By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 12, 2026 – Ben Schmidt of Plymouth nailed down his fourth career MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association series championship and recorded his 10^th A-main victory of the 2026 campaign in the final night of the third annual Fall Classic-Natalie Klemko Memorial at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 12.

By signing in for the event, Schmidt sealed his third straight and fourth overall MSA title before on-track action even got underway. Once it did, the veteran competitor of 27 seasons enjoyed another stellar evening behind the wheel of his familiar No. 35 machine.

After a pair of incidents negated the first two start attempts, Schmidt jumped out to the lead of the 30-lap headliner from the pole as MSA rookie Chad Stouthamer of Big Bend, who started third, gave chase in second.

With Schmidt running the cushion, Stouthamer utilized the inside lane to make a bid for the lead on lap 5. Exiting turn four, Stouthamer ducked under Schmidt to nearly draw even down the front stretch, but Schmidt held strong to maintain the top spot.

The leaders caught the back of the pack on lap 11, which allowed Stouthamer to mount another challenge. Again, Stouthamer pulled up next to Schmidt along the low line, but he was unable to pull off the pass.

After a caution flag slowed the pace on lap 15 for a spin in turn two, Schmidt altered his line, moving down the track to cut off the momentum Stouthamer previously amassed. Still, Stouthamer hounded Schmidt as the laps wound down, staying within striking distance before the fourth and final caution flag was displayed on lap 24 for a stalled car in turn three.

Following a single-file green-white-checkered flag restart, Schmidt bolted away en route to his 10^th MSA main event win of the 2026 season and 62^nd triumph of his MSA career, which was worth $1,030. It was also Schmidt’s fifth victory from the pole starting position in 2026.

“He [Chad Stouthamer] showed me a line in [turns] three and four where I figured he was getting his runs,” Schmidt said in victory lane. “After the yellow, I moved down and ended up rolling the middle. There was more bite there than I thought there would be. I want to thank all my sponsors and crew for the help and the work they put in to get us this 2026 championship.”

Stouthamer came home with an MSA 360 Sprint Car career-best second-place showing. Outside front row starter Brandon Berth of Cascade placed third, Ion Stear of Hebron, Ill. took fourth from the fourth starting spot, and MSA rookie Andover, Minn. native Carter Chevalier placed fifth after starting sixth.

Schmidt recorded the fastest overall qualifying lap of 13.962 seconds around the historic three-eighths-mile semi-banked clay oval.

The 21^st event of the 2026 MSA campaign drew a field of 19 cars.

The 2026 MSA campaign will conclude at the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with “on-track action” scheduled at 5 p.m.

For more information on the 2026 Midwest Sprint Car Association season, visit www.msasprints.com or check out the Midwest Sprint Car Association Facebook page.

 

MMW Industrial Supply
Midwest Sprint Car Association
Wilmot Raceway
Wilmot, Wis.
September 12, 2026

MMW Industrial Supply A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [1]; 2. 5-Chad Stouthamer [3]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 4. 19-Ion Stear [4]; 5. 15-Carter Chevalier [6]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [10]; 7. 57-Tristan Furseth [9]; 8. 69S-TJ Smith [7]; 9. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [8]; 10. 51-Chris Larson [14]; 11. 11-Tony Wondra [11]; 12. 20W-Weston Finke [15]; 13. 34T-Tom Becker [18]; 14. (DNF) 69-Bill Taylor [13]; 15. (DNF) 25-Cody Schlafer [12]; 16. (DNF) 59-Ethon Stear [5]; 17. (DNF) 55S-Ryan Sawusch [16]; 18. (DNF) 68P-Frank Perko [17]; 19. (DNS) 11W-Preston Bokath

Behling Racing Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Chad Stouthamer [1]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [6]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [5]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [8]; 9. 34T-Tom Becker [9]; 10. (DNF) 11W-Preston Bokath [10]

R H Racing Equipment Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Ion Stear [2]; 2. 15-Carter Chevalier [1]; 3. 59-Ethon Stear [4]; 4. 57-Tristan Furseth [3]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 6. 25-Cody Schlafer [5]; 7. 51-Chris Larson [7]; 8. 20W-Weston Finke [8]; 9. 68P-Frank Perko [9]

Adonnis Waterproofing and Repair Qualifying 1: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.962 [1]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 14.059 [9]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth, 14.141 [5]; 4. 5-Chad Stouthamer, 14.185 [7]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 14.220 [3]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith, 14.284 [4]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 14.435 [2]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 14.958 [6]; 9. 11W-Preston Bokath, 15.983 [10]; 10. 34T-Tom Becker, 15.993 [8]

Adonnis Waterproofing and Repair Qualifying 2: 1. 59-Ethon Stear, 13.982 [3]; 2. 57-Tristan Furseth, 13.987 [1]; 3. 19-Ion Stear, 14.054 [9]; 4. 15-Carter Chevalier, 14.196 [7]; 5. 25-Cody Schlafer, 14.288 [4]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 14.433 [5]; 7. 51-Chris Larson, 14.451 [2]; 8. 20W-Weston Finke, 14.661 [6]; 9. 68P-Frank Perko, 14.806 [8]