Arenz storms to fourth PDTR 360 Sprint Car victory of 2021

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 1, 2021 – Nearly one month after claiming his first career FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., 10-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series champion Bill Balog of Hartland continued his winning ways at the third-mile clay oval by bagging the special 30-lap Road America NASCAR Weekend Kickoff IRA main event before a huge crowd of spectators on Thursday, July 1.

In the 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car A main, point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls rolled to his fourth PDTR A-main victory of the 2021 season.

After the initial start of the 30-lap IRA A main was erased when Mike Reinke of Howards Grove spun in turn three, visiting NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe of Mitchell, Ind. bolted into the lead from the pole position with Bill Balog, who started fifth, sliding into second.

Briscoe, who was making his first Winged Sprint Car start since 2018, caught the rear of the field on lap 5, which allowed Balog to close the gap significantly. On lap 6, Balog swept past Briscoe in heavy lapped traffic to take over the lead in turn three.

The second of eight yellow/red flag periods appeared on lap 8 when Briscoe spun Paul May’s 71M car in turn 3 before being collected by Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, who had been running third.

Following the restart, two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, who started fourth, charged in to briefly pressure Balog for the lead as the leaders weaved their way through slower traffic.

On lap 14, 2018 IRA champion Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who started seventh, worked past Neitzel to seize second. A red flag was displayed on lap 15 when Russel Borland of Kewaskum flipped along the back stretch.

Shortly after, Briscoe brought out another caution flag when he spun in turn two on lap 16. On the restart, Danny Schlafer of Sussex slowed to a stop in turn four to bring out the fifth stoppage of the race.

After the restart, Blackhurst turned up the heat to close in on Balog in lapped traffic on lap 20. However, Blackhurst’s progress was slowed by three more caution flags over the next five laps for the stalled car of Scotty Neitzel on lap 22, an infield tire on the track on lap 24 and a flip involving Dave Uttech of Kenosha in turn two on lap 24.

Uttech’s flip prompted an open red period to allow pit crews to add fuel to help each team get their cars to the end of the lengthy race.

When the race resumed, Balog flexed his muscle once again to pull away from Blackhurst over the final six laps en route to his 132^nd career IRA A-main victory, fifth overall A-main win of the 2021 campaign, third IRA main event victory of the season and fourth straight main event victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Blackhurst had to settle for second, 2016 IRA champ Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam finished third after starting ninth, Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. placed fourth after starting eighth and 14^th starter Josh Schneiderman of West Burlington, Iowa rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Adam Miller of Plymouth grabbed the lead on the drop of the green field of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main with fourth starter Jack Vanderboom of Dousman following in second.

As Miller paced the field, the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Justin Erickson of Plymouth and Tony Wondra of Campbellsport collided in turn two.

Following the restart, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth moved in from his sixth starting spot to pressure his brother, Adam, for the lead on lap 7. Adam fended off Justin in the battle of the Miller brothers to maintain the top spot before Travis Arenz, who started ninth, began to make his presence felt at the front of the field.

After moving into third on lap 14 on the lightning fast track surface, Arenz worked around Justin Miller to take second on lap 15.

One lap later, Arenz powered past Adam Miller and into the lead exiting turn four and quickly built up a sizeable cushion. The second caution flag appeared on lap 18 when Will Gerrits of Waupun stopped in turn four.

Arenz bolted away from the pack on the restart and held a half-lap lead when Austin Hartmann of Sheboygan Falls flipped on the back stretch on lap 24 to bring out a red flag and set up a green-white-checkered flag finish.

On the restart, Arenz again wired the field as he pulled away from Adam Miller to notch his eighth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event win, 18^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory and fourth feature victory of the 2021 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

Adam Miller placed second, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, finished third, Justin Miller was fourth and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh finished fifth after starting eighth.

Tony Wondra captured the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

In time trials, Scotty Thiel set a new track record with a lap of 11.300 to earn the IRA fast qualifier award.

Chase Briscoe and Scotty Thiel earned IRA dash victories.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was sponsored by Jensen Sales and Service, drew a total of 54 Sprint Cars, including 24 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 30 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, July 10 with action in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

As an addition to last week’s race report, four new race track records were set in PDTR action on Friday, June 25.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett set a new 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main track record with a time of three minutes and 12 seconds. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland established a new 12-lap Late Model B main track record in two minutes and 40 seconds.

Brad Mueller of Random Lake tied Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler for the 10-lap Late Model heat race track record in two minutes and 12 seconds, while Tim Sheppard of Beaver Dam and Craig Gessner of Beechwood tied Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam by completing 10-lap B Mod heat races in a track record time of two minutes and 32 seconds.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

Qualifying

1, Scotty Thiel 11.300 2, Dave Uttech 11.589 3, Bill Balog 11.590 4, Jake Blackhurst 11.619 5, Chase Briscoe 11.630 6, Scott Neitzel 11.649 7, Mike Reinke 11.718 8, Jordan Goldesberry 11.730 9, Kyle Schuett 11.735 10, Jeremy Schultz 11.809 11, Kris Spitz 11.897 12, Robbie Pribnow 11.898 13, Josh Schneiderman 11.946 14, Josh Walter 11.978 15, Hunter Custer 11.978 16, Danny Schlafer 11.983 17, Jack Berger 12.039 18, Russel Borland 12.054 19, Wayne Modjeski 12.115 20, John Fahl 12.306 21, Andy Rein 12.411 22, Ben Schmidt 12.464 23, Scott Conger 12.524 24, Jordan Paulsen 12.581.

HEAT 1

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scotty Thiel 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Josh Schneiderman 6, Danny Schlafer 7, Wayne Modjeski 8, Ben Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Jordan Goldesberry 2, Chase Briscoe 3, Kris Spitz 4, Josh Walter 5, Dave Uttech 6, Jack Berger 7, Scott Conger 8, John Fahl.

HEAT 3

1, Bill Balog 2, Robbie Pribnow 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Russel Borland 5, Hunter Custer 6, Jordan Paulsen 7, Andy Rein 8, Kyle Schuett.

DASH 1

1, Chase Briscoe 2, Mike Reinke 3, Bill Balog 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Jeremy Schultz.

DASH 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Scotty Neitzel 3, Dave Uttech 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Kris Spitz.

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Jeremy Schultz 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Josh Schneiderman 6, Josh Walter 7, Scotty Thiel 8, Mike Reinke 9, Robbie Pribnow 10, Kris Spitz 11, Wayne Modjeski 12, Jordan Paulsen 13, Hunter Custer 14, John Fahl 15, Ben Schmidt 16, Dave Uttech 17, Scotty Neitzel 18, Andy Rein 19, Chase Briscoe 20, Danny Schlafer 21, Scott Conger 22, Russel Borland 23, Jack Berger 24, Kyle Schuett (DNS).

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tom Kreutz 2, Chris Larson 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Bill Taylor 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 2

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Tim Haddy 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Chris Clayton 7, Blake Wondra 8, Cole Possi.

HEAT 3

1, Kurt Davis 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Will Gerrits 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Justin Erickson 6, Brandon Berth 7, Dylan Winkel.

HEAT 4

1, Adam Miller 2, Matt Rechek 3, Justin Miller 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Preston Ruh 7, Katelyn Krebsbach.

B MAIN

1, Tony Wondra 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Brandon Berth 4, Justin Erickson 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Chris Clayton 8, Bill Taylor 9, Blake Wondra 10, Preston Ruh 11, Josh Teunissen 12, Cole Possi 13, Dylan Winkel 14, Katelyn Krebsbach.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Adam Miller 3, Kurt Davis 4, Justin Miller 5, Brandon McMullen 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Ben Schmidt 9, Brandon Berth 10, Tim Haddy 11, Alex Pokorski 12, Tyler Brabant 13, Kevin Karnitz 14, Matt Rechek 15, Tyler Tischendorf 16, Tony Wondra 17, Chris Larson 18, Tom Kreutz 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Nick Daywalt 21, Will Gerrits 22, Justin Erickson.

Arenz, Sorce, Schmidt notch PDTR A-main wins

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 25, 2021 – On a night when Plymouth Dirt Track Racing honored its winningest driver, Ron Berna of Abrams scored his very first PDTR Late Model main event win in the fourth and final 30-lap Russ Scheffler Tribute Night Presented by KSI Construction Late Model A main at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, June 25.

Berna’s initial PDTR Late Model A-main victory was worth a cool $2,874 in honor of Scheffler, who raced the No. 74 Late Model with PDTR for 12 years, while earning 92 overall race victories and 45 A-main wins, which both still stand as PDTR records far surpassing any other driver in all four regular divisions. Scheffler, who last competed at the Plymouth Dirt Track in 2016 and earned the PDTR Late Model championship in 2007, passed away in September 2017 at the age of 54.

In the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls continued his recent hot streak by storming to his third PDTR Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event win and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap headliner.

Will Sorce of Franklin earned his third Oostburg Automotive 25-lap Grand National A-main triumph in just his fourth Plymouth start of the 2021 campaign and Waldo’s Travis Schmidt claimed his first Cellcom B Mod A-main victory of the 2021 PDTR season.

After an aborted initial start during which a spin by Jayme Zidar of Greenfield triggered contact with Adam Janke of Bear Creek, Jim Schmidt of Cleveland and Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha, Ron Berna jumped into the lead on the opening lap from his outside front row starting spot.

By lap five, Berna had built up a half-straightaway lead over polesitter Tom Naeyaert of Shawano on the lightning fast and narrow racing surface.

On lap 8, Berna caught the rear of the field and began to work his way through slower traffic. Two laps later, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started third, slipped past Naeyaert to take over second in the running order.

On lap 12, Mueller moved in to pressure Berna for the top spot in heavy lapped traffic. After hounding Berna for four laps, Mueller pounced on lap 16 to seize the lead entering turn one.

Mueller began to pull away from Berna in dense lapped traffic before disaster struck on lap 19 when Mueller made contact with a lapped car along the backstretch, which sent his car into a series of hard flips before coming to rest against the turn three wall. Despite the severity of the incident, Mueller emerged from his battered machine uninjured.

On the restart, fifth starter Nick Anvelink of Navarino moved in to mount a challenge for the top spot before a caution flag appeared on lap 21 for a two-car incident involving Adam Janke and Kyle Raddant of Shawano.

Anvelink stayed glued to the low groove to again challenge Berna for the lead following the final restart. However, Berna held strong to fend off Anvelink’s advances and pull away over the final three laps en route to his first career PDTR Sheboygan’s County B93.7 Late Model A-main victory in the final running of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race.

Anvelink had to settle for second, seventh starter Justin Ritchie of New London placed third, fourth starter Jayme Zidar wound up fourth and Naeyaert rounded out the top five in an attrition-filled race that saw just nine of the 20 starters complete the full 30 laps.

“In lapped traffic, I kind of lost my groove for a while and feel asleep a bit I guess and Brad [Mueller] got by,” Berna said in victory lane. “Then Brad rolled, which was really bad. I hope he is okay. When we started up again, I got up on the wheel and turned some good laps and it turned out well for us.”

Outside front row starter Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac grabbed the lead of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main on the opening lap and paced the field for the first four circuits.

On lap five, third starter Travis Arenz powered in to seize the top spot from Wondra in turn four. Arenz wasted no time in throttling the field as he built up a half-lap cushion before he entered lapped traffic on lap 11.

On lap 14, Adam Miller of Plymouth, who was running second after starting fourth, flipped his machine in turn two to bring out the red flag, which turned out to be the only stoppage of the race. Miller was able to emerge from his car without serious injury.

Arenz lined up for the restart with five lapped cars placed between his machine and the second-place car of polesitter Justin Erickson of Plymouth. With an ample cushion to work with, Arenz bolted away from the field to again run away and hide from the pack.

On lap 16, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started 10^th, moved into second and began to trim away at Arenz’s lead. However, Arenz continued to set a frantic pace at the front of the field over the final 10 laps en route to his seventh career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 17^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main-event triumph.

McMullen finished second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth finished third after starting sixth, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee finished fourth after starting ninth and Erickson rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg jumped out to the early lead in the 25-lap Grand National main event with fourth starter Will Sorce sliding into second.

The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Collin Skindzelewski of West Allis spun in turn four. Following the restart, Sorce made his presence felt as he powered in to pressure Scholten for the lead.

The second and final caution flag was displayed on lap 7 for a spin involving Jacob Falk of Fond du Lac. Sorce flexed his muscle on the ensuing restart before slipping past Scholten to assume the lead on lap 11.

By lap 20, Sorce had built up a full straightaway cushion over Scholten as he went on to post his fourth career PDTR Grand National A-main victory, including his third win in four starts at The Plymouth Dirt Track this year.

Scholten finished second, seventh starter Chad Espen of West Bend finished third, Derek Kaat of Plymouth, who started 10^th, finished fourth and 2018 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Loehr of Dotyville, who started eighth, rounded out the top five.

Travis Schmidt, who started third, worked his way past front row starters Michael Gilson of Manitowoc and Dustin Wudstrack of Tigerton to seize the lead in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

The first of three caution flags was thrown on lap 2 for debris along the front strech. On the restart, Schmidt took control again as sixth starter Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam powered into second and began to close in on the leader.

By lap 13, Schmidt and Schultz began to work their way through slower traffic before the second caution flag flew on lap 14 for a spin in turn four involving Phil Campanella of Sheboygan Falls.

Another third caution flag was displayed on lap 16 for a four-car incident in turn four before Schmidt again showed his strength following the final restart.

Schmidt went on to post his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory as Schultz wound up second. Fourth starter Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth finished third, Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth after starting ninth and seventh starter Brian Wieland of Sheboygan Falls rounded out the top five.

Three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland won the 12-lap Late Model B main and 2005 PDTR Late Model champ Scott Specht of Sheboygan Falls returned to action at Plymouth after a lengthy absence to win the five-lap Late Model non-qualifiers dash.

2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The ninth PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by KSI Construction and Cellcom, drew 89 total cars, including 29 360 Sprint Cars, 26 Late Models, 18 B Mods and 16 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Thursday, July 1 with a special all-Sprint Car program featuring a $5,000-to-win Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Car.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe will compete with the IRA Sprint Car Series in the NASCAR Kickoff event that will be held in conjunction with the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at nearby Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. July 2-4.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Tom Naeyaert 2, Adam Janke 3, Justin Green 4, Ron Stroika 5, Tim Buhler 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Lukas Postl 8, Jake Van Engen 9, Brett Swedberg.

HEAT 2

1, Ron Berna 2, Jayme Zidar 3, Troy Springborn 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Turk Letizia 6, Chris Engels 7, Taylor Scheffler 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Joe Bongiorno.

HEAT 3

1, Brad Mueller 2, Joel Bennett 3, Nick Anvelink 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Scott Specht 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Kyle Raddant 8, Billy Rezutek 9, Donny Singer.

B MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Kyle Raddant 4, Lukas Postl 5, Scott Specht 6, Jake Van Engen 7, Donny Singer 8, Billy Rezutek 9, Brett Swedberg (DNS) 10, Chad Ludwigson (DNS) 11, Joe Bongiorno (DNS).

NON-QUALIFIERS DASH

1, Scott Specht 2, Jake Van Engen 3, Donny Singer 4, Billy Rezutek.

A MAIN

1, Ron Berna 2, Nick Anvelink 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Jayme Zidar 5, Tom Naeyaert 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Troy Springborn 8, Turk Letizia 9, Ron Stroika 10, Justin Green 11, Charlie Schmidt 12, Tim Buhler 13, Kyle Raddant 14, Adam Janke 15, Brad Mueller 16, Jim Schmidt 17, Joel Bennett 18, Lukas Postl 19, Chris Engels 20, Taylor Scheffler.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Bill Taylor 5, Tyler Davis 6, Scott Conger 7, Paul Pokorski 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Kurt Davis 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Preston Ruh 7, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Adam Miller 2, Doug Wondra 3, Tim Haddy 4, Brandon Berth 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Justin Miller 7, Chris Clayton.

HEAT 4

1, Blake Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Dylan Winkel 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Jordan Paulsen.

B MAIN

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Brandon Berth 3, Preston Ruh 4, Justin Miller 5, Chris Clayton 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Scott Conger 9, Tyler Tischendorf 10, Tom Kreutz 11, Jordan Paulsen 12, Dylan Winkel 13, Doug Wondra (DNS).

A MAIN

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

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS 

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Chad Espen 3, Seth Westimayer 4, Nicholas Goeman 5, Matt Loehr 6, Steven Weber 7, Maverick Ruh 8, Jacob Falk.

HEAT 2

1, Kyle Caswell 2, Will Sorce 3, Marc Caswell 4, Luke Scholten 5, Alex Lester 6, Derek Kaat 7, Collin Skindzelewski 8, Randy Post.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Luke Scholten 3, Chad Espen 4, Derek Kaat 5, Matt Loehr 6, Alex Lester 7, Steven Weber 8, Collin Skindzelewski 9, Seth Westimayer 10, Marc Caswell 11, Kyle Caswell 12, Randy Post 13, Nick Schumacher 14, Jacob Falk 15, Maverick Ruh 16, Nicholas Goeman (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Tim Sheppard 2, Nick Schultz 3, Gary Glander 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Dustin Wudstrack 6, Rory Welch 7, Michael Gilson 8, Andy Singer 9, Michael Bailey.

HEAT 2

1, Craig Gessner 2, Rick Kretschmann 3, Brian Wieland 4, Kyle Odekirk 5, Ryan Mech 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Phil Campanella 8, Jerry Duggan 9, Patrick Hanson.

A MAIN

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Nick Schultz 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Gary Glander 5, Brian Wieland 6, Rick Kretschmann 7, Tim Sheppard 8, Dustin Wudstrack 9, Craig Gessner 10, Jerry Duggan 11, Michael Bailey 12, Andy Singer 13, Phil Campanella 14, Patrick Hanson 15, Ryan Mech 16, Brandon Ostrowski 17, Michael Gilson, Rory Welch (DQ).

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 19, 2021 – Three drivers took their first trip to Kunes RV victory lane of the 2021 season, while a three-time and defending track champion returned to the winner’s circle for the second straight week, as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its eighth consecutive program of the 2021 campaign at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 19.

After a two-year absence, Kevin Karnitz of West Bend returned to victory lane in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event.

Following a string of early-season struggles, three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland continued to recapture his title-winning form by notching his second consecutive 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event victory of 2021

22-year veteran Luke Scholten of Oostburg snapped a two-year winless drought by claiming the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main, while Beaver Dam’s Elijah Koenig made a rare PDTR appearance count by storming to victory in the time-shortened, incident-plagued 21-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main, a red flag and caution flag flew before the first lap of the race was completed. The red flag appeared on the initial start when Nick Daywalt of Hubertus flipped exiting turn two on the opening lap.

On the ensuing start attempt, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth got sideways while running second in turn four and collected two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh. McMullen retired from the race with heavy front-end damage, while Miller was able to continue.

When the race finally got underway, Kevin Karnitz bolted into the lead from the pole position with Justin Miller, who started second, falling into second in the running order.

By lap 6, Karnitz had built up a full straightaway lead over Miller. Three laps later Karnitz encountered heavy lapped traffic. However, Karnitz dispatched the slower cars in quick order to maintain a solid cushion over the field.

On lap 20, Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca and Scott Conger of Eagle collided in turn four, which also collected Justin Miller and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt, who started sixth and was running fifth. Schmidt was able to continue after going to the work area, while Miller was done for the night.

Following the single-file restart, Karnitz was firmly in control as he pulled away from seventh starter Will Gerrits of Waupun, who was running second.

Karnitz went on to notch his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and seventh Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph, while notching his first victory at Plymouth since June 1, 2019.

Gerrits finished second, 16^th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls charged up to finish third, 13^th starter Brandon Berth of Cascade placed fourth and Tyler Brabant of Waupun, who started third, rounded out the top five.

Outside front row starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove jumped into the lead on the drop of the green field of the 25-lap Late Model A main with fourth starter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee following in second and four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started sixth, moving into third in his second appearance of the  2021 season with PDTR.

As Schmidt paced the field, the lone caution of the event appeared on lap 9 when Justin Ritchie of New London stopped in turn four on lap 9. On the restart, Mueller used the preferred outside groove to power around Bongiorno into second.

On lap 12, Mueller moved in to pressure Schmidt for the lead along the fast and often treacherous cushion. While Schmidt held Mueller at bay, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush ducked low to briefly take third after starting fifth on lap 19.

One lap later, third starter Justin Schmidt following suit along in the inside line to duck under Buhler to secure third on lap 20 and second in lap 21. On lap 22, Justin Schmidt surged past Charlie Schmidt into the lead in turn one with Mueller in tow as the leader worked through slower traffic.

Justin Schmidt held on over the final three laps to wrap up his 15^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Mueller placed second, Charlie Schmidt finished third, Buhler wound up fourth and Bongiorno rounded out the top five.

Luke Scholten started the accident-marred 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole and quickly took over the top spot on the opening lap with second starter Dick Hed of Plymouth following in second.

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 3 for a two-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge, who started fourth, worked the outside groove to challenge Hed for second.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 6 when Steven Weber of Plymouth spun on lap 6. Dustin Weiss followed off a nifty high move on the restart to secure second on lap 7.

The third caution was displayed on lap 9 for a four-car incident in turn four. On the restart, Hed and Weiss continued to mount an epic duel for the runner-up spot. The fourth and final caution came out for a single-car spin on lap 12.

Weiss bolted around Hed on the restart before moving in to pressure Scholten for the lead. However, Scholten proved to be too strong as he fended off Weiss’ advances to notch his 14^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to move into second on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main victory list. It was Scholten first PDTR Grand National A-main win since July 29, 2019.

Weiss placed second, Nick Schumacher of Eagle placed third after starting 10^th, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished fourth after starting ninth and fifth starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake finished fifth.

Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the time shortened 21-lap B Mod A main from the pole.

The first of six caution flags appeared on lap four when Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam spun in turn four. Following the restart, fifth starter Elijah Koenig of Beaver Dam charged up to challenge Bauer for the top spot.

