McMullen, Stear claim A-main victories

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Saturday, July 25 The Plymouth Dirt Track will host its 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

BUMPER TO BUMPER IRA 410 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

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

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

DASH 1

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

DASH 2

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

A MAIN

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

KRISTINE HARTMANN REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

HEAT 4

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

B MAIN 1

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

B MAIN 2

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

A MAIN

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

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

A MAIN

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

Stolp, Warner score PDTR A-main triumphs

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

MORTON BUILDINGS WORD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES

Date of the Race

July 11, 2020

A-Main

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

Qualifying Flight A

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

Qualifying Flight B

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

A MAIN

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

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

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

HEAT 2

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

HEAT 3

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

A MAIN

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

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 13, 2020 – On an unseasonably cool early summer evening, the racing action was hot and heavy as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its second racing program of the 2020 season Saturday, June 13 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds third-mile oval in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, Adam Miller of Plymouth outdueled Kewaskum’s Shane Wenninger and Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz to claim his second career PDTR Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event victory. Two-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland nipped New London’s Justin Ritchie by inches at the finish line to capture a spirited Gasroots Project 25-lap Late Model A main. Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake racked up his first career 25-lap PDTR Klips N Tips Grand National A-main victory and Jesse Cullen of Chilton was the victor in a hotly contested 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

Polesitter Adam Miller led the 22-car 360 Sprint Car A-main field on the opening lap while outside front row starter Shane Wenninger slid into second place. On lap 4, Wenninger worked the high groove to power around the low riding Miller exiting turn two.

Four laps later, the leaders began to encounter heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Miller, who had moved up to the cushion, to close the gap on Wenninger. On lap 13, Miller moved within striking distance as Wenninger attempted to work through dense lapped traffic.

One lap later, Wenninger moved low to maneuver past a slower car while Miller pounded the treacherous cushion to shoot back into the lead exiting turn four on lap 14. On lap 16, the first of two caution flags appeared when Chris Clayton of Waldo spun in turn two.

Miller, who was involved in a race-ending flip on the opening lap of last week’s A main, maintained the lead over Wenninger on the restart before fifth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun dove low entering turn three on lap 17 and pushed high in turn four before colliding with Wenninger, who made contact with the frontstretch wall and stopped exiting turn four to bring out the second caution of the race.

On the restart, seventh starter Travis Arenz used a daring low move to take over second place on lap 18. At the front of the field, Miller remained in control along the high groove as he moved through slower traffic in the closing laps to earn his second career PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory by a 10-car length margin over the hard-charging Arenz. Haddy finished third, third starter Bill Taylor of Kewaskum was fourth and fourth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend rounded out the top five.

“We started the race by running pretty good on the bottom before Shane got by us around the top,” Miller said in victory lane. “We were fortunate to get back around him in traffic and then we survived a few cautions to get the win. I couldn’t have asked for a better bounce back after last week. We’ll take it and move on to next week.”

The action-packed Late Model A main opened with Jim Schmidt of Cleveland taking the lead from the pole, while third starter Justin Ritchie assumed second on the opening circuit. On lap 3, Ritchie used the low groove to duck under Jim Schmidt in turn one.

One lap later, Justin Schmidt, who started fifth, used the high line to work his way into third place. As the leaders maneuvered through slower traffic, Justin Schmidt moved into second and closed the gap on Ritchie while four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started fourth, used the high grove to seize third and move in to pressure the leaders.

The first of five caution flags appeared on lap 11 when rookie Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls and rookie Chad Ludwigson of Sheboygan Falls collided along the backstretch. On the restart, Mueller vaulted past Justin Schmidt along the high groove before the second caution was displayed for rookie Glen Blanke of Sheboygan Falls and Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove in turn three on lap 13.

The third caution flag came out on the next attempted restart when Greg Cantrell of DeKalb, Ill. stalled on the backstretch. On the restart, Justin Schmidt again used the high groove to pass Mueller and challenge Ritchie for the top spot. On lap 16, Schmidt surged past Ritchie with a strong run along the cushion.

