by Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 29, 2021 – On an evening when bad luck hounded the leaders in three of four A-main races, four advantageous competitors turned in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main victories in main event action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
In A-main action, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove raced to victory in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car headliner, after early race leader Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan made contact with a lapped car.
Milwaukee’s Turk Letizia took advantage of a final-lap incident involving the first and second-place cars of three-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland and Charlie Schmidt of Cedar Grove to collect the victory in the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model main event.
2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth drove the low groove to earn the win the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive A main and Justin Bauer of Sheboygan Falls benefitted from a spin by early race leader Trevor Frank of Sheboygan to claim the victory in the 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A main.
In the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car headliner, Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car competitor Scotty Thiel, who started second, outpowered polesitter Nick Daywalt of Hubertus to grab the lead on the opening lap in a rare appearance behind the wheel of a PDTR 360 Sprint Car.
Thiel worked the high line on the dry slick track surface to built up a quarter-straightaway cushion over fourth starter Ben Schmidt in the early going. On lap 7, the leaders hit lapped traffic. One lap later, Thiel made contact with the slower car of PDTR 360 Sprint Car rookie Matt Rechek of Beaver Dam in turn four, which sent him spinning to bring out the first of two caution flags.
Thiel restarted the race at the rear of the field, while Schmidt inherited the lead on the restart. Following the restart, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started fifth, worked his way past Daywalt into second with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started sixth, in tow.
On lap 12, McMullen ducked low to work past Davis with ninth starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan hot on his heels to move into third. One lap later, Arenz used the high groove to power around McMullen into second in turn three.
Two laps later, Alex Pokorski of West Bend rolled to a stop in turn two to bring out the second and final caution flag of the race. Schmidt controlled the race on the final restart, but Arenz held strong to mount a spirited challenge over the final five laps.
On lap 21, Arenz attempted to work the middle groove to steal the lead away from Schmidt. However, Schmidt fended off Arenz’s charge in the closing laps of the race to earn his second Plymouth victory of the 2021 season, 12th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car victory and 29th career Midwest Sprint Car Association A main triumph.
Arenz finished second, McMullen was third, Davis wound up fourth and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett rounded out the top five after starting seventh.
Polesitter Turk Letizia grabbed the lead of the 25-lap Late Model A main on the drop of the green flag with third starter Jim Schmidt of Cleveland in second. On lap 2, sixth starter Charlie Schmidt worked the high line to bolt into third.
One lap later, Charlie Schmidt dispatched of the low-riding Jim Schmidt to take second. Charlie Schmidt completed his march to the front by working around Letizia into first place along the high line in turn one on lap 4.
Two laps later, Justin Schmidt found the outside groove to his liking as he worked past Letizia to take second. On lap 10, Charlie Schmidt caught the back of the field, which allowed Justin Schmidt to cut the gap significantly.
On lap 21, Justin Schmidt ducked low to take over the top spot. However, Charlie Schmidt battled back as the two drivers dueled side by side for the lead on lap 22. The leaders were forced to negotiate lapped traffic over the final two circuits and on the final circuit Justin Schmidt and Charlie Schmidt made contact in turn four, which sent Justin Schmidt spinning to a stop as the checkered flag flew.
Charlie Schmidt, crossed the finish line first, but was penalized to the rear of the field for the contact with Justin Schmidt with the victory going to Letizia, who was running third on the final lap, in the caution-free race.
It was Letizia’s first victory of the 2021 season and fourth overall PDTR Late Model A-main triumph.
Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha, who started 13th, finished second, rookie Justin Green of Sheboygan Falls placed third, after starting fourth, eighth starter Jayme Zidar of Greenfield placed fourth in his return to Dirt Late Model racing after a lengthy absence, and Jim Schmidt rounded out the top five.
Polesitter Brad Weiss of West Bend grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main with two-time PDTR Grand National champ Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis, who started fifth, in second.
On lap five, second starter Steven Weber of Plymouth moved up to the high groove to take second from Sorce Jr. and on the following lap Weber bolted around Weiss to take the lead in turn two.
However, one lap later, Sorce Jr. used the low line to move past Weber into the top spot. On lap 9, Tyler Kulow, who started sixth, made his presence felt as he took second from Weber and began setting his sights on Sorce Jr. for the lead.
On lap 15, Kulow closed in on the lead and three laps later he slipped underneath Sorce Jr. to seize the top spot. Kulow then proceeded to pull away over the final seven laps en route to his first A main victory of the 2021 season and ninth career PDTR Grand National main event win in the non-stop race.
Sorce Jr. finished second, Weber was third, eighth starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg placed fourth and 2017 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville finished fifth after starting fourth.
