9 – Midwest Sprint Car Association Awards Banquet, The Columbian, West Bend, Wis.

2019 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 0

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0

April 1, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Josh Walter, Torque Racing ready to fire up 2019 MSA season

Josh Walter of Plymouth, Wis. is set to embark on his 14th season of Sprint Car competition in 2019 by chasing the Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car Series point championships. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) March 25, 2019 – Following a long, cold winter filled with meticulous planning and preparation, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team is just about ready to turn up the heat on dirt tracks throughout the state of Wisconsin.

After finishing third in both the Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car point standings and posting one A-main triumph in his return to the 360 Sprint Car ranks in 2018, Walter is eager to take on the full 30-race MSA and PDTR slate again in 2019.

Walter, who is set to embark on his 14^th season of Sprint Car competition in 2019, is hoping to improve on the team’s 2018 campaign, which he admits left a bit to be desired.

“We came into the offseason slightly disappointed in last season,” Walter said. “We knew we needed to make some changes for 2019 if we were going to do better than last year. The car has been modified to comply to the latest World of Outlaws rules, so we will see if that has any effect on some of our setups. I have been hitting the gym and doing the best I can to be the best in the car that I can be.

“If I had to use one word to describe our 2018 season, it would be ‘underwhelming,’” he said. “The team did a great job, and I gave it my best in the car. However, pill draws didn’t seem to go our way often and I don’t think the car was all there. We had some fueling issues in the middle of the year and lost some speed. After we got that fixed, I believe the engine was getting tired. The engine was built in 2012 and the last freshen was in 2014, so we got plenty of life out of it.”

Walter was pleased with the tremendous support displayed during Torque Racing’s annual brat fry on March 2 at Plymouth Tap.

Josh Walter of Plymouth, Wis. recently debuted his 2019 machine at the annual Torque Racing Brat Fry at Plymouth Tap in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

“This was our 13th pre-season brat fry and we had an excellent turnout,” Walter said. “This was our best year yet and I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming season with all the support we’ve received from our sponsors, family, friends and fans. Our team is so grateful to have the people in our lives that are willing to bend over backwards, put in the hard work and make so many sacrifices to get us on track and keep us there.”

Torque Racing’s 2019 season includes 20 races at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wisconsin and 10 additional MSA touring events at six different Wisconsin tracks as Walter plans to chase both the MSA and PDTR 360 Sprint Car titles.

“I feel 2019 will be an interesting year,” Walter said. “We plan on focusing on the MSA schedule. However, we will evaluate a few traveling shows that we aren’t too excited about from a safety standpoint and track quality. I look forward to being back at Beaver Dam, Seymour and Sun Prairie. Plymouth is great being so close to home. I don’t have a favorite track on the schedule anymore. I think each track has its own unique characteristics that you can be excited about as long as you can make the best of those things.”

Walter is tentatively set to pry the lid off the 2019 campaign by taking his 360 Sprint Car on a shakedown run with the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series on April 20.

“At this point, we plan on participating in the April 20^th IRA show at Beaver Dam Raceway,” Walter said. “It’ll be a good place to shake down the car and get some laps there in a 360 again, since we’ll be returning there on August 24^th for an MSA show. Beyond that, we don’t have any plans to run anywhere else.”

The team will kickoff the 2019 MSA and PDTR 360 Sprint Car season one week later on Saturday, April 27 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Heading into the 2019 campaign, Walter has some specific goals in mind.

“I can honestly say we are going to try and make every A-main feature, get more wins and make a run for the championship in 2019,” Walter said. “It might seem bold to say those things, but I usually want to just have fun. I can’t think of anything that would be more fun than achieving those three things.”

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, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design, Home Transitions, Kombucha Brothers and Pedal Down Promotions.

“We don’t have all that many changes in 2019 as the crew and team has stayed together and have a strong relationship,” Walter said. “The chassis has been updated and the engine has been gone through and freshened. That is about it for the car. We did add quite a few sponsors this year beyond our other sponsors that have supported us for years.”

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Pedal Down Promotions

Torque Racing is pleased to welcome Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis. to the team for the 2019 season.

Founded by experienced newspaper journalist Jeff Pederson, Pedal Down Promotions is geared up to provide all of the promotional content that businesses, non-profit organizations, sports teams and creative individuals need to spread the word about their products, services, accomplishments, endeavors, hopes and dreams.

Pedal Down Promotions provides news releases; newsletters; website blog posts, photography; video presentations, websites and social media content development, printed promotional materials, resume and cover services for job seekers, book editing, book publishing and book cover design services and much more.

Since its inception in 2016, Pedal Down Promotions has been highly involved in local dirt track racing scene, providing race reports for Plymouth Dirt Track Racing, driver profile articles for various racing publications and public relations services for area racing teams, track and series.

Pederson is pleased that Pedal Down Promotions will provide public relations services for Josh Walter and Torque Racing throughout the 2019 racing season.

“We are always looking to help race drivers, teams and tracks spread the word about their racing endeavors,” Pederson said. “I am excited about the opportunity to assist Josh Walter and Torque Racing in stepping up their promotional efforts through weekly press releases and social media updates for each MSA and PDTR event during the 2019 season. It should be a lot of fun and we are hoping to give the team’s sponsors, supporters and fans an up-close look into what it takes to put a successful racing team on the track on a weekly basis. Josh is a top-notch competitor who understands the importance of effective communication in advancing awareness of the exciting sport of dirt track racing.”

Torque Racing invites you to contact Pedal Down Promotions by phone at 920-323-7970 or via email at pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com. More information about Pedal Down Promotions can be found at www.pedaldownpromo.com.