Three laps later, Justin Schmidt, Ritchie and Mueller were running in close quarters for the lead when Mueller made contact with the lapped car of Chad Ludwigson, which caused Ludwigson to spin while Mueller left the track with a flat tire, which brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 19.

On the restart, Ritchie stayed precise on the low groove to regain the lead from Justin Schmidt in turn two on lap 19. Two laps later, the fifth and final caution flag appeared for Sawyer Specht in turn two.

Justin Schmidt was not to be denied in the closing laps as he continued to powered through a very challenging and thick cushion to pull even with Ritchie in the closing laps. On the white flag lap, Justin Schmidt used a huge run out of turn four to edge Ritchie at the finish line to claim his 11^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Ritchie finished second, Jim Schmidt held on for third, sixth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee finished fourth and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush finished fifth after starting seventh.

“The track was crazy tonight,” Justin Schmidt said. “Turn four was very treacherous on the cushion. No one is better on the bottom than Justin Ritchie and it was a great race with him. I didn’t know if I had him or not as it was back and forth for a while. On that last lap, it was just all or nothing. I went in hard, held on and it work out.”

Former PDTR Grand National champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan led the opening lap of the main event from the pole with outside front row starter Donny Kulow assuming second.

Yancey controlled the opening seven laps by clinging to the inside lane of the slick track surface before Kulow executed a strong low move in turn one on lap 8 to seize the top spot.

Once in front, Kulow pulled away from the field as third starter Jeff Muelhbauer of Elkhart Lake moved in to pressure Yancey for the runner-up spot. Over the final 10 laps, Kulow remained smooth on the low line en route to his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Yancey, who finished second. Muehlbauer placed third, fourth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg claimed fourth and defending PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth finished fifth after starting fifth.

After a caution flag on the opening lap for a two-car incident involving Steve Lorier of Sheboygan and rookie Trevor Frank of Sheboygan, Donny Singer of Random Lake paced the first three laps of the B Mod A main from the pole. On lap 4, rookie Will Garceau of Mishicot worked his way up from the third starting spot to take the lead.

The second of four caution flags was displayed on lap 5 for an incident involving Steve Lorier, Trevor Frank and Christopher Gilson of Elkhart Lake. Another caution appeared on the ensuing restart from Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls and David McCutcheon.

On the restart, fourth starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls worked the outside groove to take second before fifth starter Jesse Cullen passed Bauer for second on lap 6.

On lap 7, the fourth and final caution flag came out when James Rautmann of Howards Grove stopped in turn three. Cullen continued to show his strength on the restart as he moved in to pressure Garceau for the top spot, along with 2018 PDTR B Mod champion Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam, who started eighth.

On lap 8, Cullen used the outside groove to work around Garceau into the lead in turn three. Meanwhile, defending PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who started sixth mounted a charge in the late stages of the race to secure second on lap 14.

As Cullen found a distinct groove to his liking utilizing the middle portion of the track, Warner closed on the later in the waning laps. However, Cullen held on to earn his third career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph. Warner was second, Sheppard placed third, Bauer wound up fourth and Garceau rounded out the top five.

“I could feel someone [Tim Warner] back there a few times near the end,” Cullen said. “I feel I had a pretty good groove there on the bottom and the middle, which really seemed to work well in getting me to the front and into victory lane tonight.”

Doug Wondra of Oakfield won the first 360 Sprint Car B main and Justin Erickson of Plymouth captured the second 360 Sprint Car B main.

The event, which was sponsored by Mayer Automotive, drew a total of 88 cars, including 36 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 13 Grand Nationals and 23 B Mods.

