Pokorski Motorsports puts a bow on 2018 campaign, turns page to 2019

 

 

Paul Pokorski (4) races with Danny Schlafer (25), during 360 Sprint Car heat race action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 29. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) October 3, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team completed a season highlighted by remarkable consistency by tallying an 11th-place showing in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car season finale at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 29.

With 27 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in for the four-division Wisconsin Sprint Car Championship program, which also included the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint cars and Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprints, Pokorski started fourth in the second heat race.

The 26-year open-wheel racing veteran used a strong start to settle into third on the opening lap. Following a caution on lap 3, Pokorski used a strong restart to pull even with the second-place car of Danny Schlafer. After dueled side by side for a lap, Schlafer fended off Pokorski’s advances to retain the runner-up spot.

Pokorski maintained the third position the rest of the way to earn a spot in the 25-lap A-main event.

After the A-main invert, Pokorski rolled off ninth in the final PDTR-MSA A main of the 2018 season.

In the opening laps, Pokorski found himself running 11th. After a caution on lap 9, Pokorski gained two spots when 2018 Midwest Sprint Car Association champ Kurt Davis exited the race after contact with the turn three wall and Tim Haddy pitted to fix damage incurred following contact with the turn four wall.

On lap 18, Justin Miller, who went on to claim the 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car championship, slipped past Pokorski to drop the West Bend driver to 10th.  As the laps wound down Kevin Karnitz managed to seize the 10th spot away from Pokorski, who wound up 11th in a race won by Danny Schlafer.

“The car was a little off all night,” Pokorski said. “We are always trying some different things and Saturday night was no different. The changes we tried did what they were supposed to, but they got the car way too tight and made it kind of a handful to drive.”

Pokorski finished 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 major incidents or mechanical malfunctions.

The 2014 MSA 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 PDTR standings and fourth in the MSA standings, just three points out of third place, during the 2018 season.

“As a team, I think we are all proud of the fact that we made it through the season and completed every lap of every race with no crashes,” Pokorski said. “That makes it a lot more fun for everybody involved.”

Pokorski is thankful for the support the team received from its sponsors throughout the 2018 season and is already looking forward to doing it all over again in 2019.

“I want to thank all of our 2018 sponsors, who continue to support us,” Pokorski said. “We will start working on 2019 in the next week or so. It is going to be a long winter and we have some work to do to improve a bit next year.”

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports throughout the off season, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.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

Schlafer nets record 22nd PDTR A-main victory, Miller claims first 360 Sprint Car title

Justin Miller (15M) of Plymouth captured his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car championship and Danny Schlafer (25) of Sussex became the winningest driver in the history of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car division by collecting his 22nd career A-main victory, during the second night of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, Sept. 29. – RC Custom Design photo

Balog tops Stewart again, Blackhurst earns first IRA crown

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 29, 2018 – Night two of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships brought the 2018 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season to a close in thrilling fashion before an enthusiastic crowd on a cold fall evening at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 29.

Four of Wisconsin’s premier Sprint Car racing series gathered to conclude the 2018 season with champions determined following tight points battles over the better part of the past six months.

Justin Miller of Plymouth nipped 2010 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee by two points to secure his first career PDTR Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car title. Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. collected his initial Interstate Racing Association (IRA) 410 Sprint Car Series championship by a seven-point margin over Sheboygan’s Scotty Thiel. Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. picked up his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series champion and Ion Stear of Hebron, Ill. earned the 2018 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint Series title.

Danny Schlafer of Sussex moved to the top of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car all-time victory list by notching his 22nd career A-main triumph in the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main. For the second time in a month, Bill Balog of Hartland pulled off a last-lap pass of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. to claim the season-ending 30-lap IRA A main contested in memory of Frank Filskov, Roy Fenske, Rick Schmidt, Dick Symoens and Dick Witt. Ryan Zielske of Oconomowoc pulled off a final-lap pass to claim the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main and Mark Heinert of Oak Creek was determined the winner of the rain-shortened 10-lap Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint A main.

Outside front row starter Doug Wondra of Lomira jumped out to the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. With Wondra leading polesitter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum and fourth starter Tim Haddy of Waupun in the early going, the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 4 when Josh Walter of Plymouth spun in turn two.

On the restart, the low-riding Wenninger and the cushion-pounding Haddy moved in to pressure on lap 7. One lap later, Haddy powered around Wenninger and Wondra entering turn one to claim the top spot.

On lap 9, Haddy jumped the cushion and clipped the turn four wall to allow Wondra to regain the top spot just before the second caution came out for Kurt Davis, who entered the program with a 15-point lead over Justin Miller in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings, following heavy contact with the wall between turns three and four after a mechanical failure on his machine.

The accident ended Davis’ night and relegated him to a 22nd-place finish.

After Haddy pitted following contact with the turn four wall while leading, Wondra held the top spot on the restart with Wenninger and 10th starter Adam Miller of Plymouth in tow.

On lap 9, Adam Miller powered past Wenninger into second place before moving past Wondra to grab the lead in turn two on lap 10. Meanwhile, seventh starter Danny Schlafer was making his move as he pulled off a perfect slide job to take second on lap 11.

Three laps later, Schlafer slid past Adam Miller take the lead on lap 14. Schlafer then worked the high groove to perfection to maintain a solid lead, while Will Gerrits of Waupun, who was making his first appearance since suffering a broken arm in an accident at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam in early July, assumed second on lap 22.

Schlafer weaved his way through lapped traffic in the closing laps to secure his record 22nd PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 51st Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) A-main triumph.

Gerrits registered his best career 360 Sprint Car finish with a second-place showing, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started third, placed third, Adam Miller ended up fourth and Wenninger rounded out the top five.

After starting 12th, Justin Miller posted an eighth-place finish to secure his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car championship by two points over Kurt Davis, who topped Miller to secure his third career MSA title.

In the 30-lap IRA A main, Mike Reinke of Howards Grove grabbed the early lead from his outside front row starting spot before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 1 for a spin involving Russel Borland of Kewaskum and Scott Biertzer of West Bend.

On the restart Reinke led again, but fourth starter Tony Stewart was on the move as he split Reinke and polesitter Scotty Thiel with a slide job to take the lead on lap 2 in turn four.

With Stewart running strong on the cushion, eight-time IRA champ Bill Balog, who started third, worked the low groove to challenge Reinke for second on lap 4. However, Reinke held strong and closed the gap on Stewart when the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 5.

On lap 9, Reinke was within striking distance when a caution flew for the slowing machine of Todd King of Sheboygan Falls.

On the restart, Balog executed a slide job to seize second from Reinke in turn four on lap 10. With Stewart holding a half-straightaway lead on 13, Balog turned it on to close the gap quickly over the next 12 laps in heavy lapped traffic to move into position to challenge Stewart.

Balog ducked low to pressure Stewart on a pair of occasions on lap 25 and 28, but he was unable to wrestle the lead away from Stewart. On the final lap, Stewart moved to the middle of the track in turn three, which opened the door for Balog to slip underneath and steal the lead away in turn four.

Balog outpowered Stewart to the finish line to earn his fourth IRA A-main victory of the 2018 season worth a hefty $6,000 by a half-car-length margin.

Stewart had to settle for second for the third consecutive time in IRA A-main action at The Plymouth Dirt Track this year. Reinke placed third, Thiel wound up fourth and Jake Blackhurst secured his first career IRA title by a seven-point margin over Thiel with a fifth-place finish after starting sixth.

One night after making his first appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track of his stellar 46-year career, three-time World of Outlaws champion and Sprint Car veteran Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn. advanced from the 12th starting spot to finish sixth behind the wheel of the Sheboygan-based Thone Motorsports No. 1 machine.

“Tony was real good early and then I noticed he started to try some different lines and we just kept after it,” Balog said in victory lane. “I just tried to keep him in my sights and it turned out well at the end. It is always a lot of fun racing with Tony. He is just an awesome racer and I think we all appreciate when he comes out and races with us.”

Stewart credited Balog for capitalizing on his mistake on the final lap.

“I just gave it away on the last lap,” Stewart said. “I knew Bill was coming and I was trying to block a slide job on the last lap and I ended up sliding up to the middle, which was enough for him to get by. Bill is an awesome driver. He is the type of driver who you can race wheel to wheel with for the entire race and never touch. That is what makes racing fun.”

Reinke was pleased with his podium performance.

“We stayed with them pretty well for most of the race and to finish third to those guys, I can’t complain,” Reinke said. “They were both better than us tonight, but all in all it was a pretty decent night for us.”

Scotty Thiel was named the winner of the 2018 Hopf Farms Bullring Showdown and Tony Stewart captured the Rocky Rococo Pizza Challenge.

Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. grabbed the lead of the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main from his outside front row starting spot with polesitter Ryan Zielski following in second.

On lap 5, seventh starter Jordan Mattson of Milwaukee ventured up to the high groove to seize fourth. Three laps later Mattson moved in to pressure third starter Chris Dodd of Trevor for third.

As Petska, Zielski, Dodd and Mattson dueled in close quarters at the front of the field, heavy rain began to fall on the racing surface, which forced the race to be stopped on lap 15 with five laps remaining.

After a delay, the race resumed with Petska had to contend with Zielski, who applied heavy pressure beginning on lap 16. On the final lap, Zielski moved high in turn three to power around Petska with Mattson and Dodd in tow.

With the top four competitors spread out four wide in a mad scramble to the finish line Zielski secured his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Mattson placed second, Dodd was third, Petska finished fourth and fourth starter Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Il. wound up fifth.

Tim Cox placed sixth to wrap up his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car championship.

Mark Heinert of Oak Creek grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the scheduled 20-lap Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint A main as fourth starter Mike Neau of Kenosha moved into second on lap 2.

On lap 4, C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill., who started fifth, assumed second as Heinert had built up a full-straightaway lead.

Heavy rain returned and forced the race to be halted on lap 10 with Heinert declared the winner.

Malueg placed second, Neau was third, Tim Brannam wound up fourth and Ron Brannam rounded out the top five.

Ion Stear secured the 2018 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprint Series championship.

Round two of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships event drew 98 Sprint Cars in four divisions, including 27 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 27 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 29 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and 15 Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprints.

The 2019 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will again feature weekly racing on most Saturday nights, including several special events. The 2019 PDTR season will begin on Saturday, April 27. Visit www.plymouthdtr.com for off-season information.

Thiel holds off Stewart to capture opening night of IRA Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at Plymouth

Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan was victorious in the 30-lap Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, Sept. 28. – RC Custom Design photo

Cox nets Wingless Sprint Car triumph with last-lap pass

 By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 28, 2018 – On a night when two all-time Sprint Car racing legends mounted spirited bids for victory, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan held off both veteran drivers to stand tall at the end of the 30-lap Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on night one of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships Friday, Sept. 28, at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Thiel, who came into the night trailing IRA point leader Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. by just 36 points in the chase for the 2018 IRA title on the final weekend of points competition, lined up on the front row of the A-main event beside polesitter Steve Meyer of Sheboygan Falls.

On the drop of the green flag, Thiel shot high to power his way into the lead while Meyer tucked into second along the low groove. In the early going, Meyer patiently worked the low line to close the gap on the high-riding Thiel. On lap 5, Meyer ducked under Thiel to seize the top spot in turn one on lap 6.

However, Thiel battled back to slide underneath Meyer to regain the top spot in turn three before Meyer lost control and spun entering turn four to bring out the first caution of the race on lap 6.

When the race resumed, Thiel held strong to the high line while three-time World of Outlaws Series champion and 46-year Sprint Car veteran Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn., who started fourth, worked the low groove into second. As the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 9, Swindell, who was making his first-ever appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track behind the wheel of the Sheboygan-based Thone Motorsports No. 1 machine, quickly began to close the gap on Thiel.

Swindell pounced on lap 13 with a low move in turn two to gain the top spot. Three laps later, Swindell found himself mired in heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Thiel to recapture the lead in turn four on lap 16.

On the next lap, Swindell moved up to the outside lane to challenge for the top spot before tagging the frontstretch wall attempting to maneuver around Thiel. The contact with the wall produced a flat right rear tire on Swindell’s car, which forced him to slow on the track to bring out the second caution flag of the event.

After going to the work area, Swindell’s crew discovered additional damage to the right rear of the car, which kept him from returning to action and relegated the Sprint Car Hall of Famer to a 23rd-place finish.

On the restart, three-time NASCAR Cup champion and veteran Sprint Car stalwart Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind., who started 10th, made his presence known as he worked the high groove to seize third from sixth starter Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh on lap 19 before diving low to pass third starter Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam for second on lap 22.

Stewart, who finished second to eighth-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland by .004 of second in his most recent appearance at The Plymouth Track on Sept. 1, was closing the gap quickly on Thiel along the cushion when Dave Uttech of Kenosha hit the wall existing turn two and flipped along the backstretch just in front of the leaders to bring out a red flag on lap 27.