On lap 9, Koenig surged past Bauer and into the lead along the high groove. By lap 12, Koenig had already built up a full straightaway cushion over Bauer.

The final 13 laps of the race featured Koenig pulling away from the field in between stoppages in the racing action for four additional caution flags.

Koenig held a healthy lead over Bauer when the sixth and final caution flag was displayed on lap 22 to bring the race to an early end due to the time limit. Koenig earned his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory, while Bauer placed second, 10^th starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls finished third, Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon, who started second, placed fourth and fourth starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls rounded out the top five.

Bill Taylor of Boltonville won the first 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The eighth PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Frank Motorsports Professional Services, drew 81 total cars, including 29 360 Sprint Cars, 20 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 17 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Friday, June 25 with the final edition of the Russ Scheffler Tribute Race honoring the winningest driver in PDTR history.

Racing is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

 

HEAT 1

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Blake Wondra 3, Jordan Paulsen 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Justin Erickson 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Adam Miller.

 

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Brabant 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Scott Conger 4, Tony Wondra 5, Tim Haddy 6, Chris Clayton 7, Doug Wondra.

 

HEAT 3

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Brandon Berth 5, Katelyn Krebsbach 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Dylan Winkel.

 

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Will Gerrits 3, Preston Ruh 4, Bill Taylor 5, Travis Arenz 6, Matt Rechek 7, Cole Possi.

 

B MAIN

1, Bill Taylor 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Chris Clayton 4, Tim Haddy 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Adam Miller 7, Matt Rechek 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Dylan Winkel 10, Cole Possi 11, Justin Erickson 12, Josh Teunissen 13, Doug Wondra.

 

A MAIN

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Will Gerrits 3, Travis Arenz 4, Brandon Berth 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Jordan Paulsen 9, Bill Taylor 10, Adam Miller 11, Alex Pokorski 12, Ben Schmidt 13, Tony Wondra 14, Tyler Tischendorf 15, Chris Clayton 16, Tim Haddy 17, Preston Ruh 18, Scott Conger 19, Justin Miller 20, Blake Wondra 21, Brandon McMullen 22, Nick Daywalt.

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

 

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Green 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Eric Michaels 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Jake Van Engen 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

 

HEAT 2

1, Tim Buhler 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Chris Engels 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Donny Singer.

 

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Brad Mueller 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Tim Buhler 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Chris Engels 7, Billy Rezutek 8, Justin Green 9, Jim Schmidt 10, Jake Van Engen 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Eric Michaels 13, Justin Ritchie 14, Donny Singer 15, Turk Letizia.

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

 

HEAT 1

1, Brad Weiss 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Luke Scholten 4, Dick Hed 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Maverick Ruh 7, Jacob Falk 8, Chad Espen 9, Dylan Struve

 

HEAT 2

1, Donny Kulow 2, Derek Kaat 3, Matt Yancey 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Nick Schumacher 6, Steven Weber 7, J.J. Pagel 8, Jason Schilling.

 

A MAIN

1 Luke Scholten 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Nick Schumacher 4, Don Sorce Jr. 5, Donny Kulow 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Dick Hed 8, Chad Espen 9, Steven Weber 10, Maverick Ruh 12, Jacob Falk 13, Brad Weiss 14, Derek Kaat 15, Matt Yancey 16, Jason Schilling 17, J.J. Pagel 18, Dylan Struve (DNS).

 

CELLCOM B MOD

 

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Nick Schultz 3, Phil Campanella 4, Justin Bauer 5, Shane Long 6, Christopher Gilson 7, Brady Harshbarger.

 

HEAT 2

1, Matthew Roehl 2, Tim Thrun 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Donny Singer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Michael Strean 7, Rory Welch.

 

HEAT 3

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Mark Hoeppner 3, Gary Glander 4, Spencer Long 5, Brendan Ostrowski 6, Steve Lorier.

 

A MAIN

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Justin Bauer 3, Spencer Long 4, Mark Hoeppner 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Shane Long 7, Nick Schultz 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Phil Campanella 10, Rory Welch 11, Trevor Frank 12, Tim Thrun 13, Brendan Ostrowski 14, Steve Lorier 15, Gary Glander 16, Donny Singer 17, Matthew Roehl 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Michael Strean (DNS) 20, Brady Harshbarger (DNS).

 

 

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 12, 2021 – The seventh Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season produced plenty of action at the front of the field with three drivers visiting the Kunes RV Winners Circle in A-main action for the first time in 2021 and another earning back-to-back main event victories Saturday, June 12 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, Travis Arenz of Sheboygan stormed to his second consecutive A-main victory of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner.

Three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland shook off an uncharacteristically slow start to the season by claiming his first 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event victory of 2021.

2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville notched his initial triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A main.

Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier was another 2021 first-time winner in the 25-lap PDTR B Mod A main.

In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main, third starter Will Gerrits of Waupun bolted past polesitter Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade and outside front row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth to take the lead in turn two of the opening lap.

On lap three, Travis Arenz, who started seventh, used the high groove to power his way into second. One lap later, Arenz swept past Gerrits to take over the top spot and he immediately proceeded to leave the field in his dust.

Starting on lap 11, Arenz found himself negotiating heavy lapped traffic on the dry slick third-mile track surface. As Arenz enjoyed a comfortable half-lap lead, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current point leader Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started eighth, worked his way into the runner-up spot.

As the laps wound down, McMullen was able to close the gap slightly, but it was all Arenz at the front of the field as he cruised to his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and second straight main event win at the Plymouth track in the caution-free event.

McMullen had to settle for second, Gerrits wound up third, Erickson placed fourth and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged up to finish fifth after starting 16^th.

Polesitter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap Late Model A main with 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush in tow.

On lap 3, Justin Schmidt used the cushion to shoot into third in the running order. The first of two caution flags appeared on lap 4 when Donny Singer of Random Lake spun in turn four.

Following the restart, Justin Schmidt used the high line to move around Buhler into second on lap 5 before the second and final caution flag flew on lap 6 for a spin in turn four involving Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls.

When the race resumed, Justin Schmidt continued to stalk the low-riding Charlie Schmidt along the outside groove. On lap 12, Justin Schmidt assumed the lead utilizing the high line in turn four.

After switching to the low line, Justin Schmidt went on to build up a comfortable cushion in the closing laps en route to his 14th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory by a half-lap margin.

Charlie Schmidt finished second, Buhler placed third, fifth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee placed fourth and sixth starter Justin Ritchie of New London rounded out the top five.

The 25-lap Grand National A main got off to a rousing start as octogenarian polesitter Dick Hed of Plymouth dueled side by side with outside front row starter Matt Loehr for the first six laps of the race.

On lap 7, the cushion-pounding Loehr finally surged ahead of the low-riding Hed in turn four. The lone caution of the race appeared one lap later for a spin involving rookie Jacob Falk.

Loehr used a strong restart to pull away to a commanding full-straightaway lead over third starting Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake over the final 18 laps of the race on the way to his seventh career PDTR Grand National A main victory.

Donny Kulow came home second, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished third after starting sixth, 2019 PDTR Grand national champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed fourth after starting seventh and Hed rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls seized the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod as third starter Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan moved into second on lap 3.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 7 when Travis Schmidt of Waldo spun in turn four after contact with Sheboygan’s Trevor Frank, which sent Frank to the rear of the field.

On the restart, Frank, James Fischer of Oostburg and Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls collided in turn two to bring out the second caution flag. Following the restart, Baumann flexed his muscle along the high groove to take over the top spot on lap 9 in turn two.

The third and final caution flag appeared on lap 12 when Jonathan Hitsman of Sheboygan and Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls made contact in turn four. Fifth starter Steve Lorier used a nifty low move on the restart to steal the lead away from Baumann in turn two on lap 13.

However, Baumann battled back on the cushion to pull even with Lorier three laps later with the two drivers dueling side by side over the next three laps before Lorier finally surged ahead for good on lap 18 along the inside groove.

Lorier went on to claim his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a five-car margin over Baumann, who placed second. Bauer finished third, Rory Welch of Grafton, who started second, finished fourth and 12^th starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls came home fifth.

Jack Vanderboom of Dousman won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Adam Miller of Plymouth claimed the victory in the second 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The seventh PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Josfo Electric, drew 79 total cars, including 35 360 Sprint Cars, 18 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 11 Grand Nationals.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 19 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Bill Taylor 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Tyler Davis 9, Tim Haddy.

HEAT 2

1, Tony Wondra 2, Mike Yurmanovich 3, Katelyn Krebsbach 4, Blake Wondra 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Chris Larson 7, Chris Clayton 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Tischendorf.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Justin Miller 3, Justin Erickson 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Preston Ruh 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Cole Possi 9, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Will Gerrits 2, Brandon Berth 3, Matt Rechek 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Kurt Davis 7, Doug Wondra 8, Adam Miller.

B MAIN 1

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Kurt Davis 3, Doug Wondra 4,  Tim Haddy 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Dylan Winkel 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Davis (DNS).

B MAIN 1

1, Adam Miller 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Preston Ruh 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Chris Clayton 7, Chris Larson 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Cole Possi 10, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Will Gerrits 4, Justin Erickson 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Mike Yurmanovich 9, Matt Rechek 10, Anthony Knierim 11, Bill Taylor 12, Adam Miller 13, Doug Wondra 14, Preston Ruh 15, Kurt Davis 16, Jack Vanderboom 17, Tony Wondra 18, Blake Wondra 19, Austin Hartmann 20, Katelyn Krebsbach 21, Brandon Berth 22, Justin Miller.

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Turk Letizia 3, Tim Buhler 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Donny Singer 6, Eric Michaels 7, Joe Bongiorno 8, Chad Ludwigson (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Justin Green 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Ron Stroika 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Jake Van Engen.

A MAIN

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Justin Green 8, Joe Bongiorno 9, Ron Stroika 10, Eric Michaels 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Chad Ludwigson 13, Donny Singer 14, Jake Van Engen 15, Brian Konitzer.

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Dick Hed 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Jacob Falk 6, Steven Weber.

HEAT 2

1, Matt Yancey 2, Donny Kulow 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Kaat 5, Maverick Ruh.

A MAIN

1, Matt Loehr 2, Donny Kulow 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Luke Scholten 8, Matt Yancey 9, Jacob Falk 10, Maverick Ruh 11, Steven Weber.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jonathan Hitsman 4, Justin Bauer 5, Patrick Hanson 6, Gary Glander.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Long 2, Glen Blanke 3, Matthew Roehl 4, Spencer Long 5, Will Garceau 6, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Jonathon Baumann 3, Rory Welch 4, Donny Singer 5, Jim Fischer 6, Phil Campanella.

A MAIN

1, Steve Lorier 2, Jonathon Baumann 3, Justin Bauer 4, Rory Welch 5, Spencer Long 6, Will Garceau 7, Matthew Roehl 8, Donny Singer 9, Shane Long 10, Patrick Hanson 11, Phil Campanella 12, Jonathan Hitsman 13, Glen Blanke 14, Travis Schmidt 15, Gary Glander 16, Trevor Frank 17, Jim Fischer 18, Christopher Gilson.

Arenz posts first PDTR 360 Sprint Car triumph of 2021

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 5, 2021 – With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s, the action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. was equally hot and heavy during an all-Sprint Car evening of competition featuring the national-touring FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 410 Sprint Car Series in conjunction with the regional Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association Series on Saturday June 5.

In the 30-lap All Star-IRA headliner, 10-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland turned in an exemplary performance en route to his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory on what he has described as one of his favorite tracks in the country.

Travis Arenz of Sheboygan cruised to his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap main event.

After earning All Star-IRA fast qualifier honors with a top lap of 11.357 seconds and winning the first All Star-IRA four-lap dash, Bill Balog earned the pole position for the evening’s 30-lap headline event.

On the drop of the green flag, second starter Ian Madsen of St. Mary’s New South Wales, Australia bolted into the lead with Balog settling in second. On lap 3, Balog attempted a slide job in turn two, but Madsen fended off the 128-time IRA A-main winner’s initial challenge.

Two laps later, Balog came back with the same move in turn two and made it stick to take over the top spot. The North Pole, Alaska native then proceeded to run away and hide from the field as he built up a half-lap cushion over Madsen by lap 13.

As Balog skillfully sliced his way through heavy lapped traffic, third starter Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, Ind., who was filling in for the injured Justin Peck behind the wheel of the No. 13 Buch Motorsports car, moved in to challenge Madsen for second beginning on lap 21.

One lap later, Bayston worked around Madsen to seize second. However, Madsen regained the spot on lap 24 before Madsen took it back on lap 27. On lap 18, eighth starter Rico Abreu of St. Helena, Calif. moved in to pressure Madsen for the runner-up spot.

With Balog cruising at the front of the field, Madsen and Abreu waged an epic duel for second over the final two circuits.

Balog, who is competing in his first full season as an All Star Circuit of Champions regular this year, held on to collect his first career All Star Circuit of Champions A-main victory and 129th career IRA main event triumph by a comfortable six-second margin in the caution-free race to claim the $6,000 winner’s prize.

Madsen nipped Abreu for second, Abreu took third, Bayston wound up fourth and All Star Circuit of Champions point leader Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind., who started sixth, came home fifth.

“I would like to thank everybody who supports this team,” Balog said in victory lane. “We put this deal together to run with the All Stars late last fall and into the winter. This is unbelievable. I was scared that I was going to get passed in lapped traffic. I got behind someone that almost spun once and I was getting a little tight running the cushion through traffic.

“It was a good kind of tight though as I was able to stick it through the middle and slide guys in to get through the lapped traffic,” he said. “The guys have been working on this car to make it better and it is really running awesome right now.”

Madsen was pleased with his second-place run, but remains eager to earn his first All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2021 season.

“Bill [Balog] did an awesome job tonight,” Madsen said. “He just spanked us. I have to thank my team for giving me a great car. I am thankful to have such a great team behind me. We have been consistent with a lot of good finishes this year. Hopefully, we can break through and get a win soon.”

Abreu was satisfied with his podium effort in his first official A-main start at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“My guys have been working on the car hard and it has been getting better and better lately,” Abreu said. “All of their hard work is leading us in a better direction. The track crew gave us a nice track to run on tonight and I am thankful for that and all of the support from the fans here tonight.”

In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, polesitter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend grabbed the lead on the opening lap with outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport sliding into second in the early going.

On lap 4, fourth starter Travis Arenz used the outside groove to bolt his way into second. Two laps later, Arenz shot past the low-riding Karnitz with a high move in turn four. Karnitz briefly battled back in an effort to regain the top spot. However, Arenz held off Karnitz’s surge and quickly pulled away.

On lap 14, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started 10^th, moved into fourth as Arenz began to weave his way through slower traffic. On lap 21, McMullen moved into second and was quickly closing on Arenz as the race wound down.

Arenz held on to claim his fifth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event triumph and 14^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory in the non-stop event. McMullen placed second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started eighth, finished third, Karnitz wound up fourth and Wondra rounded out the top five.

Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. won the 12-lap All Star-IRA B main and Will Gerrits of Waupun captured the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The all-Sprint Car event, which was sponsored by JDL Automotive, drew a near capacity crowd of spectators, along with a total of 68 Sprint Cars, including 36 All Star-IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

During pre-race opening ceremonies, PDTR honored Dave Deicher, who raced at The Plymouth Dirt Track and other area tracks for 30 years before serving as the flagman for PDTR for many years. Deicher passed away on Sunday, May 30 at the age of 69.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 12 with action in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

FLORACING ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS-BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

Qualifying

1, Bill Balog 13.357 2, Kyle Reinhardt 11.469 3, Cap Henry 11.488 4, Zeb Wise 11.536 5, Carson Short 11.536 6, Rico Abreu 11.672 7, Ian Madsen 11.680 8, Jake Blackhurst 11.696 9, Paul McMahan 11.701 10, Tyler Courtney 11.729 11, Jeremy Schultz 11.737 12, Spencer Bayston 11.741 13, Scotty Thiel 11.764 14, Sean Rayhall 11.784 15, Josh Schneiderman 11.815 16, Scotty Neitzel 11.819 17, T.J. Michael 11.845 18, Joe B. Miller 11.881 19, Robbie Pribnow 11.906, 20, Hunter Schuerenberg 11.913 21, Kyle Schuett 11.954 22, Jordan Goldesberry 12.002 23, Dave Uttech 12.029 24, Cory Eliason 12.037 25, Skylar Gee 12.047 26, Kris Spitz 12.106 27, Russel Borland 12.172 28, Blake Nimee 12.201 29, Hunter Custer 12.211 30, Greg Wilson 12.229 31, Danny Schlafer 12.314 32, Brian Kristan 12.359 33, Josh Walter 12.380 34, Jereme Schroeder 12.649 35, Bryce Schmitt 12.733 36, Andy Rein 13.480.

HEAT 1

1, Cap Henry 2, Zeb Wise 3, Bill Balog 4, Carson Short 5, Kyle Reinhardt 6, Dave Uttech 7, Hunter Custer 8, Sean Rayhall 9, Scott Neitzel (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Joe B. Miller 2, Rico Abreu 3, Robbie Pribnow 4, Cory Eliason 5, Jake Blackhurst 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Josh Walter 8, Jeremy Schroeder 9, Andy Rein.

HEAT 3

1, Spencer Bayston 2, Jeremy Schultz 3, Hunter Schuerenberg 4, Josh Schneiderman 5, Paul McMahan 6, Russel Borland 7, Kris Spitz 8, Bryce Schmitt 9, Greg Wilson.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Courtney 2, Ian Madsen 3, T.J. Michael 4, Kyle Schuett 5, Skylar Gee 6, Danny Schlafer 7, Brian Kristan 8, Blake Nimee 9, Scott Thiel.

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Spencer Bayston 3, Kyle Reinhardt 4, Zeb Wise 5, Joe B. Miller.

DASH 2

1, Ian Madsen 2, Paul McMahan 3, Tyler Courtney 4, Rico Abreu 5, Cap Henry.

B MAIN

1, Jordan Goldesberry 2, Hunter Custer 3, Greg Wilson 4, Dave Uttech 5, Russel Borland 6, Kris Spitz 7, Jereme Schroeder 8, Josh Walter 9, Blake Nimee 10, Scotty Neitzel 11, Brian Kristan 12, Bryce Schmitt 13, Andy Rein 14, Sean Rayhall 15, Danny Schlafer 16, Scotty Thiel (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Ian Madsen 3, Rico Abreu 4, Spencer Bayston 5, Tyler Courtney 6, Paul McMahan 7, Cory Eliason 8, Kyle Reinhardt 9, Cap Henry 10, Hunter Schuerenberg 11, Zeb Wise 12, Joe B. Miller 13, Carson Short 14, Jeremy Schultz 15, Jordan Goldesberry 16, Robbie Pribnow 17, T.J. Michael 18, Jake Blackhurst 19, Greg Wilson 20, Skylar Gee 21, Josh Schneiderman 22, Kyle Schuett 23, Dave Uttech 24, Hunter Custer.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Erickson 2, Matt Rechek 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Brandon Berth 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Mike Yurmanovich.

HEAT 2

1, Chris Clayton 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Adam Miller 4, Preston Ruh 5, Tim Haddy 6, Tyler Davis 7, Jack Vanderboom 8, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 3

1, Tony Wondra 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Blake Wondra 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Chris Larson 7, Jordan Paulsen 8, Scott Conger.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Bill Taylor 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Will Gerrits 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Dylan Winkel.

B MAIN

1, Will Gerrits 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Blake Wondra 4, Preston Ruh 5, Bill Taylor 6, Tyler Davis 7, Scott Conger 8, Jordan Paulsen 9, Tom Kreutz 10, Jack Vanderboom 11, Austin Hartmann 12, Katelyn Krebsbach 13, Josh Teunissen 14, Chris Larson 15, Dylan Winkel 16, Mike Yurmanovich (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tony Wondra 6, Justin Miller 7, Justin Erickson 8, Matt Rechek 9, Chris Clayton 10, Kurt Davis 11, Adam Miller 12, Brandon Berth 13, Doug Wondra 14, Tyler Brabant 15, Lance Fassbender 16, Alex Pokorski 17, Will Gerrits 18, Preston Ruh 19, Bill Taylor 20, Tyler Davis 21, Tim Haddy 22, Blake Wondra.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 22, 2021 – On a beautiful early summer evening for racing, the fourth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season saw three familiar faces make their initial appearance of the 2021 campaign in victory lane and another racked up his second A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign on Saturday, May 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh led flag-to-flag to earn his first A-main triumph of the 2021 season in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner.

Veteran Jim Schmidt of Cleveland survived an incident-plagued Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event to claim his first A-main victory of the season in a time-shortened 12-lap race. Will Sorce of Franklin worked the high groove to perfection to rack up his second 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory of the 2021 campaign and Jesse Cullen of Chilton rolled to his first A-main tally of the season in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

Brandon McMullen outpowered polesitter Tim Haddy of Waupun to seize the lead on in turn one of the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event from his outside front row starting position as third starting Adam Miller of Plymouth slipped into second.

On lap 3, the first of three caution flags appeared after two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee clipped the turn two water barrel, which resulted in water leaking onto the track.

Following the restart, Haddy and Miller dueled side by side for second before Miller assumed the spot. By lap 4, McMullen had built up a sizeable half-straightaway cushion over Miller at the front of the field.

On lap 8, McMullen caught the back of the field and began working through heavy lapped traffic. McMullen expertly sliced his way through the slower cars to maintain a comfortable lead over Miller.

With seven laps to go, Miller and Haddy made contact entering turn one, which resulted in race-ending damage to Haddy’s car. Miller was able to continue, while the fourth-place car of Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz, who started fifth, had to pay a visit to the work area after suffering a flat tire.

The third caution flag flew for a four-car incident in turn one on the ensuing restart.

With two lapped cars between himself and the second-place car of ninth starter Justin Miller of Plymouth, who had moved up to second, McMullen bolted away from the field on the final restart, while 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started 17^th, worked his way past Miller into second on lap 19.

