By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 17, 2017 – The largest crowd of the 2017 season descended on The Plymouth Dirt Track for a double dose of high-horsepower, winged open-wheel action, as the Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series joined forces with the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Cars for the IRA’s first of four planned visits to the venerable third-mail clay oval at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth Saturday, June 17.

In the 30-lap IRA A-Main headliner, Kyle Marten of Sheboygan Falls held off a late charge from defending IRA Series champion Jeremy Schultz of Beaver Dam, while veteran driver Danny Schlafer of Sussex scored a convincing victory in the rain-shortened 20-lap PDTR Sprint Car A main.

With light rain falling, polesitter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan led the 24-car field to the green flag in the IRA A main. Utilizing the preferred outside groove, Kyle Marten bolted into the lead in turn two of the opening lap with Thiel in tow.

Meanwhile, seven-time IRA champion and all-time series A-main win leader Bill Balog of Hartland used an impressive start to launch his potent Rhine Auto backed machine into fifth place on lap 2 from his eighth starting spot.

On lap 5, Marten began to encounter heavy lapped traffic, which allowed Thiel to close the gap. Working through a sea of lapped cars, the action at the front of field heated up considerably, as Marten, Thiel and third starter Jeremy Schultz sliced and diced through slower cars while also battling hard for position.

On lap 6, Schultz dove under Thiel briefly to gain the runner-up spot, but Thiel charged back to rain the position with a high move in turn 1 on lap 8.

On lap later, Thiel got and big run along the low groove to briefly slip past Marten for the top spot. However, Marten stormed back into the lead on lap 10 bringing Schultz along into second.

On lap 12, Balog worked his way up to challenge Thiel for third as the two talented racers dueled side by side over the next lap. Disaster struck on lap 13 as Dennis Spitz of Lewisburg, Kentucky spun in turn four while collecting both Balog and Thiel to trigger the first and only caution flag of the race.

Balog suffered heavy front end damage and was forced to retire from the race. Spitz also exited, while Thiel was able to restart the race in the 17^th position.

Marten flexed his muscle on the restart to build up a half straightaway cushion over Schultz with sixth starter Jake Blackhurst of Mapleton, Ill. running third.

Starting on lap 16, Marten sliced his way through lapped traffic with relative ease making all the right moves. Marten encountered several slower cars racing side by side for position in the closing laps, which again allowed Schultz to close

On lap 23, Schultz pulled up to Marten’s tail tank and continued to hound Marten over the final seven laps. Despite a late run from Schultz, Marten held on to post his third career IRA A-main victory and first of the 2017 season.

Schultz, who came into the event as the winner of the previous two IRA A-mains at The Plymouth Dirt Track, had to settle for third, Blackhurst wound up third, seventh starter Mike Kertscher of Plymouth placed fourth and Mike Reinke of Howards Grove moved up from his 10^th starting spot to round out the top five.

In the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main, polesitter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend and outside front row starter Tim Haddy of Waupun dueled for the top spot for the first lap and a half before Haddy surged ahead along the high groove on lap 2.

On lap 4, sixth starter Danny Schlafer made his presence known in a big way as he used a slide job to slip past Karnitz for second. One lap later, the hard-charging Schlafer used nearly the same slide job move to power past Haddy for the top spot.

Four laps later, the two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion caught the back of the field and began to work past lapped cars. Further back, Haddy and Karnitz waged an epic battle for second before Karnitz assumed the position for good in turn two on lap 12.

At the front of the field, it was all Schlafer, who continued to hold down a commanding lead. On lap 20, a caution flag appeared after a steering malfunction sent Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove head on into the turn four wall. Schmidt overcame the very hard impact to climb from his car unscathed.

As safety crews tended to Schmidt’s battered machine, the rain began to fall harder to render the track wet enough to make track conditions unsafe for racing. As a result, the race was deemed complete at the 20-lap mark and the remainder of the racing program was called off.

Schlafer posted his 17^th career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory to move into sole possession of second place on the all-time 360 Sprint Car A-main win list at Plymouth. It was also Schlafer’s 45^th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory, which ranks him second on the all-time MSA win list.

Karnitz came home second, Haddy was third, third starter Dick Kaiser was fourth and Kenjay Fiedler of Sheboygan Falls started and finished fifth.

The B Mod A main was cancelled due to rain.

B main victories went to Dave Uttech of Kenosha in the IRA ranks, while Robbie Pribnow of Lomira won the PDTR Sprint Car B main.

Next week’s PDTR program will be sponsored by Miller Pepsi and feature B Mod driver introductions. Racing will begin at 6 p.m.