On the restart, Thiel stuck to the low groove to block Stewart’s ability to pull off a slide job entering turn one. From there, Thiel stayed planted to the low line, while Stewart pounded the cushion, en route to his fourth A-main victory of the 2018 IRA season.

Stewart had to settle for second for the second straight race at Plymouth, Schultz placed third, McMullen wound up fourth and Mike Reinke of Howards Grove started and finished fifth.

Thiel’s victory coupled with Blackhurst’s seventh-place showing, allowed the Sheboygan driver to pull within 15-points of the IRA points lead heading into the final night of the IRA season on Saturday, Sept. 29, at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“It feels great to win this race on the final weekend of the IRA season,” Thiel said in victory lane. “Knowing where we stand going into these last two nights here this weekend, the bottom line is we just need to win races. We were trying to knock down the wall at the start of the race and it worked okay for a while. Then we got to racing with Sammy and the track just seemed to be too wide for us to run up there consistently and keep up a good pace.

“On the last restart, I got a good run on the bottom and managed to hold Tony off,” he said. “I saw the No. 14 gradually moving up the scoreboard and I knew he was probably working the bottom quite a bit like he did last Sunday at LaSalle. We weren’t necessarily set up to run the bottom, but we made it work at the end. I’m so happy for my crew. They always give 110 percent to make the car the best it can be for every race. Now we have one night left tomorrow night back here at Plymouth and we have to go out and try to win that one too.”

After finishing second for the second time in IRA competition at Plymouth in less than a month, Stewart was upbeat and complimentary of his fellow competitors.

“I can’t complain about coming up from 10th to finish second with these guys,” Stewart said. “All these guys that have a lot of laps here, like Scotty [Thiel] and Bill [Balog], are tough to beat at this track and they just seem to get tougher every year. Tonight, I’m sure Sammy [Swindell] would have also been in the mix for the win too if he hadn’t of had that flat tire. Sometimes people don’t give local guys enough credit, but its tough for someone like me to come here on occasion and run with them for wins. I’m almost at a disadvantage because they have run so many laps here and they know the track so well.”

Schultz, who has fallen short of gaining an IRA A-main victory in 2018, was dejected that he was not able to get his car to victory lane.

“I’m proud of my guys and everything they do to put me in a position to win races, but it just hasn’t happened this year,” Schultz said. “I feel really bad about that. It is weird to say finishing third is one of the highlights of our season, but it has been that kind of year.”

In the 25-lap Wisconsin Wingless A-main Allen Hafford of Beach Park, Ill. grabbed the lead on the opening lap from the pole. On lap 2, fifth starter Matt Vandevere of Zion, Ill. moved past outside front row starter Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. to seize second.

By lap 8, Vandevere had closed to Hafford’s rear bumper and began to pressure for the lead. Meanwhile, current Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series point leader Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. worked his way into third, on lap 11, after starting sixth.

On lap 15, Vandevere ventured up to the high groove in an attempt to challenge Hafford for the top spot, which left the door open for Cox to assume second on lap 16.

Cox closed to within inches of Hafford’s rear bumper on lap 23 and on the final circuit, Cox used a huge run on the backstretch to power under Hafford entering turn three. Cox then held on through turn four and back to the checkered flag to post his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A-main triumph of the 2018 campaign in the caution-free race.

Hafford finished second, Petska was third, ninth starter Craig Campton of Pardeeville placed fourth and Chris Dodd of Trevor wound up fifth after starting fourth.

Todd King of Sheboygan Falls won the IRA B main and Jack Blackhurst was earn the IRA fast qualifier award with a last of 11.803.

Rod Colburn of New Berlin captured the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car B main and Chris Dodd of Trevor was the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car fast qualifier with a lap of 14.358.

The event drew 29 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 33 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars.

IRA Interstate Racing Association, Plymouth Dirt Track, Sept. 28, 2018
A Feature 1 30 laps
1. 64-Scotty Thiel, [2]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, [10]; 3. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, [3]; 4. 10W-Brandon McMullen, [6]; 5. 02-Mike Reinke, [5]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog, [9]; 7. 25-Jake Blackhurst, [7]; 8. 2W-Scott Neitzel, [8]; 9. 1M-Phillip Mock, [20]; 10. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, [12]; 11. 4B-Scott Biertzer, [13]; 12. 7-Scott Uttech, [14]; 13. 23-Russel Borland, [18]; 14. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, [17]; 15. 85M-Steve Meyer, [1]; 16. 22-Todd King, [19]; 17. 4K-Kris Spitz, [15]; 18. 73-Ben Schmidt, [11]; 19. 12-Michael Decker, [23]; 20. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [21]; 21. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [24]; 22. 68-Dave Uttech, [16]; 23. 1-Sammy Swindell, [4]; 24. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [22]
B Feature 1 12 laps
1. 22-Todd King, [1]; 2. 1M-Phillip Mock, [4]; 3. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [3]; 4. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [2]; 5. 12-Michael Decker, [5]; 6. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [6]; 7. 11X-Tony Wondra, [9]; 8. 29-Hunter Custer, [7]; 9. 63-Nick Matuszewski, [11]; 10. 45-Matt Wiese, [10]; (DNS) 18-Keith Fellner,
Heat 1 10 laps
1. 2W-Scott Neitzel, [2]; 2. 02-Mike Reinke, [1]; 3. 25-Jake Blackhurst, [4]; 4. 4B-Scott Biertzer, [5]; 5. 10W-Brandon McMullen, [3]; 6. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, [6]; 7. 22-Todd King, [7]; 8. 32-Jeremy Hunt, [10]; 9. 11X-Tony Wondra, [9]; 10. 45-Matt Wiese, [8]
Heat 2 10 laps
1. 1-Sammy Swindell, [3]; 2. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, [2]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog, [4]; 4. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, [1]; 5. 7-Scott Uttech, [5]; 6. 23-Russel Borland, [6]; 7. 1M-Phillip Mock, [10]; 8. 43-Jereme Schroeder, [7]; 9. 18-Keith Fellner, [8]; 10. 63-Nick Matuszewski, [9]
Heat 3 10 laps
1. 14-Tony Stewart, [2]; 2. 73-Ben Schmidt, [1]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, [4]; 4. 85M-Steve Meyer, [3]; 5. 4K-Kris Spitz, [6]; 6. 68-Dave Uttech, [5]; 7. 10V-Matt VandeVere, [8]; 8. 12-Michael Decker, [9]; 9. 29-Hunter Custer, [7]
Qualifying 1 00:00:00
1. 25-Jake Blackhurst, 00:11.803[2]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog, 00:11.853[11]; 3. 64-Scotty Thiel, 00:11.926[26]; 4. 10W-Brandon McMullen, 00:11.954[5]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell, 00:11.970[28]; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer, 00:12.023[4]; 7. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 00:12.066[20]; 8. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 00:12.085[27]; 9. 14-Tony Stewart, 00:12.109[17]; 10. 1M-Phillip Mock, 00:12.116[6]; 11. 02-Mike Reinke, 00:12.125[15]; 12. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 00:12.145[18]; 13. 73-Ben Schmidt, 00:12.202[16]; 14. 4B-Scott Biertzer, 00:12.252[9]; 15. 7-Scott Uttech, 00:12.279[1]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech, 00:12.306[14]; 17. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 00:12.316[10]; 18. 23-Russel Borland, 00:12.326[8]; 19. 4K-Kris Spitz, 00:12.469[24]; 20. 22-Todd King, 00:12.547[19]; 21. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 00:12.602[21]; 22. 29-Hunter Custer, 00:12.799[13]; 23. 45-Matt Wiese, 00:12.917[7]; 24. 18-Keith Fellner, 00:12.943[25]; 25. 10V-Matt VandeVere, 00:13.050[3]; 26. 11X-Tony Wondra, 00:13.138[29]; 27. 63-Nick Matuszewski, 00:13.218[22]; 28. 12-Michael Decker, 00:13.313[12]; 29. 32-Jeremy Hunt, 00:14.034[23]
WingLESS Sprints, Plymouth Dirt Track, Sept. 28, 2018
A Feature, 25 laps
1. 40-Tim Cox, [6]; 2. 38-Allen Hafford, [1]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, [2]; 4. 7S-Craig Campton, [9]; 5. 01-Chris Dodd, [4]; 6. 21-Ryan Zielski, [3]; 7. 97-Nathan Crane, [14]; 8. 2-Jordan Mattson, [10]; 9. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, [7]; 10. 19K-Derek Crane, [21]; 11. 70-Chris Klemko, [11]; 12. 1-Rod Colburn, [17]; 13. 0-John Fahl, [20]; 14. 48-Jason Cox, [18]; 15. 20-Natalie Klemko, [16]; 16. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [22]; 17. 91-Jimmy Sivia, [12]; 18. 71S-Doug Schenck, [8]; 19. 9-Greg Olsen, [19]; 20. 15V-Matt VandeVere, [5]; 21. 23Z-Zach Raidart, [15]; 22. 41-Dennis Spitz, [13]
B Feature 1 12 laps | 00:00:00
1. 1-Rod Colburn, [2]; 2. 48-Jason Cox, [3]; 3. 9-Greg Olsen, [1]; 4. 0-John Fahl, [4]; 5. 19K-Derek Crane, [9]; 6. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [6]; 7. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, [8]; 8. 29OG-Tom Eller, [11]; 9. 94-Jim Wehrman, [14]; 10. 00-Paul Shaffer, [10]; 11. 22-Bruce Waterworth, [12]; 12. 12-Shawn Swim, [7]; 13. 39-William Huck, [15]; 14. (DNF) 15H-Kevin Hinich, [5]; (DNS) 29-Randy Stanford, ; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba, ; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,
Heat 1 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 40-Tim Cox, [1]; 2. 01-Chris Dodd, [4]; 3. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, [2]; 4. 38-Allen Hafford, [3]; 5. 0-John Fahl, [6]; 6. 4-Jordan Paulsen, [5]; 7. 22-Bruce Waterworth, [8]; 8. (DNF) 29-Randy Stanford, [7]; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,
Heat 2 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 21-Ryan Zielski, [4]; 2. 70-Chris Klemko, [2]; 3. 41-Dennis Spitz, [1]; 4. 2-Jordan Mattson, [3]; 5. 15H-Kevin Hinich, [6]; 6. 12-Shawn Swim, [5]; 7. 00-Paul Shaffer, [7]; 8. 94-Jim Wehrman, [8]
Heat 3 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 15V-Matt VandeVere, [5]; 2. 7S-Craig Campton, [3]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, [4]; 4. 23Z-Zach Raidart, [2]; 5. 1-Rod Colburn, [1]; 6. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, [6]; 7. 29OG-Tom Eller, [7]; 8. 39-William Huck, [8]
Heat 4 8 laps | 00:00:00
1. 71S-Doug Schenck, [3]; 2. 91-Jimmy Sivia, [2]; 3. 97-Nathan Crane, [5]; 4. 20-Natalie Klemko, [7]; 5. 48-Jason Cox, [1]; 6. 19K-Derek Crane, [6]; 7. 9-Greg Olsen, [4]; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba,
Qualifying 1 00:00:00
1. 01-Chris Dodd, 00:14.358[33]; 2. 21-Ryan Zielski, 00:14.437[14]; 3. 18-Nick Petska, 00:14.595[12]; 4. 9-Greg Olsen, 00:14.611[4]; 5. 38-Allen Hafford, 00:14.653[27]; 6. 2-Jordan Mattson, 00:14.660[30]; 7. 7S-Craig Campton, 00:14.675[25]; 8. 71S-Doug Schenck, 00:14.686[19]; 9. 2K-Jimmy Kouba, 00:14.697[3]; 10. 70-Chris Klemko, 00:14.721[26]; 11. 23Z-Zach Raidart, 00:14.740[10]; 12. 91-Jimmy Sivia, 00:14.778[28]; 13. 40-Tim Cox, 00:14.797[7]; 14. 41-Dennis Spitz, 00:14.809[17]; 15. 1-Rod Colburn, 00:14.840[15]; 16. 48-Jason Cox, 00:14.858[1]; 17. 4-Jordan Paulsen, 00:14.860[16]; 18. 12-Shawn Swim, 00:14.886[5]; 19. 15V-Matt VandeVere, 00:14.914[24]; 20. 97-Nathan Crane, 00:15.040[29]; 21. 0-John Fahl, 00:15.113[13]; 22. 15H-Kevin Hinich, 00:15.113[9]; 23. 6B-Vince Bartolotta, 00:15.140[8]; 24. 19K-Derek Crane, 00:15.142[31]; 25. 29-Randy Stanford, 00:15.155[21]; 26. 00-Paul Shaffer, 00:15.400[2]; 27. 29OG-Tom Eller, 00:15.507[22]; 28. 20-Natalie Klemko, 00:15.525[20]; 29. 22-Bruce Waterworth, 00:15.628[6]; 30. 94-Jim Wehrman, 00:15.851[23]; 31. 39-William Huck, 00:16.272[11]; (DNS) 70K-Jake Kouba, ; (DNS) 77-James Walldan,

 

 

Verdegan’s ‘The Bird & The Bear’ book to be launched Dec. 8 at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton

Jeff Pederson (left) of Pedal Down Promotions and Northeast Wisconsin Motorsports Author Joe Verdegan (right) have joined forces for Verdegan’s fourth book titled “The Bird & The Bear,” which is set to be launched with a special event held on Saturday, Dec. 8, at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton from noon to 3 p.m. The book will be published by Pedal Down Promotions. – Pedal Down Promotions phot

Pedal Down Promotions publication features Northeast Wisconsin racing legends Roger Regeth and J.J. Smith

(Appleton, Wis.) – Motorsports author Joe Verdegan of Green Bay has announced the release of his fourth book “The Bird & The Bear” will be launched Saturday, Dec. 8 from noon to 3 p.m. at Les Stumpf Ford in Appleton, 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 1960s, the pair racked up several hundred feature wins and multiple track championships along the way on both dirt and asphalt ovals.