Mullen pulled away in the closing laps to seal his 21^st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 31^st career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph by a full-straightaway margin over Schmidt, who came home second.

Justin Miller finished third, sixth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend placed fourth and Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca, who started fourth, came home fifth.

The time-shortened 12-lap Late Model A main was plagued by seven caution flags, including two before the first official lap of the race could be completed.

When the race finally got underway, outside front row starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead from polesitter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee in turn four of the opening lap. On lap 2, back-to-back caution flags again slowed the pace and resulted in single-file restarts as the norm for the remainder of the race.

On lap 3, three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt, moved up from the third starting spot to pressure Charlie Schmidt for the lead before the fifth caution of the race appeared on lap four for a three-car incident along the backstretch.

When the race resumed, Justin Schmidt continued to hound Charlie Schmidt for the top spot. On lap 5, Justin Schmidt spun in turn four while challenging for the lead to bring out the sixth caution of the race. During the yellow flag period, Charlie Schmidt went to the pit area to change a flat tire, which handed the lead over to 11^th starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee.

Following the restart, sixth starter Jim Schmidt mounted a challenge for the lead along the high line. Three laps later, Jim Schmidt powered around Letizia to take over the top spot in turn two.

Jim Schmidt maintained the lead until the seventh caution was displayed on lap 12 for a two-car incident in turn two, which brought the race to an early end after reaching the time limit.

Jim Schmidt earned his 16^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory with Letizia second, 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed third after starting eighth, seventh starter Justin Ritchie of New London finished fourth and Justin Schmidt recovered from his early-race spin to place fifth.

Polesitter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake led the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main before outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg worked the high groove to take over the lead in turn four on lap 2.

The lone caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 9 for debris in turn two.

Following the restart, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, and Donny Kulow dueled side by side for second beginning on lap 12 with Kulow eventually maintaining second on lap 13.

On lap 18, fifth starter Will Sorce began to make his presence felt as he moved up to the outside line to gain third. One lap later, Sorce powered around Kulow to take over second and quickly set his sights on Scholten.

Sorce and Scholten battled door to door on lap 21 before Sorce surged past Scholten and into the lead.

Sorce pulled away over the final four laps to earn his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Donny Kulow finished second, Don Sorce Jr. placed third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow finished fourth after starting third and 2018 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Loehr of Dotyville wound up fifth after starting seventh.

Polesitter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap B Mod A main.

As Long led, fourth starter Jesse Cullen slipped past outside front row starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan to gain second place in the running order. The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 7 for a three-car incident in turn two.

On the restart, Long drifted high in turn two, which allowed Cullen to power into the lead on lap 8 with Frank in tow. After a pair of caution flags ensued on lap 11 and lap 13 for multi-car incidents, Cullen bolted out to a quarter-straightaway lead over Frank by lap 16.

The fourth and final caution flag appeared on lap 20 when Long made contact with the turn three wall. When race resumed, Cullen pulled away over the final five laps to secure his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Frank, who had to settle for second.

Third starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls finished third, Rory Welch of Grafton moved up from his 11^th starting spot to place fourth and eighth starter Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth placed fifth.

Doug Wondra of Lomira claimed the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The fourth PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza, drew a total of 87 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 20 Grand Nationals and 20 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 29 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions. The Military Night program will offer free admission to all members of the U.S. armed forces with a valid I.D.

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Tischendorf 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tony Wondra 4, Justin Miller 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Matt Rechek 8, Tom Kreutz.

HEAT 2

1, Adam Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Mike Yurmanovich 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Brabant 6, Will Gerrits 7, Chris Clayton 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Chris Larson 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Justin Erickson 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Dylan Winkel.

HEAT 4

1, Tim Haddy 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Tyler Davis 4, Brandon Berth 5, Doug Wondra 6, Blake Wondra 7, Bill Taylor.

B MAIN

1, Doug Wondra 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Erickson 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Will Gerrits 6, Chris Clayton 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Matt Rechek 9, Alex Pokorski 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, Dylan Winkel 12, Tom Kreutz 13, Tyler Brabant (DNS) 14, Blake Wondra (DNS) 15, Bill Taylor (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Justin Miller 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Justin Erickson 7, Travis Arenz 8, Will Gerrits 9, Tony Wondra 10, Adam Miller 11, Nick Daywalt 12, Lance Fassbender 13, Tyler Davis 14, Austin Hartmann 15, Chris Clayton 16, Doug Wondra 17, Chris Larson 18, Jack Vanderboom 19, Mike Yurmanovich 20, Tim Haddy 21, Kurt Davis 22, Josh Teunissen 23, Brandon Berth (DNS).

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Brian Konitzer 5, Eric Michaels 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Greg Cantrell 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Turk Letizia 6, Justin Green 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Turk Letizia 3, Tim Buhler 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Jon Bongiorno 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Jacob Van Engen 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Donny Singer 11, Greg Cantrell 12, Eric Michaels 13, Justin Green 14, Brian Konitzer 15, Chad Ludwigson 16, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Will Sorce 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Dick Hed 4, Dave Holm 5, Dylan May 6, Dylan Struve 7, Seth Westimayer.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Matt Loehr 4, Dustin Weiss 5, Justin Pearson 6, Nick Schumacher 7, Alex Lester.

HEAT 3

1, Steven Weber 2, Donny Kulow 3, Chad Espen 4, Derek Kaat 5, Nate Ruh 6, Collin Skindzelewski.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Donny Kulow 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Matt Loehr 6, Luke Scholten 7, Steven Weber 8, Dustin Weiss 9, Chad Espen 10, Justin Pearson 11, Nate Ruh 12, Dave Holm 13, Nick Schumacher 14, Dick Hed 15, Seth Westimayer 16, Derek Kaat 17, Collin Skindzelewski 18, Alex Lester 19, Dylan Struve 20, Dylan May.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Trevor Frank 2, Shane Long 3, Travis Kleindl 4, Christopher Gilson 5, Patrick Hanson 76, Jim Fischer 7, Brendan Ostrowski.

HEAT 2

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Steve Lorier 3, Donny Singer 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Rory Welch 6, Gary Glander 7, Craig Gessner.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Bauer 2, Spencer Long 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Phil Campanella 5, Randy Theys 6, Andy Welter.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Cullen 2, Trevor Frank 3, Shane Long 4, Rory Welch 5, Jonathan Hitsman 6, Justin Bauer 7, Rick Kretschmann 8, Steve Lorier 9, Andy Welter 10, Donny Singer 11, Patrick Hanson 12, Spencer Long 13, Craig Gessner 14, Travis Kleindl 15, Gary Glander 16, Randy Theys 17, Phil Campanella 18, Christopher Gilson 19, Jim Fischer 20, Brendan Ostrowski.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 15, 2021 – With cool temperatures and persistent rain showers lingering throughout the evening, the third Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season produced lightning fast track conditions and saw three veteran drivers post A-main victories in their respective divisions with a fourth falling victim to rain and two new track records set Saturday, May 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main action, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth outdueled two-time PDTR 360 Sprint champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh through heavy lapped traffic to claim the A-main victory in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event, while establishing a new track record pace in the process.

Former PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush scored a wire-to-wire win in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Steven Weber of Plymouth led from start to finish in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A main. The Cellcom B Mod A main fell victim to wet track conditions following steady rain showers.

After Justin Miller led the 22-car 360 Sprint Car A-main field to the green flag from the pole position, outside front row starter Brandon McMullen powered around Miller to take the lead in turn two of the opening circuit along the high groove.

McMullen paced the field with Miller second, fourth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend in third and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, in fourth in the early stages of the race. The leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 7, which allowed Miller to cut the gap.

On lap 17, Miller ducked low to seize the top spot from McMullen in dense lapped traffic. Three laps later, Miller made slight contact with a lapped car in turn four, which allowed McMullen to regain the lead briefly along the inside groove.

However, Miller battled back to regain the top spot with a low move in turn three on lap 22 and fended off McMullen over the final three laps to secure his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph in the caution-free race.

Miller completed the non-stop A-main race in five minutes and 31 seconds to set a new 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main track record. The previous record was set in 2016 by Kurt Davis.

McMullen finished second, Karnitz placed third, Davis was fourth and Travis Arenz of Sheboygan charged from the 16^th starting spot to place fifth.

Polesitter Tim Buhler led the opening lap of the Late Model A main with three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started second, in tow.

On lap 3, fifth starter Justin Ritchie of New London and third starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland joined Justin Schmidt in a three-wide duel for second. One lap later, Justin Schmidt secured the second spot before the first of two caution flags flew on lap 5 for Chad Ludwigson of Sheboygan Falls and Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee, who spun in turn three.

Another caution appeared on lap 6 when Turk Letizia of Milwaukee spun in turn two and was collected by Justin Ritchie.

After the restart, Buhler retained control of the top spot with Justin Schmidt trailing. On lap 10, Justin Schmidt pulled his smoking car off the track and into the infield while running second. By lap 12, Buhler had built up a full straightaway cushion over fourth starter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove.

Buhler cruised over the final 13 laps to collect his 13^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Jim Schmidt finished second, Charlie Schmidt came home third, Letizia recovered from his lap 6 spin to place fourth and Ritchie charged back through the field after going to the pits following contact with Letizia on lap 6 to finish fifth.

Steven Weber seized the lead on the drop of the green field of the Grand National A main from the pole. On lap 2, outside front row starter Brad Weiss of West Bend pulled even with the low-riding Weber along the high groove and the two drivers dueled side by side over the next two circuits before Weber gained control of the top spot.

On lap 5, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started third, slipped past Weiss to take second. On lap 8, Kulow closed in on Weber and continued to hound the leader throughout the remainder of the race.

Kulow stayed within striking distance in the closing laps. However, he was unable to wrestle the top spot away from the smooth and steady Weber, who went on to earn his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in the non-stop race.

Kulow finished second, fifth starter Chad Espen of West Bend placed third, two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fourth, finished fourth and Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge placed fifth after starting seventh.

The scheduled 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main was cancelled due to rain with equal points granted to all drivers.

2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove won the first 12-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Lance Fassbender of Burnett was victorious in the second 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

Nick Schultz of Beaver Dam set a new 10-lap PDTR B Mod heat race track record in the first B Mod heat race of the night with a time of two minutes and 32 seconds, which topped the previous track record by five seconds.

After the checkered flag flew in the 360 Sprint Car A main, Paul Pokorski of West Bend, in his first night behind the wheel of Spyder Akright’s 53A car, made hard contact with the turn one wall in an attempt to avoid contact with a rapidly slowly car directly ahead of him. Pokorski emerged from the badly damaged car uninjured.

The third PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department and honored police, fire and EMS personnel with free admission, drew a total of 87 cars, including 34 360 Sprint Cars, 14 Late Models, 19 Grand Nationals and 20 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 22 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Blake Wondra 3, Tim Haddy 4, Mike Yurmanovich 5, Travis Arenz 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Doug Wondra 8, Josh Teunissen 9, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 2

1, Brandon Berth 2, Justin Erickson 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Tony Wondra 5, Bill Taylor 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Tom Kreutz 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Adam Miller.

HEAT 3

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Cole Possi 3, Preston Ruh 4, Paul Pokorski 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Matt

Rechek 7, Will Gerrits 8, Jack Vanderboom.

HEAT 4

1, Justin Miller 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Tyler Davis 4, Scott Conger 5, Nick Daywalt 6, Jason Johnson 7, Ken Schmick 8, Alex Pokorski.

B MAIN 1

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Will Gerrits 3, Scott Conger 4, Matt Rechek 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Jason Johnson 8, Ken Schmick 9, Josh Teunissen.

B Main 2

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Bill Taylor 3, Austin Hartmann 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Doug Wondra 6, Adam Miller 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Tom Kreutz.

A MAIN

1, Justin Miller 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Kurt Davis 5, Travis Arenz 6, Brandon Berth 7, Justin Erickson 8, Tyler Tischendorf 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Tyler Davis 11, Tony Wondra 12, Ben Schmidt 13, Blake Wondra 14, Tim Haddy 15, Paul Pokorski 16, Will Gerrits 17, Cole Possi 18, Nick Daywalt 19, Bill Taylor 20, Preston Ruh 21, Austin Hartmann 22, Scott Conger.

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Justin Green 5, Eric Michaels 6, Jacob Van Engen 7, Sawyer Specht.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Chad Ludwigson 5, Billy Rezutek 6, Donny Singer 7, Joe Bongiorno.

A MAIN

1, Tim Buhler 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Justin Green 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Eric Michaels 9, Donny Singer 10, Justin Schmidt 11, Billy Rezutek 12, Joe Bongiorno 13, Chad Ludwigson 14, Sawyer Specht (DNS).

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Brad Weiss 2, Dustin Weiss 3, Steven Weber 4, J.J. Pagel 5, Luke Scholten 6, Dylan Struve 7, Justin Pearson.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Derek Kaat 4, Will Sorce 5, Donny Kulow 6, Maverick Ruh.

HEAT 3

1, Chad Espen 2, Dick Hed 3, Seth Westimayer 4, Alex Lester 5, Dylan May 6, Andy Singer.

A MAIN

1, Steven Weber 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Chad Espen 4, Don Sorce Jr. 5, Dustin Weiss 6, Dick Hed 7, Luke Scholten 8, Will Sorce 9, Donny Kulow 10, Derk Kaat 11, J.J. Pagel 12, Justin Pearson 13, Seth Westimayer 14, Dylan May 15, Brad Weiss 16, Maverick Ruh 17, Alex Lester 18, Dylan Struve 19, Andy Singer (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Nick Schultz 2, Trevor Frank 3, Elijah Koenig 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Craig Gessner 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Christopher Gilson.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Bauer 2, Phil Campanella 3, Jim Fischer 4, Andy Welter 5, Gary Glander 6, Spencer Long 7, Ryan Pafford 8, Tim Thrun.

HEAT 3

1, Steve Lorier 2, Shane Long 3, Rory Welch 4, Donny Singer 5, Patrick Hanson.

A MAIN

Cancelled due to rain with equal points granted to all drivers.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 8, 2021 – On a frigid evening for racing, the red hot A-main action featured several impressive runs from deep in the field, along with spirited battles and position swaps at the front of the pack, during the second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season Saturday, May 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

In A-main competition, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee added to his record-setting main event victory tally with a hard-earned triumph over two-time PDTR 360 champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh and Travis Arenz of Sheboygan in the 25-lap 360 Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty Sprint Car headliner.

Justin Ritchie of New London scored his second straight win in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Will Sorce of West Allis claimed the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory and Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth scored his first career PDTR Cellcom B Mod A main triumph.

Polesitter Will Gerrits of Waupun jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main with outside front row stater Justin Erickson of Plymouth settling into second.

On lap three, the red flag appeared when Tim Haddy of Waupun flipped in turn two after contact with another car.

On the restart, sixth starter Kurt Davis bolted into second with a daring move on the outside groove in turn two as 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started third, settled into third.

Three laps later, Sheboygan’s Travis Arenz, who started 12^th, burst into fourth and then stole third away from Miller on lap 7.

The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 10, which changed the complexion of the race significantly. As Gerrits negotiated his way through lapped cars, Brandon McMullen, who started 17^th, broke into the top five on lap 13.

Four laps later, Davis powered around Gerrits along the high grove in turn four to assume the top spot just before Gerrits made contact with a slower car, which allowed Arenz to move into second and McMullen into third.

On lap 17, McMullen drove around Arenz to assume second in turn two before the yellow flag appeared on lap 22 for the stalled car of Josh Teunissen of Belgium in near the exit of turn two.

Following a single-file restart with less than five laps to go, Davis bolted away from McMullen and Arenz over the final three laps to secure his division-leading 25^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and series-leading 63^rd career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win.

McMullen, who had to qualify for the A main through the B main, finished second, Arenz was third, Erickson claimed fourth and Miller rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Late Model A main, 40-year veteran Ron Stroika of Mukwonago jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag from the outside front row starting position as three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland moved into second, after starting fourth, with sixth starter Justin Ritchie in tow.

On lap five, Ritchie ducked under Schmidt to take second in turn one before a series of three consecutive caution flags for single-car spins slowed the pace on laps 7, 8 and 9.

When the race resumed, Ritchie flexed his muscle to wrestle the lead away from Stroika in turn three on lap 11. Richie then proceeded to pull away from the field as it built up a full-straightaway cushion over Stroika on lap 21.

The fourth and final caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 22 when Charlie Schmidt spun in turn four. Meanwhile, Ritchie extended his lead in the closing laps en route to his second straight PDTR Late Model A-main victory and fourth career PDTR Late Model main event win.

Justin Schmidt was second, Stroika wound up third, Letizia placed fourth and 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush placed fifth after starting seventh.

In the Grand National headliner, polesitter Chad Espen of West Bend assumed the lead in turn one of the opening lap. After a pair of consecutive single-car spins brought out two caution flags in the first two laps, outside front row starter Steven Weber of Plymouth dueled side by side for second with 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started third.

On lap six, Weber finally cleared Kulow to secure second place before eighth starter Will Sorce used the outside groove to challenge Weber for the runner-up spot.

Six laps later, Sorce moved into second with a high move in turn four before pressuring Espen for the lead starting on lap 16. Three laps later, Espen got hung up behind a lapped car, which allowed Sorce to use the high line to take over the lead in turn three on lap 19 with Weber following in second.

On lap 22, 2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville used a low move in turn four to take second, while Sorce remain strong at the front of the field and went on to earn his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a full straightaway margin over Loehr.

Weber finished third, Espen was fourth and two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis placed fifth after starting fourth.

Polesitter Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth led the opening lap of the B Mod A main before fourth starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan spun in turn two on lap 2 to bring out the first of three caution flags.

On the restart, eighth starter Brendan Ostrowski of Milwaukee used the outside groove to take second and quickly moved in to challenge Odekirk for the top spot on lap six.

After another caution flag was displayed for the stalled car of Ryan Mech of Oak Creek in turn two on lap 6, second starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls worked the high line to challenge Odekirk for the lead. Glander gained the top spot on lap 9 and paced the field for two laps before Odekirk battled back along the low groove to regain the lead.

The third and final caution flag was displayed on lap 12 when Ostrowski spun in turn two. On the restart, Jonathan Hitsman, who started third, secured second and four laps later moved past Odekirk into the lead.

Hitsman quickly bolted away from the field, while Travis Schmidt of Waldo, who started 16^th, raced in second on lap 17. Hitsman cruised over the final eight laps en route to his first career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Schmidt placed second, Glander finished third, Frank rebounded from his early-race spin to charge back up to fourth and sixth starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls finished fifth.

Brandon McMullen won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main and Will Garceau of Francis Creek captured the 12-lap B Mod B Main.

The second PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Collins State Bank, drew a total of 85 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 13 Late Models, 16 Grand Nationals and 25 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 15 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Blake Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Travis Arenz 4, Preston Ruh 5, Jason Johnson 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Alex Pokorski.

HEAT 2

1, Will Gerrits 2, Kurt Davis 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Matt Rechek 6, Tyler Davis 7, Chris Larson 8, Ben Schmidt.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Miller 2, Josh Teunissen 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Bill Taylor 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tom Kreutz 7, Cole Possi 8, Jack Vanderboom (DNS).

HEAT 4

1, Tim Haddy 2, Doug Wondra 3, Adam Miller 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Brandon Berth 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Austin Hartmann.

B MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Jason Johnson 3, Preston Ruh 4, Austin Hartmann 5, Tyler Davis 6, Tony Wondra 7, Ben Schmidt 8, Alex Pokorski 9, Mike Yurmanovich 10, Katelyn Krebsbach 11, Tyler Brabant 12, Tom Kreutz 13, Cole Possi 14, Chris Larson 15, Jack Vanderboom (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Kurt Davis 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Travis Arenz 4, Justin Erickson 5, Justin Miller 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Doug Wondra 9, Will Gerrits 10, Kevin Karnitz 11, Brandon Berth 12, Adam Miller 13, Blake Wondra 14, Matt Rechek 15, Bill Taylor 16, Tyler Tischendorf 17, Tony Wondra 18, Austin Hartmann 19, Tyler Davis 20, Preston Ruh 21, Josh Teunissen 22, Tim Haddy. 23, Jason Johnson (DNS).

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Turk Letizia 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Joe Bongiorno 5, Ron Stroika 6, Ted Dolhun Sr. 7, Jacob Van Engen.

HEAT 2

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Eric Michaels 4, Justin Schmidt 5, Donny Singer 6, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Ron Stroika 4, Turk Letizia 5, Tim Buhler 6, Joe Bongiorno 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Jacob Van Engen 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Ted Dolhun Sr. 11, Eric Michaels 12, Donny Singer 13, Chad Ludwigson (DNS).

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Chad Espen 2, Don Sorce 3, Donny Kulow 4, Dylan Struve 5, Dick Hed 6, Derek Kaat 7, Luke Scholten 8, Collin Skindzelewski (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Will Sorce 4, Matt Loehr 5, Nate Ruh 6, Dave Holm 7, Randy Post 8, Alex Lester.

A MAIN

1, Will Sorce 2, Matt Loehr 3, Steven Weber 4, Chad Espen 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Donny Kulow 8, Derek Kaat 9, Dick Hed 10, Luke Scholten 11, Dylan Struve 12, Alex Lester 13, Randy Post 14, Nate Ruh 15, Dave Holm 16, Collin Skindzelewski.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Rick Kretschmann 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jonathan Hitsman 4, Justin Bauer 5, Travis Schmidt 6, Will Garceau 7, Donny Singer 8, Patrick Hanson 9, Matthew Roehl (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Phil Campanella 2, Gary Glander 3, Spencer Long 4, Ryan Mech 5, Craig Gessner 6, Lonnie Dalgord 7, Glen Blanke 8, Shane Long.

HEAT 3

1, Trevor Frank 2, Brendan Ostrowski 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Dustin Wudstrack 5, John Fleury 6, Christopher Gilson 8, Jim Fischer.