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

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

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

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 27, 2017  – With some long overdue pleasant spring weather conditions greeting racers, crews, fans, sponsors and track workers, four cagey veterans and one newcomer grabbed A-main victories in the third Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2017 season Saturday, May 27, at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds.

For the third consecutive week, a large contingent of 109 cars packed the pit area to compete for the A-main trophies sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions. It was also Military Night with a special pre-race ceremony honoring those who have and continue to serve our country to ensure our daily freedom.

In the 25-lap Sprint Car A main, it was 25-year veteran Paul Pokorski of West Bend recording his first feature victory since August 2015. Newcomer Jesse Glenz of Fall Creek made his first visit to Plymouth count with a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Late Model headliner. Mark Fieber of Cascade survived a wild Grand National A-main to claim the top prize. Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls captured the 25-lap B Mod A-main victory, while Tory Strauss of Waterloo rolled to victory in the Micro Sprint A-main.

The green flag fell in the Sprint Car A main with Kenjay Fiedler of Sheboygan Falls on the pole and Paul Pokorski on the outside of the front row. Pokorski utilized the preferred outside groove to power into the lead in turn two of the opening lap.

By lap 3, Pokorski had opened a half straightaway advantage over Fiedler. Pokorski, who was the 2014 Midwest Sprint Car Association Masters Series champion, encountered lapped traffic for the first time on lap 6.

Two laps later, the first caution of the event appeared on lap 8 for the stalled car of Mike Yurmanovich of Cascade in turn three. A red flag was then displayed when fire crews had to attend to situation in the pit area.

When the race resumed, ninth starter Brandon McMullen of Appleton charged up to take third place on lap 9. At the front of the field, Pokorski again built up a solid cushion over Fielder. By lap 15, Pokorski had stretched out a half-lap advantage.

Pokorski, who was involved in an opening night accident which has sidelined his primary 2016 Maxim car, overcame a near spin in turn two in the closing laps to steer his 2011 J&J backup machine to his first A-main victory since Aug. 14, 2015 at the now defunct Manitowoc Expo Speedway.

It was Pokorski’s third career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and 10^th overall feature triumph of his Sprint Car career. Fiedler held on for second, 2008 PDTR Sprint Car Champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett was third, McMullen finished fourth and 10^th starter Tim Haddy of Mayville claimed fifth, after starting 10^th.

“It was great to get a victory,” Pokorski said. “I had a pretty close call getting sideways there in turn two, but luckily I was able to recover. It was a fast, hammer down track right around the top, which I normally like. Everything worked out well for us tonight.”

Jesse Glenz, who is a regular competitor at Cedar Lake Speedway and Red Cedar Speedway in Western Wisconsin, started on the pole of the Late Model A main next to outside front row starter Justin Schmidt of Cleveland.

Glenz grabbed the lead on the opening lap, as defending PDTR Late Model Champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush moved into second. On lap 5, Schmidt jumped up to the high grove to challenge the low riding Buhler for the runner-up spot. The two hard-charging drivers mounted an epic door panel-to door panel battle for the remainder of the race.

Buhler moved in to briefly challenge Glenz as the leaders moved into slower traffic on lap 8. On lap 12, Schmidt surged past Buhler to take over second. However, two laps later, Buhler regained the spot along the low groove.

Glenz, who was making his PDTR debut, built a half-lap lead by 17 before Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove prompted the first yellow flag of the race with a spin in turn three on lap 17.

On the restart, Glenz powered away as Buhler and Schmidt continued their race-long duel. Glenz went on to earn his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory, followed by Buhler in second. Schmidt settled for third, three-time PDTR Late Model Champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake started and finished fourth and seventh-starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha wound up fifth.

“This is our first time here and I really enjoyed it,” Glenz said. “It is a great facility with a lot of cars in the pits and strong fan support. The car ran really well and I’m happy to be in victory lane.”

2010 PDTR Grand National Champion Brian Gilles started the Grand National A-main from the pole flanked by 2011 PDTR Grand National Champ Mark Fieber, who started second. Gilles and Fieber raced side-by-side on opening lap before Fieber gained the advantage in turn two on lap 2.

The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 2 when 2008 PDTR Grand National Champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan hit the wall in turn two. On the restart, defending PDTR Grand National Champion Brian Cesar of Sheboygan used the high groove to challenge Gilles for the runner-up spot. After two laps of heated action, Gilles and Cesar made contact in turn two, which caused Gilles to drop back to seventh in the running order.