2018 Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 23

A Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 10

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 17

Midwest Sprint Car Association Points – 3^rd

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Points – 3^rd

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Schedule

Saturday, April 20 – Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, April 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 11 – Plymouth, Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, July 21 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, July 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 2 – Outagamie Speedway, Wis. (rain date only)

Saturday, August 3 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 10 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, August 11 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, August 17 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 23 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 24 – Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, August 31 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, September 7 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Saturday, September 14 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, September 27 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, September 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, November 9 – Midwest Sprint Car Association Awards Banquet, The Columbian, West Bend, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 0

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0

March 25, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Lee Trotta talks about “California Cheese” on The Breeze

March 22, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Trotta ready to serve up ‘California Cheese’ children’s book

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) March 14, 2019 – Fresh off the success of his first two entries in his highly popular “Cheese Book Series” Sheboygan, Wis. children’s book author Lee Trotta is back on the scene with a new book titled “California Cheese.”

Trotta released his first cheese-based children’s book in 2016 titled “Florida Cheese” before unveiling his second children’s book “Wisconsin Cheese” in 2017.

All three “Cheese Book Series” selections star three Jewish mice from New York City named Bernie, Ebeneezer and Jonah, who live in a wall of a bagel bakery. As mice tend to do, they each crave cheese and are willing to go anywhere to satisfy that craving, which leads to their various adventures throughout the United States.

“In the first book, the three mice take a vacation to Florida and find plenty of cheese for the road trip,” Trotta said. “In ‘Wisconsin Cheese,’ the mice visit Washington, D.C. where they befriend a former Wisconsin Congressman and U.S. Speaker of the House, who agrees to allow them to travel back with him to Wisconsin to satisfy their yearning for Wisconsin cheese.”

“California Cheese,” which is published on Trotta’s own Globetrotta Productions imprint, will be officially released on Saturday, April 6 with a special book launch event during a craft and vendor fair at Cooper Elementary School in Sheboygan, Wis. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The new book features Bernie, Ebeneezer and Jonah taking a magical journey to California to meet a highly popular television mouse.

“In this book, our three mouse heroes fall in love with a cartoon mouse on TV,” Trotta said. “They just have to meet this giant among mice. The first problem they encounter is that they are visiting friends in Wisconsin and the giant mouse lives in California. That problem is solved when Mrs. Zastrow decides to take her children and her visiting mice out to California to find the cartoon mouse at the big theme park. They all learn important lessons along the way, as do children reading the story. They make new friends at the theme park and even meet a big music producer who takes them inside Hollywood. And of course, Mrs. Zastrow treats the mice to cheese like they’ve never seen before.”

According to Trotta, the Cheese Book Series is meant to educate, as well as entertain children with the new “California Cheese” book including even more educational elements that his two previous cheese books.

“This is the most educational of cheese books yet,” Trotta said. “My hope is that school teachers will use it as an educational tool in their classrooms. It is a beautifully illustrated book that makes for a suitable kindergarten or elementary school lesson plan. I can even see it being a template for problem solving strategies geared to adult audiences.”

For “California Cheese,” Trotta enlisted the illustration talents of Kara Saemann of Minneapolis, Minn. to help complete the book’s eye-catching look.

“I draw each of the illustrations with pen and ink and with ‘California Cheese,’ Kara Saemann helped me to fill in the color on the illustrations with her computer graphics wizardry,” Trotta said. “The books have a pretty unique look to them through the illustration method and there are a number of locations in each of the three cheese books that people will recognize.”

Trotta is presently gearing up to promote the book at book festivals and events in Wisconsin and throughout the country, including possibly a separate book launch event in California.

“I’ve greatly enjoyed the appearances I’ve done to promote my previous cheese books,” Trotta said. “I get to read the book to kids at these events and see their reactions and responses, which is priceless for me. I typically read the books with a New York accent and the kids get pretty excited about that.”

After “California Cheese” launches on April 6, it will be available on Amazon.com, as well as at Book Heads in Plymouth, Wis., in addition to Lucy’s Roost, Tiny Tykes and Victorian Chocolate Shoppe in Sheboygan, Wis.

For more information on Trotta’s children’s books, visit the Florida Cheese Facebook page.

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

March 14, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Unity Music Festival to play final tune

MARY ANN WALDBAUER of Sheboygan Falls, who founded the Unity Music Festival to benefit the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund in 2005, is set to present the 15th and final edition of the event at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

Waldbauer ready to send popular cancer care fundraiser out with a bang

After 14 years of planning, organizing and coordinating, it is finally time for Unity Music Festival Founder Mary Ann Waldbauer of Sheboygan Falls to sit back and relax a bit.

Waldbauer, who founded the Unity Music Festival in 2005 as a way to support local cancer patients in need, has announced that this year’s 15th annual Unity Music Festival at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan on Saturday, April 6 will be the last.

“It’s bittersweet as we are coming up on our 15th and final Unity Music Festival,” Waldbauer said. “This all started out in our basement and a vision from God one night to help people raise money for cancer patients through music. Never did I think God would have had me take this to 15 years. In addition to assisting so many people dealing with cancer who are in great need, this event has given people in our community a wonderful experience by performing on the most prestigious stage around – the Stefanie Weill Center. Our youngest performer was 7 years old and our oldest was 100.”

Over the past 14 years, nearly 60 musical acts and local, regional and national performers have donated their time to entertain audiences during the UMF concert.

“I am so grateful for all the musical performers that have joined us over the years,” Waldbauer said. “It makes me laugh when I think about when I called different musical groups and they would ask what I play or sing. I would say, ‘I sing in the shower, and play with our grand kids. I really have no musical talent. I love to organize and loved seeing how every year this has come together with so many people young and old using their God-given talents. We all have them, everyone’s is just different.”