B MAIN

1, Will Garceau 2, Nick Schultz 3, Shane Long 4, Glen Blanke 5, Donny Singer 6, Matthew Roehl 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Jim Fischer 9, Christopher Gilson.

A MAIN

1, Jonathan Hitsman 2, Travis Schmidt 3, Gary Glander 4, Trevor Frank 5, Rick Kretschmann 6, Justin Bauer 7, Spencer Long 8, Will Garceau 9, Craig Gessner 10, Nick Schultz 11, Dustin Wudstrack 12, Brendan Ostrowski 13, John Fleury 14, Glen Blanke 15, Kyle Odekirk 16, Shane Long 17, Lonnie Dalgord 18, Phil Campanella 19, Steve Lorier 20, Ryan Mech.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 1, 2021 – With unseasonably balmy temperatures greeting a strong contingent of racing-hungry fans and competitors, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing kicked off its 17^th season of sanctioning weekly racing action at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, May 1.

In A-main competition, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove held off the hard-charging duo of Travis Arenz of Sheboygan and two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, while skillfully working through heavy lapped traffic in the closing laps to capture the 25-lap 360 Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty Sprint Car headliner.

Justin Richie of New London led flag-to-flag en route to victory in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event, while Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake endured six caution flags to claim the A-main win the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National main event and Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth captured the caution-filled, time-shortened 17-lap PDTR Cellcom B Mod A main.

Ben Schmidt seized the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main from the pole before 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started second, used the high groove to power into the lead on lap 2.

Two laps later, Schmidt rebounded to regain the top spot with a nifty low move in turn two. On lap 6, Schmidt caught the back of the field and was poised to negotiate heavy lapped traffic when the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 8 after Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun in turn two.

On the restart, Schmidt powered away from Miller and eighth starter Travis Arenz, who had worked his way into third. On lap 10, Arenz pulled off a slide job on the dry slick track surface to secure the runner-up spot.

Three laps later, Schmidt hit slower traffic, which allowed Arenz and 10^th starter Brandon McMullen, who had worked his way up to third, to close rapidly on the leader.

Dense lapped traffic proved to be challenging for the leaders over the second half of the race as Schmidt, Arenz and McMullen diced their way skillfully through the rear of the field in close quarters.

On lap 20, Arenz dove low in turn three to pull even with Schmidt for the top spot, however, the 21-year veteran refused to be denied as he fended off Arenz, while weaving his way through lapped cars over the final five laps en route to his 11^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and 28^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Arenz had to settle for second, McMullen finished a close third, Miller placed fourth and Waupun’s Will Gerrits, worked his way up from the 13th starting spot, to place fifth.

After a complete restart following a spin involving Turk Letizia of Milwaukee and Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls on the initial start, Justin Ritchie led the 17-car Late Model A-main field to the green flag from the pole and quickly outpowered outside front row starter Dan Schlieper of Milwaukee, who was in the seat of the late Jim Letizia’s D7 car, to take the lead in turn one of the opening lap.

Ritchie wasted little time in building up a solid cushion over third starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha on lap 2. Two laps later, Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove, who started fifth, flexed his muscle by bolting past Scheffler to seize second in turn two.

On lap 5, the second and final caution flag appeared for Jacob Van Engen of Howards Grove, who spun in turn two. After the restart, Ritchie built up a big lead over Schmidt in the final 20 laps and never looked back en route to his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory by a half-lap margin.

Schmidt finished a strong second, Scheffler placed third, four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake finished fourth after starting eighth and three-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started sixth, rounded out the top five.

After a caution on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main for Dave Holm of Chilton and Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake, Donny Kulow, who started on the pole and 82-year-old Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started second, dueled side by side over the first two laps before Kulow surged ahead along the low groove on lap 3.

On lap 5, fourth starter J.J. Pagel of Mount Calvary in the Bender Racing No. 89 entry worked past Hed to take second before the second caution flag appeared for a spin involving Maverick Ruh of Sheboygan Falls.

After another caution was displayed on lap 7 for a spin involving Derek Kaat of Plymouth, Pagel and Hed waged a heated battle for second before Pagel gained the spot and moved in two pressure Kulow for the lead on lap 10.

The fourth yellow came out on lap 13 when Derek Kaat spun along the front stretch. When the race resume, Pagel and Hed continued their battle for second with Pagel again surging ahead on lap 17.

Three laps later, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth spun in turn four after contact with Hed, who was sent to the rear of field for the altercation.

Following the restart, seventh starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg charged in along the outside groove to pressure Pagel for second before the sixth and final caution was displayed on lap 23 when Jacob Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake made contact with the front  stretch wall.

When the race resumed, Kulow maintained the top spot by holding firm to the low line on the way to his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Pagel finished second, Jeff Muehlbauer recovered from an opening lap spin to finish third, Scholten placed fourth and two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis placed fifth after starting ninth.

After a five-car incident brought out the first of six caution flags on the opening lap, polesitter Kyle Odekirk raced into the lead on the drop of the green flag with second starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls and Jesse Cullen of Chilton, who started sixth, in tow.

The second yellow flag appeared on lap 3 when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls stalled near the turn three pit exit. On the restart, fifth starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan began to make his presence felt as he slipped into third place. On lap 9, Cullen worked his way into second with a strong move along the cushion before back-to-back cautions for debris and a three-car incident in turn two on lap 11 slowed the pace again.

On the restart, Cullen and Frank waged an epic duel for second with Frank running low and Cullen sticking to the high line. The fifth caution appeared on lap 14 as the race neared the 25-minute time limit. On what proved to the final restart, Kulow again held is own by staying smooth down low, while Cullen fended off Frank for second before the race ended on lap 17 when the sixth yellow flag was displayed for a spin involving Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls in turn one.

Odekirk, who owns a pair of PDTR Late Model victories, earned his first career PDTR B Mod A-main win with Cullen placing second, Frank taking third, Shane Long finishing fourth and Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls, who started 17^th, placing fifth.

Brandon Berth of Cascade was victorious in the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B Main and Spencer Long won the 12-lap B Mod B Main.

The season-opening PDTR racing program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Mayer Automotive, drew a total of 87 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models, 15 Grand Nationals and 24 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 8 with action in the 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions

Grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. with hot laps at 4:30 p.m. racing at 5 p.m.

The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Kurt Davis 2, Bill Taylor 3, Justin Miller 4, Tyler Tischendorf 5, Matt Rechek 6, Tony Wondra 7, Preston Ruh 8, Scott Conger (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Will Gerrits 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Cole Possi 6, Spyder Akright 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Chris Larson (DNS).

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Paul Pokorski 3, Justin Erickson 4, Jack Vanderboom 5, Blake Wondra 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Katelyn Krebsbach.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Davis 2, Tim Haddy 3, Austin Hartmann 4, Adam Miller 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tommy Colburn (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Brandon Berth 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Matt Recheck 5, Scott Conger 6, Blake Wondra 7, Spyder Akright 8, Cole Possi 9, Mike Yurmanovich 10, Tony Wondra 11, Josh Teunissen 12, Katelyn Krebsbach 13, Tommy Colburn 14, Preston Ruh 15, Chris Larson (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Justin Miller 5, Will Gerrits 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Tim Haddy 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Kurt Davis 10, Adam Miller 11, Justin Erickson 12, Lance Fassbender 13, Brandon Berth 14, Scott Conger 15, Austin Hartmann 16, Tyler Brabant 17, Matt Recheck 18, Bill Taylor 19, Tyler Davis 20, Blake Wondra 21, Tyler Tischendorf 22, Paul Pokorski.

 

SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Dan Schlieper 4, Taylor Scheffler 5, Tim Buhler 6, Ron Stroika 7, Jon Bongiorno 8, Jim Schmidt 9, Chad Ludwigson.

HEAT 2

1, Brad Mueller 2, Sawyer Specht 3, Turk Letizia 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Brian Konitzer 6, Dan White 7, Jacob Van Engen 8, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Charlie Schmidt 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Brad Mueller 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Joe Bongiorno 8, Jim Schmidt 9, Turk Letizia 10, Dan Schlieper 11, Dan White 12, Jacob Van Engen 13, Ron Stroika 14, Chad Ludwigson 15, Donny Singer 16, Brian Konitzer 17, Sawyer Specht.

 

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Brad Weiss. 3, J.J. Pagel 4, Dylan Struve 5, Dick Hed 6, Jeff Muehlbauer 7, Maverick Ruh 8, Jacob Muehlbauer.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Luke Scholten 3, Dave Holm 4, Derek Kaat 5, Donny Kulow 6, Steven Weber 7, Daryl Traber.

A MAIN

1, Donny Kulow 2, J.J. Pagel 3, Jeff Muehlbauer 4, Luke Scholten 5, Don Sorce Jr. 6, Steven Weber 7, Tyler Kulow 8, Brad Weiss 9, Dick Hed 10, Derek Kaat 11, Maverick Ruh 12, Dave Holm 13, Jacob Muehlbauer 14, Dylan Struve 15, Daryl Traber.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Craig Gessner 2, Matthew Roehl 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Gary Glander 5, Rory Welch 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Michael Gilson 8, Spencer Long 9, Christopher Gilson (DNS).

HEAT 2

1, Shane Long 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Phil Campanella 4, Will Garceau 5, Brendon Ostrowski 6, Justin Bauer 7, Logan See 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 3

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Steve Lorier 3, Trevor Frank 4, Dustin Wudstrack 5, Mark Hoeppner 6, Jon Fleury 7, Conrad Kaufert 8, Jim Fischer.

B MAIN

1, Spencer Long 2, Donny Singer 3, Jim Fischer 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Logan See 6, Christopher Gilson 7, Michael Gilson 8, Rory Welch 9, Conrad Kaufert.

A MAIN

1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Trevor Frank 4, Shane Long 5, Spencer Long 6, Justin Bauer 7, Gary Glander 8, Will Garceau 9, Steve Lorier 10, Brendan Ostrowski 11, Donny Singer 12, Dustin Wudstrack 13, Jim Fischer 14, Rick Kretschmann 15, Mark Hoeppner 16, Matthew Roehl 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Craig Gessner 19, Phil Campanella  20. John Fleury (DQ).

McMullen wraps up second PDTR 360 Sprint Car crown

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 26, 2020 – On a night when Sprint Cars were king, four champions were crowned in five different open wheel touring series during the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

In the headlining Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, Bill Balog of Hartland captured his 12^th IRA A-main victory of the year in the 30-lap main event en route to nailing down his record 10^th IRA title.

Will Gerrits of Waupun led flag to flag to earn his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car main event victory of the 2020 season.

In addition, Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh secured his second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car championship, while also claiming his fourth Midwest Sprint Car Association crown.

Tim Cox of Park City, Ill. notched his first A-main victory of the season in the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series main event, while Jimmy Sivia of Winthrop Harbor, Ill. earned his first career AutoMeter Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car championship.

C.J. Malueg of Johnsburg, Ill. earned the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A-main victory in a photo finish on the way to the 2020 IRA Lightning Sprints title.

The initial start of the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car Series A main was aborted when Todd Daun of Pleasant Prairie stopped near the turn two wall to bring out the first of six caution flags.

Following a complete restart, Bill Balog jumped out to the lead from the pole position  with third starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan surging into second along the low groove.

The second caution was displayed on lap 2 when Hunter Custer of Chippewa Falls stopped in turn four. Following the restart, Balog held strong at the front of the field with Thiel in tow before the lead duo hit lapped traffic on lap 5, which provided Thiel with an opportunity to pounce.

On lap 6, Thiel ducked low to pull even with Balog. The two Sprint Car standouts dueled side by side over the next two circuits before Thiel surged into the lead in turn four on lap 8.

The third caution flag appeared on lap 11 when Robbie Pribnow of Lomira stopped along the frontstretch. Thiel pulled away from Balog on the restart before traffic again made things interesting beginning on lap 15.

One lap later, Balog used the outside groove to power around Thiel into the lead on lap 16. On the next circuit, Jordan Goldesberrry of Springfield, Ill. spun in turn one before collecting Kris Spitz of Salem.

Balog controlled the ensuing restart before the fifth caution flew on lap 22 when Blake Nimee of Oswego, Ill. stopped in turn three on lap 22. On the ensuing restart, Balog again powered away to a full-straightaway advantage on lap 25.

As Balog hit lapped traffic one final time, Balog closed the gap dramatically on lap 28. With Thiel gaining quickly on Balog entering the final two turns, Scott Biertzer of West Bend slowed in turn three, which caused Kris Spitz to spin just in front of Thiel, who was collected in the incident to bring out the sixth caution of the race.

Thiel was able to continue in the race at the rear of the field in a green-white-checkered flag finish. Balog powered away from former IRA champion Jake Blackburst of Hanna City, Ill. on the restart and held onto post is 12^th IRA A-main victory of the season, record a season sweep of the three 2020 IRA A-main events at Plymouth and rack up his 125^th career IRA A-main triumph.

“We had a great battle with Scotty [Thiel] for a while there,” Balog said. “Then the spin happened on the last lap with Scotty. After that, I think Jake [Blackhurst] was behind us. I didn’t know how close Blackhurst was during the lap few laps. I was a little worried because I bobbled and jumped the cushion at the end.”

Blackhurst, who started fourth, came home a strong second.

“It’s great to have this car turned around and consistently running toward the front now,” Blackhurst said. “Congratulations to Bill and his team on the victory and championship. Man, he is good.”

Mike Reinke of Howards Grove finished third in the Bob Hood 10W entry, after starting sixth.

“It looked like we were going to be a fourth or fifth-place car tonight,” Reinke said. “We were not as fast as the top three guys in open air then some things happened near the end that ended up putting us on the podium. I’m happy with a podium finish to close out the year. This will help in building some momentum into the offseason and into 2021.”

Outside front row starter Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill. finished fourth and former IRA champion Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam placed fifth after starting 11^th.

Outside front row starter Will Gerrits grabbed the lead of the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A main with polesitter Chris Clayton of Waldo sliding into second. By lap 5, Gerrits had bolted out to a full straightaway lead over Clayton.

On lap 10, 2011 PDTR and MSA champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove moved in from his sixth starting spot to work around Clayton for second on lap 10.

The leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 13 before Travis Arenz of Sheboygan used a slide job to clear Schmidt and take second in turn two on lap 14. Schmidt battled back to regain second lap 16. However, Arenz regained the spot in turn three on lap 17.

Arenz was closing rapidly on Gerrits for the lead in dense lapped traffic before the lone caution flag of the race was displayed on lap 17 when 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth spun in turn two.

Following the restart, Gerrits again opened up a sizable gap when Arenz and Schmidt dueled back and forth for second with Arenz eventually maintaining the spot on lap 18.

Arenz worked the high groove throughout the majority of the final seven circuits, but was unable to reel in Gerrits, who secured his first A-main victory of the 2020 season and his second career PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main victory.

“This certainly makes up for the god-awful year we’ve had,” Gerrits said. “I have to thank everyone in the pits that helps out on this car.”

Arenz finished second, Schmidt placed third, third starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend ended up fourth and Clayton rounded out the top five.

Vince Bartolotta of Muskego grabbed the lead of the 20-lap Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car A main from the pole with outside front row starter Tim Cox settling into second.

On lap 6, Ryan Marshall of Kansasville, who started fifth, moved in to challenge the high-riding Cox along the high groove, but Cox prevailed before moving in to pressure Bartolotta for the top spot on lap 8.

One lap later, Cox powered around Bartolotta along the outside groove to seize the top spot. On lap 11, Marshall slipped underneath Bartolotta to take over second before the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 16 when Chris Klemko of Bristol, who entered the race with a 10-point lead over Jimmy Sivia in the chase for the 2020 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series title, had nowhere to go and was collected after Jake Kouba of Minneapolis, Minn. spun along the frontstretch.

The incident effectively dashed Klemko’s championship hopes as he was forced to restart the race at the rear of the field.

On lap 18, Marshall moved in to pressure Cox for the lead along the inside groove before 11^th starter Nathan Crane of Waukegan assumed third from Marshall on lap 19.

The second caution of the race was then displayed on lap 19 when Brian Strane of Paris spun in turn two. On the restart, third starter Derek Crane of Waukegan, Ill. moved in to assume second as Cox cruised to his first Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series A-main victory of the 2020 season.

Derek Crane finished second, Nathan Crane was third, Marshall wound up fourth and Rusty Egan of Burlington finished fifth after starting 12^th.

“It took us the whole summer to get here,” Cox said. “We crashed badly and missed a few races. I turned 60 this year and it is great to get a win. I want to say ‘congratulations’ to Jimmy Sivia on the championship.”

Sivia was delighted to earn his first career AutoMeter Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series title under the IRA banner.

“I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now,” Sivia said. “I have grown up traveling around with the IRA and now it feels great that now I can call myself an IRA champion.”

In the 20-lap IRA Lightning Sprints A main, Mark Heinert of Oak Creek took the lead from the outside front row starting position. The first of three cautions was displayed on lap 8 when Chris Quillman of Delevan stopped near the turn three pit exit.

Following the restart, the fourth starting C.J. Malueg moved into second from his third starting spot.

After two more caution flags, the table was set for a thrilling finish. On lap 18, Malueg powered in to challenge Heinert.

On the final circuit, Malueg used a huge run of off turn four to pull even with Heinert as the two drivers dueled to the checkered flag with Malueg prevailing at the finish line by four one-thousands of a second.

Heinert placed second, Ron Brannam of Barrington, Ill. finished third after starting fifth, 10^th starter Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. took fourth and polesitter Jeff Schmidt of Slinger placed fifth.

Jake Blackhurst turned the fastest IRA 410 Sprint Car Series qualifying lap of the evening by touring the third-mile clay oval in 11.932 seconds.

The IRA B main went to Blake Ninmee. Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac won the MSA B main. Jim Wehrman of Kansasville captured the Wisconsin Wingless B main.

The all-Sprint Car program, which featured a total of 105 cars, included 29 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 31 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 28 Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars and 17 IRA Lightning Sprints.

Collins State Bank and RC Custom Design were the trophy sponsors for the evening.

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing will honor 2020 division champions Brandon McMullen (360 Sprint Car), Justin Schmidt (Late Model), Aaron Stolp (Grand National) and Tim Warner (B Mod), while also giving out special recognition, during the annual PDTR Awards Presentation at Racers Hall in Plymouth on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.

There is no charge to attend the event and those that attend may order food off the menu if they desire.

Awards include trophies for the top three in points in each division, rookie of year, most improved and the Dedication to Dirt Award.

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

QUALIFYING

1, Jake Blackhurst 11.932 2, Scotty Thiel 11.944 3, Scott Biertzer 11.984 4, Bill Balog 12.029 5, Mike Reinke 12.061 6, Scotty Neitzel 12.063 7, Joey Moughan 12.087 8, Austin Deblauw 12.095 9, Jeremy Schultz 12.135 10, Kyle Schuett 12.146 11, Dave Uttech 12.156 12, Josh Walter 12.176 13, Sean Rayhall 12.190 14, Danny Schlafer 12.237 15, Russel Borland 12.258 16, Hunter Custer 12.262 17, Blake Nimee 12.261 18, Todd King 12.278 19, Jordan Goldesberry 12.278 20, John Fahl 12.349 21, Robbie Pribnow 12.358 22, Kurt Davis 12.361 23, Todd Daun 12.389 24, Jack Routson 12.406 25, Jereme Schroeder 12.485 26, Scott Uttech 12.529 27, Kris Spitz 12.530 28, Bailey Goldesberry 12.582 29, Travis Arenz 12.716.

HEAT 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Kyle Schuett 3, Joey Moughan 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Sean Rayhall 6, Jordan Goldesberry 7, Blake Nimee 8, Jereme Schroeder 9, Kurt Davis 10, Baily Goldesberry.

HEAT 2

1, Dave Uttech 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scotty Thiel 4, Danny Schlafer 5, Austin Deblauw 6, Travis Arenz 7, John Fahl 8, Scott Uttech 9, Hunter Custer 10, Todd Daun.

HEAT 3

1, Josh Walter 2, Jeremy Schultz 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Russel Borland 5, Scott Biertzer 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Jack Routson 8, Kris Spitz 9, Todd King

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Josh Walter 4, Dave Uttech 5, Scott Biertzer.

DASH 2

1, Joey Moughan 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Mike Reinke 4, Scotty Neitzel 5, Austin Deblauw.

B MAIN

1, Blake Nimee 2, Hunter Custer 3, John Fahl 4, Jack Routson 5, Todd Daun 6, Kris Spitz 7, Jereme Schroeder 8, Kurt Davis 9, Scott Uttech 10, Todd King 11, Bailey Goldesberry.

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Jake Blackhurst 3, Mike Reinke 4, Joey Moughan 5, Jeremy Schultz 6, Scotty Neitzel 7, Travis Arenz 8, Josh Walter 9, Russel Borland 10, Austin Deblauw 11, John Fahl 12, Robbie Pribnow 13, Jordan Goldesberry 14, Kyle Schuett 15, Sean Rayhall 16, Scotty Thiel 17, Kris Spitz 18, Dave Uttech 19, Jereme Schroeder 20, Hunter Custer 21, Scott Biertzer 22, Blake Nimee 23, Jack Routson 24, Todd Daun.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Scott Conger 2, Kurt Davis 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Blake Wondra 5, Justin Erickson 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Bill Taylor 8, Chris Larson.

HEAT 2

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Brandon Berth 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tyler Davis 6, Shane Wenninger 7, Tony Wondra 8, Brady Portschy.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Miller 2, Travis Arenz 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Tim Haddy 6, Preston Ruh 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Ken Schmick.

HEAT 4

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Chris Clayton 3, Alex Pokorski 4, Will Gerrits 5, Doug Wondra 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Austin Hartmann.

B MAIN

1, Blake Wondra 2, Shane Wenninger 3, Doug Wondra 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tyler Davis 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Preston Ruh 8, Tony Wondra 9, Josh Teunissen 10, Austin Hartmann 11, Chris Larson 12, Ken Schmick 13, Brady Portschy 14, Bill Taylor 15, Tyler Tischendorf.