After the second caution appeared on lap 5 debris, Cesar challenged fourth-starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth for second starting on lap 7. Following four laps racing in side-by-side formation, Kulow gained the upper hand on lap 11. The third caution flag came out on lap 13 for a spin involving Justin Erickson of Plymouth.

After the restart, the action continued to be hot and heavy behind Fieber as a host of drivers jostled for position in close proximity. The final caution appeared on lap 17 for Josh Pierce of Random Lake, who spun in turn two to set up an entertaining eight-lap trophy dash between Fieber, Kulow and Cesar.

Kulow attempted to duck under Fieber for the lead in turn two on lap 20, but contact ensued, which caused Kulow to drop back slightly. Meanwhile Cesar charged hard along the high groove to pull even with the bottom-hugging Fieber on lap 22.

Cesar surged into the lead briefly in turn 2 on lap 23, but Fieber was not to be denied as he turned back under Cesar to regain the lap later in the lap in turn four. Fieber held on to secure his 11^th career PDTR A-main victory to move firmly into second place on the all-time PDTR Grand National A-main win list behind Brad Lubach, who has 24.

Cesar was second, Kulow took third, two-time PDTR Grand National Champion Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis place fourth after starting 10^th and seventh starter Dan Sorce of West Allis placed fifth.

Polesitter Ken Childre of Milwaukee led the field into turn one on the B Mod A main before third starter Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls moved into the top spot in turn three.

The first of four cautions appeared on lap 3 for a spin involving Craig Gessner of Kewaskum. On the restart seventh starter Cody Eickberg of Plymouth was the drive on the move as he worked the high groove to pass second starter J.J. Walvoord of Oostburg on lap 9 for the runner-up spot.

Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls, who started 11^th, also mounted a charge to the front as he assumed third on lap 13. On lap 16, Green used the outside line to pressure Eickberg for second. Green cleared Eickberg for second on lap 17 and quickly set his sights on Kretschmann.

After two more caution periods in the final seven laps, Green had to deal with a hood panel that had flipped up. However, he held on to maintain second at the finish line behind Kretschmann, who notched his second career PDTR B Mod A main victory, Eickberg was third, followed by ninth starter Glenn Blanke of Sheboygan Falls in fourth and Walvoord in fifth.

In the 20-lap Micro Sprint A main, Tory Strauss started from the pole and was never seriously challenged throughout. Defending PDTR Micro Sprint Champion Zach Boden of Cambridge worked his way into second on lap 11, after starting fourth.

Boden appeared poised to challenge Strauss for the top spot before Joe Snow spun and later flipped on lap 16 to bring out the second caution of the race. On the restart Boden fell back to fifth, while 11^th starter Chad Bogar of Sun Prairie powered up to second place.

Strauss held on over the final four laps to notch his second career PDTR Micro Sprint A main victory by a half straightaway over Bogar. Matt Perterson, who started second, took third, Dave Collins placed fourth after starting 10^th and Boden rounded out the top five.

B main victories went to Tyler Brabant of Waupun (Sprint Car), Steven Weber of Plymouth (Grand National) and Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum (B Mod).

PDTR racing action will continue next Saturday, June 3, with racing scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. It will be Police, Fire and EMS Night, as well as Graduates Night. All police, fire and EMS personnel, along with graduates will receive free admission with proper ID. Trophies will be sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza.

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

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

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

Cold weather doesn’t deter huge car count

By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 6, 2017 – A huge field of 109 cars and a hearty contingent of race-starved fans braved blustery weather conditions to ring in the 13^th season of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing (PDTR) action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at Sheboygan County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 6.

For most competitors, the night marked the first opportunity to test their prized, finely-tuned machines after a long winter of preparation. On average, the results were expectedly uneven as all opening nights tend to be. Some drivers hit on all cylinders right out of the box, while worked through a bit of rust and a few first-night jitters.

At the end of the night, there were plenty of pleased race teams in the pit area, while a handful of others left the track with some work to do before strapping in for week two.

In the Late Model headliner, three-time PDTR champion Brad Mueller kicked off his 30^th season of racing in grand style by capturing the 25-lap A main. Waupun’s Tim Haddy, who is marking his 25^th season of racing this year, led flag-to-flag to claim the 25-lap Sprint Car A-Main, while Dan Sorce of West Allis (Grand National), Chad Vetting of Valders (B Mod) and Shiocton’s Denver Larsen (Micro Sprint) also opened the season with A main victories.

After an aborted start, polesitter Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag of the Late Model main event with third-starter Randy Markwardt of Sheboygan trailing in second and defending PDTR Late Model champion Tim Buhler of Greenbush, who started fourth, moving into third.