THE RICE FAMILY will be among the musical performers for the 15th and final edition of the Unity Music Festival to benefit the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

This year’s final UMF concert, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, features two popular returnees in the The Rice Family and The Eldorado’s, as well as UMF newcomer The Shin Diggs, formerly known as Pretty Naughty.

The Rice Family returns to the UMF lineup as one of the most heralded groups to ever perform at the event.

“The Rice Family is thrilled to be performing in the Unity Music Festival again this year,” Kristen Rice said. “We will be playing a variety of well-known musical selections from classical to bluegrass, and everything in-between. With two children playing in the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra and three children playing in the Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony, there is never a time when music is not being played in our home. The children range in age from 11 to 21 and enjoy playing music together for their church, as well as for various events in the community. Their collection of instruments includes violin, cello, mandolin, banjo, guitar, ukulele, drums and piano.”

Formed in Sheboygan in the early 1960s, The Eldorado’s are contemporaries of musical legends such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and The Ventures.

In the early days, The Edorado’s played regularly at the Shebogyan YMCA, Weiler’s Ballroom in Port Washington and other hot spots throughout Wisconsin with original members Allen Berchem, Don Cvetan, Lance Schuh, Stu Froehlich and Dennis Behring.

THE SHIN DIGGS are slated to perform at the 15th and final edition of the Unity Music Festival to benefit the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

Amagingly, three of the original five members (Berchem, Cvetan and Froehlich) are still in the band.

The Shin Diggs, which recently changed their name from Pretty Naughty, are well known locally for playing popular, contemporary music spanning multiple genres.

Formed through a Craiglist ad in 2017, The Shin Diggs have performed at venues throughout Wisconsin, including Headliners in Neenah, Sluggers in Appleton, Chearwater Harbor in Waupaca, Edge-O-Dells in Wisconsin Dells and the Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee over the past two years.

“This year is shaping up to be another fantastic line up,” Waldbauer said. “Back by popular demand are the Eldorado’s and The Rice Ramily, while The Shin Diggs are new this year. Our co-emcees are Denice Nugent and Carrie Green from the YMCA Livestrong Progra, which serves cancer patients and cancer survivors. There will also be a grand finale that you won’t want to miss.”

Just as it has each year since its inception, all money raised through the final edition of the Unity Music Festival go to the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund (SCCCF), which assists cancer patients and their families within Sheboygan County.

“Just as it has every other year that I’ve done this, all the proceeds stay local to support the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund,” Waldbauer said. “Its all about people helping people right here in our own community. Anyone suffering a financial hardship due to cancer can benefit from this fund. We can help with heat, light, water, house mortgages, wigs, rent, uninsured medical bills, groceries or gas cards, quality of life classes, etc. We help make their quality of life better while going through this devastating time in their lives.”

THE ELDORADO’S are set to return for the 15th and final edition of the Unity Music Festival to benefit the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan on Saturday, April 6, at 7 p.m.

Established in 2000, The Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund is the brainchild of local medical oncologist, H. Marshall Matthews, who recognized the need to help cancer patients through their cancer journey; it was established in 2000.

In 2002, 17 gestures totaling $2,700 were approved. Since then, hundreds of gestures, amounting to more than one million dollars, have been accepted by the SCCCF.

Waldbauer says the Unity Music Festival has made great strides in raising funds to assist cancer patients in Sheboygan County, and she is highly focused on making the final UMF the best one yet.

“With the donations of time, great talent, generous contributions and the sponsorships of local businesses, this cancer benefit has raised at total of $392,988 over the past 14 years,” Waldbauer said. “We expect this year’s event to be even bigger and better in order to assist those who fall victim to this devastating disease.”

Over the past 14 years, the Unity Music Festival has thrived as one of the most anticipated annual music-driven fundraising events in the Sheboygan County area with a loyal base of dedicated sponsors and supporters.

“We have so many businesses that have financially supported this event, with donations of items or baskets,” Waldbauer said. “Over the Years we have had Green Bay Packers players serve as emcees, including Mark Tauscher, Chester Marcol, Antonio Freeman, and Chris Jacke, each of which were sponsored by Mersberger Financial in Sheboygan Falls.”

Fundraising activities will kick off the festivities beginning at 5 p.m. with silent and live-auction viewing, as well as dollar and 50/50 raffles.

In addition, a gala appetizer buffet will take place beginning at 5:30 p.m. next door to the Weill Center with Chef Clint Kasprzak and Miesfeld’s staff providing the appetizers.

A limited number of gala appetizer buffet tickets are available for $30 each by contacting Mary Ann Waldbauer by phone at 467-3303 or via email at umfmaryann@charter.net

“Chuck Miesfeld and his staff have been so generous in making the Gala Appetizer Buffet successful, along with Blattners Piggly Wiggly, Schwarz’s Fish, Gosse Tortes, Pick-N-Save, Festival Foods, Piggly Wiggly North and Plymouth, Legend Larry’s and Rich Ramminger, Waldbauer said.

Unlike previous UMFs, the grand finale edition will not feature a live auction during intermission, which means the evening will be filled with even more music.

“A new twist for all that have attended this event in the past years is that that there will be no live auction on stage so that people can enjoy more music,” Waldbauer said. “We will instead have a high-end table along with silent auctions that will line the halls, as well as door raffles and 50/50 raffle tickets.”

General admission tickets are currently on sale for $20 per person and gala buffet tickets are also available for $30.