A MAIN

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

AUTOMETER WISCONSIN WINGLESS SPRINT CAR SERIES

HEAT 1

1, Nathan Crane 2, Zach Hansen 3, Jake Kouba 4, Dennis Spitz 5, Tommy Colburn 6, Jim Wehrman 7, Shawn Swim 8, Paul Shaffer 9, George Gaertner III.

HEAT 2

1, Rusty Egan 2, Chris Dodd 3, T.J. Smith 4, William Huck 5, Tom Eller 6, Seth Johnson 7, Clayton Rossmann 8, George Gaertner Jr. 9, Daniel Walldan.

B MAIN

1, Jim Wehrman 2, George Gaertner Jr. 3, Georg Gaertner III 4, Seth Johnson 5, Shawn Swim 6, Paul Shaffer 7, Clayton Rossman 8, Daniel Walldan.

A MAIN

1, Tim Cox 2, Derek Crane 3, Nathan Crane 4, Ryan Marshall 5, Rusty Egan 6, Chris Dodd 7, Allen Hafford 8, Vince Bartolotta 9, T.J. Smith 10, Jimmy Sivia 11, Natalie Klemko 12, Dennis Spitz 13, Tommy Colburn 14, Jordan Paulsen 15, Zach Hansen 16, George Gaertner Jr. 17, Jim Wehrman 18, Chris Klemko 19, William Huck 20, Seth Johnson 21, Tom Eller 22, Brian Strane 23, Jake Kouba 24, George Gaertner III.

INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION LIGHTNING SPRINTS

QUALIFYING

1, Ion Stear 14.020 2, Ron Brannam 14,077 3, C.J. Malueg 14.155 4, Mike Neau 14.173 5, Mike Heinert 14.289 6, Jeff Schmidt 14.362 7, Nick Petska 14.426 8, Josh Rehberg 14.597 9, Shawn McGill 14.727 10, Bob Jeziorski 14.882 11, Mike Unger 14.887 12, Jonathan Smith 15.070 13, 15.080 14, Phil Brannam 15.126 15, Chris Quillman 15.415 16, Andrew Kiedrowski 15.503 17, Carl Sturt.

HEAT 1

1, Nick Petska 2, Mark Heinert 3, C.J. Malueg 4, Ion Stear 5, Shawn McGill 6, Mike Unger 7, Max Brannam, 8, Chris Quillman 9, Carl Sturt.

HEAT 2

1, Jeff Schmidt 2, Josh Rehberg 3, Ron Brannam 4, Mike Neau 5, Bob Jeziorski 6, Andrew Kiedrowski 7, Jonathan Smith 8, Phil Brannam.

A MAIN

1, C.J. Malueg 2, Mark Heinert 3, Ron Brannam 4, Mike Neau 5, Nick Petska 6, Jeff Schmidt 7, Bob Jeziorski 8, Mike Unger 9, Shawn McGill 10, Max Brannam 11, Andrew Kiedrowski 12, Jonathan Smith 13, Car; Sturt 14, Ion Stear 15, Chris Quillman 16, Josh Rehberg – Phil Brannam (DNS).

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 5, 2020 – As multiple-time champions and the clear-cut favorites to add another title to their resumes in their respective divisions in 2020, nine-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland and 2017 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and three-time Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh put their considerable driving prowess on full display by picking up A-main victories, during an all-Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 5.

In the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Series headliner, Balog outdueled Josh Schneiderman of West Burlington, Iowa in the closing laps to claim his 10^th IRA A-main victory of the 2020 season.

McMullen snuck past early race leader Will Gerrits of Waupun at the mid-way point to claim his third PDTR A-main victory of the 2020 campaign and sixth overall MSA main event win of the 2020 campaign.

Balog started on the pole of the 30-lap IRA main event and quickly outpowered outside front row starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan to lead the opening circuit. On lap 3, Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill., who started fifth, dipped under the high-riding Thiel to take second.

On lap 6, Balog began to negotiate heavy lapped traffic on the multi-groove track surface, which allowed Moughan to close the gap slightly. On lap 8, Schneiderman, who started seventh, dove low to take third from Thiel before passing Moughan for second on lap 12.

Two laps later, 11^th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who was making his 410 Sprint Car debut driving for Ozzie Motorsports, flipped in turn four after clipping an infield tire. Arenz was uninjured, but unable to return to the race.

On the restart, Balog pulled away from Schneiderman before Moughan got sideways in turn four and collected Thiel, which resulted in both drivers flipping their machines hard on lap 15. Both drivers were uninjured, but done for the night.

Balog felt pressure from Schneiderman following the ensuing restart with Schneiderman closing the gap along the low groove, while Balog rode the cushion.

The race was slowed for the third time on lap 19 when a yellow flag was displayed for former IRA champion Jack Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who stopped in turn four.

On the restart, Schneiderman stayed dedicated to the inside line, while Balog moved up high. On lap 23, Schneiderman used a big run along the low groove to wrestle the lead away from Balog exiting turn four.

Schneiderman maintained the top spot over the next six laps when lapped traffic became a factor. On lap 29, Balog dove low in turn three to sneak past Schneiderman in dense lapped traffic.

Sixth starter Scott Biertzer of West Bend followed Balog into second on lap 29 with Schneiderman dropping to third.

Balog then cruised over the final lap en route to his 10^th IRA victory of the 2020 season, second IRA triumph of the season at The Plymouth Dirt Track and 123^rd career IRA A-main victory.

Biertzer recorded a strong second-place finish, Schneiderman placed third, 15^th starter Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. finished fourth and Mike Reinke of Howards Grove, who started fourth, placed fifth.

In victory lane, Balog was thankful to have the opportunity to regain the lead, after losing the top spot to Schneiderman with just seven laps to go.

“I think I went upstairs too early, but I felt I was slowing down on the bottom too long,’ Balog said. “The track was good and you really had to drive your car to find the right groove. I’m happy to get this win because for a while there it looked like we were going to get beat.”

Biertzer was thrilled with his second-place run.

“It feels awesome to be here with a second-place result tonight,” Biertzer said. “I have to thank my crew for giving me a good car as well as all my sponsors for their support. We couldn’t be here without them.”

Knoxville Raceway regular Schneiderman, who was making his first career appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track, was dejected in victory lane, after falling from first to third in the span of two laps.

“I’m pretty disgusted with the result,” Schneiderman said. “I’m upset at myself. Bill is a great race car driver, but we came here to win. My crew worked hard to give us the chance to win after we encountered motor problems last night at Dodge County.”

In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car headliner, polesitter Will Gerrits of Waupun jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag, while third starter Brandon McMullen snuck under 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started on the outside of the front row.

The first of two cautions came out on lap 3 when Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun in turn four. Gerrits bolted away from McMullen on the restart and held a solid cushion until lap 7 when Plymouth’s Adam Miller flipped in turn four.

Gerrits commanded the ensuing restart as the leaders began to work their way through lapped traffic on lap 10. Two laps later, McMullen dove low to slip past Gerrits for the top spot in turn four on lap 12.

McMullen held his own along the preferred inside lane around the increasingly one-groove racing surface. On lap 24, Justin Miller worked past Gerrits to take over second with two laps to go.

McMullen pulled away in the waning laps to notch his 20th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main triumph and his 29^th career MSA A main victory.

Justin Miller placed second, Gerrits wound up third, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender, who started fourth, finished fourth and Jack Vanderboom of Dousman charged up from the 11^th starting spot to place fifth.

Ryan Ruhl of Coldwater, Mich. was the fastest IRA qualifier with a lap of 11.767 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. Sean Rayhall of Woodstock, Ga. won the 15-lap IRA B main.

Kevin Karnitz of West Bend claimed the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The all-Sprint Car program, which featured a total of 59 cars, included 30 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 29 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. Cupcake Wonders was the trophy sponsor for the evening.

The next event at The Plymouth Dirt Track will take place next Saturday, Sept. 12 with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods, along with a special appearance from the Badger Midgets. The Sept. 12 event will be the final points event of the season for the PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions.

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

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand for $10.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION

QUALIFYING

1, Ryan Ruhl 11.767, 2, Joey Moughan 11.777, 3, Bill Balog 11.813, 4, Mike Reinke 11.991, 5, Scotty Thiel 12.018, 6, Scott Biertzer 12.095, 7, Kyle Schuett 12.146, 8, Jake Blackhurst 12.151, 9, Scotty Neitzel 12.195, 10, Travis Arenz 12.216, 11, Danny Schlafer 12.236, 12, Josh Schneiderman, 12.257 13, Russel Borland 12.299, 14, Scott Uttech 12.317, 15, Jeremy Schultz 12.343, 16, Jordan Goldesberry 12.356, 17, Robbie Pribnow 12.372, 18, Dave Uttech 12.398,19, Sean Rayhall, 20, Johnny Fahl 12.486, 21, Jereme Schroeder 12.577, 22, Kris Spitz 12.609, 23, Hunter Custer 12.630, 24, Dan McCarron 12.660, 25, Bailey Goldesberry 12.667, 26, Jack Routson 12.703, 27, Wayne Modjeski 12.811, 28, Bryce Schmitt 13.050, 29, Kevin Seidler 12.314 30, Blake Nimee (DQ).

HEAT 1

1, Kyle Schuett 2, Travis Arenz 3, Mike Reinke 4, Russel Borland 5, Jordan Goldesberry 6, Ryan Ruhl 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Bailey Goldesberry 9, Kris Spitz 10, Bryce Schmitt.

HEAT 2

1, Danny Schlafer 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Jake Blackhurst 4, Joey Moughan 5, Rrobbie Pribnow 6, Jack Routson 7, Johnny Fahl 8, Hunter Custer 9, Scott Uttech 10, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 3

1, Josh Schneiderman 2, Scott Biertzer 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Bill Balog 5, Jeremy Schultz 6, Jereme Schroeder 7, Dan McCarron 8, Wayne Modjeski 9, Blake Nimee 10, Dave Uttech.

DASH 1

1, Bill Balog 2, Ryan Ruhl 3, Joey Moughan 4, Josh Schneiderman 5, Kyle Schuett.

DASH 2

1, Scotty Thiel 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scott Biertzer 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Danny Schlafer (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Sean Rayhall 2, Blake Nimee 3, Dan McCarron 4, Dave Uttech 5, Wayne Modjeski 6, Johnny Fahl 7, Hunter Custer 8, Kris Spitz 9, Bailey Goldesberry 10, Bryce Schmitt 11, Scott Uttech.

A MAIN

1, Bill Balog 2, Scott Biertzer 3, Josh Schneiderman 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Mike Reinke 6, Russel Borland 7, Ryan Ruhl 8, Robbie Pribnow 9, Scotty Neitzel 10, Wayne Modjeski 11, Dan McCarron 12, Jack Routson 13, Sean Rayhall 14, Kyle Schuett 15, Dave Uttech 16, Jeremy Schultz 17, Blake Nimee 18, Johnny Fahl 19, Jeremy Schroder 20, Jake Blackhurst 21, Joey Moughan 22, Scotty Thiel 23, Travis Arenz 24, Danny Schlafer.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Bill Taylor 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Chris Larson 5, Blake Wondra 6, Tim Haddy 7, Scott Conger 8, Brady Portschy.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Miller 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Adam Miller 4, Kurt Davis 5, Doug Wondra 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Mike MacFarlane.

HEAT 3

1, Will Gerrits 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Tyler Davis 5, Nich Melis 6, Preston Ruh 7, Josh Teunissen.

HEAT 4

1, Tyler Brabant 2, Tony Wondra 3, Justin Erickson 4, Brandon Berth 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Shane Wenninger 7, Paul Pokorski.

B MAIN

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Tim Haddy 3, Blake Wondra 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Scott Conger 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Preston Ruh 9, Austin Hartmann 10, Chris Larson 11, Tyler Davis 12, Brady Portschy 13, Mike MacFarlane.

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Justin Miller 3, Will Gerrits 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Anthony Knierim 7, Bill Taylor 8, Kevin Karnitz 9, Brandon Berth 10, Justin Erickson 11, Tim Haddy 12, Paul Pokorski 13, Tony Wondra 14, Nich Melis 15, Shane Wenninger 16, Blake Wondra 17, Doug Wondra 18, Tyler Brabant 19, Kurt Davis 20, Scott Conger 21, Ben Schmidt 22, Adam Miller.

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 27, 2020 – After dodging surrounding rain showers throughout the day and early evening, the third annual Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Russ Scheffler Tribute Night program began on a promising note with a season-high total of 101 cars checked into the pit area in four divisions, including a stellar field of 30 Late Models, on Thursday, Aug. 27 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

However, the rain finally hit the third-mile clay oval at the conclusion of the Late Model non-qualifiers race to wash out the remainder of the program, including all four A-main events on an evening honoring the late Russ Scheffler, who stands as the winningest driver in PDTR history with 92 overall race victories, including 45 Late Model A-main triumphs.

The event was considered a complete program as all heat races and two of the three scheduled B main races, as well as the Late Model non-qualifiers race were contested before the rain came.

Russ Scheffler Tribute Night Late Model heat race winners were Tony Peterson of Big Bend, Brett Swedberg of Shawano, Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. and Tom Naeyaert of Shawano.

Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car heat race winners were Doug Wondra of Lomira, Scott Conger of Eagle, Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee and Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh.

Klips N Tips Grand National heat race winners included Chad Espen of West Bend and Nick Schumacher of Eagle. Cellcom B Mod heat race winners were Jason Schilling of Greenfield, Will Garceau of Mishicot and Travis Schmidt of Waldo.

Jim Schmidt of Cleveland captured the 15-lap Late Model B main and Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

Greg Cantrell of DeKalb, Ill. won the 5-lap Late Model non-qualifiers race.

The 11th PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by KSI Supply and Cupcake Wonders, drew a total of 101 cars, including 30 Late Models, 29 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Grand Nationals and 25 B Mods.

PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Friday, Aug. 28 with the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour returns for the Mueller Sales and Service 30 presented by Specht Electric and Communications. The evening also includes a full points program for the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, as well as non-points programs for the Grand National and B Mod divisions.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 5, PDTR will host the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series, along with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand for $10.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

RUSS SCHEFFLER TRIBUTE NIGHT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Tony Peterson 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Aaron Wickersheim 4, Kyle Raddant 5, Chris Engels 6, Adam Janke 7, Jake Van Engen 8, Justin Green.

HEAT 2

1, Brett Swedberg 2, Tim Buhler 3, Brad Mueller 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Derek Janke 6, Billy Rezutek 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Zack Kessler.

HEAT 3

1, Justin Reed 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Mike Mullen 5, Ron Berna 6, Greg Cantrell 7, Mark Rose.

HEAT 4

1, Tom Naeyeart 2, Nick Anvelink 3, Taylor Scheffler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Joel Bennett 6, Jim Letizia 7, Kevin Baldry.

B MAIN

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Ron Berna 3, Chris Engels 4, Joel Bennett 5, Billy Rezutek 6, Kevin Baldry 7, Greg Cantrell 8, Jim Letizia 9, Adam Janke 10, Chad Ludwigson 11, Zack Kessler 12, Justin Green 13, Jake Van Engen 14, Mark Rose (DNS).

NON-QUALIFIERS RACE

1, Greg Cantrell 2, Kevin Baldry 3, Jim Letizia 4, Adam Janke 5, Zack Kessler 6, Chad Ludwigson 7, Jake Van Engen.

A MAIN

Rained out

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Doug Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Bill Taylor 4, Will Gerrits 5, Nich Melis 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Blake Wondra 8, Preston Ruh.

HEAT 2

1, Scott Conger 2, Tyler Davis 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Adam Miller 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Tony Wondra 7, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 3

1, Kurt Davis 2, Tyler Brabant 3, Tim Haddy 4, Brandon Berth 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Shane Wenninger 7, Chris Clayton.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Tyler Tischendorf 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Justin Miller 5, Travis Arenz 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Sean Rayhall (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Travis Arenz 3, Nich Melis 4, Justin Miller 5, Paul Pokorski 6, Shane Wenninger 7, Tony Wondra 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Blake Wondra 10, Austin Hartmann 11, Chris Clayton 12, Preston Ruh 13, Sean Rayhall (DNS).

A MAIN

Rained out

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Chad Espen 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Derek Kaat 4, Dick Hed 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Dylan May 7, Luke Scholten 8, Steven Weber 9, Matt Yancey.

HEAT 2

1, Nick Schumacher 2, Aaron Stolp 3, Steven Wirtz 4, Brett Sievert 5, Paul Todd 6, J.J. Pagel 7, David Holm 8, Donny Kulow.

A MAIN

Rained out

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jason Schilling 2, Matthew Roehl 3, Trevor Frank 4, Andy Singer 5, Tim Lange 6, Phil Campanella 7, Conrad Kaufert 8, Barry Maas 9, Jonathan Hitsman.

HEAT 2

1, Will Garceau 2, Elijah Koenig 3, Justin Bauer 4, Brendan Ostrowski 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Ryan Mech 8, Rory Welch.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Steve Lorier 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Tim Warner 5, Kyle Odekirk 6, Brady Harshbarger 7, Gary Glander 8, Brian Wieland.

B MAIN

Rained out

A MAIN

Rained out

Justin Schmidt secures third straight PDTR Late Model title

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 22, 2020 – The 10^th Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2020 season featured a little bit of everything on Saturday, Aug. 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis, including a newly crowned three-time repeat Late Model champion, a first-time B Mod A-main winner, a photo finish in the Grand National main event and the first A-main victory of the year for a former Sprint Car champion plagued by bad luck for much of the 2020 season.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car A main, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove got his incident-plagued 2020 season back on track by notching his first A-main victory of the 2020 season. Justin Schmidt of Cleveland tallied his third 25-lap A-main victory of the season to clinch his third straight PDTR Gasroots Project Late Model title by a slim two-point margin over Turk Letizia of Waukesha. PDTR Klips N Tips Grand National point leader Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee pulled off a last lap pass to post his third 25-lap A-main win of the season by just .03 seconds. Brian Wieland of Sheboygan Falls collected his first career PDTR Cellcom B Mod A-main victory in the 25-lap A main.

In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main, Ben Schmidt vaulted into the lead in the first turn of the opening lap from the pole position as outside front row starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend settled into second.

By lap 4, Schmidt had opened up a full straightaway cushion over Karnitz on the slick and smooth track surface. Three laps later, Schmidt began to work his way through heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Karnitz to close the gap.

On lap 13, the first of two caution flags appeared when Waupun’s Tim Haddy spun in turn two. Schmidt again bolted out to a commanding lead on the restart utilizing the preferred outside groove. By lap 21, Schmidt had again built up a full-straightaway lead as point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started 12^th, and 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started seventh, traded slide jobs for fifth on lap 22.

The second and final caution appeared on lap 24 when Anthony Knierim of Franksville spun in turn four to set up a single-file green, white, checkered flag finish. On the restart, Schmidt again charged away from Karnitz, while Arenz made a daring move to sweep past two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started fifth, and Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who started fourth, to move from fifth to third on the final lap.

Schmidt, who suffered a series of motor failures and a hard crash at Beaver Dam Raceway early in the season, pulled away to secure his 10^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 26^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

Karnitz finished second, Arenz placed third, Wenninger was fourth and Davis rounded out the top five.

The 25-lap PDTR Late Model points season-ending A-main got off to a rough start when rookie Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls, who started second, spun in turn two on the opening lap to bring out the first of two caution flags.

Following a complete restart, third starter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee grabbed the lead in turn one, while fifth starter Charlie Schmidt of Oostburg slipped into second. On lap 4, Schmidt ducked under Bongiorno to take over the top spot in turn three.

One lap later, Schmidt spun into the infield in turn two, which gave the lead back to Bongiorno. On lap 6, the battle for the lead really heated up when 2016 PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started seventh, fourth starter Justin Ritchie of New London and Justin Schmidt, who started eighth, bolted in to challenge Bongiorno for the top spot.

Using the high groove, Justin Schmidt emerged from a wild four-wide duel to take over the top spot in turn four on lap 6 with Ritchie moving into second. Four laps later, the second and final caution flag appeared on lap 10 when 2008 PDTR Late Model champ Billy Rezutek of Big Bend spun in turn two.

On the restart, Schmidt pulled away from Ritchie while ninth starter Turk Letizia of Waukesha, who came into the race with a four-point lead over Schmidt in the chase for the PDTR Late Model title, moved past four-time PDTR Late Model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started 10^th, to take fourth on lap 12.

Schmidt cruised over the final 10 laps to secure his 13^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and wrap up his third consecutive track title by two points over Letizia. Ritchie placed second, Buhler was third, Letizia placed fourth and Mueller rounded out the top five.

Two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis took the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole with second starter Jonathan Otte of Cedar Grove seizing second.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Derek Kaat of Plymouth stopped in turn three. On the restart, Sorce Jr. pulled away, while third starter Dick Hed of Plymouth and fourth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg dueled side by side for second before Scholten assumed the runner-up spot on lap 7.

The second caution appeared on lap 8 when Dylan Struve of Plymouth spun in turn two. Following the restart, Aaron Stolp charged in from his seventh starting spot to move into fourth on lap 10 along the cushion. Three laps later Stolp worked around Hed to take third and three laps later, he rode the high groove past Scholten for second.

The third and final caution was displayed on lap 18 when Josh Pierce of Fredonia spun in turn two. On the restart, Stolp worked the high groove to perfection to pressure Sorce Jr. for the top spot. The high-riding Stolp pulled even with the low-riding Sorce Jr. on lap 20 and the two dueled side by side over the final five laps to set up a thrilling finish.

On the final lap, Stolp pounded the cushion and used a huge run off of turn four to nip Sorce. Jr. at the finish line by just .03 seconds en route to his third career PDTR Grand National A-main victory. Sorce. Jr. had to settle for second, Scholten placed third, fifth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth finished fourth and defending PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed fifth after starting ninth.