The next PDTR program at The Plymouth Dirt Track will take place on Saturday, June 20 with gates opening at 4:30 p.m., hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 13, 2020

HEAT 1

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Kurt Davis 3, Adam Miller 4, Tim Haddy 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Scott Conger 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Tom Kreutz 9, Tyler Brabant (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Will Gerrits 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Bill Taylor 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Nick Melis 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Doug Wondra 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Scott Armstrong.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Justin Milller 3, Tony Wondra 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Mike Decker 6, Justin Erickson 7, Austin Hartmann, 8, Ben Schmidt (DNS), 9, Tyler Davis (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Chris Clayton 2, Tyler Tischendorf 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Robby Wirth 5, Brandon Berth 6, Blake Wondra 7, Preston Ruh 8, Mike Mac Farlane 9, Ken Schmick.

B MAIN 1

1, Doug Wondra 2, Preston Ruh 3, Blake Wondra 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Ken Schmick 8, Austin Hartmann 9, Tyler Davis (DNS) 10, Ben Schmidt (DNS).

B MAIN 2

1, Justin Erickson 2, Robby Wirth 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Mike Decker 5, Scott Conger 6, Scott Armstrong 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Mike Mac Farlane 9, Anthony Knierim (DNS) 10, Tom Kreutz (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Adam Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Tim Haddy 4, Bill Taylor 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Kurt Davis 8, Justin Miller 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Justin Erickson 11, Nich Melis 12, Tyler Tischendorf 13, Will Gerrits 14, Brandon Berth 15, Tony Wondra 16, Preston Ruh 17, Chris Clayton 18, Doug Wondra 19, Robby Wirth 20, Jack Vanderboom 21, Blake Wondra 22, Shane Wenninger.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Charlie Schmidt 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Greg Cantrell 5, Kevin Baldry 6, Glen Blanke 7, Adrian Roscelli 8, Sawyer Specht.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Brad Mueller 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Ted Dolhun Sr. 6, Chad Ludwigson 7, Donny Singer 8, Victor Benedetto.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Turk Letizia 5, Tim Buhler 6, Ted Dolhun Sr. 7, Kevin Baldry 8, Victor Benedetto 9, Donny Singer 10, Adrian Roscelli 11, Glen Blanke 12, Sawyer Specht 13, Brad Mueller 14, Chad Ludwigson 15, Charlie Schmidt 16, Greg Cantrell.

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Donny Kulow 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Dick Hed 5, Steven Weber 6, Brad Weiss 7, Paul Perronne.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Yancey 2, Derek Kaat 3, Luke Scholten 4, Aaron Stolp 5, Jonathan Otte 6, Don Sorce Jr.

A MAIN

1, Donny Kulow 2, Matt Yancey 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Luke Scholten 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Aaron Stolp 7, Jonathan Otte 8, Don Sorce Jr. 9, Dick Hed 10, Steven Weber 11, Derek Kaat 12, Bred Weiss 13, Paul Perronne.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Justin Bauer 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Phil Campanella 5, Rory Welch 6, Michael Gilson 7, Brandon Goeser 8, Trevor Frank.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, James Rautmann 3, Will Garceau 4, Brendan Ostrowski 5, Patrick Hanson 6, David McCutcheon 7, Christopher Gilson 8, Dakota Cabunac.

HEAT 3

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Donny Singer 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Barry Maas 5, Gary Glander 6, Jim Fischer 7, Steve Lorier.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Tim Warner 3, Tim Sheppard 4, Justin Bauer 5, Will Garceau 6, Barry Maas 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Kyle Odekirk 9, Donny Singer 10, Gary Glander 11, Brendan Ostrowski 12, Rory Welch 13, Brandan Goeser 14, Michael Gilson 15, David McCutcheon 16, Jim Fischer 17, Phil Campanella 18, Patrick Hanson 19, Steve Lorier 20, Dakota Cabunac 21, James Rautmann 22, Trevor Frank 23, Christopher Gilson.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 6, 2020 – The COVID-19 (coronavirus) public health emergency may have turned the world upside down over the past three months and delayed the start of the 16^th Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season by six weeks, but when the engines finally fired up for the first time to launch the 60^th overall season of racing at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds one-third mile facility in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 6, all was right with the world for every dirt track racing enthusiast in attendance.

