By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 25, 2020 – As one of the most decorated drivers in the 22-year history of the Midwest Sprint Car Association, Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh has put together quite a resume in his 11 years behind the wheel of a 360 Sprint Car.
This Saturday, Sept. 26, McMullen will be looking to add his second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car championship, as well as his fourth MSA title to his list of accomplishments during the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
Through nine points races at the Plymouth Dirt Track, McMullen holds an 82-point lead over Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who has four MSA A-main victories and three PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event wins to his credit in 2020, heading into the final PDTR 360 Sprint Car points event this Saturday.
The Plymouth native has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his standout career, which has included six MSA A-main victories and three PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event triumphs.
“I’d say there was a bit more urgency to start the season with good results considering the late start and threat of racing being shut down at any point,” McMullen said. “I normally struggle early in the year and come on strong at the end. I’m not sure why that is. This year we came out really strong and have been able to continue it throughout the season. Maybe it was a different mindset, hitting the set-ups better, just catching better luck to start the year, or a combination of those things.”
McMullen, who stands third on the all-time MSA A-main victories list with 29 main event wins and fifth on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main wins list with 17 career triumphs, has bounced back strong in 2020, following an incident-plagued 2019 season.
“I can’t say that the bad luck from last year really changed our approach to this year necessarily,” McMullen said. “We spent a lot of last season trying different things with set-ups since we were out of the championship early in the year from all the incidents we got caught up in. We have continued to build off of what we found from last season and have been able to catch some good luck. Our focus and desire to win has also been elevated by how well Travis [Arenz] and his team have been doing this year. Competition always brings out the best in your team and I think as a result this is by far the best our car has been and the best I’ve ever driven.”
McMullen, who has collected nine top-10 and six top-five A-main showings in nine PDTR 360 Sprint Car main events this season, ranks his 2020 campaign among the best seasons of his stellar Sprint Car career.
“Our 2020 season has been much more successful than any of us would have imagined,” McMullen said. “We were fortunate to catch some good luck with the pill draws and inverts this year and hopefully that continues into the final weekend. Our team has been clicking on set-up ideas and the car has been very quick and well handling, which makes my job easy. We’ve never won more than five features in a regular season. To have won six features at the different tracks we’ve ran at in a short season like this has far and away exceeded our expectations.”
The third-generation racer points to his victory in the fourth annual Harry Neitzel Tribute Race at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis. has the high point of his memorable 2020 season.
“I think the highlight for this year has to be winning at Dodge County for the Harry Neitzel Tribute,” McMullen said. “Harry was a great man, who helped us a bunch when we first got into the 360 division. Even if you were having a bad night at the track, he could always find a way to get you to laugh or smile. The races aren’t quite the same without him. To have won that race was an honor and the most meaningful in my career so far.”
With the 2020 season coming to a close this Saturday, McMullen says he hasn’t yet confirmed his 2021 racing plans.
“We’ve talked about it a little bit, but haven’t really sat down to determine what we want to do next year,” McMullen said. “At this point, we’ll be back with our family operation with the 360 Sprint Car, but we don’t know how many nights we want to run yet. While I would love to try racing with a competitive 410 motor in our own equipment, it just isn’t in our budget right now.”
Heading into the final PDTR 360 Sprint Car points race of the 2020 season, 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth stands 89 points out of the lead in third, while two-time and defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee sits fourth 96 points behind McMullen. Kevin Karnitz of West Bend is fifth in the point standings 134 points out of the top spot.
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Austin Hartmann of Plymouth is set to wrap up the PDTR 360 Sprint Car and MSA Rookie of the Year Awards at The Plymouth Dirt Track this Saturday, Sept. 26.
With no prior racing experience of any type, Hartmann was far and away the class of the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car rookie crop this year as he heads into the final night of the PDTR season 27th in the 360 Sprint Car point standings.
“I came into the season with no previous racing experience, so my goal was to make it through the year and make consistent laps,” Hartmann said. “I think the season was alright. I feel like myself and our team grew as a whole, so were excited for next year. Winning rookie of the year means a lot to me, considering I had no previous racing experience.”
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With the rain out of the scheduled PDTR program on Saturday, Sept. 12, Aaron Stolp of Milwaukee secured his first PDTR Grand National championship. It is the second PDTR title for Stolp, who captured the 2020 PDTR Outlaw Compact championship.
In addition, Tim Warner of Fond du Lac collected his second straight PDTR B Mod title.
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The Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships event on Saturday, Sept. 26 at The Plymouth Dirt Track will feature the final points races of the season for the IRA Sprint Cars, Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Cars, MSA Sprint Cars, PDTR 360 Sprint Cars and IRA Lightning Sprints with 2020 champions crowned in all five divisions.
Pit gates open at 1 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 4 p.m., followed by hot laps at 4:45 p.m. with qualifying and racing to follow.
The trophy sponsors for the night will be Collins State Bank and RC Custom Design.
Spectator admission is $25 for adults, $5 for kids 6-12 and children five and under are admitted free. Pit admission is $30 or $25 with appropriate membership.
For those unable to attend in person, the action on both nights will be broadcast live at floracing.com
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.
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For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.
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