After an incident involving Barry Maas of Cascade, Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls, Will Garceau of Mishicot and Conrad Kaufert of Random Lake on the initial start, polesitter Brian Wieland grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag with outside front row starter Steve Lorier of Sheboygan sliding into second.

On lap 2, fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton moved in second while 10^th starter Jason Schilling of Greenfield rode the high groove into fourth on lap 3 before moving into third on lap 4.

By lap 9, Wieland had built up a half-straightaway cushion at the front of the field. Two laps later, the second caution appeared on lap 11 when Rory Welch of Grafton spun against the frontstrech wall.

On the restart, Will Garceau and Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth spun in turn two. Lorier battled back to take second lap 12, while Waldo’s Travis Schmidt, who started sixth, worked the high line into third on the following lap before taking second from Lorier on lap 13.

On lap 19, rookie Trevor Frank of Sheboygan, who started third, flexed his muscle to work underneath Schmidt into second. Five laps later, defending PDTR B Mod champ and current point leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac moved up from his 12^th starting spot to take third with a nifty move in turn four.

Wieland remained smooth at the front of the field in the final circuits on the way to his first career PDTR B Mod victory in flag-to-flag fashion. Frank recorded a career-best second-place finish, Warner placed third, Schmidt wound up fourth and Jerry Duggan of Manitowoc worked his way up from his ninth starting spot to take fifth.

Lance Fassbender of Burnett won the 15-lap 360 Sprint Car B main.

The 10th PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department, drew a total of 82 cars, including 28 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 15 Late Models, 15 Grand Nationals and 24 B Mods.

PDTR action will resume on Thursday, Aug. 27 with the third annual Russ Scheffler Tribute Night event featuring an added purse for the Late Model division, including a full points night for the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Grand National and B Mod divisions.

On Friday, Aug. 28, PDTR will host the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour for the Mueller Sales and Service 30. The evening also includes a full points program for the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, as well as non-points programs for the Grand National and B Mod divisions.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m. on both nights.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Kurt Davis 3, Bill Taylor 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tyler Davis 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Erickson 2, Doug Wondra 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Travis Arenz 5, Brandon Berth 6, Scott Conger 7, Tony Wondra.

HEAT 3

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Chris Clayton 3, Justin Miller 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Preston Ruh 6, Will Gerrits 7, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 4

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Tyler Tischendorf 3, Tim Haddy 4, Tyler Brabant 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Adam Miller 7, Josh Teunissen.

B MAIN

1, Lance Fassbender 2, Will Gerrits 3, Adam Miller 4, Tyler Davis 5, Tony Wondra 6, Scott Conger 7, Austin Hartmann 8, Blake Wondra 9, Josh Teunissen 10, Kevin Seidler 11, Preston Ruh 12, Brandon Berth.

A MAIN

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

 

GASROOT PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Tim Buhler 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Chad Ludwigson 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Jim Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Brad Mueller 3, Billy Rezutek 4, Justin Green 5, Jim Letizia 6, Donny Singer 7, Eric Michaels.

A MAIN’

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Tim Buhler 4, Turk Letizia 5, Brad Mueller 6, Joe Bongiorno 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Billy Rezutek 10, Justin Green 11, Jim Letizia 12, Chad Ludwigson 13, Sawyer Specht 14, Eric Michaels 15, Donny Singer.

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Jonathan Otte 2, Matt Yancey 3, Steven Weber 4, Aaron Stolp 5, Darryl Traber 6, Tyler Kulow 7, Donny Kulow 8, Eric Lingford.

HEAT 2

1, Luke Scholten 2, Dick Hed 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Josh Pierce 5, Brad Weiss 6, Dylan Struve 7, Derek Kaat.

A MAIN

1, Aaron Stolp 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Luke Scholten 4, Steven Weber 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Dick Hed 7, Brad Weiss 8, Matt Yancey 9, Jonathan Otte 10, Darryl Traber 11, Donny Kulow 12, Eric Lingford 13, Dylan Struve 14, Josh Pierce 15, Derek Kaat.

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jason Schilling 2, Steve Lorier 3, Spencer Long 4, Gary Glander 5, Rory Welch 6, Matthew Roehl 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Barry Maas 4, Tim Warner 5, Brian Wieland 6, James Rautmann 7, Brandon Knepprath 8, Will Garceau.

HEAT 3

1, Shane Long 2, Trevor Frank 3, Jerry Duggan 4, Jonathan Hitsman 5, Brendan Ostrowski 6, Phil Campanella 7, Conrad Kaufert 8, Jim Fischer.

A MAIN

1, Brian Wieland 2, Trevor Frank 3, Tim Warner 4, Travis Schmidt 5, Jerry Duggan 6, Gary Glander 7, Jason Schilling 8, Steve Lorier 9, Brandon Knepprath 10, James Rautmann 11, Shane Long 12, Brendan Ostrowski 13, Jonathan Hitsman 14, Donny Singer 15, Will Garceau 16, Rory Welch 17, Patrick Hanson 18, Phil Campanella 19, Jesse Cullen 20, Matthew Roehl 21, Jim Fischer 22 Conrad Kaufert 23, Barry Maas 24, Spencer Long.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 15, 2020 – The second night of a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing doubleheader weekend saw some familiar faces park their machines in A-main victory lane Saturday, Aug. 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan notched his third 25-lap A-main victory of the 2020 season. Two-time defending PDTR Late Model champ Justin Schmidt of Cleveland notched his second 25-lap main event win of the season. Defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth collected his first main event win of 2020, while defending PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Fond du Lac claimed his third A-main triumph of the 2020 campaign.

In the 25-lap PDTR Sprint Car headliner, 28-year veteran Tony Wondra of Campbellsport jumped out to the early lead from the pole position while 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh grabbed second on the opening lap.

On lap 6, McMullen ventured up the high groove of the dry slick racing surface to wrestle the top spot away from Wondra. Two laps later, Arenz who started fifth, dove under Wondra to take second.

As the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 14, Arenz rapidly closed the gap on McMullen before pouncing with a low move in turn one on lap 15 to take the top spot from the high-riding McMullen.

Once in front, Arenz extended his lead steadily, while skillfully maneuvering his way through lapped traffic to collect his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, 10^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph and third A-main win of the 2020 season in the non-stop, caution-free race.

McMullen had to settle for second, outside front row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth finished third, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started eighth, placed fourth and Wondra rounded out the top five.

PDTR Late Model point leader Turk Letizia of Waukesha grabbed the lead of the 25-lap A main from the pole on the opening circuit with 2016 PDTR Late Model champion and second starter Tim Buhler of Greenbush second and fourth starter Mark Rose of Dorchester in third.

The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 3 after rookie Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn three. On the restart, Justin Schmidt moved up from his third starting spot to challenge Rose for third.

Schmidt secured the third spot on lap 4, while Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill., who started sixth, followed in fourth on lap 6. As the laps wound down with Letizia still leading, Schmidt hit his stride using the high groove to power around Buhler into second on lap 21 in heavy lapped traffic.

With Letizia boxed in behind the slower car of Ted Dolhun Sr. of Franklin on lap 22, Schmidt worked the high line past Letizia into the lead. Once in the lead, Schmidt continued to deal with dense lapped traffic, which allowed Buhler to close slightly over the final circuits.

However, Schmidt held on to notch his 12^th career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Buhler placed second, Letizia finished third, Reed wound up fourth and fifth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha was fifth.

Polesitter Tyler Kulow and outside front row starter Brad Weiss of West Bend dueled side-by-side for the lead during the first two laps of the 25-lap PDTR Grand National A main before Kulow finally surged ahead around the inside groove exiting turn four on lap 2.

On lap 5, fourth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg and two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis battled for third in close quarters before Sorce Jr. gained the top with a high move in turn two on lap 7.

Four laps later, eighth starter Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee slipped into third, while Sorce Jr. cut the lead cap on Kulow on lap 16. On lap 23, Stolp took second and pushed hard for the lead over the final two seconds.

Kulow held on to secure his eighth PDTR Grand National A-main victory by a slim one-car length margin over the hard-charging Stolp, who placed second. Sorce Jr. finished third, third starter Steven Weber of Plymouth placed fourth and 81-year-old Dick Hed of Plymouth, who started sixth, finished fifth in the non-stop race.

Polesitter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum led the first four laps of the 25-lap B Mod A main before defending PDTR B mod champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac moved in from his sixth starting spot to pressure Knepprath from the top spot.

On lap 5, Warner worked the high groove to bolt past the low-riding Knepprath in turn four. With Warner in the lead, the action was hot and heavy behind him as eighth starter Barry Maas of Cascade, Brendon Ostrowski of Milwaukee, who starter second, and Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls, who started fourth, waged a three-wide duel for third on lap 8.

Bauer emerged with the third position along the inside line before the first of four caution flags appeared on lap 9 for a spin in turn three involving rookie Trevor Frank of Sheboygan.

On the restart, Bauer vaulted his way into second with the high-riding Maas following into third. The second caution was displayed on lap 15 when rookie Jim Fischer of Oostburg spun in turn four.

Bauer and Maas engaged in a spirited battle for second starting on lap 15, which lasted for most of the remainder of the race with Bauer working the low groove and Maas riding the outside lane.

Two more caution flags appeared on lap 18 for a spin involving Phil Campanella of Sheboygan Falls and Rory Welch of Grafton on lap 21.

With less than five laps to go, the final restart the lined up single file per PDTR rules with Bauer surging ahead of Maas for second on lap 21. As the laps wound down, Bauer cut the gap on Warner.  However, Warner proved to be too tough as he cruised to his sixth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Bauer placed second, Maas wound up third, Knepprath took fourth and seventh starter Steve Lorier of Sheboygan placed fifth.

Adam Miller of Plymouth won the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The ninth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Livestock, drew a total of 74 cars, including 30 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 15 Late Models, 14 Grand Nationals and 15 B Mods.

PDTR will resume on Saturday, Aug. 22 with 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tyler Tischendorf 2, Tony Wondra 3, Justin Erickson 4, Brandon Berth 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Doug Wondra 8, Jordan Paulsen.

HEAT 2

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Travis Arenz 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Blake Wondra 6, Chris Clayton 7, Scott Conger 8, Andy Glewen.

HEAT 3

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Nick Daywalt 3, Tyler Brabant 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Justin Miller 6, Bill Taylor 7, Chris Larson.

HEAT 4

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Tim Haddy 3, Lance Fassbender 4, Adam Miller 5, Preston Ruh 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Mike MacFarlane.

B MAIN

1, Adam Miller 2, Blake Wondra 3, Paul Pokorski 4, Chris Clayton 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Bill Taylor 7, Preston Ruh 8, Scott Conger 9, Jordan Paulsen 10, Chris Larson 11, Doug Wondra 12, Mike MacFarlane 13, Austin Hartmann 14, Andy Glewen.

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Justin Erickson 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tim Haddy 7, Lance Fassbender 8, Kurt Davis 9, Jack Vanderboom 10, Kevin Karnitz 11, Justin Miller 12, Adam Miller 13, Tyler Tischendorf 14, Brandon Berth 15, Anthony Knierim 16, Tyler Brabant 17, Paul Pokorski 18, Nick Daywalt 19, Blake Wondra 20, Bill Taylor 21, Chris Clayton 22, Josh Teunissen.

 

GASROOT PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Reed 2, Tim Buhler 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Eric Michaels 6, Jim Schmidt 7, Donny Singer 8, Sawyer Specht.

HEAT 2

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Turk Letizia 3, Mark Rose 4, Jim Letizia 5, Ted Dolhun Sr. 6, Justin Green 7, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN’

1, Justin Schmidt 2, Tim Buhler 3, Turk Letizia 4, Justin Reed 5, Taylor Scheffler 6, Mark Rose 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Charlie Schmidt, 9, Justin Green 10, Jim Letizia 11, Eric Michaels 12, Ted Dolhun Sr. 13, Chad Ludwigson 14, Sawyer Specht 15, Donny Singer

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Aaron Stolp 2, Luke Scholten 3, Tyler Kulow 4, Brad Weiss 5, Donny Kulow 6, Paul Perronne 7, Derek Kaat.

HEAT 2

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Dick Hed 3, Steven Weber 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Eric Lingford 6, Darryl Traber 7, Joe Brenner.

A MAIN

1, Tyler Kulow 2, Aaron Stolp 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Steven Weber 5, Dick Hed 6, Luke Scholten 7, Brad Weiss 8, Donny Kulow 9, Darryl Traber 10, Eric Lingford 11, Paul Perronne 12, Jeff Muehlbauer 13, Derek Kaat 15, Joe Brenner.

 

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Craig Gessner 2, Barry Maas 3, Justin Bauer 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Brendan Ostrowski 6, Trevor Fank 7, Jonathan Hitsman 8, Rory Welch.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, Steve Lorier 3, Patrick Hanson 4, Jim Fischer 5, Gary Glander 6, Donny Singer 7, Phil Campanella.

A MAIN

1, Tim Warner 2, Justin Bauer 3, Barry Maas 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Steve Lorier 6, Gary Glander 7, Jonathan Histman 8, Trevor Frank 9, Craig Gessner 10, Donny Singer 11, Jim Fischer 12, Phil Campanella 13, Patrick Hanson 14, Rory Welch 15, Brendon Ostrowski.

Scholten, Schmidt earn first PDTR A-main wins of 2020

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 14, 2020 – Jesse Glenz of Fall Creek, the hottest Dirt Late Model driver in Western Wisconsin, made the long trek to the eastern side of the state pay off to the tune of a $4,200 pay day as he claimed his first Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A-main victory and fifth main event win of the 2020 campaign in an eventful third annual Diamond 42 headliner at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, Aug. 14.

In other non-points PDTR action, Luke Scholten of Oostburg steered the Bender Racing No. 89 car to his first main event victory of the 2020 season in the 25-lap Klips N Tips Grand National A main, while Travis Schmidt of Waldo notched is initial A-main victory of the season in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod main event.

In a rare appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Jesse Glenz, who started second, bolted into the lead of the 42-lap Diamond 42 Dirt Kings Late Model Tour A-main event along the high groove on the opening lap, while third starter Mike Mullen of Seymour ducked low to assume second on the initial circuit.

The first of sixth cautions appeared on lap 3 when Zack Kessler of Plymouth spun in turn two. Following the restart, sixth starter Justin Reed of Camp Point, Ill. rode the high groove of the fast and tacky racing surface into third place on lap 4 before the second caution appeared on lap 5 for a spin involving Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee and Ron Berna of Abrams in turn four.

On the restart, Reed used a high move to power his way past Mullen into second on lap 5 before Mullen battled back to regain the runner-up spot along the low groove on lap 9. Meanwhile, Glenz pulled away to a solid lead before lapped traffic made things very interesting starting on lap 16 when Mullen dove low to pull even with Glenz in heavy lapped traffic.

One lap later, the high-riding Reed joined in to make it a three-way duel for the top spot as moved into second lap 18 and powered around Glenz into the lead on lap 19. On lap 20, Mullen briefly grabbed the top spot down low before Reed battled back to regain the lead on lap 21.

On lap 28, two-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started 11^th, worked his way into fourth along the outside groove. On lap 29, 2014 PDTR Late Model champ Mitch McGrath of Waukesha moved into fourth just as Schmidt moved around Glenz into second.

The third caution appeared on lap 30 when McGrath made contact with Glenz, which sent Glenz spinning in turn three. However, Dirt Kings officials ruled the caution to be inadvertent as Glenz did not stop on the track and both drivers maintained their spots in the running order.

On the restart, Glenz regained second, while McGrath moved into third as Schmidt dropped back after hitting the turn two wall. Just as Glenz was trimming the gap on Reed the fourth caution appeared on lap 37 when Dirt Kings point leader Brett Swedberg of Shawano spun in turn four.

Glenz changed his line to work the middle and high groove of the multi-groove track on the restart to work his way around Reed into the lead in turn two on lap 38. Glenz then pulled away from the rest of the pack as McGrath moved into third on lap 39.

One lap later, the fifth caution appeared when Reed spun in turn two after contact with McGrath as the two battled for second. On the restart, the sixth and final caution flag was displayed when four-time PDTR Late Model track champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake spun in turn two.

On the restart, McGrath moved into second, while three-time Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion Nick Anvelink of Navarino, who started ninth, made his presence felt by moving into third and challenging McGrath for the runner-up spot.

On the final circuit, McGrath and Anvelink collided while dueling for second, which sent Anvelink into the turn two tire barrier, while McGrath was disqualified from the race for rough driving and subsequently issued a suspension from all Dirt Kings Tour events for the remainder of the 2020 season due to his conduct throughout the program.

Glenz pulled away over the final two laps to notch his first career Dirt Kings Late Model Tour victory, second career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, third straight main event triumph and fifth overall A-main win of 2020.

“I’m super stoked to be in victory lane at Plymouth as it has been a few years since our last victory here,” Glenz said. “Justin Reed was kind of hugging the bottom on that restart and I tried rolling through the middle and then worked up to the top to get by him. I’m super happy with this victory.”

Schmidt placed a strong second after starting in the middle of the pack.

“That caution with about 12 to go hurt us,” Schmidt said. “We were really going pretty good before that. I didn’t really know exactly where I was running for a while until I looked at the scoreboard and saw myself second. This was a really good run for us. We’ve kind of struggled over the past few weeks, so it feels good to get a good finish tonight.”

Ritchie worked his way up from his 13^th starting spot to place third.

“It was pretty hairy out there with a lot of guys making some crazy moves,” Ritchie said. “I hope it was a good show for the fans because it was really something to watch from my seat.”

Ron Berna, who started 22^nd, recovered from an early race spin to finish fourth and fourth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha placed fifth in the Diamond 42, which was run in honor of Late Model driver “Diamond” Jim Letizia’s 42^nd year in racing.

Defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth jumped out to the lead of the 25-lap Grand National A main from the pole as fourth starter Luke Scholten worked the high groove into second on the opening lap.

On lap 7, Scholten closed in to challenge Kulow for the top spot along the low groove. Kulow and Scholten dueled side by side for multiple laps until Scholten finally surged ahead in turn four on lap 14.

The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 21 when Donny Singer of Waldo and Steven Wirtz of Milwaukee stopped in turn four.

Scholten used a strong restart to pull away from Kulow over the final four laps en route to his 13^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to move into a tie for second place on the division’s all-time main event win list with two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis.

Roger Lee of Wind Lake placed third after starting sixth, seventh starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake finished fourth and 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan placed fifth after starting fifth.

Tim Lange of Dousman led the opening circuit of the 25-lap B Mod A main from the second starting spot. On lap 4, polesitter Donny Singer of Waldo moved in to challenge Lange for the top spot. Two laps later, Singer assumed the top spot in turn one just as fourth starter Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls moved into second and sixth starter Barry Maas of Cascade moved into third.

On lap 11, Maas powered around Bauer to claim second and moved in to pressure Singer for the top spot on lap 13 before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 13 when Bauer spun in turn two.

On the restart, eighth starter Travis Schmidt ducked low to work underneath Maas into second on lap 15. Five laps later, Schmidt snuck under Singer for the lead as Maas also got around Singer into second on lap 20.

The final caution flag appeared on lap 22 when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan spun in turn two. On the restart, Schmidt pulled away from Maas to claim his third career PDTR B Mod A-main victory by a three-car length margin over Maas, who finished second. Singer held on to take third, third starter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum placed fourth and Bauer recovered from his lap 13 spin to place fifth.

Jim Schmidt of Cleveland won the first 12-lap Dirt Kings Late Model B main, while Joel Bennett won the second 12-lap Dirt Kings Late Model B main.

The event attracted a total of 56 cars, including 34 Dirt Kings/PDTR Late Models, 11 Grand Nationals and 11 B mods.

Main event trophies were sponsored by Recognition Race Products.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

DISCOUNT SHOP TOWELS DIRT KINGS LATE MODEL TOUR DIAMOND 42

PRO POWER RACING ENGINES HEAT 1

1, Jesse Glenz 2, Paul Parker 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Troy Springborn 5, Joe Bongiorno 6, Ron Berna 7, Tim Buhler 8, Brett Swedberg 9, Lukas Postl.

MUELLER’S SALES AND SERVICE HEAT 2

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Brad Mueller 3, Justin Reed 4, Kevin Eder 5, Chris Engels 6, Justin Green 7, Derek Janke 8, Kyle Raddant 9, Joel Willman.

WEHRS MACHINE AND RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 3

1, Mike Mullen 2, Aaron Wickersheim 3, Zack Kessler 4, Joel Bennett 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Ron Stroika 7, Mitch McGrath 8, Buddy Hanestad.

DISCOUNTSHOPTOWELS.COM HEAT 4

1, Rick Hanestad 2, Nick Anvelink 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Mark Rose 5, Turk Letizia 6, Tom Naeyaert 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Jim Letizia.

KIRKPATRICK LAW OFFICE B MAIN 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Chris Engels 3, Ron Berna 4, Tom Naeyaert 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Lukas Postl 7, Derek Janke.

KIRKPATRICK LAW OFFICE B MAIN 2

1, Joel Bennett 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Turk Letizia 4, Tim Buhler 5, Brett Swedberg 6, Ron Stroika 7, Jim Letizia 8, Justin Green.

A MAIN

1, Jesse Glenz 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Justin Ritchie 4, Taylor Scheffler 5, Ron Berna 6, Troy Springborn 7, Paul Parker 8, Aaron Wickersheim 9, Jim Schmidt 10, Nick Anvelink 11, Joel Bennett 12, Joe Bongiorno 13, Turk Letizia 14, Justin Reed 15, Brad Mueller 16, Kevin Eder 17, Brett Swedberg 18, Mike Mullen 19, Mark Rose 20, Chris Engels 21, Rick Hanestad 22, Zack Kessler 23, Mitch McGrath.

 

KLIPS N CLIPS GRAND NATIONAL

Heat 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Matt Yancey 4, Donny Kulow 5, Donny Singer 6, Paul Perronne.