Both competed in the old USAC stock car circuit as well in the 1960s. Regeth played the “villain” role to a “T”, while Smith was a popular driver wherever he competed. Both drivers elicited a chorus of “cheers and jeers” whenever they showed up to do battle.

Regeth was employed at Les Stumpf Ford for 17 years and was a manager/buyer for one of Wisconsin’s largest car dealers. He was famous for wheeling his Les Stumpf Ford sponsored pink and blue No. 96 Chevrolet Camaro at area tracks, which was a conversation piece in itself. Regeth and Smith won multiple track titles on area ovals in the dirt tracks in the 1970s.

Regeth’s career stopped after the 1978 season, but “The Bear” came out of retirement to compete in Grand National Sportsman and Mid American Stock Car Series action in the early 1990s.

When the 1980s rolled around, Smith began to focus most of his attention on the weekly asphalt racing at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. Smith captured WIR’s late model title driving for Anthony Brothers Racing in 1990.

“I’m beyond thrilled that company president Corey Stumpf and his staff have agreed to host our book launch at Les Stumpf Ford,” Verdegan said. “Les Stumpf Ford has been a prominent business in the Fox Valley for several decades, dating back 97 years. They’ve also been huge backers of local stock car racing, most notably supplying the pace car at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna for many years. We’re hoping for a great turnout at Les Stumpf Ford on December 8th!”

Both Regeth and Smith will join Verdegan at the book launch on Dec. 8.

Verdegan has previously penned three other books covering motorsports history. In 2015, Verdegan released “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” was published in 2016, while Verdegan’s third book, “Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation” was launched in 2017.

Verdegan’s first three books were published through M and B Global Solutions of Green Bay, Wisconsin. “The Bird & The Bear” is being published by Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wis.

Les Stumpf Ford is located at 3030 W. College Ave. in Appleton, just 30 minutes south of Green Bay. You can learn more about Les Stumpf Ford by visiting the website Stumpfford.com.

A complete 2018 “Holiday Book Tour” with Verdegan, Regeth and Smith is expected to be released in the near future.

Pokorski Motorsports battles through tough draw at PDTR

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 12, 2018 – Despite finding themselves behind the 8-ball throughout the second-to-last Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the season, Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team fought hard to claw out an 11th place showing in the 360 Sprint Car A main at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 8.

With 27 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in for the program, an unfriendly draw forced the 26-year veteran to start last in the first Sprint Car heat race. After lining up ninth in the nine-car heat race, Pokorski worked past Tyler Brabant and Chris Clayton with a nifty low move in turn one to advance to seventh on lap 2. Pokorski maintained his position the rest of the way to notch a seventh-place showing in the 10-lap race.

After making the A-main invert when another driver was disqualified for failing to weigh in following heat race action, Pokorski started the extended 30-lap 360 Sprint Car A main from the 16th spot. The 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion searched to find his comfort zone on the tricky track surface in the opening laps of the event.

On lap 4, Pokorski moved up to 15th in the running order. Three laps later, Pokorski worked around Scott Conger and Tony Wondra to advance to the 13th spot. After settling in to run the outside groove, Pokorski powered around Doug Wondra on lap 13 to work his way into 12th.

As the laps wound down, Pokorski hit his stride as he bolted past Chris Flick in turn four on lap 16 to secure 11th. Pokorski was gaining quickly on the 10th-place car of Travis Arenz when the checkered flag flew on the caution-free race, which was won by Justin Miller.

“We knew we were going to have a hard road to hoe with the bad number draw for the heat race,” Pokorski said. “We tried a couple of things hoping to make the car better than the last couple weeks in the heat race. Instead, it made it worse. So, we went back to what’s been working for us for the A main and the car was good again. I think over the last five laps, we were as fast as anyone, but starting 16th really makes it tough.”

After two weeks off, the Pokorski Motorsports team will close out the 2018 PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association campaign on Saturday, Sept. 29 at The Plymouth Dirt Track, along with the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and Wisconsin-Illinois Mini Sprints.

Pokorski enters the final night of the 2018 season tied for fourth place in the PDTR point standings with Danny Schlafer, 94 points behind points leader Kurt Davis. In the MSA points race, Pokorski also sits fourth.

“We are hoping to put together a solid run in our last night of the year to finish off the season strong,” Pokorski said. “Then we will start getting ready for next year right away. I picked up some body panels on Saturday to start the preparation process for 2019 already.”

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, September 29 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

 2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 23

MSA events – 22

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 16

Heat Race Victories – 5

 

 

 

McGrath dominates PDTR Dirt Kings Late Model event

Mitch McGrath of Waukesha claimed the victory in the 30-lap Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A-main event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 8. – RC Custom Design photo

Miller, Kulow, Van Hierden, Boden snag A-main victories as Loehr, Sheppard, Ruh claim titles

 By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 8, 2018 – The final regular Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2018 season brimmed over with a wide variety of racing action, which included runaway statement-style victories, heated side-by-side competition, inspired charges from the back of the pack and a new A-main track record, while three drivers wrapped up division titles before a large contingent of spectators on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Former PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha scored an impressive victory in the 30-lap Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A-main, Plymouth’s Justin Miller established a new track record of 5 minutes and 45 seconds en route to victory in the non-stop 30-lap Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A main. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth emerged with the victory in a hotly contested 30-lap Klips and Tips Grand National A main. Colten Van Hierden of Waupun made his first appearance of the season at PDTR count with a victory from the rear of the field in the time-shortened 26-lap Cellcom B Mod A main. Zach Boden of Madison topped the 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantville Realty Micro Sprint A main.

McGrath, who collected the PDTR Late Model championship in 2014, started the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour headliner from the pole and immediately flexed his muscle to grab the lead on the opening circuit with outside front row starter Paul Parker of Kaukauna settling into second.

As McGrath pulled out to a comfortable lead, third starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano moved in to pressure Parker along the low groove. Just as McGrath was about to encounter lapped traffic, Turk Letizia of Milwaukee spun in turn two to bring out the first of three caution flags.

Following the restart, McGrath bolted away to build up a full-straightaway cushion over Parker. McGrath was closing in on the rear of the field when a red flag was displayed for Eric Michaels of Cleveland, who flipped in turn one after contact with an infield tire on lap 17.

After another caution was thrown on the restart for Joel Bennett, who spun in turn three. When the race resumed, McGrath again shot away from the field while Shawano’s Troy Springborn, who started fourth, used the high groove to pull around seventh starter Chris Engels of Green Bay to secure fourth on lap 18.

Meanwhile, it was all McGrath at the front of the field as he skillfully negotiated lapped traffic in the closing laps to pull away to notch his 11th career PDTR A-main victory and second career Dirt Kings Late Model Tour main event by a half lap margin over Parker. Swedberg placed third, Springborn wound up fourth and Engels rounded out the top five.

Justin Miller led the field to the green flag in the 30-lap PDTR Sprint Car A main from the pole and bolted into the lead in turn one of the opening lap. On lap 2, 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champ and current point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, shot past second starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum to seize second place in turn two.

Miller stuck to the bottom groove of the third-mile clay oval surface to maintain a solid edge over Davis until the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 14, which allowed Davis to cut the gap a bit.

Miller expertly sliced his way through slower traffic to keep Davis at bay through the mid stages of the race. With five laps to go, Miller was briefly bottled up in slower traffic, which again allowed Davis to close to within striking distance along the low groove.

However, Miller managed to negotiate the slower car and maintain his lead on the way to his third career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and fifth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph in a PDTR Sprint Car 30-lap A-main track record time of five minutes and 45 seconds in the non-stop race.

Davis, who heads into the final night of the 2018 PDTR Sprint Car season on Saturday, Sept. 29 with a 15-point lead over Miller at the top of the point standings, had to settle for second, fifth starter Lance Fassbender of Burnett finished third, Wenninger placed fourth and Bill Taylor of Kewaskum wound up fifth, after starting seventh.

Polesitter Dick Hed of Plymouth and outside front row starter Tyler Kulow dueled side by side during the opening lap of the highly entertaining 30-lap Grand National main event before Hed surged ahead to take the lead in turn two on lap 2.

On lap 3, West Bend’s Brad Weiss, who started fifth, shot up to seize third place and two laps later, Weiss pulled alongside Hed and the two dueled door-to-door for the lead on lap 5. On lap 7, Weiss surged ahead of Hed along the outside groove, while fourth starter Kurt Davis rode the high line to challenge Hed for second.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 8 when Darryl Trabel of Watertown and Dakota Cabunac spun in turn two. On the restart, Davis continued his charge along the high line while Grand National point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who started third, ducked low to challenge for second on lap 9.

As Weiss, Davis and Loehr dueled in close quarters for the top spot, the second caution flag flew when Donny Singer stopped in turn two on lap 15. The action continued to rage on the restart has Davis and Loehr waged an epic battle for second behind Weiss, who stuck to the low groove to maintain a slight lead.

On lap 17, Davis grabbed second up high, while Kulow rallied to gain third on lap 18. Kulow ran the low groove to perfection to work past Davis for second on lap 19. However, Davis returned the favor on the next lap to regain second.

As Weiss, Davis, Kulow, Loehr and seventh starter Josh Pierce of Fredonia ran in close quarters at the front of the pack, the third and final caution flag was displayed on lap 23 when Cubanac stopped in turn two.

On the restart, Kulow moved up high to grab second from Davis on lap 24 and on the next lap he charged past Weiss to secure the top spot. Meanwhile, Davis cleared Weiss to gain second on lap 29.

Once ahead, Kulow pulled away to notch his fourth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Davis placed second, Weiss wound up third, Loehr secured his first career PDTR Grand National championship with a fourth-place finish and Pierce placed fifth.

Loehr topped Davis by 25 points in the final PDTR Grand National standings, while Kulow finished third 32 points behind Loehr.

Jesse Cullen of Chilton led the opening lap of the 30-lap B Mod A main before the first of four caution flags appeared for an incident involving Colten Van Hierden and Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon in turn two on lap 2.

After changing a flat left rear tire, Van Hierden restarted at the rear of the 20-car field. When the race resumed, sixth starter Bill Edler of Howards Grove moved in to take third and seventh starter Barry Maas of Cascade secure fourth in the running order.

As Cullen encountered slower traffic on lap 14, Edler closed in to mount a challenge before the second caution flag was displayed on lap 16 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan and Mark Hoeppner spun in turn two. The incident forced Edler, who was running second, to take evasive action and spin into the infield. He took his car to the pit area and did not return to the track.

On the restart, Cullen led over fifth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls as Van Hierden mounted an epic charge from the rear of the field to seize third on lap 17. After another caution for debris on lap 18, Van Hierden continued his march to the front taking second from Glander on lap 18 and setting his sights on Cullen.

On lap 21, Van Hierden used a low move to take over the top spot in turn four. As Van Hierden pulled away at the front of the field, a caution on lap 26 brought the race to a close due to the 30-minute time limit.

Van Hierden, who was making his first appearance of the 2018 season at Plymouth, claimed his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory, Cullen placed second, 10th starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth took third, Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam wrapped up his first career PDTR B Mod track title with a fourth-place finish after starting 11th and Glander completed the top five.

In his first full season racing at Plymouth, Sheppard earned the B Mod championship by 36 points over Gary Glander. Travis Schmidt finished third 75 points behind Sheppard.

Second starter Tory Strauss of Sun Prairie led the first two laps of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main before third starter Zach Boden seized the lead in turn four. Boden, who was the 2016 PDTR Micro Sprint champ, maintained the lead through a pair of caution flags to secure his ninth career PDTR Micro Sprint A-main win.