Show tickets are available in advance at Blattner’s Piggly Wiggly in Sheboygan Falls 1166 Fond du Lac Ave. in Sheboygan Falls, 467-0477), Mary Ann or Rick Waldbauer (998 Huron Trail in Sheboygan Falls, 467-3303), Midwest Dental of Plymouth (1415 Eastern Ave. in Plymouth, 893-8458), Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts (826 North Eighth St. in Sheboygan, 208-3243), Matthews Oncology (1621 North Taylor Drive in Sheboygan, 458-7433), Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic (1222 North 23rd St. in Sheboygan, 457-6800), Plymouth Piggly Wiggly (141 Eastern Ave. in Plymouth, 893-0741), Oostburg Piggly Wiggly (944 Center Ave. in Oostburg, 564-2234), Howards Grove Piggly Wiggly (714 South Wisconsin Drive in Howards Grove, 565-4421), Northside Piggly Wiggly (2905 North 15th St. in Sheboygan, 458-9991), Southside Piggly Wiggly (3124 South Business Drive, 452-0411), Festival Foods (595 South Taylor Drive in Sheboygan, 694-6260), Oostburg State Bank (905 Center Ave. in Oostburg, 564-2336), Trilling True Hardware (901 Michigan Ave. in Sheboygan, 457-5541), Sheboygan Chevrolet Buick (3400 South Business Drive, 459-6804), Falls Healing Arts (275 North Main St., 467-8690) and Midstar Printing (1209 Pilgrim Road in Plymouth, 893-4808).

“I have always kept tickets affordable at $20 hoping some businesses would buy a few tickets up for their employees, and many times people will buy up tickets to give to cancer patients,” Waldbauer said. “It’s a great way to get away from their everyday challenges and have enjoyable night out.”

The Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund is a publicly supported 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions by the public are fully tax-deductible.

For more information on the Unity Music Festival visit unitymusicfestival.org or the Unity Music Festival Facebook page.

More information on the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund can be found at www.scccf.org.

“Having cancer hit not only me, but my family as well,” Waldbauer said. “I know first-hand the impact this makes on families. I’ve loved hearing the stories from people about how the SCCCF helped them. It has kept me motivated to keep doing this all these years. I am grateful for my very supportive husband over these past 15 years, along with all the help from my children, family, friends, and neighbors. Many have been with me on this journey from day one. I could not have done it without their love and support.”

For additional information about the 2019 Unity Music Festival or to purchase gala appetizer buffet tickets, call Mary Ann Waldbauer at 467-3303 or email umfmaryann@charter.net

February 25, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

Torque Racing sets 2019 schedule, continues preseason preparations

Josh Walter his set to embark on the full 30-race Midwest Sprint Car Association schedule in 2019. Walter’s Torque Racing team will travel to seven different Wisconsin tracks in 2019 with the season opener slated for Saturday, April 27 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) February 4, 2019 – With less than three months remaining until the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association season opener at the Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, April 27, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team have been busy poring over their preseason checklist as the first green flag of the new year inches ever closer.

After finishing third in both the Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car point standings in his return to the 360 Sprint Car ranks in 2018, Walter is eager to take on the full 30-race MSA and PDTR slate again in 2019.

The team will make three appearances at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie (Sunday, June 2, Sunday, July 21 and Sunday, Aug. 11), with two events scheduled at both the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam (Wednesday, July 3 and Friday, Sept. 27) and TNT Speedway in Three Lakes (Saturday, July 6 and Saturday, Sept. 7).

In addition, single MSA traveling series events are on the docket at Spring Lake Speedway in Unity (Friday, June 21), Outagamie Speedway in Seymour (Friday, July 12) and Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam (Saturday, Aug. 24).

“Our plans are to race the entire MSA Sprints and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing schedules for 2019 with the same goals as last year,” Walter said. “We want to have fun, win as many races as we can and be in the championship hunt as long as the cards fall right.”

Walter, who is entering his 14^th season of Sprint Car competition, adds that he would welcome the chance to supplement his racing schedule with additional opportunities to jump behind the wheel.

“I’m always looking to do more racing if a seat is open,” Walter said.

Walter is pleased to have bolstered Torque Racing’s fleet of sponsorship partners in the offseason to include Lakehouse Bar & Grill in Crystal Lake, Ruh Custom Woodworking of Plymouth, RC Custom Design of Fredonia, Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc and Oostburg Concrete.

Torque Racing’s returning 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 and Full Throttle Ink.

“We are looking forward to working with our current and new sponsors to make 2019 a great season,” Walter said.

Torque Racing is currently gearing up for its annual preseason brat fry fundraiser on Saturday, March 2 starting at 10 a.m. at Plymouth Tap, located at 101 East Mill St. in Plymouth.

“The 2019 car will be on display and we will have all-day raffles and walk-around raffles too,” Walter said. “We will be serving brats, burgers and beverages all day as well. Torque Racing and Plymouth Tap will also be hosting the first-ever Bar Olympics on that day. You won’t want to miss out on that. It should be a lot of fun.”

The Bar Olympics competition, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will feature two-person teams in a round-robin format, including four pool games, four 501 dart games, four corn hole games, four foosball games and one team bye per round. The Bar Olympics competition will be limited to 17 teams with 100-percent payout. The first-place team receives $300, second place gets $150 and third place will earn $60.

Teams can sign up in advance for the Bar Olympics at Plymouth Tap now through 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 2. The entry fee is $30 per two-person team.

Torque Racing is currently seeking additional sponsors for the 2019 season. For more information on how to get involved, contact Josh Walter by phone at 920-400-0720, email at sprint.racer12w@gmail.com or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/TorqueRacing12w.

Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Ruh Custom Woodworking LLC.

Torque Racing is pleased to welcome Ruh Custom Woodworking of Plymouth, Wis. to the team for the 2019 season.

Twenty-five years ago, Ruh Custom Woodworking owner Greg Ruh started taking on a few small woodworking projects for family and friends for fun, which over time evolved into his own full-fledged business.

“I worked at Wilderness Log Homes for 17 years and that’s what got me to have this desire to pursue operating my own woodworking business,” Ruh said. “I make anything people are looking for. Past projects include such things as beds, bunk beds, tables, TV stands and any type of log furniture imaginable. With the support of my family, Ruh Custom Woodworking LLC is starting to become a very successful local business. Our business motto is, ‘If you can dream it, we can build it.’”

Ruh began attending races as a young child with his parents and immediately caught the racing bug. Not only a racing enthusiast, Ruh was a racer himself. He fulfilled his dream of racing his own car in 1993 and competed locally over 10 seasons. Ruh continues to be passionate about the sport of racing and loves to share that passion with his kids, attending as many races as possible with his family.

Ruh says joining with Josh Walter and Torque Racing as a team sponsor for the 2019 campaign serves as a natural fit for Ruh Custom Woodworking LLC.

“My business has decided to sponsor Torque Racing and Josh Walter for the 2019 racing season,” Ruh said. “I like that Josh runs locally. He is also a very competitive racer and a great overall person in and out of the car.”

Torque Racing invites you to contact Ruh Custom Woodworking LLC by phone at 920-980-2087 or via email at gregruh66@gmail.com.

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

2018 Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 23

A Main Victories – 1

Top Five A Main Finishes – 10

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 17

Midwest Sprint Car Association Points – 3^rd

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Points – 3^rd

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Schedule

Saturday, March 2 – Torque Racing Brat Fry, Plymouth Tap, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, April 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, May 11 – Plymouth, Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, July 21 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, July 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 2 – Outagamie Speedway, Wis. (rain date only)

Saturday, August 3 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 10 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Sunday, August 11 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

Saturday, August 17 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, August 23 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, August 24 – Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, August 31 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, September 7 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Saturday, September 14 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Friday, September 27 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

Saturday, September 28 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, November 9 – Midwest Sprint Car Association Awards Banquet, The Columbian, West Bend, Wis.

2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 0

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 0

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0

You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. 🙂

February 5, 2019 / by Jeff Pederson

2019 ‘The Bird & The Bear” book tour scheduled

Nine dates slated at seven venues across Wisconsin to promote new Pedal Down Promotions book publication

(GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN) December 19 – Motorsports author Joe Verdegan of Green Bay has released his 2019 tour schedule for his fourth book “The Bird & The Bear,” published by Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis.

The book chronicles a pair of Northeastern Wisconsin racing legends – Kimberly’s Roger “The Bear” Regeth and Appleton’s J.J. “The Tweety Bird” Smith. In their racing careers spanning several decades starting in the 1960’s, the pair racked up several hundred feature wins and multiple track championships along the way on both dirt and asphalt ovals across Northeastern Wisconsin.

The tour includes a pair of radio show appearances, two motorsports related shows and stops at three Northeastern Wisconsin race tracks that Regeth and Smith experienced a great deal of success in their colorful careers.

The ’19 Tour kicks off Monday night, Jan. 21, 2019 at the Big Apple Pub & Grill in Manitowoc on “Sports Talk” on 1240 WOMT AM with hosts Greg Anderson and Brian Norton. Stop two will be at the fourth annual Luxemburg Racing Show Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds in Luxemburg.

Stop number three will be at the 5th annual NEW MOTORAMA at Shopko Hall in Green Bay Friday thru Sunday March 29-31. The tour then heads south to West Allis Tuesday, April 2 at the famed Milwaukee Mile at Paulie’s Pub for the 35th season of host Jim Tretow’s “Racing Roundup” show.

Shawano Speedway, the famed half-mile where both Regeth and Smith are members of the track’s Hall of Fame, will host a signing at their season opening race Saturday, April 13. Outagamie Speedway in Seymour powered by Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car, another track where “The Bird” and “The Bear” boast several track titles, will host a signing at their season lid lifter Friday night, May 10 at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds.

The final leg of the ’19 Tour will be at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna for the second annual “Pre-Season Pit Party” Thursday night, May 16.

“What these signings have evolved into is a true racer’s reunion for both former drivers and fans alike,” Verdegan said. “Those two legendary drivers will be attending some of these signings next year.”

Verdegan’s other books include “Life In The Past Lane – a history of stock car racing in Northeast Wisconsin from 1950-1980” (released 2015), “Wisconsin International Raceway – Where The Big Ones Run” (released 2016) and “Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation” (released 2017).

All four of Verdegan’s books can be obtained through the following venues:

Amazon.com
Coastal181.com
barnesandnoble.com Barnes and Noble (print on demand)
Muenster Shell (Green Bay)
Bosse’s News (Green Bay)
Book Stop (Green Bay)
Bay Speed Center (De Pere)
Hobby Town (Ashwaubenon)
Hank N Karen’s Pub (Appleton)
Right Foot Performance (Appleton)

December 19, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson

Torque Racing preps for 2019, joins forces with Pedal Down Promotions

Josh Walter celebrates in victory lane after winning the 360 Sprint Car A-main event on Pedal Down Promotions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Walter has enlisted Pedal Down Promotions to provide public relations services for his Torque Racing team during the upcoming 2019 season. – Photo by Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) December 12, 2018 – Since the final checkered flag fell on the 2018 season in late September, Josh Walter’s Torque Racing team has not backed off one bit, instead keeping the pedal down in shifting into full preparation mode for 2019.