Heat 2

1, Steven Wirtz 2, Daryl Traber 3, Roger Lee 4, Dave Holm 5, Matt Schlehlein.

A Main

1, Luke Scholten 2, Tyler Kulow 3, Roger Lee 4, Donny Kulow 5, Matt Yancey 6, Daryl Traber 7, Steven Wirtz 8, Donny Singer 9, Dave Holm 10, Paul Perronne 11, Matt Schlehlein (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

Heat 1

1, Barry Maas 2, Jason Schilling 3, Brandon Knepprath 4, Tim Lange 5, Donny Singer 6, Jim Fischer

Heat 2

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Steve Lorier 3, Justin Bauer 4, Brian Wieland 5, Rory Welch

A Main

1, Travis Schmidt 2, Barry Maas 3, Donny Singer 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Justin Bauer 6, Jim Fischer 7, Brian Wieland 8, Steve Lorier 9, Tim Lange 10, Jason Schilling 11, Rory Welch.

 

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 8, 2020 – The second night of a jam-packed seven-race August schedule featured plenty of close competition in producing 2020 repeat winners in three of the four Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main events at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 8.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car main event, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh claimed his second A-main victory of the season at Plymouth. Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler picked up his second 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main triumph of the 2020 campaign. Two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis scored his first A-main victory of the 2020 season in the 25-lap Klips N Tips Grand National main event. In the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main, defending PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Fond du Lac secured his second main event victory of the 2020 campaign.

In the Sprint Car A main, polesitter Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee jumped out to the lead on lap 1 before a red flag was displayed on lap 2 when outside front row starter Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca spun in turn two and collected rookie Austin Hartmann of Plymouth, who flipped his machine. The incident forced Hartmann to retire from the event, while Tischendorf was able to continue.

On the ensuing restart attempt, Tim Haddy of Waupun spun in turn two and collected Bill Taylor of Kewaskum and Tischendorf. Both Haddy and Taylor were unable to continue in the race.

When the race resumed, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth worked past Davis to assume the lead in turn two on lap 3. Meanwhile, third starter Brandon McMullen moved past Davis into second on lap 6 and quickly set his sets on the leader.

Three laps later, McMullen rode the high groove to perfection on the lightning fast and tacky track surface to sweep around Miller into the lead. One lap later on lap 10, the third caution flag was displayed when Tyler Davis spun in turn two at the same time as rookie Alex Pokorski of West Bend spun to a stop in turn four.

On the ensuing restart, Miller and current PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started sixth, collided before Miller stopped in turn one with suspension damage to bring out the fourth caution flag.

The damage was enough to force Miller out of the race while Arenz was sent to the rear of the field for his involvement in the yellow flag incident. Seventh starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend made his presence felt on the restart has he moved into second while 19^th starter Nich Melis of Plymouth worked his way into third on lap 12.

McMullen began to catch the rear of the field on lap 17, which he sliced through expertly to extend his lead over Karnitz. On lap 20, Tyler Davis spun on the frontstretch before Alex Pokorski made hard contact with Davis to bring out a red flag for the fifth and final stoppage of the race. Both drivers emerged from the heavy impact uninjured, but were done for the night.

McMullen again pulled away on the final restart and cruised over the final five laps to his 19^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 27^th Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph of his career by a full-straightaway margin. Karnitz finished second, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove finished third after starting 12^th, Melis placed fourth and Arenz rebounded from restarting 17^th following a lap 10 collision with Justin Miller to place fifth.

Outside front row starter Taylor Scheffler, who was steering the 15s car formerly raced by his father, Rick Scheffler, outdueled 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started second, to grab the lead of the 25-lap Late Model A main in turn four of the opening lap.

Scheffler extended his lead over Buhler in the early stages of the race before the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 8 for debris on the frontstretch from Sheboygan Falls rookie driver Chad Ludwigson’s car.

Two laps later, another caution was displayed when Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove spun in turn two. On the restart, Scheffler again pulled away while fifth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee and sixth starter Justin Ritchie of New London waged a heated duel for fourth place. Following a six-lap, side-by-side battle, Ritchie finally secured the fourth-place position from Letizia.

Scheffler hit lapped traffic on lap 17, which he negotiated successfully over the final eight laps en route to his fifth career PDTR Late Model A-main victory. Buhler held on for second, fourth starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland placed third, Ritchie finished fourth and Turk Letizia rounded out the top five.

In the 25-lap Grand National A main, Don Sorce Jr. used the high groove to outduel defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started on the pole, to take the top spot in turn two on the opening lap.

As Sorce Jr. held down the top spot, third starter Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee moved into third on lap six before passing Kulow for second four laps later. On lap 14, Stolp bolted in to pressure the low riding Sorce Jr. for the lead along the outside groove.

The lone caution of the race appeared on lap 15 when Darryl Traber spun in turn four. On the restart, Kulow battled back along the outside groove to regain second on lap 16.

Four laps later, sixth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth used a low move to work past Stolp before tracking down Kulow for second on the final lap. At the front of the field, it was all Sorce Jr. has he rolled to his 13^th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory to move into sole possession of second place on the division’s main event win list.

Weber finished second, Stolp placed third, Kulow was fourth and 81-year-old Dick Hed of Plymouth wound up fifth after starting seventh.

Outside front row starter James Rautmann of Howards Grove led the opening two laps of the 25-lap B Mod A main before third starter Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth moved in to take over the top spot on lap 3.

The first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 5 when Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum, Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls and Kassi Krause of Chilton spun in turn two. Following the restart, sixth starter Brian Wieland of Sheboygan Falls moved in to challenge Odekirk for the top spot along the inside groove.

Two laps later, fifth starter Jason Schilling of Greenfield, 10^th starter Travis Arenz, who was subbing for Cascade’s Barry Maas, and Chilton’s Jesse Cullen, who started 12^th, battled three wide for third place with Arenz securing the position.

On lap 12, Wieland made contact with Odekirk as the two drivers were dueling for the lead. However, Odekirk was able to maintain control of the top spot before the second and final caution flag came out on lap 14 when Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls stopped on the frontstretch.

On the restart, Tim Warner moved in from his seventh starting spot to take over second along the high groove. One lap later, Warner pulled even with the low riding Odekirk. After dueling with Odekirk side-by-side for two laps, Warner finally surged ahead in turn four on lap 17.

Once out front, Warner pulled away to notch his fifth career PDTR B Mod A main victory by a half-straightaway margin. Odekirk placed second, Arenz was third, Cullen placed fourth and Wieland rounded out the top five.

Rookie Alex Pokorski claimed his first career 360 Sprint Car race victory in the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The eighth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by Cellcom, drew a total of 82 cars, including 30 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models, 14 Grand Nationals and 21 B Mods.

Next weekend will feature a doubleheader at the Plymouth Dirt Track with the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Diamond 42 scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14 featuring a first-place payout of $4,200. The PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions will also run a non-points program with hot laps scheduled at 5:30 p.m. with racing to follow at 6 p.m.

One night later, the PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will be in action on Saturday, Aug. 15 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Travis Arenz 2, Justin Miller 3, Nick Daywalt 4, Doug Wondra 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Brandon Berth 7, Scott Armstrong 8, Shane Wenninger.

HEAT 2

1, Tyler Davis 2, Scott Conger 3, Tyler Tischendorf 4, Bill Taylor 5, Preston Ruh 6, Kevin Seidler 7, Tyler Brabant 8, Lance Fassbender.

HEAT 3

1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Tony Wondra 4, Will Gerrits 5, Josh Teunissen 6, Justin Erickson 7, Chris Clayton.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kurt Davis 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Tim Haddy 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Nich Melis 7, Blake Wondra.

B MAIN

1, Alex Pokorski 2, Brandon Berth 3, Nich Melis 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Bill Taylor 6, Josh Teunissen 7, Justin Erickson 8, Blake Wondra 9, Tyler Brabant 10, Kevin Seidler 11, Lance Fassbender 12, Chris Clayton 13, Scott Armstrong 14, Shane Wenninger (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Nich Melis 5, Travis Arenz 6, Kurt Davis 7, Brandon Berth 8, Nick Daywalt 9, Will Gerrits 10, Anthony Knierim 11, Scott Conger 12, Preston Ruh 13, Tony Wondra 14, Doug Wondra 15, Josh Teunissen 16, Tyler Davis, 17, Alex Pokorski 18, Justin Miller 19, Tyler Tischendorf 20, Austin Hartmann 21, Tim Haddy 22, Bill Taylor.

 

GASROOT PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Jim Schmidt 2, Tony Peterson 3, Brad Mueller 4, Justin Schmidt 5, Taylor Scheffler 6, Joe Bongiorno 7, Justin Green 8, Chad Ludwigson 9, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Justin Ritchie 2, Turk Letizia 3, Jim Letizia 4, Tim Buhler 5, Charlie Schmidt 6, Jake Van Engen 7, Sawyer Specht 8, Billy Rezutek (DNS).

A MAIN’

1, Taylor Scheffler 2, Tim Buhler 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Justin Ritchie 5, Turk Letizia 6, Brad Muller 7, Justin Schmidt 8, Joe Bongiorno 9, Justin Green 10, Jim Letizia 11, Billy Rezutek 12, Charlie Schmidt 13, Tony Peterson 14, Donny Singer 15, Chad Ludwigson 16, Sawyer Specht 17, Jake Van Engen (DNS).

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Dick Hed 2, Derek Kaat 3, Luke Scholten 4, Aaron Stolp 5, Donny Kulow 6, Matt Schlehlein 7, Dylan Struve.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Weber 2, Jeff Muehlbauer 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Brad Weiss 6, Darryl Traber 7, Paul Perronne.

A MAIN

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Steven Weber 3, Aaron Stolp 4, Tyler Kulow 5, Dick Hed 6, Luke Scholten 7, Jeff Muehlbauer 8, Donny Kulow 9, Darryl Traber 10, Brad Weiss 11, Matt Schlehlein 12, Paul Perronne 13, Derek Kaat 14, Dylan Struve (DNS).

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Craig Gessner 2, Brian Weiland 3, Steve Lorier 4, Donny Singer 5, Trevor Frank 6, Kassi Krause 7, Rory Welch.

HEAT 2

1, Jason Schilling 2, James Rautmann 3, Kyle Odekirk 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Gary Glander 6, Brendan Ostrowski 7, Brandon Knepprath.

HEAT 3

1, Travis Arenz 2, Tim Sheppard 3, Tim Warner 4, Justin Bauer 5, Jonathan Hitsman 6, Patrick Hanson 7, Jim Fischer.

A MAIN

1, Tim Warner 2, Kyle Odekirk 3, Travis Arenz 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Brian Wieland 6, Tim Sheppard 7, Donny Singer 8, Gary Glander 9, Steve Lorier 10, Brendan Ostrowski 11, James Rautmann 12, Rory Welch 13, Kassi Krause 14, Brandon Knepprath 15, Jason Schilling 16, Justin Bauer 17, Craig Gessner 18, Trevor Frank 19, Jonathan Hitsmann 20, Patrick Hanson 21, Jim Fischer (DNS).

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 1, 2020 – On one of the most pleasant nights for racing of the 2020 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season, three of the most polished veteran drivers in the pit area, as well as a rising star in the Sprint Car ranks rolled to A-main victories on Pedal Down Promotions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan racked up his second A-main victory of the 2020 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car main event. Milwaukee veteran Turk Letizia noted his first A-main victory in six years in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model A main. Eighteen-year veteran Steven Weber of Plymouth claimed the victory in the 25-lap Klips N Tips Grand National A main and Cascade veteran Barry Maas earned his first career PDTR B Mod main event win in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.

In the 360 Sprint Car headliner, outside front row starter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag before Adam Miller of Plymouth flipped in turn four on the opening lap to bring out a red flag.

Following a complete restart, Wondra again grabbed the lead while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started third, moved into second with the fifth-starting Arenz bolting into third on the opening circuit.

While Wondra led, Arenz moved in to challenge the high-riding Davis along the low line on lap 4. On lap 5, Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee and Anthony Knierim of Franksville collided in turn two to bring out a caution.

On the restart, Jack Vanderboom of Dousman and Doug Wondra of Campbellsport got together in turn three, which sent Vanderboom flipping on lap 5.

Davis pulled off an impressive low move in turn four on lap 6 to wrestle the lead away from Wondra. Meanwhile, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh was using the high groove to vault into second from his sixth starting spot on lap 7.

McMullen continued to ride the high groove of the lightning fast track surface to pressure Davis for the top spot. On lap 9, McMullen surged ahead of Davis along the outside groove. McMullen maintained a solid cushion as the leaders encountered slower traffic on lap 13.

Two laps later, Arenz moved into second before Tyler Tischendorf of Waupaca spun in turn two on lap 16. On the restart, Arenz ducked underneath McMullen to assume the top spot on lap 17 exiting turn one.

After that, Arenz moved up to the high line and pulled away from McMullen, who worked both the bottom and top of the track in an attempt to reel in the leader over the next nine laps.

Just as the leaders were about to catch the back of the field, the checkered flag flew with Arenz claiming his third career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and ninth overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph.

McMullen wound up second, Davis was third, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett took fourth after starting eighth and 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove charged up from his 16^th starting spot to take fifth.

Polesitter Justin Ritchie of New London seized the lead in turn of the opening lap of the 25-lap Late Model A main. On lap 2, Letizia used a big run on the frontstretch to dive under Ritchie for the lead in turn one. As Letizia encountered lapped traffic on lap 8, Ritchie began to close.

On lap 12, Ritchie moved to withing striking distance in heavy lapped traffic before making contact with Letizia along the front stretch, which caused Ritchie to spin into the infield and bring out the first of four caution flags.

One lap later, Ted Dolhun Sr. of Franklin spun in turn two to bring out the second caution of the race. On the restart, two-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started fifth, moved in to challenge Letizia for the top spot along the low line on lap 14.

Meanwhile, the racing behind Letizia and Schmidt was hot and heavy as Mike Mullen of Seymour, who started ninth, and 2016 PDTR Late Model champ Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started seventh, dueled side by side for third place on lap 21.

The third caution appeared on lap 22 when Mullen spun in turn three. On the restart, Ritchie, Eric Michaels of Cleveland and Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove collided exiting turn four to bring out the fourth and final caution.

On the restart, Letizia held strong to pull away from Schmidt over the final four laps en route to his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and first main event win at Plymouth since 2014.

Schmidt was second, four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake, who started fourth, placed third, Buhler took fourth and 2017 PDTR B Mod champion Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls placed fifth in his first ever night behind the wheel of his father Glen Blanke’s 4B Late Model after starting 15^th.

Outside front row starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg grabbed the lead on lap 1 with Steven Weber, who started on the pole, sliding into second. On lap 3, Weber pulled into challenge Scholten for the top spot before the first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 4 for a spin involving Dylan Struve of Plymouth.

Following the restart, Weber moved in to pressure Scholten for the top spot and he continued to hound the leader for the next 14 laps. After sizing Scholten up patiently lap after lap, Weber finally pounced entering turn one on lap 18 to seize the lead.

Two laps later, Weber hit lapped traffic, who allowed Scholten to stay in contention for the win. The second and final caution appeared on lap 20 when Paul Perronne stopped in turn one.

Following a single-file restart with five laps to go, Weber stayed tied to the inside lane of the track and fended off Scholten’s advances to notch his second career PDTR Grand National A-main victory.

Scholten placed second, two-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis finished third after starting sixth, Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee charged up from the 11^th starting spot to place fourth and 2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth finished fifth after starting ninth.

In the 25-lap B Mod A main, rookie outside front row starter Trevor Frank of Sheboygan grabbed the lead from the start. The first of three cautions appeared on lap four when Steve Lorier of Sheboygan stopped in turn three.

On the restart, fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton moved up from his fourth starting spot to take second with a move along the high line before polesitter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum battled back to challenge for the runner-up spot.

The second caution appeared on lap 10 when Patrick Hanson of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four. Two laps later, defending PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Fond du Lac and Cullen made contact, which sent Cullen spinning in turn four to bring out the third caution flag.

On lap 13, Maas, who started sixth, began to make his presence felt as he moved into second along the high groove. One lap later, Maas, who owns one career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, worked the inside groove to work past Frank for the lead with a nifty low move in turn three.

Knepprath wasn’t finished though, as he worked around Frank and closed on Maas over the final circuits. On lap 23, Knepprath ducked under Maas and stayed within striking distance all the way to the checkered flag before Maas, a former Winged Super Modified racer at Plymouth, prevailed by a one-car margin to seize his first career PDTR B Mod A main victory.

Knepprath recorded a career-best second-place finish, Warner placed third, Frank equaled his career-best A-main finish by placing fourth and 11^th starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed fifth.

Jack Vanderboom won the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The seventh PDTR racing program of the 2020 season drew a total of 80 cars, including 32 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Late Models, 17 Grand Nationals and 15 B Mods.

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will next be in action on Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.

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

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Tony Wondra 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Chris Clayton 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Jack Vanderboom 7, Mike Decker 8, Alex Pokorski.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Travis Arenz 3, Scott Conger 4, Justin Miller 5, Austin Hartmann 6, Scott Armstrong 7, Will Gerrits 8, Tyler Brabant.

HEAT 3

1, Bill Taylor 2, Kurt Davis 3, Adam Miller 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Brandon Berth 7, Tim Haddy 8, Blake Wondra.

HEAT 4

1, Brandon McMullen 2, Justin Erickson 3, Doug Wondra 4, Tyler Davis 5, Preston Ruh 6, Kevin Karnitz 7, Kevin Seidler 8, Mike MacFarlane.

B MAIN

1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Kevin Karnitz 3, Brandon Berth 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Tim Haddy 7, Austin Hartmann 8, Preston Ruh 9, Mike Decker 10, Alex Pokorski 11, Scott Armstrong 12, Blake Wondra 13, Kevin Seidler 14, Mike MacFarlane 15, Will Gerrits (DNS) 16, Tyler Brabant (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Kurt Davis 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Tony Wondra 7, Justin Miller 8, Justin Erickson 9, Brandon Berth 10, Kevin Karnitz 11, Bill Taylor 12, Scott Conger 13, Chris Clayton 14, Tim Haddy 15, Josh Teunissen 16, Tyler Tischendorf 17, Shane Wenninger 18, Doug Wondra 19, Tyler Davis 20, Anthony Knierim 21, Jack Vanderboom 22, Adam Miller.

 

GASROOT PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Brad Mueller 2, Joe Bongiorno 3, Justin Schmidt 4, Eric Michaels 5, Ted Dolhun Sr. 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Chad Ludwigson 8, Donny Singer.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Ritchie 3, Charlie Schmidt 4, Tim Buhler 5, Mike Mullen 6, Jared Siefert 7, Kevin Baldry 8, Justin Green.

A MAIN’

1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Brad Mueller 4, Tim Buhler 5, Justin Green 6, Ted Dolhun Sr. 7, Charlie Schmidt 8, Eric Michaels 9, Eric Michaels, 10, Joe Bongiorno 11, Sawyer Specht 12, Justin Ritchie 13, Kevin Baldry 14, Chad Ludwigson 15, Jared Siefert 16, Mike Mullen.

 

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONAL

HEAT 1

1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Brad Weiss 3, Derek Kaat 4, Jeff Muehlbauer 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Jim Rohrbeck 7, Dave Holm 8, Dick Hed 9, Paul Perronne.

HEAT 2

1, Steven Wirtz 2, Luke Scholten 3, Steven Weber 4, Donny Kulow 5, Aaron Stolp 6, Matt Yancey 7, Dylan Struve 8, Who Racing.

A MAIN

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

CELLCOM B MOD

HEAT 1

1, Jason Schilling 2, Tim Warner 3, James Rautmann 4, Jesse Cullen 5, Trevor Frank 6, Jonathan Hitsman 7, Patrick Hanson 8, Jim Fischer.

HEAT 2

1, Phil Campanella 2, Barry Maas 3, Steve Lorier 4, Rory Welch 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Gary Glander 7, Donny Singer.

A MAIN

1, Barry Maas 2, Brandon Knepprath 3, Tim Warner 4, Trevor Frank 5, Gary Glander 6, Jason Schilling 7, Jesse Cullen 8, Jonathan Hitsman 9, Donny Singer 10, Rory Welch 11, Patrick Hanson 12, James Rautmann 13, Phil Campanella 14, Steve Lorier 15, Jim Fischer.

Davis moves to top of all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win list

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 30, 2020 – The hottest Sprint Car driver in the world, Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., paid his first visit to The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. for the second annual Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions-Interstate Racing Association Rayce Rudeen Foundation $26,000-to-win event on Thursday, July 30 and promptly shined over a stellar field to claim his sixth straight A-main victory in All Star Series competition and his 26^th overall triumph on dirt during the 2020 season in the highest-paying Winged Sprint Car race in Wisconsin history.

In the companion, non-points Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 26-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A main, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee nipped the hard-charging Travis Arenz of Sheboygan by mere feet to claim his second overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event victory of the 2020 campaign and first A-main victory of the year at Plymouth.

All eyes were on Larson throughout the night as his has been a dominant force everywhere he has raced this season whether in the 410 Winged Sprint Car ranks with the All Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series or with the USAC Midget Series, with victories coming in droves for the 28-year-old racing phenom.

After laying down the fastest qualifying lap of the night with a circuit of 11.459 seconds around the third-mile clay oval, Larson placed fourth in the fourth 10-lap heat race and won the second four-lap dash to start on the outside of the front row for the $26,000-to-win Rayce Rudeen Foundation 35-lap A main.

The race got off to a rough start as Austin McCarl of Altoona, Iowa flipped into the turn two catch fence on the initial start and Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis, Ind. spun in turn four on the second start attempt.

When the race finally got under way, polesitter Gio Scelzi of Fresno, Calif. bolted into the lead with Larson following in second and Gio’s brother Dominic Scelzi of Fresno, Calif., who started third, settling into third in the early going.

With Gio Scelzi running the cushion, Larson worked the low and middle groove to reel in the leader on lap 6. On lap 7, the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Larson to close even further.