Jake Dohner of Milton placed second, Strauss was third, 2017 PDTR Micro Sprint champion Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake earned his second consecutive track title with a fourth-place finish and Jack Vanderboom of Dousman rounded out the top five.

Ruh topped Emily Portschy of Plymouth by 117 points to claim his second straight PDTR Micro Sprint title.

Mark Rose of Dorchester claimed the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour B main. Josh Walter of Plymouth won the MSA B main. Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls captured the B Mod B main.

The final regular PDTR racing program of the 2018 season, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Show Cattle, drew a large field 111 cars, including 28 Dirt Kings Late Model Tour cars, 27 Sprint Cars, 25 B Mods, 21 Grand Nationals and 10 Micro Sprints.

Prior to the racing program, the 2018 PDTR Dedication to Dirt Award was presented to longtime announcer Bill Rood, who stated that he would be retiring after 30 years of involvement with racing at Plymouth.

After two weeks off, the 2018 racing season will conclude with a doubleheader weekend of Sprint Car action on Friday, Sept. 28 and Saturday, Sept. 29. The Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series will be in action, along with the Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars on Friday, Sept. 28.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, the IRA Sprint Cars and Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars will be joined by the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and Wisconsin-Illinois Sprint Car Series for the final points night of the season for all four divisions.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. has indicated his intentions to return to race with the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series on Sept. 28-29, as has three-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champ Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn., who will be making his debut appearance at Plymouth.

Pokorski Motorsports rides momentum into home stretch of 2018 MSA season

Paul Pokorski (4) of West Bend races with Danny Schlafer (25) of Sussex, during a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car event at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 1. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions 

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 5, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team enjoyed a successful Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) double dip of racing action over the Labor Day weekend tallying a pair of top-10 A-main showings on Friday, Aug. 31 at the Outagamie Speedway powered by EWSC in Seymour, Wis. and Saturday, Sept. 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track during the Sheboygan County Fair in Plymouth, Wis.

The inaugural MSA event at Outagamie Speedway powered by EWSC drew a field of 24 entries vying for a bolstered traveling series event purse featuring a $1,500 first-place prize.

Pokorski started the third MSA heat race from the fourth starting spot and wasted no time vaulting his way past Scott Conger and Anthony Knierim into second place on the well-manicured third-mile clay oval. Using primarily the outside line of the multi-groove racing surface, Pokorski gradually reeled in race leader Travis Arenz, eventually move into striking distance on lap 8.

As the white flag was displayed Pokorski dove under Arenz entering turn one and pulled ahead of the MSA rookie exiting turn two. Arenz battled back to try the same move on Pokorski in turn three, but the 26-year veteran held on along the high groove to record his fifth heat race victory of the 2018 season in the 10-lap event.

After starting eighth in the 25-lap MSA A-main, Pokorski fell back to 11th on lap 5 before battling back to work past Tim Haddy into 10th on lap 11. Seven laps later, Scotty Thiel in Randy Sippel’s 39s machine, ducked under Pokorski to move him to 11th.

Two laps later, Pokorski used the low groove to claw his way past Kevin Karnitz into 10th. On lap 22, Pokorski wrestled ninth place away from Lance Fassbender and then set his sights on Shane Wenninger as the laps wound down.

While Pokorski was unable to work around Wenninger, Travis Arenz dropped out on the final lap to give Pokorski eighth place at the finish line in the caution-free race, which was won by Brandon McMullen.

“The MSA event at Seymour on Friday was great all around,” Pokorski said. “The track was really good, the whole event went well and our heat race was fun for sure. The car had a little miss in the engine we fought all night, and that may have cost us some in the main.”

On Saturday, Sept. 1, the Pokorski Motorsports team traveled to The Plymouth Dirt Track for the annual Sheboygan County Fair Night race program, which saw 24 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars sign in.

After starting fifth in the first PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race, Pokorski fell back to seventh on the opening lap before rallying to pass Chris Larson for sixth on lap 3 and Jeremy Hunt for fifth on lap 4. Pokorski charged in to pressure Tony Wondra for fourth starting on lap 7, but he was unable to pull off the move and wound up fifth at the finish line.

With a few scratches eliminating the need for a B main, Pokorski lined up 13th in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main. Pokorski utilized a strong start to move into the ninth position on lap 10.

After a pair of caution flags on lap 10, Pokorski used a strong restart to bolt past Wayne Modjeski and Tony Wondra to assume the seventh spot on lap 12. Pokorski maintained the seventh until working past Kurt Davis to take over sixth as the laps wound down. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion went on to place sixth in the 25-lap event, which was won by Brandon McMullen, to secure his 16th top-10 A-main finish of the 2018 campaign.

“On Saturday at Plymouth we got rid of the miss we had Friday at Seymour by replacing plugs, the magneto and ignition switch,” Pokorski said. “The car was good all night. I was a little disappointed after the heat. Tony Wondra and I had a good battle in the heat race, but ending up fifth put us way back for the start of the main. In the end, I was pretty happy to go from 13th to sixth in the A.”

With two events remaining in the 2018 season, Pokorski stands fourth in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car points standings 65 points behind points leader Kurt Davis.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, Pokorski Motorsports will compete in the second to last night of the 2018 Midwest Sprint Car Association season at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

“I wish the season was four months longer, but we will enjoy the next two nights and then focus on getting ready for next year,” Pokorski said.

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

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

Saturday, September 29 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 22

MSA events – 21

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 16

Heat Race Victories – 5

Balog outduels Stewart to capture IRA Sheboygan County Fair Night victory

Bill Balog of Hartland edged NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart by .004 to notch his third Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series A-main victory of the 2018 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track, during the Sheboygan County Fair in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 1. – RC Custom Design photo

McMullen prevails in PDTR 360 Sprint Car action                      

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) September 1, 2018 – Eight-time Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champ Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ind. have had their share of spirited duels on dirt tracks throughout the Midwest over the years with the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event held during 2018 Sheboygan County Fair Night all-Winged Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track providing the back drop for another intriguing chapter in this ongoing racing saga on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Reminiscent of their exciting duel at The Plymouth Dirt Track on June 15, 2013, which saw Stewart edge Balog by half a car length, Balog turned the tables this time executing a final corner slide job and holding off Stewart by just .004 of a second at the finish to notch his third IRA Series A-main victory of the 2018 campaign before a capacity crowd at the third-mile Sheboygan County Fairgrounds facility in Plymouth, Wis.

In the companion, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car A-main, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh collected his third Sprint Car A-main triumph of the season at Plymouth.

Stewart drew the pole position for the 30-lap IRA A-main with Cory Eliason of Kingsburg, Calif. in the Thone Motorsports No. 59 entry starting on the outside of the front row.

Stewart got the jump on the drop of the green flag and bolted out to a half-straightaway lead over Eliason in the early going on the wide, smooth and fast racing surface.

Just as Stewart began to catch up to the back of the 24-car field, a red flag was displayed when Todd King of Sheboygan Falls hit the turn four wall and flipped his machine. King was uninjured, but his car was done in the night.

When the race resumed, fifth starter Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove dove low to work his way past Eliason into second while Balog, who started seventh, rode the high groove past IRA point leader Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, who started fourth, into third place on lap 12.

By lap 9, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic, which Stewart negotiated expertly to build up a half-lap cushion over Schmidt on lap 10. Four laps later, Eliason spun on the frontstretch after contact with Schmidt, which slowed the pace and forced Eliason to restart the race 17th on lap 14.

Prior to the restart, Schmidt made contact with Stewart in turn four just as the green flag was to be displayed causing him to spin his car. After repairing a flat right rear tire, Schmidt restarted 17th, while the contact resulted in damage to the top wing of Stewart’s machine.

Another caution appeared on lap 16 when Mike Reinke of Howards Grove dropped off the pace significantly along the backstretch. On the restart, Thiel dove low to attempt a three-wide pass for the lead in turn two. However, Stewart battled back to maintain the lead along the high groove and Balog retained second place.

Balog hounded Stewart on the preferred outside groove through the final half of the race as the leaders had to negotiate heavy lapped traffic beginning on lap 22. On lap 25, Balog pulled even with Stewart in turn two, but Stewart successfully fended off the challenge and pulled away briefly.

With two laps to go, Balog raced back up to within striking distance and on the final circuit the North Pole, Alaska native unleashed an epic slide job entering turn three to sweep past Stewart in turn four. Stewart turned under Balog and the two drag raced to the finish line with Balog notching his third IRA victory of the season by just .004 of a second, which is the closest margin of victory since the IRA incorporated electronic scoring.

After leading 29 laps, Stewart had to settle for second, Thiel was third, eighth starter and fast qualifier Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. was fourth and Brandon McMullen placed fifth after starting sixth.

Balog was happy that he had a chance on the final lap, after missing on an opportunity to take the lead a few laps earlier.

“The car was working good all night and I was hoping to be close enough to make a move at the end,” Balog said in victory lane. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen because I thought I threw it away when I had a chance a few laps from the end. It was an awesome race. Tony’s one of the best ever and everyone’s gunning for him when he shows up. We were just a little better at the end tonight.”

Despite coming in second, Stewart was upbeat following the race.

“I love coming up here to race,” Stewart said. “This is a really cool part of the country with great fans. Lapped traffic was tough and being the leader, you don’t know what is going on behind you. I was just trying not to make a mistake over the final few laps. Bill is an awesome driver. I love racing with him. It was a fun night and I hope all the fans had a good time.”

Thiel maintained his IRA points lead with a solid third-place run.

“We gave it all we could and we had a run there on one of the restarts,” Thiel said. “I don’t think we were good enough to win tonight. 17 [Balog] drove a really good race. We will take third and try to get a little better for the next race.”

Tony Wondra of Campbellsport lead the opening laps of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main from the pole with third starter Scott Conger of Eagle trailing in second. On lap 7, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started fifth, used the high groove to power past Conger into second.

One lap later, Schlafer bolted past the low-riding Wondra into the lead in turn three, while seventh starter Brandon McMullen followed in Schlafer’s tire tracks to assume second on lap 9.

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 10 for an infield tire that had been moved onto the track in turn four. On the restart, the caution flag flew again when Plymouth’s Justin Miller spun in turn one.

On the restart, McMullen used the low groove to pressure Schlafer for the top spot and the two championship-winning drivers dueled side by side before the third caution was displayed on lap 12 for Chris Larson, who spun in turn two.

The battle between McMullen and Schlafer raged on over the ensuing seven laps with the two drivers exchanging the lead before McMullen surged ahead for good along the low groove in turn one on lap 19.

On lap 22, the fourth caution appeared when Schlafer spun his machine in turn four. McMullen controlled the final three laps en route to his 15th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 21st overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Josh Walter of Plymouth finished second after starting eighth, Tim Haddy of Waupun used a late charge along the high groove to place third after starting ninth, Conger wound up fourth and second starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum rounded out the top five.

Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam won the IRA B main. Jake Blackhurst topped the IRA field in qualifying with a fast lap of 12.043.

The all-Winged Sprint Car program included 27 IRA 410 Sprint Car entries and 24 PDTR 360 Sprint Car machines.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Sept. 8 will feature the final points event of the 2018 season for the B Mod, Grand National and Micro Sprint divisions, as well as a special appearance by the Dirt Kings Late Model Series in addition to the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

Pokorski Motorsports bags 14th top-10 showing of 2018

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 29, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team enjoyed another solid night of 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. racking up the team’s fourth heat race triumph and 14 top-10 A-main finish of the 2018 campaign on Saturday, Aug. 25.

With 26 PDTR Sprint Cars signed in, Pokorski started on the pole of the first Sprint Car heat race. The 26-year racing veteran jumped out to the lead on the drop of the green flag and motored away from the field to notch an impressive victory in the 10-lap event.

After lining up sixth in the 25-lap PDTR Sprint Car headliner, Pokorski found himself running seventh when a red flag was displayed on lap 11 for an incident on the frontstretch involving Doug Wondra and Robbie Pribnow, which sent Wondra flipping.

On the restart, Pokorski briefly challenging Brandon McMullen for the sixth spot before Kevin Karnitz pulled off a slide job to seize the seventh spot from Pokorski on lap 14.

In the closing laps, Justin Miller moved in to challenge Pokorski for eighth before he eventually seized the position with a slide job on lap 24 to push Pokorski back to ninth when the checkered flag fell on the race, which was won by Kurt Davis.

“The car ran well in the heat race and I was pretty confident that the A main would go well, but I was obviously disappointed with the result,” Pokorski said. “The car didn’t feel terrible, but something was lacking, that’s for sure.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team was scheduled to compete in a Midwest Sprint Car Association event at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on Friday, Aug. 24, but rain forced the program to be cancelled.

With four events remaining in the Midwest Sprint Car Association season, Pokorski sits third in the MSA point standings. He also stands fourth in the PDTR Sprint Car point standings, 65 points out of first place, with three races remaining in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 2018 campaign.