After spending three seasons racing in the 410 Sprint Car ranks, the 14-year veteran returned to his roots in 2018 for a full-time assault on the Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car schedule.

Walter enjoyed a strong 2018 campaign finishing third in both the MSA and PDTR point standings on the strength of one A-main victory, 10 top-five A-main finishes and 17 top-10 A-main showings in 23 events.

“I thought the season started off decent,” Walter said. “We never really had any stellar pill draws, but we were able to pass cars and make the best of the positions we were put in. Around the middle of the season, I felt like the car had lost some speed and we had a few nights that we DNF’d in two heat races and one feature, which put us a little behind where we needed to be to stay competitive. We spent several weeks chasing the car’s speed issue, until we found out we had a fuel pump that was slowly retiring from racing. All in all, our team did a great job keeping the car in prime condition, giving me the best opportunity they could to win races.”

Looking ahead to the 2019 campaign, Walter has been hard at work assembling a solid foundation of sponsorship partners.

“We are looking forward to 2019,” Walter said.” We have many of our 2018 sponsors returning to the car so far, including JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Platinum Restoration Services, Doug’s Quality Beef, Tiffany’s Wildtree, Cow Pies and Full Throttle Ink. We are very excited to add several new sponsors for 2019 including Lakehouse Bar & Grill in Crystal Lake, Ruh Custom Woodworking and RC Custom Design. We are looking forward to working with our current and new sponsors to make 2019 a great season.”

Walter is especially pleased to be adding a new dimension to his racing program in 2019 as he strives to spread the word about the team’s racing efforts to sponsors, supporters and fans through a new partnership with Manitowoc-based public relations agency Pedal Down Promotions.

“I’m extremely grateful that our team was able to secure a spot with Pedal Down Promotions to utilize as our public relations, media and promotional service provider,” Walter said. “Jeff Pederson does great work and has a way of expressing racing feelings into words, as I feel we as drivers don’t always know the right things to say. We are looking forward to all that Pedal Down Promotions provides before, during and after the season. Jeff gives the best weekly summaries, nightly updates and seasonal write ups in our sport. This is a great opportunity for our team to provide the recognition to our sponsors and team members that they deserve.”

Walter is aiming to take on the full MSA and PDTR 360 Sprint Car schedules once again in 2019.

“As of right now, the team has been updating the chassis with the latest safety improvements, getting the engine fresh for the 2019 season and slowly organizing to prepare for racing circumstances,” Walter said. “Our plans are to race the entire MSA Sprints and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing schedules for 2019 with the same goals as last year. We want to have fun, win as many races as we can and be in the championship hunt as long as the cards fall right.”

Torque Racing will kick off its 2019 season on Saturday, March 2, 2019 with its annual team brat fry at Plymouth Tap in Plymouth.

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

2018 Torque Racing By The Numbers
Total Events – 23
A Main Victories – 1
Top Five A Main Finishes – 10
Top 10 A Main Finishes – 17
Midwest Sprint Car Association Points – 3rd
Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Points – 3rd

December 12, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson

Love INC of Sheboygan County 2018 Fall/Winter Newsletter

Click here to read LOVE Inc Newsletter for Fall/Winter 2018

November 27, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson

Pokorski Motorsports reflects on rock solid 2018 campaign

Paul Pokorski earned five heat race victories in Midwest Sprint Car Association action during the 2018 season. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) November 7, 2018 – In a sport as unpredictable and endlessly challenging as dirt track racing, consistency is something that all racers aspire to, but few achieve.

For Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team the 2018 season was loaded with a remarkable level of unwavering consistency, which was sustained over a five-month span from the drop of the green flag at the Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. on April 29 to the final checkered flag at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 29.

In fact, 26-year driver recorded the team’s most consistent season in 14 years by completing every lap of every A main he competed in during the 2018 campaign, while steering clear of any major incidents or mechanical malfunctions.

The 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion racked up five top-five A-main finishes, 16 top-10 A-main showings and five heat race triumphs in 24 events during the 2018 campaign.

Drawing on the strength of its highly consistent finishes, the Pokorski Motorports team placed fifth in the final Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car standings and fourth in the Midwest Sprint Car Association standings, just three points out of third place, during the 2018 season.

“I’d say it was good a good season,” Pokorski said. “I am proud of the fact that we were competitive most nights, some better than others of course, but we were competitive. We also finished every race on the lead lap with no breakdowns and no wrecker rides. That is a huge success in any form or division of racing.”

After unseasonably cold spring weather condition forced the cancellation of the team’s planned 2018 season opener at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., the team made a late decision to enter an Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event at the Beaver Dam Raceway on April 29.

Despite competing with an underpowered 360 powerplant, Pokorski qualified for the IRA A main and came home with a respectable 15^th-place finish in the A main.

On May 5, Pokorski opened the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season with a 10^th-place showing in the A main. Following a rain out on May 12 and an abbreviated night of racing on May 19, which ended before the A main due to rain, Pokorski reeled off three straight top-10 finishes in the next three events before dipping to a 13^th-place finish at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 9.

Pokorski bounced back to record a sixth-place showing in A-main action at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 15. A doubleheader weekend produced a ninth-place showing at Spring Lake Speedway in Unity on June 22 and a 12^th-place showing at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 23.

After a weather cancellation at Plymouth on June 30, Pokorski registered one of his best performances of the season in an MSA event at the high-speed half-mile Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on July 6.

Pokorski started seventh and worked the high groove into record a strong second-place showing in the A-main event, which proved to be a standout night for the three-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champion.