With grandstand attendance limited to comply with Sheboygan County Health Department regulations and additional COVID-19 restrictions in place to encourage safety and social distancing throughout the event, the return of live sporting events to Sheboygan County appeared to be greeted with appreciation and respectful compliance.

In season-opening A-main action, 28^th-year driver Paul Pokorski of West Bend broke a three-year main event winless drought while holding off the furious advances of Tyler Brabant of Waupun and Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz to claim the Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event triumph. Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler worked the high groove to perfection to notch the Gasroots Project 25-lap Late Model A main victory. Jeff Muelhbauer of Elkhart Lake was victorious in the 25-lap Klips N Tips Grand National A-main and Jeff Steenbergen of Johnson Creek won the caution-free 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main.

Pokorski led the field to the green flag of the 360 Sprint Car A main from the pole flanked by Brabant. On the opening circuit, disaster struck, as Brabant and 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh made contact in turn two, which triggered a five-car red flag incident involving Plymouth’s Adam Miller, who flipped his machine, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, Will Gerrits of Waupun and West Bend’s Kevin Karnitz.

Miller was forced to retire from the race, while Davis, McMullen, Karnitz and Gerrits restarted the race from the rear of the field.

Following a complete restart, Pokorski bolted out the lead with Brabant settling into second followed by sixth starter Arenz in third. By lap 6, Pokorski built a half-straightaway cushion over Brabant by sticking to the extreme inside line of the dry slick racing surface.

On lap 8, Brabant began to close and six laps later Brabant dove low in turn one, only to have Pokorski shut the door. However, Brabant battled back to wrestle the lead away from Pokorski with a nifty low move in turn three on lap 17.

Two laps later, Brabant made contact with the slowing car of Josh Teunissen of Waldo, which caused his car to twitch exiting turn four and gave Pokorski an opening to regain the lead in turn one on lap 20.

On lap 22, Arenz worked the outside groove to pull past Brabant and draw even with Pokorski. However, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion and three-time Winged Super Modified champion held strong to maintain the lead as both Brabant and Arenz continued to dig for the victory.

Pokorski, who is planning to share the driver’s seat of the No. 4 Pokorski Motorsports car with his 21-year-old son Alex this season, stayed precise along the low groove in the closing laps to fend off both challengers en route to his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph, 11^th overall 360 Sprint Car main event win and 46^th career A-main victory in Sprint Car and Winged Super Modified competition.

Brabant worked back underneath Arenz to take second on the final lap, Arenz wound up third, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started fourth, finished fourth and Davis, who originally started 20^th, rallied from the rear of the field following the first lap accident to round out the top five.

“I really figured they had me there,” Pokorski said. “I’m not a guy that likes to run the bottom, but if your leading on a track like this you kind of have to stay there and make everyone else work the outside to beat you. When Tyler got by me, I was thinking what I needed to do and I had a thought about going up high to try to get back by him at the end. I’m happy I got back by him. Then I saw Travis Arenz on the outside with a couple laps to go, but luckily we were able to hold on. The plan is to have Alex get in the car next week and I will be on the sidelines biting my fingernails watching him. This was definitely a good start to the season and a nice way to end my long run in the seat of this car before I hand the keys over to the rookie.”

Two-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland got the jump on the drop of the green flag from the pole before a four-car incident in turn one, involving Eric Michaels of Cleveland, Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove, New London’s Justin Ritchie and Turk Letizia of Milwaukee, brought out the first of three yellow flags on lap 2.

On the restart, Scheffler, who started eighth, bolted up to the high groove to sweep around 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started second, to assume the runner-up spot on lap two.

One lap later, Eric Michaels, Ritchie and Jim Schmidt of Cleveland collided in turn four to bring out the second yellow flag. On the restart, 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha dove low to challenge Scheffler for second after starting seventh.

On lap 8, Scheffler moved in to within striking distance of Schmidt as the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. As Schmidt began to negotiate four slower cars that were racing side by side, Scheffler slipped through along the high line to steal the top spot in turn on lap 11.