On lap 12, Larson pounced as he pulled off a well-executed slide job in turn four to wrestle the led away from Gio Scelzi. Meanwhile, Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia, who started seventh, was marching his way to the front of the pack along the high groove.

On lap 14, Madsen worked his way into fourth before charged past Dominic Scelzi into third on lap 16 and eventually powering around Gio Scelzi for second in thick lapped traffic.

As Larson appeared to be biding his time in getting around the slower car of Tyler Courtney for a number of laps, Madsen closed to within two car lengths of Larson on lap 22. However, once Larson cleared Courtney on lap 24, he quickly pulled away from Madsen to build up a quarter-straightaway cushion on lap 26.

Larson, who has six NASCAR Cup Series victories to his credit, skillfully worked his way through lapped traffic over the final nine laps to score his 20^th career All Star Series victory and his 11^th triumph in 17 All Star starts in 2020 in the third-ever All Star event to be contested at The Plymouth Dirt Track.

“This feels really good,” Larson said in victory lane. “I had to earn it for sure. The track was extremely technical and a lot of fun. The curb was just not going anywhere and it was getting trickier and trickier to run. The lappers were all so even that I couldn’t get by for the longest time, but I was able to follow Sunshine [Tyler Courtney] past a few guys, so that helped.

“I was just making a lot of mistakes, but the track was tough, so I didn’t know how close second was to me,” he said. “Once I got past Tyler though, I felt like I got a good rhythm going again and lapped some pretty decent cars there toward the end. We just had a really good car tonight. It’s not often that you get to chase this kind of money in Sprint Cars, especially this year, so thanks to the Rudeen family and what they’ve done for this race. It’s really cool.”

Madsen, who appeared that he might overtake Larson for the lead in the middle stages of the race, finished a full straightaway behind in second at the finish.

“We had a great race car and we were really running Kyle down for the lead,” Madsen said after the race. “I was trying to be patient and pick my spots, but it just didn’t turn out to be our night.”

Gio Scelzi placed third after a strong run in the early laps of the race.

“I felt pretty good in the early going running the top then Kyle got past me on the bottom, which surprised me because I didn’t think the bottom would be that good,” Gio Scelzi said. “I just have to do a better job in these races. Third is not bad, but we want to win.”

Dominic Scelzi came home fourth and fourth starter Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif. placed fifth.

In the 26-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started on the pole, second starter Kurt Davis and fourth starter Adam Miller of Plymouth dueled three-wide for the entire first lap before Justin Miller surged ahead in turn one on lap 2.

One lap later, Davis ventured up to the high groove to challenge Miller for the top spot. Miller and Davis battled side by side over the next three circuits before Miller eventually regained control of the lead just as the leaders hit slower traffic on lap 10.

Meanwhile, current PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started fifth, vaulted into third on lap 15 before surging past Davis into second on lap 18.

One lap later, rookie Alex Pokorski of West Bend spun in turn two to bring out the first of three caution flags. On the restart, Davis bolted back up to the high line to power around Arenz into second before surging past Miller into the lead in turn four on lap 20.

The second caution flag appeared on lap 21 when Adam Miller and Matt Vandevere of Zion, Ill. spun in turn four. One lap later, the third and final caution flag flew when Tyler Davis of South Milwaukee spun in turn two.

On the restart, Arenz charged in to apply heavy pressure along the high line as Davis switched to the inside lane. On the final lap, Arenz pulled even with Davis entering turn one. Davis battled back to regain the top spot going into turn three.

Arenz didn’t back down as he reeled in Davis in the final corner and pulled alongside heading the checkered flag. However, Davis held on to nip Arenz by a half-car length to secure his 24^th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main victory and record 62^nd career MSA main event win. The triumph pushed Davis past Danny Schlafer of Sussex and to sole possession of first place on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win list.

Arenz placed second, 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh moved up from his sixth starting spot to finish third, Justin Miller finished fourth and seventh starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum placed fifth.

The sixth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season drew a total of 68 cars, including 41 All Star Circuit of Champions-Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars and 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will be in action on Saturday, Aug. 1 with trophies sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS-INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION 410 SPRINT CARS

 QUALIFYING

1, Kyle Larson 11.450 2, Gio Scelzi 11.575 3, Dominic Scelzi 4, Kerry Madsen 11.682 5, Cory Eliason 11.707 6, Tyler Courtney 11.720 7, Cale Thomas 11.760 8, Aaron Reutzel 11.764 9, Sam Haftertepe Jr. 11.791 10, Scotty Thiel 11.850 11, Parker Price-Miller 11.850 12, Terry McCarl 11.878 13, Jeremy Schultz 11.878 14, Josh Baughman 11.917 15, Hunter Schuerenberg 11.922 16, Zeb Wise 11.941 17, Paul McMahan 11.979 18, Skylar Gee 12.006 19, Austin McCarl 12.012 20, Greg Wilson 12.041 21, Bill Balog 12.087 22, Russel Borland 12.115, 23, Mike Reinke 12.125 24, Dave Uttech 12.149 25, Gerard McIntrye 12.185, 26, Jake Blackhurst 12.246 27, Shane Stewart 12.291 28, Robbie Pribnow 12.445 29, Todd King 12.46 30, Scotty Neitzel 12.520 31, Josh Walter 12.632 32, Sean Rayhall 12.697 33, Matt Vandevere 12.731 34, Danny Schlafer 12.739 35, Kris Spitz 12.739 36, John Fahl 12.778 37, Scott Biertzer 12.956 38, Bryce Schmitt 12.988 39, Hunter Custer 13.198 40, Wayne Modjeski 13.288 41, Paige Polyak no time.

HEAT 1

1, Paul McMahan 2, Josh Baughman 3, Cory Eliason 4, Scotty Thiel 5, Russel Borland 6, Dave Uttech 7, Mike Reinke 8, Shane Stewart 9, John Fahl.

HEAT 2

1, Zeb Wise 2, Hunter Schuerenberg 3, Cale Thomas 4, Gio Scelzi 5, Greg Wilson 6, Gerard McIntyre Jr. 8, Hunter Custer 9, Bryce Schmitt.

HEAT 3

1, Austin McCarl 2, Aaron Reutzel 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Kerry Madsen 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Scott Biertzer 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Wayne Modjeski.

HEAT 4

1, Jake Blackhurst 2, Parker Price-Miller 3, Dominic Scelzi 4, Kyle Larson 5, Robbie Pribnow 6, Matt Vandevere 7. Josh Walter 8, Paige Polyak (DNS).

HEAT 5

1, Jeremy Schultz 2, Terry McCarl 3, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 4, Skylar Gee 5, Bill Balog 6, Tyler Courtney 7, Todd King 8, Kris Spitz.

C MAIN

1, Mike Reinke 2, Todd King 3, Sean Rayhall 4, Josh Walter 5, Kris Spitz 6, Hunter Custer 7, Wayne Modjeski 8, John Fahl 9, Bryce Schmidt 10, Paige Polyak (DNS), 11, Shane Stewart (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Tyler Courtney 2, Bill Balog, 3, Greg Wilson 4, Danny Schlafer 5 Russel Borland 6, Robbie Pribnow 7, Gerard McIntyre Jr. 8, Dave Uttech 9, Mike Reinke 10, Matt Vandevere 11, Todd King 12, Scott Biertzer.

DASH 1

1, Gio Scelzi 2, Dominic Scelzi 3, Zeb Wise 4, Kerry Madsen 5, Jake Blackhurst 6, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

DASH 2

1, Kyle Larson 2, Cory Eliason 3, Austin McCarl 4, Paul McMahan 5, Cale Thomas 6, Jeremy Schultz.

A MAIN

1, Kyle Larson 2, Kerry Madsen 3, Gio Scelzi 4, Dominic Scelzi 5, Cory Eliason 6, Paul McMahan 7, Zeb Wise 8, Parker Price-Miller 9, Cale Thomas 10, Josh Baughman 11, Aaron Reutzel 12, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 13, Skylar Gee 14, Tyler Courtney 15, Jeremy Schultz 16, Bill Balog 17, Scotty Thiel 18, Scotty Neitzel 19, Greg Wilson 20, Jake Blackhurst 21, Terry McCarl 22, Hunter Schuerenberg 23, Danny Schlafer 24, Austin McCarl.

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Shane Wenninger 4, Brandon McMullen 5, Will Gerrits 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Doug Wondra 8, Austin Hartmann 9, Kevin Seidler.

HEAT 2

1, Kurt Davis 2, Tony Wondra 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Travis Arenz 5, Tim Haddy 6, Mike Decker 7, Bill Taylor 8, Alex Pokorski 9, Lance Fassbender.

HEAT 3

1, Ben Schmidt 2, Adam Miller 3, Tyler Davis 4, Nick Daywalt 5, Matt Vandevere 6, Blake Wondra 7, Chris Larson 8, Preston Ruh 9, Scott Armstrong.

A MAIN

1, Kurt Davis 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Justin Miller 5, Shane Wenninger 6, Ben Schmidt 7, Kevin Karnitz 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Tony Wondra 10, Nick Daywalt, 11, Bill Taylor 12, Will Gerrits 13, Tyler Brabant 14, Adam Miller 15, Tim Haddy 16, Alex Pokorski 17, Matt Vandevere 18, Blake Wondra 19, Mike Decker 20, Preston Ruh 21, Chris Larson 22, Tyler Davis 23, Austin Hartmann 24, Doug Wondra.

By Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 25, 2020 – Another hot and humid evening for racing produced some even steamier action on the track as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing staged its fifth racing program of the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds third-mile clay oval in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 25.

Point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan claimed his first A-main victory of the season in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car A main, four-time PDTR Late Model track champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake racked up his A-main first victory of the season in the 25-lap Gasroots Project Late Model main event, Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee notched his second straight Klips N Tips 25-lap Grand National A-main triumph and Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier rolled to his initial A-main win of the 2020 campaign in the time limit-shortened 22-lap B Mod A main.

Polesitter Brandon Berth of Cascade of grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, while 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth worked the low groove to pass outside front row starter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum for second on lap 2.

Berth held a sold cushion over Miller before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 5 when Waldo’s Chris Clayton spun in turn three. On the restart, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove, who started fourth, used the high groove to challenge the low-riding Miller for second on lap 6.

One lap later, Tim Haddy of Waupun spun in turn two to bring out the second and final caution flag of the race. When the race resumed, Schmidt again worked the high groove to pass Miller for second on lap 7, while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started fifth, also pounded the high line to move into third on lap 8.

By lap 12, Berth had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Schmidt. Two laps later, 11^th starter Travis Arenz used the preferred low line to work underneath Miller into third before quickly setting his sights on the leaders.

Berth began to encounter slower traffic on lap 16, which allowed Schmidt and Arenz to close the gap significantly. On lap 18, Arenz dove under Schmidt for second before using another low move in turn one on lap 19 to wrestle the lead away from Berth in heavy lapped traffic.

Arenz then pulled away over the final six laps to secure his second career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and eighth career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win by a half-straightaway margin.

After the race, Arenz was penalized for passing below the infield track tires, which resulted in the loss of points and pay. Despite the penalty, Arenz was still credited with the victory.

“I was told by an MSA/PDTR official that I was the race winner, but I am getting third-place pay and points because I advanced a spot earlier in the race with the left front over the tires,” Arenz said. “The reason they gave me the win was because there were a lot of other cars passing below the tires tonight and not just me. It’s not how I want to win. I really wish we had a two-lane track like last week. Unfortunately, the bottom was so fast, it made it difficult to pass.”

Berth came home second to record a career-best 360 Sprint Car A main showing, Schmidt finished third, Miller wound up fourth and 2017 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh worked his way up from the 10^th starting spot to round out the top five.

In his first appearance of the year at the Plymouth Dirt Track, polesitter Tony Peterson of Mukwonago seized the lead on the opening lap, while outside front row starter Brad Mueller slipped into second.

The lone caution of the race appeared on lap 2 when Eric Michaels of Cleveland spun to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Mueller began to reel in Peterson along the low line, while 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha, who started fifth, worked the high groove to secure third on lap 6. After Mueller, Peterson and McGrath went into turn four on lap 6 three wide for the lead, Mueller emerged as the race leader in turn on lap 7 with McGrath sliding into second.

On lap 9, Mark Rose of Dorchester, who started eighth, passed Peterson to assume third. As McGrath continued to stick primarily to the high grove in an attempt to track down the low-riding Mueller, the leaders hit slower traffic starting on lap 19.

With lapped cars racing in the preferred low groove, Mueller had to slow his pace a bit, which allowed McGrath to close in the final five laps. However, Mueller held off McGrath’s advances by three car lengths to secure his 21^st career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.

McGrath had to settle for second, Rose placed third, fourth starter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee finished fourth and New London’s Justin Ritchie charged from his 16^th starting spot to place fifth.

Outside front row starter Aaron Stolp outpowered 2008 PDTR Grand National champ Matt Yancey of Sheboygan, who started on the pole, to pace the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National main event.

On lap 3, the first of three caution flags appeared when Steven Weber of Plymouth and defending PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth spun in turn two.

On the restart, third starter Derek Kaat of Plymouth, two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fifth, and eighth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg dueled three wide in turn three on lap 4 for third with Scholten taking over the third spot.

Two laps later, the second caution appeared when Jeff Muehlbauer of Elkhart Lake stopped along the frontstretch. On the restart, Scholten when high to seize second on lap 7. Three laps later, Sorce Jr. maneuvered past Yancey to gain third in the running order.

With Stolp in clear command at the front of the field, Sorce Jr. closed on Scholten over the final 10 laps, but he could not pull off the pass.

Stolp went on to secure his second career and second consecutive PDTR Grand National A main victory by a half-straightaway margin over Scholten. Sorce Jr. was third, Yancy placed fourth and Kaat completed the top five.

Polesitter Steve Lorier outpowered outside front row starter Jason Schilling of Greenfield to lead the opening lap of the B Mod A main before fourth starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton seized second on lap 2.

The first of six caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn two. Two laps later a red flag appeared when Rory Welch of Grafton, Jesse Jakubowski of Sheboygan Falls, James Rautmann of Howards Grove and David McCutcheon made hard contact near the backstretch wall.

On the restart, Cullen and Schilling waged a heated duel for second before the third caution period on lap 7 when Patrick Hansen of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn three. When the race resumed, sixth starter Elijah Koenig of Beaver Dam made his presence felt as he moved in third on lap 7 and then advanced to second in turn two on lap 8.

One lap later, Koenig was quickly closing on Lorier for the lead, while defending PDTR B Mod champ Tim Warner of Fond du Lac worked up from his fifth starting spot into third on lap 9.

The fourth caution flag appeared on lap 10 when Patrick Hanson spun again in turn four. Following the restart, Warner and Koenig waged a torrid battle for second, which culminated with Koenig seizing control on the runner-up spot on lap 13.

The fifth caution flag was presented on lap 16 when Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four. On the restart, Koenig charged in to pressure Lorier for the top spot along the low line. Koenig pulled alongside Lorier for the lead on lap 22 when the sixth caution was displayed for a three-car incident in turn two, which brought the race to an end due to the 25-minute per A-main race time limit.

Lorier secured his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory with Koenig finishing second and Warner in third. Schilling ended the race in fourth, but was disqualified after failing to meet the minimum weight requirement following the race. Rookie Trevor Frank of Sheboygan, who started third, earned a career-best fourth-place finish and Cullen rounded out the top five.

Preston Ruh of Elkhart Lake won the PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.

The fifth PDTR racing program of the 2020 season, which was sponsored by Hopf Farms, drew a total of 86 cars, including 31 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models, 15 Grand Nationals and 23 B Mods.

This week will feature two events in three days at The Plymouth Dirt Track as the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions joins with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series for the second annual Rayce Rudeen Foundation event on Thursday, July 30 and the regular PDTR program presented by Pedal Down Promotions is set to take place two nights later on Saturday, Aug. 1.

The July 30 event, which was rescheduled from May 26, will feature the highest-paying Winged 410 Sprint Car race in Wisconsin history as a cool $26,000 will go to the winner. The large purse is expected to attract a stellar field featuring many of the country’s top Sprint Car drivers.

Last season Australian standout James McFadden captured the victory aboard retired NASCAR star Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 machine in the first All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car A-main at the Plymouth facility since 1995. The July 30 all-Sprint Car event will also feature the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars.

Among the drivers expected to compete are retired All Star Series owner and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart of Columbus, Ohio, who won last year’s Rayce Rudeen event at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa as well as an IRA event at The Plymouth Dirt Track last Aug. 31, two-time defending All Star Series point champ Aaron Reutzel of Clute, Texas, two-time All Star Series champion Greg Wilson of Benton Ridge, Ohio and nine-time IRA champ Bill Balog of Hartland, along with All Star and IRA series regulars Cory Eliason of Visalia, Calif., Jeb Wise of Angola, Ind., Paul McMahan of Nashville, Tenn., two-time IRA champion Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, former IRA champ Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam, former IRA champ Jake Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill. and Russel Borland of Kewaskum.

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

The PDTR 360 Sprint Car, Late Model, Grand National and B Mod divisions will be in action on Saturday, Aug. 1 with trophies sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions.

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan Falls will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand.

A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.

 

KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS

HEAT 1

1, Justin Miller 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Travis Arenz 4, Mike Decker 5, Preston Ruh 6, Scott Conger 7, Bill Taylor 8, Nich Melis.

HEAT 2

1, Shane Wenninger 2, Anthony Knierim 3, Kevin Karnitz 4, Chris Clayton 5, Tyler Tischendorf 6, Lance Fassbender 7, Scott Armstrong 8, Blake Wondra

HEAT 3

1, Brandon Berth 2, Tyler Davis 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Tim Haddy 5, Doug Wondra 6, Justin Erickson 7, Nick Daywalt 8, Austin Hartmann.

HEAT 4

1, Kurt Davis 2, Adam Miller 3, Davey Ray 4, Will Gerrits 5, Tony Wondra 6, Tyler Brabant 7, Josh Teunissen (DNS).

B MAIN

1, Preston Ruh 2, Justin Erickson 3, Nick Daywalt 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Tony Wondra 6, Bill Taylor 7, Doug Wondra 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Blake Wondra 10, Scott Armstrong 11, Mike Decker 12, Scott Conger 13, Austin Hartmann 14, Nich Melis (DNS) 15, Josh Teunissen (DNS).

A MAIN

1, Travis Arenz 2, Brandon Berth 3, Ben Schmidt 4, Justin Miller 5, Brandon McMullen 6, Kurt Davis 7, Justin Erickson 8, Tyler Davis 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Will Gerrits 11, Anthony Knierim 12, Davey Ray 13, Nick Daywalt 14, Tyler Tischendorf 15, Kevin Karnitz 16, Tony Wondra 17, Christ Clayton 18, Tim Haddy 19, Bill Taylor 20, Preston Ruh 21, Adam Miller 22, Shane Wenninger.

GASROOTS PROJECT LATE MODELS

HEAT 1

1, Mitch McGrath 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Eric Michaels 4, Ted Dolhun Sr. 5, Sawyer Specht 6, Charlie Schmidt 7, Billy Rezutek 8, Justin Ritchie 9, Joe Bongiorno.

HEAT 2

1, Turk Letizia 2, Brad Mueller 3, Tony Peterson 4, Mark Rose 5, Justin Schmidt 6, Tim Buhler 7, Kevin Baldry 8, Chad Ludwigson.

A MAIN

1, Brad Mueller 2, Mitch McGrath 3, Mark Rose 4, Turk Letizia 5, Justin Ritchie 6, Justin Schmidt 7, Jim Schmidt 8, Charlie Schmidt, 9, Tim Buhler 10, Joe Bongiorno 11, Ted Dolhun Sr. 12, Kevin Baldry 13, Billy Rezutek 14, Tony Peterson 15, Eric Michaels 16, Sawyer Specht 17, Chad Ludwigson.

KLIPS N TIPS GRAND NATIONALS

HEAT 1

1, Luke Scholten 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Steven Weber 4, Derek Kaat 5, Brett Wenzel 6, Paul Perronne 7, Eric Lingford 8, Brad Weiss.

HEAT 2

1, Donny Kulow 2, Dick Hed 3, Aaron Stolp 4, Matt Yancey 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Jeff Muehlbauer 7, Ross Rate.

A MAIN

1, Aaron Stolp 2, Luke Scholten 3, Don Sorce Jr. 4, Matt Yancey 5, Derek Kaat 6, Dick Hed 7, Steven Weber 8, Donny Kulow 9, Brett Wenzel 10, Brad Weiss 11, Eric Lingford 12, Paul Perronne 13, Ross Rate 14, Jeff Muehlbauer 15, Tyler Kulow.

CELLCOM B MODS

HEAT 1

1, Steve Lorier 2, Jesse Cullen 3, Tim Thrun 4, Justin Bauer 5, Craig Gessner 6, Andy Welter 7, Jesse Jakubowski 8, Travis Schmidt.

HEAT 2

1, Tim Warner 2, James Rautmann 3, Barry Maas 4, Spencer Long 5, Gary Glander 6, Jim Fischer 7, Rory Welch 8, David McCutcheon.

HEAT 3

1, Elijah Koenig 2, Jason Schilling 3, Trevor Frank 4, Patrick Hanson 5, Phil Campanella 6, Andy Singer 7, Jonathan Hitsman.

A MAIN

1, Steve Lorier 2, Elijah Koenig 3, Tim Warner 4, Trevor Frank 5, Jesse Cullen, 6, Justin Bauer 7, Jonathan Hitsman 8, Tim Thrun 9, Andy Welter 10, Spencer Long 11, Rory Welch 12, David McCutcheon 13, Craig Gessner 14, Andy Singer 15, Gary Glander 16, Jim Fischer 17, Phil Campanella 18, Barry Maas 19, Patrick Hanson 20, James Rautmann 21, Jesse Jakubowski 22, Travis Schmidt (DNS), 23, Jason Schilling (DQ).