As Markwardt began to reel in Schmidt, Mueller moved up from the seventh starting spot to work his way past Buhler into third place. Mueller then set his sights on Markwardt, quickly reeling in the 40-year veteran and executing a low move in turn one on lap 10 to assume the runner-up spot.

Meanwhile, Cleveland’s Justin Schmidt was making a similar charge to the front from his 12^th starting position. On lap 11, Schmidt claimed third in the running order and began closing in the lead two of Mueller and Charlie Schmidt.

On lap 15, Mueller ducked underneath Charlie Schmidt in turn four to gain the top spot. Close behind, the Schmidts (Justin and Charlie) engaged in a short duel for second place before Justin prevailed to move into second place in turn two on lap 18.

The leaders approached heavy lapped traffic on lap 20, which made things challenging for Mueller and Justin Schmidt, but both drivers worked skillfully through the slower cars.

Sporting a throwback 1991 paint scheme for his 30^th season, Mueller went on to post his 17^th career PDTR Late Model A main victory in the non-stop, caution-free race over Justin Schmidt, who had to settle for second. Charlie Schmidt came home third, followed by fifth-starter Rick Scheffler of Waukesha in fourth and Buhler in fifth.

“This is a brand-new car and the first night for me in the car, so it was a little up in the air as to how we would be tonight,” Mueller said in victory lane. “Since we had nothing to go by with this car, we went back to our book and used some of our old knowledge to find some speed.

“It was a really nice track for us tonight,” he said. “It was a very smooth track, which usually is good for Late Models. The quality of the track showed tonight with no cautions for us. All of the Late Model guys did good job.”

The 25-lap Sprint Car A main got off to a rocky start as Andrew Westphal of Fond du Lac got sideways and flipped in turn three on the opening lap before collecting Paul Pokorski of West Bend. Both cars suffered heavy damage in the incident and retired to the pit area.

On the drop of the green flag, Tim Haddy outpowered outside front-row starter Brandon McMullen of Appleton to lead the opening lap. McMullen held tight with Haddy throughout most the race, following Haddy’s wheel tracks in close quarters on the predominately one-groove surface.

As the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 11, McMullen moved in to look under Haddy on a couple of occasions by the 25-year vet did not budge from his line, refusing to give McMullen an opening to pounce.

On lap 22, fifth-starter Justin Miller of Plymouth slipped past two-time PDTR Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who started fourth, to gain third.

Haddy held strong as the leaders approaches slower traffic in the closing laps to nip McMullen at the finish line to record his sixth career PDTR Sprint Car A-main victory and 18^th career A main triumph in Midwest Sprint Car Association competition. McMullen finished second, followed by Miller in third, Schlafer fourth and 2010 PDTR Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of West Allis fifth.

The scheduled 25-lap Grand National A main was limited to 18 laps as six caution flags pushed the race past the time limit.

The race was controlled throughout by polesitter Dan Sorce of West Allis, who held off the valiant attempts third starter Kurt Davis for the entire race. Tyler Kulow of Plymouth charged from the 18^th starting spot to place third, followed by St. Peter’s Tim Simon, who started 11^th, in fourth and outside front row starter Matt Jackson of Sheboygan in fifth.

Likewise, the scheduled 25-lap B Mod A main completed just nine laps following four caution flags.

Chad Vetting, who started fourth, took over the lead on lap two and never looked back en route to his first B Mod victory in PDTR competition.

Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum notched a strong runner-up showing from his outside front row starting spot, defending PDTR B Mod champ Brandon Berth of Plymouth took third, followed by J.J. Walvoord, who started sixth, in fourth and Brian Bruechert of Kewaunee, who placed fifth after starting 11^th

Denver Larsen prevailed in the non-stop Micro Sprint A main to notch his first career PDTR A main triumph.

Larsen, who started third, engaged in an intense side-by-side battle with Dylan Larsen to take over second place on lap 5. Denver Larsen then started to close on outside front row starter Tory Strauss, who had led from the drop of the green flag.

However, Strauss slowed and retired to the infield on lap 12 to relinquish the lead to Denver Larsen, who then cruised to the victory.

Emily Portschy of Plymouth place second, followed by Preston Ruh (third), Tyler Davis (fourth) and Strauss fifth.

B main victories went to Dannon Tessmer (Sprint Car), Dick Hed of Plymouth (Grand National) and Patrick Hanson (B Mod).

PDTR racing action will continue next Saturday, May 13, with racing schedule to begin at 6 p.m.

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

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

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