The Pokorski Motorsports team is preparing for the final doubleheader weekend of the 2018 Midwest Sprint Car Association season as it travels to the Outagamie Speedway in Seymour to compete with the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Association on Friday, Aug. 31.

The EWSC program, which also features IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Northern Sport Mods, Grand Nationals, IMCA Stock Cars and IMCA Compacts, will begin with racing at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 1, Pokorski will return to The Plymouth Dirt Track with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, which will be joined by the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series for an all-Sprint Car program during the Sheboygan County Fair. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

“I’m really looking forward to this coming weekend,” Pokorski said. “We ran at Seymour a couple of years ago. It’s a nice track and I’m anxious to see what EWSC has done with the facility. The fair night at Plymouth is always a great atmosphere. It should be an exciting weekend of racing. I can’t wait.”

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

Friday, August 31 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

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

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

Saturday, September 29 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 20

MSA events – 19

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 14

Heat Race Victories – 4

 

 

Davis, McGrath, Weber, Sheppard, Collins score PDTR A-main triumphs

Steven Weber of Plymouth collected his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand National A-main victory at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, Aug. 25. – RC Custom Design

Justin Schmidt secures first PDTR Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 25, 2018 – A pair of veteran racers visited victory lane for the first time in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main competition and another earned his first career PDTR points title, during an action-packed night of competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee racked up his third Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Mitch McGrath of Waukesha earned his first Gasroots Project Late Model A-main victory of the year. Plymouth’s Steven Weber notched his first career Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win. Cellcom B Mod points leader Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam padded his advantage by posting his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Dave Collins of Lake Mills collected his second Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint A-main victory of the 2018 campaign.

After coming into the night third in the PDTR Late Model point standings, eight points out of the lead, Cleveland’s Justin Schmidt secured his first PDTR Late Model points championship on the strength of a heat race victory and a fourth-place showing in the A main. Schmidt, who posted four PDTR Late Model A-main victories this season, edged out his father, Jim, by just two points, in the final 2018 standings.

Two of the most experienced drivers in the pit area lined up on the front row of the 25-lap Sprint Car A main as Jim Melis of Glenbeulah held the pole position with 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis lined up on the outside.

Melis got the jump on the drop of the green flag and held down the top spot along the low groove in the early going while Davis worked the high groove of the wide and smooth racing surface.

After hounding Melis along the cushion for several laps, Davis shot into the lead with a bold high move in turn one on lap 5. As 2017 PDTR Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh who started eighth, and Plymouth’s Josh Walter, who started fifth, dueled hard for fifth, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on lap 10.

With lapped cars in the mix, Melis was able to close the gap on Davis using the high groove, while two-time PDTR Sprint Car champ Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started third, moved in to make it a three-car battle up front.

Just as it appeared the action was going to get heated in lapped traffic, a red flag appeared on lap 11 when Doug Wondra and Robbie Pribnow collided on the frontstretch, sending Wondra flipping. Both drivers emerged uninjured.

On the restart, Schlafer made an aggressive move to power past Melis in second in turn two, while McMullen slipped past Walter to assume fourth on lap 12.

The final 14 laps clicked off quickly as the majority of the field held tight to the preferred high groove. Schlafer was able to close the gap slightly on Davis in the closing laps, but he was never able to mount a serious threat for the lead.

Davis went on to post his 20th career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and the 57th overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph of his long career. Schlafer finished second, Melis was third, McMullen placed fourth and Walter rounded out the top five.

Dan Schlieper of Milwaukee led the field to the green flag in the 25-lap Late Model A main from the pole position. The former Eldora Speedway World 100 winner and Lucas Oil Late Model Series regular held the top spot in the early stages of the race as 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath made his way to the front from the sixth starting spot utilizing the outside line to secure second on lap 2.

By lap 10, McGrath had closed in to challenge Schlieper for the top spot along the cushion, as title contenders Justin Schmidt, who started eighth, and 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fifth, dueled for fifth.

On lap 13, Schmidt made what proved to be a championship-sealing move as he split Buhler and fourth-starting Chad Vetting of Valders to pass both drivers in turn three and vault into fourth.

After running the high groove throughout the first half of the race, McGrath dropped down low to challenge Schlieper on lap 18. Over the next six laps, McGrath tried several different lines in an attempt to seize the lead before diving under Schlieper in turn two on the final lap and surging ahead over the final circuit to notch his 10th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory in the caution-free race.

Justin Schmidt of Cleveland earned his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model title by two points over his father Jim, who finished second with 977 points, on Saturday, Aug. 25, at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth.  – RC Custom Design photo

Schlieper had to settle for second, third-starter Tom Naeyaert of Shawano, finished third in his first appearance of the year at Plymouth, Justin Schmidt finished fourth to secure his first PDTR Late Model championship and Buhler placed fifth.

Justin Schmidt collected 979 points to capture the Late Model title by two points over his father Jim, who finished second with 977 points. Four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake finished third with 971 points and Buhler was fourth with 969 points.

Outside front row starter Chad Espen of West Bend led the opening circuit of the 25-lap Grand National A main before polesitter Steven Weber seized the top spot on lap two.

After the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 6 for an infield tire pushed onto the track in turn one, sixth starter Kurt Davis charged in to pull off a three-wide pass for third on lap 8. On lap 11, Davis used the high groove to maneuver around Espen for second before the second caution flag flew on lap 12 for a two-car incident involving Jacob Muehlbauer and Derek Kaat in turn four.

Following the restart, Davis utilized the high groove to briefly surge into the lead in turn two on lap 16. However, Weber held strong along with the low line as the two veteran drivers dueled side by side over the next two laps with Weber regaining the top spot in turn one on lap 18.

Davis regrouped to mount one final challenge on the final lap pulling nearly even with Weber along the outside groove in turn two. However, again Weber fended off Davis’ advances and maintained the top spot en route to his first career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.

Davis was second, Espen finished third, fourth starter J.J. Pagel of Campbellsport placed fourth and Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started third, wound up fifth.

Polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls assume the lead of the 25-lap B Mod A main at the drop of the green flag with second starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth and third starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown falling into second and third respectively.

On lap 5, points leader Tim Sheppard, who started sixth, began to make his presence felt as he powered around Steenbergen along the high groove in turn two. One lap later, Sheppard moved past Schmidt into second and on lap 7, Sheppard shot around Bauer into the lead in turn one before a spin involving Phil Campanella brought out the first of four caution flags on lap 7.

On the restart, a six-car melee involving Derek Fehling, Nat Jakubowski, Mark Fieber (guest driving for Cody Eickberg), J.J. Walvoord, Steve Lorier and Phil Campanella triggered a lengthy caution period. Only Lorier and Campanella were able to continue.

When the race resumed, Schmidt dove under Sheppard to grab the lead in turn three on lap 8. On lap 9, the third caution appeared when Campanella spun in turn four.

Shortly after the ensuing restart, contact resulted in Schmidt spinning sideways in turn with Sheppard moving into the top spot on lap 11. Schmidt was able to recover to maintain third before the fourth caution flew on lap 21 for an incident involving Justin Bauer and Shane Long in turn four.

During the caution, Steenbergen was penalized two spots for aggressive driving, which placed him behind Schmidt and 13th starter Marcus Hoeppner of Rubicon on the final restart.

Sheppard pulled away over the final four laps to score his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory. Schmidt was second, Steenbergen finished third, Lorier placed fourth and Tim Lange of Dousman, who started 10th, finished fifth.

In the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main, outside front row starter Dave Collins led flag to flag in the non-stop race to post his third career PDTR Micro Sprint A main victory.

Defending PDTR Micro Sprint champion and current points leader Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake was second, Emily Portschy of Plymouth took third, Jack Vanderboom of Dousman finished fourth and Miles Quandt of Watertown placed fifth.

Tony Wondra of Cambpellsport won the Sprint Car B Main, while J.J. Walvoord of Howards Grove posted the victory in the B Mod B Main.

The PDTR program, which was sponsored by Roger and Dan’s Auto Service, showcased a total of 83 cars, including 26 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 15 Grand Nationals, 13 Late Models and six Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program featuring the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will take place on Saturday, Sept. 1, during the Sheboygan County Fair.

NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart will also compete in the IRA portion of the program. On track action is scheduled to begin at 5 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.

Pokorski Motorsports equals season-best finish at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski (4) races with Chris Flick (88) in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car heat race action at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 18. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 22, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team completed another successful doubleheader weekend of Midwest Sprint Car Association competition, highlighted by a season-best second-place showing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 18, coupled with an 11th-place showing in the team’s debut at TNT Speedway in Three Lakes, Wis. on Sunday, Aug. 19.

On Saturday, Aug. 11, the Pokorski Motorsports team returned to The Plymouth Dirt Track where a strong field of 28 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars signed in to do battle on the third-mile clay oval.

After lining up fifth in the second PDTR Sprint Car heat race, Pokorski worked his way into fourth place on the opening circuit of the 10-lap event. On lap 3, Pokorski dove low on the wide and fast track surface to pass rookie Chris Flick for third in turn two. The 26-year veteran maintained the third position the rest of the way to secure a spot in the 25-lap main event.

Following the heat race passing points invert, Pokorski started the PDTR Sprint Car headliner from the eighth starting spot. Pokorski used a strong start to vault his way into fifth on the opening lap before Kevin Karnitz flipped in turn two to bring out a red flag.

On the restart, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion worked his way into fourth place before slipping past Justin Miller to seize third on lap 3. As the leaders encountered slower traffic, Pokorski utilized the high groove to power around Travis Arenz for second on lap 11.

Five laps later, Arenz and Mike Yurmanovich collided exiting turn four to slow the pace on lap 16 with Pokorski sitting second behind polesitter Tony Wondra, who had led the race from the start.

Over the final nine laps, Pokorski stuck close to Wondra along the high groove, but was never able to mount a serious challenge to the leader as he held on to post his fifth top-five finish and 13th top-10 showing of the 2018 campaign with a season-best second-place finish behind race winner Tony Wondra.

“Saturday at Plymouth went really well for us,” Pokorski said. “The car was fast and the track was decent. It turned out to be a great night with a strong finish in the A main.”

Less than 24 hours later, the Pokorski Motorsports team made the long haul to the Northwoods of Wisconsin to compete in a special MSA late afternoon event at TNT Speedway in Three Lakes, where 22 MSA competitors converged to chase the top prize. The event marked the first time the MSA had competed at TNT Speedway since 2004 and the debut for the Pokorski Motorsports team at the third-mile clay oval facility.

After starting fifth in the first MSA Sprint Car heat race, Pokorski held down his position throughout the 10-lap event to finish fifth.

In the 30-lap MSA Sprint Car headliner, Pokorski rolled off 13th and worked his way up to 11th when the first caution of the race appeared on lap 8 for a spin involving Robbie Pribnow. Pokorski used a huge restart to charge past four cars into seventh on lap 9. On the following lap, Pokorski passed Chris Flick along the outside line to secure sixth.

Seven laps later, Pokorski began to backslide as Josh Walter and Justin Miller relegated him to eighth before the West Bend driver saw his left rear tire go flat on lap 19.

After the crew changed the tire, Pokorski restarted the race from the 18th spot. Two more caution periods over the final 11 laps helped Pokorski advance up through the field to seize 10th from Tony Wondra on lap 24.

However, Wondra battled back to regain the 10th spot on lap 28 as Pokorski wound up finishing 11th in the race, which was won by Kurt Davis.

“Sunday at TNT was a unique experience for us having never been there before,” Pokorski said. “Hot laps were encouraging and the result in the heat race was kind of disappointing from a competitive standpoint. The feature was far more racey than I thought It would be. It was a fun race and a really good overall experience at a new track for us.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team is now preparing for another doubleheader weekend of MSA competition. This Friday, Aug. 24, the team will make his second and final appearance of the season at the Dodge County Fairgrounds “Horsepower Half Mile” in Beaver Dam, where Pokorski claimed a runner-up showing in an MSA A main on July 7.

The MSA 360 Sprints will be joined by the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Modifieds on Friday, Aug. 24 at the Dodge County Fairgrounds. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing to follow.

“I can’t wait to go back to Dodge County this Friday after the strong run we had there in July,” Pokorski said. “Hopefully, we can build off our success from last time. I love these two-race weekends.”