Four laps later, Schmidt charged back to pull even with Scheffler along the inside lane before the third and final caution appeared on lap 16 for the spinning car of Chad Ludwigson of Sheboygan Falls in turn four.

Schmidt hung with Scheffler on the restart and made another attempt to seize the lead along the low groove on lap 17 before Scheffler pulled away again. Schmidt refused to give up and made another run in the final two laps. However, Scheffler held on to record his fourth career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.

Schmidt had to settle for second, McGrath was third, Buhler placed fourth and Omro’s Kevin Baldry finished fifth after starting 13^th.

Muehlbauer started the Grand National A main from the pole and led the first two laps over second starter Donny Kulow of Plymouth before the first of four yellow flags was displayed on lap 3 for an incident involving Derek Kaat of Plymouth and Steven Weber of Plymouth.

On the restart, Aaron Stolp of Green Bay charged in from his fifth starting spot to pressure Kulow for second. While Muehlbauer extended his lead at the front of field, the second caution appeared on lap 9 for a spin involving Bruce Troesch of West Bend.

Stolp and two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, moved in to challenge Kulow for second with a three-wide duel on lap 9 before Kulow settled into second and Sorce Jr. into third.

By lap 15, Muehlbauer had forged a half-straightaway cushion over Kulow before the third caution flag flew on lap 17 for debris. Muehlbauer stayed strong at the head of the pace, but the battles raged behind him as defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started 10^th, took over third on lap 20 just before the fourth and final caution of the race on lap 20 for Jacob Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake and Kaat in turn two.

Tyler Kulow moved in to pressure Donny Kulow for second on lap 21, but Donny Kulow fended him for the runner-up spot off in the closing laps. Meanwhile, Muehlbauer pulled away to score his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Donny Kulow placed second, Tyler Kulow finished third, Sorce Jr. wound up fourth and Stolp took fifth.

“It was a fun race,” Muehlbauer said. “The track was black and slippery, which made it a challenge. I kept it on the inside throughout the race to try to hold everyone off and it worked.”

Polesitter Mark Hoeppner of Hartford dueled with outside front row starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls during the opening two laps of the Grand National main event before Bauer surged ahead on lap 3.

On lap 5, Steenbergen, who started fifth, moved in to pressure Hoeppner for second. One lap later, Steenbergen seized the runner-up spot and set his sights on Bauer. On lap 9, Steenbergen powered underneath Bauer with a low move in turn three to take over the top spot.

From there, Steenbergen pulled away from the rest of field, while weaving his way skillfully through slower traffic. On lap 20, defending PDTR B Mod track champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, who started 10^th, used a high move to power around Bauer into second.

Over the final five circuits, Steenbergen cruised to his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in limited starts at the track in recent years. Warner was second, former PDTR Late Model competitor Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth charged up from his eighth starting spot to place third, Bauer was fourth and Hoeppner completed the top five.

“It feels really good to get this win,” Steenbergen said. “The car was a handful in the heat race and we made wholesale changes for the A main, which paid off.”

Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake won the first 360 Sprint Car B main and Chris Clayton of Waldo captured the second 360 Sprint Car B main.

Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam was victorious in the B Mod B main.

The season-opening event, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total of 100 cars, including 37 360 Sprint Cars, 19 Late Models, 18 Grand Nationals and 26 B Mods.

The next race at The Plymouth Dirt Track will take place on Saturday, June 13 with gates opening at 4:30 p.m., hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CAR

Date of Race: June 6, 2020

HEAT 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Brandon Berth 3, Paul Pokorski 4, Sean Rayhall 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Tony Wondra 7, Tim Haddy 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Nich Melis 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Preston Ruh 4, Justin Erickson 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Johnny Fahl 8, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Scott Conger 2, Will Gerrits 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Mike Decker 5, Scott Armstrong 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Kurt Davis.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Travis Arenz 3, Chris Clayton 4, Doug Wondra 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Spyder Akright 7, Austin Hartmann

HEAT 5

1, Adam Miller 2, Bill Taylor 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tyler Davis 6, Mike MacFarlane 7, Ben Schmidt

B MAIN 1

1, Preston Ruh 2, Sean Rayhall 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Spyder Akright 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Tyler Davis 9, Scott Armstrong 10, Mike MacFarlane 11, Ben Schmidt (DNS).

