(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 9, 2019 – In the infinitely challenging and highly competitive world of dirt track racing, Waldo’s Travis Schmidt has been in a quick study in what it takes to go fast.
In just his third full season behind the wheel of a B Mod in weekly Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Schmidt currently stands second in the B Mod point standings, eight points behind leader Tim Warner of Fond du Lac, with just four nights remaining in the 2019 campaign.
The upward climb from rookie in 2017 to championship contender in 2019 has been a quick one for Schmidt, who got his first taste of racing on two wheels before getting the bug to try his hand at racing a full-size car.
“I always wanted to race on a dirt oval, and when I was helping out on a team, I learned the ropes of oval racing,” Schmidt said. “Eventually, I decided to build my first car. I was short on money and decided to build a B Mod since they were one of the cheapest to build. I went out an found a good, straight car and built it. My racing career has just gone forward from there.”
“I actually started racing motocross when I was 5-years old,” Schmidt said. “Over the years, I’ve raced motocross, Outlaw Sprint Karts and now B Mods.”
Schmidt burst onto the PDTR B Mod scene in a big way in 2017 and has improved steadily every year since.
“I’ve only raced B Mods for three years now,” Schmidt said. “In 2017, I won the rookie of the year. In 2018, I won most improved driver and finished third in the point standings. This year, I’m currently second in the point standings, only eight points out of the lead with only a few nights left in the season.
“I’ve only raced at Plymouth on regular basis, but I have also raced at Gravity Park, Beaver Dam, 141 Speedway and Luxemburg on occasion,” he said.
In a relatively short period of time, Schmidt has already tallied two significant career highlights.
“Two career highlights stand out in my mind right now,” Schmidt said. “The first is when I won by first A main in 2018 and the second is being named rookie of the year in 2017.”
With the top spot in the PDTR B Mod standings clearly in sight, it is no surprise what Schmidt’s goal is for the remainder of the 2019 season.
“My biggest goal at this time is to win the B Mod track championship at Plymouth,” Schmidt said.
While some may think racing is all about horsepower, tires, shocks, set-ups and hard-fought competition, Schmidt says the sport is all about personal relationships.
“To me completely honest, the best thing about racing to me is the amount of great friendships I’ve made over the years,” Schmidt said. “Some people I’ve met through racing have even grown into being more like family to me.”
Looking to the future, Schmidt has no plans to go anywhere any time soon, but he admits he does think about trying his hand at wheeling a machine with a little more firepower.
“As of now, my plans are to build a new B Mod for the short term,” Schmidt said. “Over the long term, I’d love to build a Late Model or Sprint Car.”
Schmidt’s sponsors for the 2019 season include: Sipp’s Bar and Gill, Collins State Bank, Premier Excavation, Barry Maas High Performance Race Engines, Racer’s Hall, Mueller’s Sales and Service, Kaiser Wrecking, Jim’s Lakeshore Garage Doors, Bumper Girl LLC, Waldo Oil, Tiff’s Waldo Cafe, RC Custom Design, Starbright DJ Services, Fastenal and Rasmussen Dairy Transit.
Pit crew members are Steve Schmidt, Chris Schmidt, Dylan Maas, Dani and Lisa Schmidt.
“I can’t wait for what the future of racing has in store for me and all of my sponsors,” Schmidt said. “I need to thank all of my sponsors and a few others for all the work, time and money that has been put into my racing career over all of these years.”
***
Racing action this Saturday, Aug. 10 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. begins with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to start at 6 p.m. The trophy sponsor for the evening is Roger and Dan’s Auto Service.
PDTR’s Autograph Night and Past Champions Night, which was rained out last Saturday, Aug. 3, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17.
The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis. For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook.
By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
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.