The Pokorski Motorsports team will then return to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, Aug. 25. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

Friday, August 24 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

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

Friday, August 31 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

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

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

Saturday, September 29 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 19

MSA events – 18

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 5

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 13

Heat Race Victories – 3

 

 

Wondra, Schmidt, Davis, Green, Ruh secure PDTR A-main victories

Last year’s Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod champion Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls posted his first A-main victory of the season in the 25-lap B Mod main event Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 18, 2018 – Three veteran drivers visited victory lane for the first time in 2018, during Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main competition as PDTR held its inaugural Ken Markwardt Memorial Night of racing Saturday, Aug. 18 at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Tony Wondra of Campbellsport racked up his first Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2018 season. Jim Schmidt of Cleveland stayed in the thick of the heated Gasroots Project Late Model points chase with just one points night remaining in the season by notching his third A-main victory of the year. 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee scored his first Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win of 2018, while 2017 Cellcom B Mod champ Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls also found victory lane for the first time this season. Defending Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint champion Preston Ruh posted his fourth A-main triumph of 2018 at Plymouth.

Tony Wondra began the 25-lap Sprint Car A main from the pole position with PDTR Sprint Car point leader Justin Miller of Plymouth on the outside of the front row. Wondra jumped out to the lead on the drop of the green flag before Kevin Karnitz of West Bend flipped hard in turn two to bring out a red flag on lap 2. Karnitz emerged from his machine uninjured, but he was done for the night.

On the restart, fourth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who became the first rookie in the history of the Midwest Sprint Car Association to win an A main last Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, worked his way up to second while eighth starter Paul Pokorski of West Bend rode the high groove into third on lap 4.

On lap 7, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic on the fast and wide racing surface. As leaders hit dense lapped traffic, Pokorski used a high move to swing past Arenz into the runner-up spot on lap 11.

Five laps later, Wondra, Pokorski and Miller were running in tight nose-to-tail formation at the head of the pack before the second caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 16 for a collision in turn four involving Travis Arenz and Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade.

Another caution flag flew on the ensuing restart when Robbie Pribnow of Lomira, who was making his 2018 season debut, slowed with a flat fire.

Wondra continued to lead on the final restart with Pokorski and Miller in tow. On lap 20, two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer slipped past the low-riding Miller along the outside groove to seize third place.

Out in front of the field, Wondra held strong running primarily the high groove as Pokorski attempted to close the gap along the cushion over the final five laps. Wondra maintained a solid lead as the laps wound down en route to his second career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

Pokorski racked up a PDTR season-best second-place showing, Schlafer wound up third, Miller was fourth and third starter Kurt Davis rounded out the top five.

Rookie Zack Kessler of Plymouth lead the first two laps of the 25-lap Late Model A main from the pole before third starter Jim Schmidt moved in to grab the top spot along the low groove on lap 3.

2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fourth, charged in to pressure Schmidt for the top spot on lap four before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 6 when 2018 title contender Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who came into the event four points out of first place, spun in turn one.

Following the ensuing restart, four-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake utilized the cushion to power his way into third on lap 7.

By lap 9, the top four cars of Jim Schmidt, Buhler, Mueller and 2008 PDTR Late Model champ Billy Rezutek of Big Bend, who started fifth, were running in close proximity at the head of the field.

On lap 10, Mueller jumped the cushion in turn two, which allowed Rezutek to sneak into third place. Eight laps later, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic as Mueller regained third place from Rezutek on lap 19.

Jim Schmidt proved to be too much to handle as he pulled away to notch his 14th career PDTR A-main victory by a comfortable half-lap margin. Buhler placed second, Mueller was third, Rezutek secured fourth and Kessler held on to finish a solid fifth.

The 25-lap Grand National A main featured plenty of action at the front of the field, including three different leaders and multiple lead changes during the entertaining race.

Jamie Theobald of Sheboygan led the opening five laps of the event from the pole before third starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake seized the top spot with a low move on lap 2.

On the next lap, fourth starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth worked his way into second place before the first of two caution flags was displayed to the field when an infield tire was pushed onto the track in turn one.

Theobald regrouped to apply pressure to Donny Kulow for the lead along the high groove. After three laps of heated side-by-side action, Theobald surged into the lead on lap 12.

By this time, eighth starter Kurt Davis was making his presence felt in a big way at the front of the field moving into third on lap 10 and using the high line to power his way into second place on lap 14.

On lap 16, Davis pulled even with Theobald for the lead in turn one just before the second and final caution flag appeared on lap 17 for a spin involving Jess Muehlbauer.

Following the restart, Davis again worked the high groove to perfection to surge into the top spot exiting turn four on lap 18. One in the lead, Davis pulled away to a half-straightaway cushion en route to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Donny Kulow had to settle for second, Theobald placed third, point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville move up from the seventh starting spot to finish fourth and Tyler Kulow rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Green grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap B Mod A main with outside front row starter Cody Eickberg of Plymouth trailing in second and fourth starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls third.

After a pair of caution flags for spins involving Jess Jakubowski on lap 3 and Mark Hoeppner on lap 7, last week’s B Mod A-main winner Marcus Hoeppner of Rubicon used the high groove to move into second from sixth on lap 7 just before seventh starter and current point leader Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam seized second on lap 8.

The third and final caution flag appeared on lap 12 when Derek Fehling of Beaver Dam spun in turn three. On the restart, Green again bolted into the lead while 10th starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth was putting on a show as he moved into third with a high move in turn three on lap 16.

As the laps wound down, Green had to deal with heavy lapped traffic, which he negotiated with relative ease. On the final circuit, Schmidt moved in to assume second place in turn four in the middle of heavy lapped traffic.

Green posted his seventh career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph followed by Schmidt in second, Sheppard placed third, Marcus Hoeppner was fourth and Glander completed the top five.

Preston Ruh, who is closing in on his second consecutive PDTR Micro Sprint title, led all 10 laps of the Micro Sprint A main en route to his fifth career A-main victory at Plymouth.

Dave Collins of Plymouth was second, followed by Emily Portschy of Plymouth, who finished third.

Al Schlafer of Sussex won the Sprint Car B Main, while Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum posted the victory in the B Mod B Main.

During Sprint Car heat race action, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum flipped and made hard contact with the turn four catch fence. He was uninjured, but racing was delayed to make repairs to the fence.

The PDTR program, which was sponsored by Butchie and Blondie Hafemann, featured a total of 94 cars, including 28 Sprint Cars, 23 B Mods, 15 Late Models, 13 Grand Nationals, 11 Wisconsin Badger Land Vintage Modifieds and four Micro Sprints.

Prior to the races, the family of Ken Markwardt, who passed away last October, gathered to honor his memory. Markwardt won a total of 97 main events and seven track titles during his outstanding career. Markwardt was inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Racing Hall of Fame in 2007.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 25, featuring the final points race night of the 2018 season for the Late Model division. Hot laps start at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

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

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

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

 

 

Pokorski Motorsports completes successful MSA double dip

Paul Pokorski (4) races with Travis Arenz (25T) in 360 Sprint Car heat race action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 11. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 15, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team doubled its pleasure with a pair of strong showings in 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth and Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie last weekend.

On Saturday, Aug. 11, the Pokorski Motorsports team rolled into The Plymouth Dirt Track where 21 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Sprint Cars signed in to do battle on the third-mile clay oval. Despite a brief late-afternoon rain shower that moved through the Plymouth area, the PDTR program went off without a hitch with the added precipitation producing a fast and tacky track surface throughout the majority of the program.

After lining up third in the third PDTR Sprint Car heat race, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion powered under Danny Schlafer to maintain the third position on the opening circuit of the 10-lap race. Pokorski held down the third spot through the race on the lightning fast track surface to trail runner-up Travis Arenz and race winner Tony Wondra to the finish line.

After starting the 25-lap A main from the outside of the front row, Pokorski settled into the second spot behind polesitter Danny Schlafer during the first four laps. On lap 5, Justin Miller ducked under the high-riding Pokorski to seize second before Brandon McMullen snuck past on lap 12 to relegate Pokorski to fourth.

As Pokorski continued to ride the high groove, Kevin Karnitz slipped past on lap 18 to move the three-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champion to fifth.

After a caution slowed the pace on lap 19, Pokorski used a great restart to charge past Karnitz and Miller to position himself in third over the final six laps. Utilizing the high groove, Pokorski was closing on the top two cars of Brandon McMullen and Danny Schlafer when the checkered flag flew. Schlafer nipped McMullen for the victory, while Pokorski came home third to notch his fourth top-five showing of the 2018 season.

“Saturday at Plymouth went pretty good,” Pokorski said. “We were off by just a little bit, but all in all it was a good night for us.”

On Sunday, Aug. 12, Pokorski ventured to the Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, where 20 cars signed in for the second Midwest Sprint Car Association event of the 2018 season at the historic facility.

After starting second in the second MSA heat race, Pokorski bolted around polesitter Jim Melis along the cushion to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag. Pokorski pulled away to register his third heat race victory of the season by a full-straightaway margin.

Pokorski began the 25-lap MSA A main from the seventh starting spot and ran in the seventh spot throughout the majority of the event before utilizing lapped traffic to pass Shane Wenninger for sixth on lap 20.

Pokorski held on to place sixth in the caution-free race and register his 12th top-10 A-main showing of the season as Travis Arenz posted his first career MSA A-main victory in the race.

“Sunday night the track was the best we’ve had at Angell Park in quite some time,” Pokorski said. “We were off on the car a little bit, but it was still one of the better handling cars we’ve had there. All things considered, it was a good night.”

Pokorski and his fellow MSA competitors are set for another doubleheader weekend starting with the first annual Ken Markwardt Memorial Race at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, Aug. 18. Racing is set to begin at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, Pokorski will make his debut at TNT Speedway in Three Lakes with a special early 3 p.m. start time on tap for a traveling MSA event.

“I can’t wait do it twice again this weekend with Plymouth and TNT,” Pokorski said. “TNT should be interesting with the early 3 p.m. start. I am expecting it to get dry slick and hopefully racy.”

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

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

Sunday, August 19 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, August 24 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

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

Friday, August 31 – Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, Wis.

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

 2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 17

MSA events – 16

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 4

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 12

Heat Race Victories – 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verdegan, Pedal Down Promotions reach two-book publishing deal

Motorsports author Joe Verdegan (right) has reached an agreement with Jeff Pederson (left) of Pedal Down Promotions to publish his next two books set to be released in 2018 and 2020. Pedal Down Promotions will publish Verdegan’s fourth book titled “The Bird & The Bear” about Northeast Wisconsin racing legends J.J. “Tweety Bird” Smith of Appleton and Roger “The Bear” Regeth of Kimberly in late 2018. Verdegan’s fourth book “Racing In The 906” documenting the racing scene in Upper Michigan over the past five decades is set to be published in 2020. – Pedal Down Promotions photo

Motorsports author set to release two new books in 2018, 2020

(Green Bay, Wisconsin) – Motorsports journalist and author Joe Verdegan has reached an agreement with Pedal Down Promotions of Manitowoc, Wisconsin to publish his two newest books, set for release in December 2018 and 2020, respectively.

The title of the 2018 release is one every Wisconsin race fan will want to add to their book collection. “The Bird & The Bear” will feature the life and times and two of Northeast Wisconsin’s most colorful and successful stock car drivers of the 1970s – Roger “The Bear” Regeth of Kimberly and J.J. “The Tweety Bird” Smith of Appleton.

The 2020 release will be “Racing In The 906” and will cover extensive racing history in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula dating back five decades.

Verdegan, from Green Bay, has authored three books in the past three years. “Life In The Past Lane – a history of stock car racing in Northeast Wisconsin from 1950-1980” was released in 2015. His second book “Wisconsin International Raceway – Where The Big Ones Run” was launched in 2016 while his third book “Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation” was released in 2017.

“When I began putting together the first book and I put together the chapters on J.J. and ‘The Bear’ I realized there was so much history between those two guys a book covering their racing careers would be not only great reading for the fans but also a great seller,” Verdegan said. “It was a no-brainer really. The stories those two have along with the tales from their respective car owners are must-read stuff!”

Pedal Down Promotions is owned and operated by Jeff Pederson of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Pederson has 24 years of experience in community journalism as an editor, writer, page layout specialist and photographer. He is currently employed as the editor of The Sheboygan Falls News.

Pederson, a Sheboygan Falls native who currently lives in Manitowoc, serves as a race reporter for Plymouth Dirt Track Racing, PR and media relations representative for Paul Pokorski Motorsports, racing columnist for the WHBL 1330 Radio website in Sheboygan and staff writer for Full Throttle Magazine.  Pedal Down Promotions has previously published “Days Gone By – Growing Up In Small Town Wisconsin” by John Wirth, which was released in August 2016.

For updates on the progress of the newest book “The Bird & The Bear” please check out Northeast Wisconsin Racing History’s Facebook page. A release date for “The Bird & The Bear” will be announced in the very near future.

You can reach Verdegan at jverdegan2@gmail.com.

Schlafer, Schmidt, Sorce, Hoeppner, Peterson claim PDTR A-main triumphs

 

Danny Schlafer of Sussex captured his 21st career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 11. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 11, 2018 – A photo finish and two first-time winners highlighted A-main racing action in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 11.