B MAIN 2

1, Chris Clayton 2, Kurt Davis 3, Tim Haddy 4, Doug Wondra 5, Tony Wondra 6, Blake Wondra 7, Johnny Fahl 8, Nick Daywalt 9, Austin Hartmann 10, Anthony Knierim (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Paul Pokorski 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Travis Arenz 4, Justin Miller 5, Kurt Davis 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Nich Melis 8, Scott Conger 9, Justin Erickson 10, Brandon Berth 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Shane Wenninger 13, Chris Clayton 14, Will Gerrits 15, Tim Haddy 16, Kevin Karnitz 17, Mike Decker 18, Preston Ruh 19, Sean Rayhall 20, Josh Teunissen 21, Bill Taylor 22, Adam Miller.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODEL

HEAT 1

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Eric Michaels 5, Greg Cantrell 6, Turk Letizia 7, Sawyer Specht.

HEAT 2

1, Dale Markham 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Victor Benedetto 4, Glen Blanke 5, Glen Toppel 6, Chad Ludwigson

HEAT 3

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Kevin Baldry 5, Donny Singer 6, Adreau Roscelli.

A MAIN

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Mitch McGrath 4, Tim Buhler 5, Kevin Baldry, Victor Benedetto 7, Greg Cantrell 8, Turk Letizia 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Jim Schmidt 11, Dale Markham 12, Adreau Roscelli 13, Sawyer Specht 14, Glen Toppel 15, Donny Singer 16, Chad Ludwigson 17, Glen Blanke 18, Eric Michaels 19, Justin Ritchie.

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Jonathan Otte 2, Aaron Stolp 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Donny Kulow 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Derek Kaat 7, Dick Hed 8, Brad Weiss 9, Chad Espen.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Matt Yancey 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Don Sorce 5, Luke Scholten 6, Paul Perrone 7, Jacob Muehlbauer 8, Bruce Troesch 9, Who Racing.

A MAIN

1, Jeff Muehlbauer 2, Donny Kulow 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Don Sorce 5, Aaron Stolp 6, Matt Yancey 7, Jonathan Otte 8, Luke Scholten 9, Derek Kaat 10, Brad Weiss 11, Bruce Troesch 12, Nick Schumacher 13, Dick Hed 14, Jacob Muehlbauer 15, Chad Espen 16, Steven Weber 17, Paul Perronne, 18, Who Racing (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Warner 2, Gary Glander 3, Steve Lorier 4, Rory Welch 5, Tim Thrun 6, Michael Gilson 7, Don Marquart 8, Donny Singer 9, Barry Maas (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Jesse Jakubowski 3, Justin Bauer 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Christopher Gilson 6, Jim Fischer 7, David McCutcheon 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Dakota Cabunac.

HEAT 3

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Jeff Steenbergen 3, Will Garceau 4, James Rautmann 5, Nick Schultz 6, Phil Campanella 7, Andy Welter 8, Brandon Knepprath.

B MAIN

1, Nick Schultz 2, Andy Welter 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Barry Maas 5, Patrick Hanson 6, David McCutcheon 7, Dakota Cabunac 8, Phil Campanella 9, James Rautmann 10, Don Marquart.

A MAIN

1, Jeff Steenbergen 2, Tim Warner 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Justin Bauer 5, Mark Hoeppner 6, Jesse Jakubowski 7, Nick Schultz 8, Steve Lorier 9, Barry Maas 10, Rory Welch 11, Gary Glander 12, Andy Welter 13, Brandon Knepprath 14, Donny Singer 15, Will Garceau 16, Jim Fischer 17, Michael Gilson 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Travis Schmidt 20, Tim Thrun (DNS).