“Running second at Dodge County is the one thing that comes to mind when thinking of a highlight of the season,” Pokorski said. “I used to dread going there, but I’ve come to like it and look forward to it, which shows in the results.”

Pokorski came back the following night to post a sixth-place showing in the Mid-Season Championship A-main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track on July 7 before backing that up with a 10^th-place showing at Plymouth on July 14.

Pokorski registered a strong fourth-place finish in A-main action at Plymouth on July 28 and added a sixth-place showing at Plymouth on Aug. 4, during an evening that also produced one of Pokorski’s biggest disappointments of the 2018 season.

“The most difficult moment this season for me was probably an unintended run in with Adam Miller that caused him to wreck during a heat race at Plymouth on August 4th,” Pokorski said. “It bothers me when I make mistakes, especially when it hurts someone else physically or financially. He and I were both having fun up until that moment, but stuff like that takes the fun out of racing for both people involved, but it is part of it and we’ve been on both sides, so you just have to move on.”

Pokorski added two more top-10 showings the following weekend as he finished third at Plymouth on Aug. 11 and tallied a sixth-place showing at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie on Aug. 12.

On Aug. 18, Pokorski equaled his second-best finish by placing second at Plymouth. The following day, Pokorski suffered some rare misfortune as a flat tire forced him to pit late in an A-main at TNT Speedway in Three Lakes. However, he bounced back to salvage an 11-place showing.

After recording a ninth-place finish at Plymouth on Aug. 25, Pokorski posted an eighth-place finish at Outagamie Speedway Powered By EWSC in Seymour on Aug. 31 and added sixth-place finish at Plymouth on Sept. 1.

Pokorski notched an 11^th-place finish at Plymouth on Sept. 8 before capping the 2018 campaign with another 11^th-place showing at Plymouth on Sept. 29.

“Consistency in our team members, set-ups on the car and our weekly routines in the shop and at the track definitely made a difference this year,” Pokorski said. “This team has been together for a very long time by racing standards. Everyone knows their role and what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. Also, coupling with great vendor partners like Goodwin Competition, Competition Driveline, Behling’s Racing Equipment and R&H racing to name a few has been great for us. Those people do a great job on the parts we get from them or ask them to service. It all adds up to a year like this one. I would actually say the last few years have not been terrible, but this year was definitely smoother sailing than any I can remember.”

Encouraged by how his 2016 Maxim performed over the second half of the 2018 season, Pokorski is looking forward to fine tuning a few things to come out even stronger in 2019.

“I always feel like it takes us until about mid-season to learn something significant and improve over where we started the year,” Pokorski said. ‘I’d say we learned a few things again. Just goes to show you need to keep on learning every day, in regard to racing or anything else in life. I was really happy with the last month or so. The last night we went a little too far with some of the things we were trying, which is good. Now we know how far is too far. We can start with what worked and start working on the next thing…whatever it is.”

Looking ahead to next year, it appears that it will be business as usual for the Pokorski Motorsports team.

“I don’t plan on changing anything for next year,” Pokorski said. “We just plan on getting everything fresh and try to get ahead and stay ahead on all the projects and commitments that go along with racing. We already have a good jump on 2019.”

Pokorski is thankful for the support he received once again this year from his dedicated pit crew.

“I have to thank my wife, Lynn, for tolerating 26 years of racing,” Pokorski said. “Also, my brother-in-law and crew chief Dave Schultz for sticking with me. Randy Leamer for always making last-minute adjustments when I change my mind. Randy was battling an ankle that had to be replaced just before the end of season and we missed his help at the end of the year. I’m also proud of Aaron Pederson and Ian Schultz for continuing to learn and help with whatever they can.”

A collection of longtime supporters and one major new addition filled out an impressive list of Pokorski Motorsports sponsors for the 2018 season.

The Pokorski Motorsports sponsors for the 2018 season include: Quest Engineering Inc., Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Jens, Reinbold & Pfeffer Family Funeral Service & Crematory, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tilser Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.

“I can’t thank all of our advertising partners enough for their help,” Pokorski said. “Hopefully others will too. We were thrilled to have Quest Engineering come on board with us this year. We appreciate their support. Goeden’s Auto Body keeps the race car the right shade of blue and always takes care of what we send their way. Mark and Joel Jens have been long time partners. Al Knepprath at Kettle Moraine Landscaping is always supportive on and off the track. Novak’s Service in Manitowoc and Tisler Salvage are both longtime partners. I need to also acknowledge The Cawley Company, which is our longest active sponsor at 22 consecutive years. Their support over such a long time period is greatly appreciated. Finally, I was happy to have Acme Armature back to help for another year.”

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

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 24

MSA events – 23

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 16

Heat Race Victories – 5

Midwest Sprint Car Association Points – 4^th

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Points – 5^th

November 15, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson

2018 ‘The Bird & The Bear’ Holiday Book Tour Announced

Six Wisconsin book tour dates on tap for December 2018 as Pedal Down Promotions second book publication launches

The front cover for Northeastern Wisconsin Motorsports Author Joe Verdegan’s fourth book “The Bird & The Bear,” chronicling the racing adventures of J.J. “Tweety Bird” Smith and Roger “The Bear” Regeth, has been released. The book will be launched on Saturday, Dec. 8. with a special event at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton, Wis. – Woody’s Signs book cover design.

(Green Bay, WI) – Motorsports Author Joe Verdegan of Green Bay has announced a six-date holiday book tour to promote his new book “The Bird & The Bear” for the month of December 2018.