Despite a brief rain shower which hit the track in the late afternoon hours, racing went on as scheduled with a fast and wide surface greeting all competitors and providing for some hotly contested racing action throughout the evening.

In the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar 360 Sprint Car headliner, two-time PDTR champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex held off a late charge from 2017 PDTR champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh by a just a few feet to claim a photo-finish victory. Cleveland’s Justin Schmidt rolled to his fourth 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A-main triumph of the 2018 campaign. Dan Sorce of West Allis claimed his first Klips & Tips Grand National A-main victory of the season. Marcus Hoeppner of Hartford earned his first career Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph and Matt Peterson made the long trip from Escanaba, Mich. pay off with is first career 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty Micro Sprint A-main win.

Schlafer started the Sprint Car A main event from the pole flanked by West Bend’s Paul Pokorski on the outside of the front row. Shortly after the initial drop of the green flag, Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove jumped the cushion and flipped his machine in turn one. He emerged uninjured.

Following a complete restart, Schlafer bolted out to the lead along the inside line while Pokorski settled into second along the high groove. On lap 2, the caution flag was displayed for a spin in turn four involved Dick Kaiser of Milwaukee and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum.

When the race resumed, third starter Justin Miller of Plymouth ducked low to power past Pokorski into the runner-up spot on lap 5 before McMullen, who started ninth, worked past eight starter and 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champion and point leader Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee to gain the fourth spot on lap 8.

Schlafer encountered slow traffic on lap 11, which allowed Miller to cut the gap significantly. On lap 12, the low-riding Miller pulled ahead of Schlafer briefly. However, the hard-charging Schlafer battled back to regain the top spot on the following lap along the outside groove.

Meanwhile, McMullen was continuing his march to the front of the pack as he worked under Pokorski to seize third place with a low move on lap 12. By lap 18, Schlafer had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Miller. The third caution flag of the race then appeared on lap 19 for a spin in turn four involving Al Schlafer of Sussex and Shane Wenninger.

Following the restart, McMullen powered in to pass Miller for second on lap 20 and quickly set his sights on Schlafer as the laps wound down. McMullen utilized the extreme low line to gain on Schlafer, who held tight to the cushion over the final six circuits, to move into position to challenge for the lead.

On the final lap, McMullen pulled even with Schlafer in turn two. However, Schlafer got a big run in turns three and four to maintain the top spot heading to the finish line where he nipped McMullen by a few feet to notch his second PDTR A-main victory of the 2018 season, 21st PDTR Sprint Car A-main win of his career to tie Donny Goeden for the all-time lead in the 360 Sprint Car division at Plymouth and 50th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph.

McMullen had to settle for second, Pokorski gained two spots over the final six laps to finish third, Miller was fourth and 10th starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fifth.

The Late Model A-main featured plenty of action as four different drivers exchange the top spot during the action-packed race. Milwaukee’s Turk Letizia jumped out to the early lead before a two-car spin in turn four slowed the pace on the opening lap.

On lap 2, 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush used the high groove to pressure Letizia for the lead. One lap later, sixth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland joined in to duel three wide with Letizia and Buhler for the lead in turn four with Buhler emerging on top and Jim Schmidt slipping into second.

After the second caution flag of the race was displayed for debris in turn one on lap 3, Buhler built up a half-straightaway cushion over Jim Schmidt and Justin Schmidt, who started third.

As Buhler encountered lapped traffic on lap 18, Jim and Justin Schmidt cut the gap substantially before disaster struck for Buhler when he spun in turn two while attempting to move past a slower car to bring out the third caution of the race.

Jim Schmidt inherited the lead with his son Justin Schmidt in tow in second on the restart. Justin Schmidt dove low in turn one on lap 18 to assume the top spot while four-time PDTR Late Model champ and current point leader Brad Mueller of Random Lake charged in to make it a three-way battle along the high groove.

On lap 21, Mueller gained second in turn three while Justin Schmidt held strong at the front of the field en route to his fourth PDTR Late Model A-main triumph of 2018 and his ninth career main event victory at Plymouth.

Mueller was second, Jim Schmidt placed third, Buhler battled back from his spin to finish fourth and Letizia placed fifth.

On the drop of the green flag of the Grand National A-main, 78-year-old Dick Hed of Plymouth bolted up from his inside second row starting spot to lead the opening circuit.

On lap 2, fourth starter Dan Sorce moved into second before a caution for a spin in turn four slowed the pace on lap 3. Polesitter Jess Muehlbauer worked past Sorce for second on the ensuing restart and the two drivers dueled for several laps before Sorce secured the position.

The second of four caution flags appeared on lap 12 when Derek Kaat of Plymouth spun in turn four. On the restart, Sorce used the high groove to challenge Hed for the top spot and on lap 14, Sorce surged into the lead in turn two before another caution appeared on lap 15 for the stalled machine of Plymouth’s Justin Erickson in turn three.

Sorce, who captured the 2006 PDTR Late Model championship, then proceeded to pull away over the next five laps before the fourth and final caution was displayed for Kaat’s stalled car in turn two on lap 20. On the final restart, eighth starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved in to pressure Hed for second along the high groove, but the cagey veteran held strong to retain the spot.

Sorce went to post his eighth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Hed was second, Kulow placed third, Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake finished fourth after starting second and Kurt Davis placed fifth after starting sixth.

Polesitter Jess Jakubowski and Marcus Hoeppner led the field to the green flag in the B Mod main event. Jakubowski and Hoeppner dueled side by side over the first four circuits before Hoeppner surged ahead in turn one on lap 5 while third starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls and fourth starter and current point leader Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam followed in second and third respectively.

The first of three caution flags flew on lap 12 when Jakubowski and Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls collided in turn four. On the restart, Hoeppner retained the top spot while Glander and Sheppard battled for second for multiple laps. On lap 15, Glander gained second along the low line before the second caution appeared for a two-car incident involving Phil Campanella of Sheboygan Falls and Andy Singer in turn two.

On the restart, Sheppard seized second and began to close on Hoeppner by lap 18. After the third caution of the race slowed the field on lap 20, Hoeppner again pulled away while Sheppard and Glander resumed their duel for second.

On lap 21, Sheppard finally gained second for good with a high move in turn four. Hoeppner held strong over the final four laps to seal his first career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph.

Sheppard placed second, Glander was third, fifth starter Cody Eickberg of Plymouth placed fourth and 11th starter Travis Schmidt of Plymouth charged up to place fifth.

Matt Peterson placed opening lap of the Micro Sprint A main from the pole. Peterson’s strong run was slowed on three occasions for caution flags on lap 4, 5 and 10.

On lap 7, seventh starter Dave Collins of Madison wrestled second away from Jack Vanderboom of Dousman, who started sixth. However, Peterson proved to be too much for the field as he claimed his first career PDTR Micro Sprint A-main victory.

Collins placed second, Vanderboom was third and point leader Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake recovered from a spin on lap 4 to finish fourth.

The PDTR program, which was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, featured 80 cars, including 21 Sprint Cars, 20 B Mods, 19 Grand Nationals, 12 Late Models and eight Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 18 featuring the first annual Ken Markwardt Memorial Race with added purse money for A-main winners and an appearance from the Badgerland Vintage Modifieds. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

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

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

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

Pokorski Motorsports claims 10th top-10 finish of 2018

Paul Pokorski (4) duels with Adam Miller (24M), during the third 360 Sprint Car heat race in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 3. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 8, 2018 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team continued their string of consistently strong performances by racking up their 10th top-10 A-main showing of the 2018 season in 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 4.

With 22 PDTR Sprint Car checked in for the Past Champions Night event, Pokorski began the third PDTR Sprint Car heat race from the third starting spot. The 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) Masters Series champion used the low groove to slip past Adam Miller into second place in turn one of the opening lap.

On lap 2, Miller battled back to gain the second spot and the two veteran drivers exchange slide jobs in a thrilling duel over the next two laps before Miller caught the turn four wall and flipped as he raced with Pokorski for the second spot on lap 3.

Following the restart, Shane Wenninger stole second from Pokorski in turn two. However, on the next lap Pokorski battled back to execute a slide job in turn two to take command of the runner up spot, which he held to the checkered flag.

During intermission, Pokorski was recognized along with a large contingent of former track champions at Plymouth, during the annual Past Champions Night ceremony. Pokorski captured two Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified championships while racing at Plymouth weekly in 2003 and 2004.

After rolling off sixth in the 25-lap A-main event, Pokorski struggled to find grip on the slick and wide track surface before falling back to ninth place on lap 15. The lone caution flag appeared when early race leader Danny Schlafer spun to a stop in turn two on lap 21 to set up a four-lap dash to the finish.

After restarting seventh, Pokorski got a big jump along the outside groove to move up to fourth on lap 23. However, as the track began to lay rubber in the low groove, Pokorski found himself stuck in the outside lane on the final lap, which resulted in him falling back to sixth at the finish line in a race won by Kurt Davis.

“The car was good pretty good all night,” Pokorski said. “The track did change quickly during the feature and I was a little late moving down off the cushion to the bottom as the track changed. I was very disappointed with myself for missing the bottom on the entry to turn one on the last lap. That cost us a couple of spots at the finish. I’m looking forward to the doubleheader of racing next weekend at Plymouth and Angell Park.”

This weekend kicks off a string of four consecutive doubleheader weekends of racing action for the Pokorski Motorsports team.

On Saturday, Aug. 11, the team will return to The Plymouth Dirt Track for a night of racing featuring extra purse money in the 360 Sprint Car A main thanks to an anonymous donor. Grandstands open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, Aug. 12, the Pokorski Motorsports team will make its second and final appearance of the season at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie for a special Midwest Sprint Car Association traveling series event at the historic oval.

Pokorski will be looking to improve on an eighth-place showing in the MSA’s previous visit to Angell Park on June 3. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow.

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

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

Sunday, August 12 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

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

Sunday, August 19 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

Friday, August 24 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis.

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

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 15

MSA events – 14

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 3

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 10

Heat Race Victories – 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Davis, Jim Schmidt, Sorce Jr., Travis Schmidt, Rein stand tall in PDTR A-main action

Travis Schmidt of Plymouth posted his first career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod A-main triumph Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth. – RC Custom Design photo

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) August 4, 2018 – On a night when previous track champions were honored for their past title-winning accomplishments, five present-day drivers turned in impressive performances to notch A-main victories in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing competition at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 4.

Former PDTR Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee claimed his second A-main victory of the 2018 season in the 25-lap Richard’s of Dunbar Sprint Car A main. Jim Schmidt of Cleveland earned his second 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A-main triumph of the year. Two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis claimed his second 25-lap Klips & Tips Grand National A-main win of the season. Plymouth’s Travis Schmidt racked up his first career 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph and Andy Rein of West Bend notched his first 15-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty A-main win of 2018.

Two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex led the opening lap of the 25-lap Sprint Car A main from his outside front row starting spot followed closely by Campbellsport’s Jason Johnson, who started on the pole.

On lap 3, fifth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth moved in to challenge Johnson for second along the low groove as the two veterans traded the position several times in the ensuing laps before Johnson secured the position and proceeded to track down Schlafer.

Six laps later, Schlafer encountered slower traffic, which allowed Johnson to cut the gap significantly. Eighth starter Bill Taylor of Boltonville made his presence known starting on lap 16 when he wrestled third place away from Miller and two laps later he worked past Johnson along the extreme inside groove to seize second.

However, on lap 19, Johnson and third starter Kurt Davis powered past Taylor in heavy lapped traffic to work their way into the top three. On lap 20, Davis slipped under Johnson for second and one lap later Davis ducked under Schlafer, who was hung up behind a slower car, to gain the lead exiting turn four.

On the following lap, Schlafer spun his machine in turn two to bring out the lone caution flag of the race and set up a four-lap dash to the finish. As Davis bolted away to a solid lead on the restart, Miller took second from Johnson, while a heated battle brewed just behind the top three cars.

Davis went on to post his 19th career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and Midwest Sprint Car Association leading 55th overall A-main triumph. Miller secured second, Johnson wound up third, 12th starter Josh Walter of Plymouth charged up to finish fourth and ninth starter Jim Melis of Glenbeulah rounded out the top five.

The opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main saw third starter Jim Schmidt power under front row starters Eric Michaels of Cleveland and Milwaukee’s Jim Letizia to seize the lead in turn two.

Schmidt held the lead throughout the non-stop event with Michaels giving away to Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, for second on lap 2.

By lap 8, Jim Schmidt had built up a full straightaway cushion over his son, Justin. As Jim led Justin by a comfortable margin, four-time PDTR Late Model champion and current point leader Brad Mueller of Random Lake dueled with Michaels for third for several laps until finally securing the position on lap 19.

Jim Schmidt skillfully weaved his way through lapped traffic over the final circuits to collect his 13th career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph. Justin Schmidt placed second, Mueller was third, Michaels notched a solid fourth-place showing and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush finished fifth after starting sixth.

