By Jeff Pederson – Pedal Down Promotions

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 4, 2026 – In his first MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association start of the 2026 season, Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan, Wis., drove to a convincing victory in the caution-free 25-lap main event to highlight the MSA’s fourth annual appearance at Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River, Wis., on Saturday, July 4.

After rolling off from the outside of the front row, Thiel dueled side by side with polesitter Katelyn Krebsbach of Johnsburg, Wis., on the opening circuit before inching ahead to lead the opening lap.

Krebsbach battled back along the low groove, entering turn one on lap 2, but the high-riding Thiel seized control of the top spot exiting turn two. Thiel wasted little time in building up a solid cushion over Krebsbach before catching up to the rear of the field on lap 7.

Thiel, who began his Sprint Car racing career with the MSA in 2008, didn’t allow lapped traffic to hinder his pace as he sliced his way through the back of the pack with precision to build a full straightaway advantage just past the halfway point.

On lap 15, 2025 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Kevin Karnitz of West Bend, who started third, slipped past Krebsbach to take over second amongst thick lapped traffic.

Three laps later, Chris Clayton of Waldo used his familiar low line to grab third. Clayton then pulled up to challenge Karnitz for second as the laps wound down, but he was unable to snag the spot.

Meanwhile, Thiel cruised to his 16th career MSA A-main victory in the non-stop contest. Karnitz came home second, Clayton was third, eighth starter T.J. Smith of Greenville took fourth, and Carter Chevalier of Andover, Minn., who started fourth, rounded out the top five.

In victory lane, Thiel credited his car owner, Randy Sippel, with whom he has enjoyed plenty of success in limited MSA starts.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Thiel said. “It’s always a pleasure to drive Randy’s cars. This win means more than any other we’ve had together. He lost his dad this week. We made some changes before the feature, and the car felt great.”

T.J. Smith topped the 22-car MSA field to earn overall fast qualifier honors with a lap of 13.549 seconds around the third-mile semi-banked, D-shaped clay oval.

Katelyn Krebsbach won the six-lap MSA dash to earn the pole position for the main event.

The MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association is set to return to action on Saturday, July 11, for Wall of Fame Induction Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis.

Pit gates open at 3 p.m. Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

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

 

MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association
Eagle River Speedway
Eagle River, Wis.
July 4, 2026

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 33-Scotty Thiel [2]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [3]; 3. 2-Chris Clayton [7]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 5. 15-Carter Chevalier [4]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [1]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt [9]; 8. 6K-Kurt Davis [6]; 9. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 10. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [11]; 11. 24X-Eric Wilke [12]; 12. 68T-Tyler Davis [14]; 13. 69W-Shane Wenninger [15]; 14. 11-Tony Wondra [10]; 15. 68P-Frank Perko [16]; 16. 69-Bill Taylor [17]; 17. 9C-Cole Stella [20]; 18. 25-Cody Schlafer [13]; 19. 59-Ethon Stear [18]; 20. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [19]; 21. (DNS) 51C-Brok Clifcorn; 22. (DNS) 5-Kevin Seidler

Dash 1 (6 Laps): 1. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 2. 33-Scotty Thiel [3]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 4. 15-Carter Chevalier [6]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 6. 6K-Kurt Davis [5]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth [3]; 3. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 4. 35-Ben Schmidt [5]; 5. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [6]; 6. 9C-Cole Stella [1]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 33-Scotty Thiel [2]; 2. 15-Carter Chevalier [3]; 3. 2-Chris Clayton [5]; 4. 68T-Tyler Davis [1]; 5. 25-Cody Schlafer [4]; 6. 51C-Brok Clifcorn [6]; 7. (DNF) 5-Kevin Seidler [7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [3]; 2. 6K-Kurt Davis [4]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra [2]; 4. 69W-Shane Wenninger [1]; 5. 24X-Eric Wilke [5]; 6. 68P-Frank Perko [6]; 7. 59-Ethon Stear [7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.549 [3]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.712 [1]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.760 [5]; 4. 9C-Cole Stella, 13.815 [7]; 5. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.894 [6]; 6. 5S-Chad Stouthamer, 13.895 [8]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 14.183 [2]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 14.387 [4]

Qualifying 2: 1. 25-Cody Schlafer, 13.599 [7]; 2. 15-Carter Chevalier, 13.645 [4]; 3. 33-Scotty Thiel, 13.690 [6]; 4. 68T-Tyler Davis, 13.834 [3]; 5. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.860 [1]; 6. 51C-Brok Clifcorn, 13.939 [5]; 7. 5-Kevin Seidler, 14.123 [2]

Qualifying 3: 1. 6K-Kurt Davis, 13.858 [5]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.991 [2]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra, 14.091 [6]; 4. 69W-Shane Wenninger, 14.157 [1]; 5. 24X-Eric Wilke, 14.351 [4]; 6. 68P-Frank Perko, 14.355 [3]; 7. 59-Ethon Stear, 14.369 [7]