The book features the tales of Northeast Wisconsin racing legends J.J. “Tweety Bird” Smith and Roger “The Bear” Regeth. It will be launched Saturday, Dec. 8 at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton from noon to 3 p.m. Les Stumpf Ford is a longtime sponsor of “The Bear” and was Regeth’s employer for 17 years.

Following the book launch, Kaukauna’s “The X Bar” will host a signing Thursday, Dec. 13 from 6-8 p.m. The X Bar is owned by late model and Figure 8 racer Craig Krueger. Two days later, Hank & Karen’s Pub in Appleton will host a signing on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 1-4 p.m. Local racing enthusiast Hank Grishaber owns the bar with his wife Karen.

The tour will make its only Milwaukee area stop Sunday, Dec. 16 at the Milwaukee Miniature Motors Racing Memorabilia show at the Waukesha County Exposition Center in Waukesha from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The tour swings over to Seymour on Wednesday night, Dec. 19 at the Hustle Inn. from 6-8 p.m. The Hustle Inn is owned by Leslie Fulton. Her uncle was former Seymour Speedway promoter Paul Kaczrowski and George Kaczrowski owned the Hustle Inn for many years and sold the bar to Fulton 14 years ago.

The final stop on the book tour will be Saturday, Dec. 22 at Bosse’s News Depot on Green Bay’s east side from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

“We’ve trimmed our holiday book tour down to six dates as I think that’s plenty,” Verdegan said. “Both J.J. and Roger will be at the book launch at Les Stumpf Ford on December 8th. Roger has committed to all of them and there’s a good chance J.J. will make some of the other signings, too. Those guys are both great story tellers and we very much look forward to the tour in December. The books have always made great Christmas gifts for race fans and this one will be no exception.”

Verdegan’s other books will be on sale at the signings. They include his 2015 release “Life In The Past Lane – a history of stock car racing in Northeast Wisconsin from 1950 – 1980.” “Wisconsin International Raceway – Where The Big Ones Run”, a 2016 release will also be available, along with “Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation,” which was launched in 2017.

Race fans who cannot attend any of the signings can pre order books. You can purchase books through PayPal at jverdegan2 or you can send check or money order for $20.00 plus $8.00 shipping and handling to Joe Verdegan, 203 N. Ashland Avenue, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54303. Any book purchases made prior to the Dec. 8 book launch will guaranteed shipping during the week of Dec. 10 in plenty of time for the holidays.

“The Bird & The Bear” will be published by Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis. To contact Pedal Down Promotions, call 920-323-7970, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

You can reach Verdegan at jverdegan2@gmail.com or message him through his Facebook account. To keep track of other developments with “The Bird & The Bear” please check out the Northeast Wisconsin Racing History page on Facebook.

“The Bird & The Bear” 2018 Holiday Book Tour Schedule

Saturday, December 8 - Les Stumpf Ford Appleton, WI, 12-3 p.m. 

Thursday, December 13 - The “X” Bar Kaukauna, WI, 6-8 p.m.

Saturday, December 15 - Hank & Karen’s Pub Appleton, WI, 1-4 p.m.

Sunday, December 16 - Racing Memorabilia Waukesha, WI, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wednesday, December 19 - The Hustle Inn. Seymour, WI, 6-8 p.m. 

Saturday, December 22 - Bosse’s News Depot Green Bay, WI, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

November 15, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson

‘The Bird & The Bear” book cover released

(GREEN BAY, WI) Oct. 8, 2018 – The much-anticipated front cover of motorsports author Joe Verdegan’s fourth book “The Bird & The Bear” has been released.

The cover of the book, which features Northeast Wisconsin racing legends J.J. “Tweety Bird” Smith and “The Bear” Roger Regeth, was completed by Bryan “Woody” Wodack of Woody’s Signs in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

The book will be launched in less than two months on Saturday, Dec. 8 from noon to 3 p.m. at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton.

“I’ve had Woody put together signs and banners for my book signings these past three years and his work is second to none,” said Verdegan of Green Bay, Wisconsin. “It was important for me to go with local talent in designing the cover for this fourth book and Woody is one of the best in the region when it comes to this sort of thing.”

The photos on the cover were both taken by De Pere native and former Midwest Racing News columnist Pete Vercauteren at Shawano Speedway in the 1970s.

The top photo includes Smith with his famous Gene Wheeler-owned “Tweety Bird” racer from 1976. The bottom picture is of Regeth on Shawano’s pit lane from 1977 in his famous “Les Stumpf Ford-sponsored-Chevy” owned by Jerry Sheriff and prepared by Mike Randerson.

“In the ‘70s, Shawano Speedway didn’t have guardrail along the backstretch so some younger fans may not pick that up when they glance at the cover,” Verdegan said. “The ‘70s provided some excellent racing on the half-mile and on dirt tracks in the greater Green Bay area. In this book we’ll cover that entire era, along with the sportsman and coupe days for both Roger and J.J., their days racing in USAC and their racing careers after the ‘70s with Roger in the grand national and Mid-American Sportsman divisions and J.J. battling on Thursday nights in the late models at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna.”

A complete Holiday Book Tour will be released in the very near future.

Woody’s Signs is a full-service vinyl lettering and embroidery shop. To learn more about Woody’s Signs and the services they offer check their website at woodyssigns.com or call 920 743 7052. You can also email Wodack at woody@woodysigns.com.

“The Bird & The Bear” is being published by Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis. You can learn more about their services at pedaldownpromotions.com or email Jeff Pederson at pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com.

To follow progress on the completion of “The Bird & The Bear” please check the “Northeast Wisconsin Racing History” page on Facebook. You can email Verdegan at jverdegan2@gmail.com.

November 15, 2018 / by Jeff Pederson