Polesitter Don Sorce Jr. outpowered outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main.

Two successive caution flags slowed the pace on lap 8 for an infield tire moved onto the track in turn three and a multi-car spin in turn four on lap 10. Sorce Jr. maintained the top spot after both restarts with Weber in tow.

By lap 13, Sorce Jr. had built up a full straightaway cushion over Weber. In the closing laps, 13th starter Chad Espen of West Bend charged in to pass seventh starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth for sixth and 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started third, for fourth on lap 23.

Sorce Jr. cruised to his 12th career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph, Weber had to settle for second, fifth starter Kurt Davis placed third, Espen was fourth and Yancey completed the top five.

Polesitter Travis Schmidt paced the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main followed by outside front row starter Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam. As Schmidt held down the top spot along the preferred low groove, third starter Barry Maas of Cascade moved to seize second from Sheppard on lap 12.

As Schmidt encountered dense lapped traffic on lap 14, 2017 PDTR B Mod champion Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls, who started seventh, worked his way into fourth with a nifty move past fourth starter Sawyer Haese on lap 14.

On lap 22, Maas closed in to Schmidt’s rear bumper as the leaders worked through heavy lapped traffic, while Green dove under Sheppard to seize third on lap 24. Although within striking distance, Maas was unable to make a move in the closing laps as Schmidt held on to post his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-free race.

Maas was second, Green placed third, Sheppard wound up fourth and Haese rounded out the top five.

Andy Rein jumped into the lead of the 15-lap Micro Sprint A main from his outside front row starting spot and never looked back. Rein paced the field throughout en route to his third career PDTR B Mod A main triumph in the non-stop event.

Dave Collins of Madison placed second, 2017 PDTR Micro Sprint Champ Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake was third, Emily Portschy of Plymouth placed fourth and Jake Dohner of Milton finished fifth.

Donny Singer of Waldo won the B Mod B Main. In the third Sprint Car heat race, Plymouth’s Adam Miller made hard contact with the turn four wall before flipping. He emerged uninjured, but his car suffered significant damage and did not to return to competition.

The evening also featured an appearance by the Vintage Modifieds and introduction of many past champions from the rich history of racing at the Plymouth facility during a special intermission program.

The PDTR program, who was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, featured 89 cars, including 22 Sprint Cars, 27 B Mods, 22 Grand Nationals, 11 Late Models and seven Micro Sprints.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 11 with extra purse money added to the A-main events in each division. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

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

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

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

Pokorski Motorsports charges to top-five finish at Plymouth

Paul Pokorski (4) leads Tim Haddy (21) in 360 Sprint Car racing action 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) August 1, 2018 – After sitting idle for 14 days due to a rain out last Saturday, Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team returned to action in impressive fashion by notching a strong fourth-place showing in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 28.

With 27 PDTR Sprint Cars on hand for the event, Pokorski began the second PDTR Sprint Car heat race from the sixth starting spot. The 26-year veteran showcased his skill by ducking low in the first turn of the opening lap to maneuver his blue No. 4 machine past Chris Clayton and Anthony Knierim to claim fourth on the first circuit of the 10-lap event.

Despite encountering a throttle issue throughout the heat race, the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) Masters Series champion held on to the fourth spot the rest of the way en route to locking up the 10th starting position in the 25-lap PDTR Sprint Car main event.

“The throttle linkage was hanging up and the car wouldn’t idle in the heat race, so hitting my entry properly each lap was tough,” Pokorski said.

On a wide and smooth track surface that was ripe for slide jobs, Pokorski went to work slicing his way up through the field in the A main. On lap 4, Pokorski slid past PDTR Sprint Car rookie Chris Flick to assume ninth.

After a caution was displayed for Danny Schlafer, who caught the turn three wall on lap 11, Pokorski restarted the race in eighth place. On lap 16, Jim Melis executed a slide job to steal eighth. However, Pokorski returned the favor to maintain the eighth spot on lap 17.

Five laps later, Pokorski pulled off a huge slide job in turn two to squeeze his way past Justin Miller to assume seventh on lap 22. On lap 23, contact between Tyler Brabant and Doug Wondra brought out a caution flag and bumped Pokorski up to fourth on the final single-file restart.

On the restart, Miller briefly surged ahead of Pokorski in turn two, but Pokorski battled back to maintain the position with a power move off of turn four en route to a fourth-place showing and his third top-five and ninth top-10 A-main showing of the 2018 campaign in a race won by Brandon McMullen.

“We tried something a little different again and it seemed to work okay,” Pokorski said. “I thought the track prep was decent. All the slide jobs in the feature were fun, and some guys made passes on the bottom too, so I’d say the track was pretty good. I can’t wait to do all again this Saturday.”

On Saturday, Aug. 4, the Pokorski Motorsports team will again be in action at The Plymouth Dirt Track as PDTR celebrates Past Champions Night. Pokorski will be among the former Plymouth track champions who will be honored during a special ceremony at intermission. Pokorski captured two Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified championships while racing at Plymouth weekly in 2003 and 2004.

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

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 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 Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.

Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering Inc.

Pokorski Motorsports will like to welcome Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a new sponsor for the 2018 racing season.

Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.

Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.

Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.

In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focus on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.

In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.

“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2018,” Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”

Pokorski Motorsports invites you to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.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.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule

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

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

Sunday, August 12 – Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie, Wis.

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

Sunday, August 19 – TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis.

2018 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers

Total Events – 14

MSA events – 13

IRA events – 1

A Main Victories – 0

Top Five A Main Finishes – 3

Top 10 A Main Finishes – 9

Heat Race Victories – 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheppard shines in World of Outlaws Late Model debut at Plymouth

The top three finishers in the inaugural World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series main event at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Monday, July 30 were Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas (third, left), Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. (race winner, middle) and Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio (second, right). – Pedal Down Promotions photo

Erickson and Steenbergen earn second PDTR A-main triumphs of 2018

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS, Plymouth, Wis.) July 30, 2018 – With a large crowd of eager spectators on hand and a pit area filled to the brim with 36 of the best Dirt Late Model drivers in the nation, defending World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series champion Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. stole the show in the series first-ever visit to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Monday, July 30.

In support division action, Plymouth’s Justin Erickson notched his second PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the season, while Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown rolled to his second PDTR B Mod A-main triumph of 2018.

Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas and Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. led the 26-car field to the green flag in the 50-lap World of Outlaws Craftsman Series A-main presented by Wisconsin Refrigerated Express of Sheboygan.

Erb rode the high groove into the lead as he slid past Owens in turn four to pace the opening lap. Brandon Sheppard, who started third followed Erb to the outside line to steal second place away from Owens in turn four on lap 4 before first of seven caution flags flew on lap 4 when 2015 World of Outlaws Series champion Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga. stalled in turn four with a broken driveshaft.

When the race resumed, Sheppard dove low to pressure the high-riding Erb for the top spot. After running side by side with Erb for nearly two laps, Sheppard surged ahead in turn four on lap 5 to seize the top spot.

Two laps later, seventh starter Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. used the high groove to assume fourth on lap 7. After a pair of cautions for the stalled car of Brent Larson of Lake Elmo, Minn., fifth starter Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio ducked under Erb to challenge for second place beginning on lap 9. Three laps later, Sheppard had built up a full straightaway cushion over Moran.

Sheppard encountered his first dose of lapped traffic on lap 15, which allowed Moran to cut the gap by lap 17. Four laps later, the pace slowed for the fifth time when debris was detected in turn two.

Following the restart, sixth starter Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C. slipped past Shirley to gain third place on lap 22. The sixth caution of the event was displayed on lap 23 when former PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha spun in turn two.

Running the low groove, Sheppard controlled the ensuing restart and another restart following the seventh caution flag of the race for debris on lap 33 before action really began to heat up for second as Moran, Madden and Erb dueled high and low on the extremely wide and smooth racing surface.

By lap 41, Sheppard found himself mired in slower traffic, which allowed Moran to cut the gap significantly in the closing laps. As Sheppard got hung up attempting to pass a slower car, Moran pulled in to nearly touch the leader’s rear bumper.

After Sheppard finally cleared the lapped car on lap 48, Moran ventured up to the high groove over the final circuit in an attempt to pry the lead away at the finish line. However, Moran’s late rally fell a car length car as Sheppard posted his ninth World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series victory of the 2018 campaign and 33rd overall A-main victory of his World of Outlaws career.

Moran had to settle for second, Erb, who was one of the few drivers to stay glued to the high groove just inches from the wall throughout the entire race, came home third, Madden placed fourth and Shirley rounded out the top five.

Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha was the top local finisher with a 13th-place showing. Four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller posted a 19th-place finish after taking a provisional to start the main event.

Five other local drivers competed in the main event, including Shawano’s Brett Swedberg (16th), Nick Anvelink of Navarino (17th), Paul Parker of Kaukauna (18th), Mitch McGrath (22nd) and Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. (24th).

Polesitter Steven Weber of Plymouth led the 23-car field to the green flag in the 25-lap PDTR Grand National main event before outside front row starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake and inside second row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth pulled up to make it three wide for the lead heading into turn three on the opening circuit.

Erickson finally surged ahead to claim the top spot in turn one on lap 2 before the first of five caution flags slowed the pace. Following the restart, Erickson bolted away from Kulow and eighth starter Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who had worked his way up to challenge for second along the outside groove.

Following another caution flag on lap 12, Davis wrestled second place away from Kulow and point leader Matt Loehr of Dotyville worked his way into third from the 12th starting spot.

Just as Davis began to close the gap on Erickson a trio of consecutive caution flags for spins appeared on lap 16, 17 and 19. When green flag action finally got under way again Erickson again pulled out to a solid lead while Davis and Loehr dueled hard for second.

On lap 23, Loehr surged past Davis along the high line to secure the runner-up spot behind Erickson, who posted his second PDTR Grand National triumph of the 2018 season and his third career Grand National A-main victory at Plymouth.

Loehr placed second, Davis was third, Derek Schrauth of Omro took fourth after starting fourth and Kulow wound up fifth.

Polesitter Mark Hoeppner led the opening six laps of the 25-lap PDTR B Mod A main before sixth starter Jeff Steenbergen of Watertown moved in to take over the top spot with a low move in turn three on lap 9.

One later, Malone’s Tim Warner raced in to snag the runner-up position. Warner slowly reeled in Steenbergen by staying in his tire tracks around the third-mile clay oval for the better part of 10 laps.

On lap 20, Warner executed a low move on Steenbergen in turn one to assume the top spot. However, Steenbergen battled back to nearly regain the lead on lap 23 in turn one, but Warner successfully fended off the move.

As Warner attempted to negotiate a lapped car on the final circuit, Steenbergen made another bid for the lead in turn three, which worked to vault the veteran driver into the top spot, while Warner lost control and spun in turn three.

Steenbergen went on to rack up his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.     RW Aschenbrenner of Oneida was second, Mark Hoeppner held on to place third, Warner recovered from his spin to finish fourth and Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls, who started eighth, placed fifth.

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill. and Jared Siefert of Luxemburg each captured World of Outlaws Late Models Last Chance Showdown victories, while Devin Moran claimed the World of Outlaws Late Models Series fast qualifier award with a new Late Model record lap of 13.783 seconds.

The special Monday evening program PDTR featured 78 cars, including 36 World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Models, 24 Grand Nationals and 18 B Mods.

The next PDTR program will take place on Saturday, Aug. 4, featuring Past Championships Night, during which all former champions at the Plymouth track will be honored at intermission. Hot laps begin at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

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

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

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

 World of Outlaws Sears Craftsman Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$10,000]; 2. 9-Devin Moran [5][$5,000]; 3. 91-Tyler Erb [1][$3,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [6][$2,500]; 5. 3s-Brian Shirley [7][$2,000]; 6. 5-Don O’Neal [4][$1,700]; 7. 7-Rick Eckert [15][$1,400]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar [11][$1,300]; 9. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [14][$1,200]; 10. 16-Tyler Bruening [23][$1,100]; 11. 25F-Jason Feger [17][$1,050]; 12. 18c-Chase Junghans [20][$1,000]; 13. 15s-Taylor Scheffler [10][$950]; 14. 54-David Breazeale [9][$900]; 15. 28e-Dennis Erb [16][$850]; 16. 3-Brett Swedberg [19][$800]; 17. 15-Nick Anvelink [25][$770]; 18. 10-Paul Parker [21][$750]; 19. 89-Brad Mueller [26][$730]; 20. 51-Joey Moriarty [24][$700]; 21. 20-Jimmy Owens [2][$700]; 22. 74-Mitch McGrath [12][$700]; 23. 25j-Jared Siefert [18][$700]; 24. 11-Justin Reed [13][$700]; 25. B1-Brent Larson [22][$700]; 26. 25-Shane Clanton [8][$700]