Polesitter Trevor Frank grabbed the lead with second starter Justin Bauer taking second on the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main. After the first of five caution flags appeared on lap 2, Frank again held the top spot on the restart with Bauer following.
Frank controlled the pace at the front of the field until lap 7 when he spun in turn two to bring out the second caution of the race. Frank restarted the race at the rear of the field with Bauer assuming the top spot.
On lap 7, Jonathan Hitsman of Plymouth, who started third, worked the high groove to take second before the third caution appeared for a single-car spin on lap 8.
Bauer led Hitsman over the next six green flag laps before Frank and Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls made contact turn three, resulting in both drivers spinning to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race.
Glen Blanke of Sheboygan Falls, who started fifth, flexed his muscle on the restart to move into second and challenge Bauer for the lead along the cushion. The low-riding Bauer and high-side hugging Blanke dueled side by side for the lead on lap 14 before Bauer eventually maintained the position.
The fifth caution flag came out on lap 19 when Rick Kretschmann of Sheboygan Falls hit the wall in turn four. Bauer continued to fend off the challenges of Hitsman on the restart and held strong over the final six laps to secure his second career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.
Hitsman placed second, Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls, who started fourth, finished third, seventh starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls took fourth and Blanke rounded out the top five.
Tim Haddy of Waupun won the first 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main and Scott Conger of Eagle was the victory in the second 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.
Tyler Kulow set a new 10-lap PDTR Grand National heat race record in winning the second Grand National heat race in a time of two minutes and 33 seconds, which was one second better that the previous track record.
The fifth PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was Military Night and sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions, drew 81 total cars, including 37 360 Sprint Cars, 18 B Mods, 15 Late Models and 11 Grand Nationals.
PDTR action is scheduled to resume on Saturday, June 5 with the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions and Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car series set to pay a vi to The Plymouth Dirk Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars also on the card.
Pit gates open at 1 p.m., with spectator gates opening at 3 p.m. for those purchasing advance tickets and 4 p.m. for those purchasing tickets on race day. Advance tickets can be purchased by visiting www.irasprints.com/schedule/.
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, Ben Schmidt 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Adam Miller 4, Tony Wondra 5, Brandon Berth 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Tom Kreutz 9, Dylan Winkel 10, Cole Possi.
HEAT 2
1, Nick Daywalt 2, Jack Vanderboom 3, Justin Erickerson 4, Anthony Knierim 5, Tim Haddy 6, Blake Wondra 7, Scott Conger 8, Chris Larson 9, Tyler Brabant (DNS).
HEAT 3
1, Kurt Davis 2, Travis Arenz 3, Bill Taylor 4, Kevin Karnitz 5, Alex Pokorski 6, Matt Rechek 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Chris Clayton 9, Ken Schmick.
HEAT 4
1, Will Gerrits 2, Austin Hartmann 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Scotty Thiel 5, Doug Wondra 6, Justin Miller 7, Preston Ruh 8, Tyler Davis 9, Katelyn Krebsbach.
B MAIN 1
1, Tim Haddy 2, Justin Miller 3, Alex Pokorski 4, Chris Clayton 5, Tony Wondra 6, Preston Ruh 7, Mike Yurmanovich 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Katelyn Krebsbach 10, Dylan Winkel 11, Ken Schmick (DNS).
B MAIN 1
1, Scott Conger 2, Matt Rechek 3, Doug Wondra 4, Josh Teunissen 5, Tyler Davis 6, Tyler Tischendorf 7, Chris Larson 8, Blake Wondra 9, Tom Kreutz 10, Cole Possi (DNS).
A MAIN
1, Ben Schmidt 2, Travis Arenz 3, Brandon McMullen 4, Kurt Davis 5, Lance Fassbender 6, Nick Daywalt 7, Will Gerrits 8, Scotty Thiel 9, Kevin Karnitz 10, Anthony Knierim 11, Jack Vanderboom 12, Adam Miller 13, Tim Haddy 14, Bill Taylor 15, Brandon Berth 16, Matt Rechek 17, Justin Miller 18, Doug Wondra 19, Alex Pokorski 20, Justin Erickson 21, Scott Conger 22, Austin Hartmann.
SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTY B93.7 LATE MODELS
HEAT 1
1, Joe Bongiorno 2, Jim Schmidt 3, Tim Buhler 4, Charlie Schmidt 5, Eric Michaels 6, Chad Ludwigson 7, Jake Van Engen 8, Donny Singer.
HEAT 2
1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Green 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Jayme Zidar 5, Sawyer Specht 6, Taylor Scheffler 7, Justin Ritchie.
A MAIN
1, Turk Letizia 2, Taylor Scheffler 3, Justin Green 4, Jayme Zidar 5, Jim Schmidt 6, Joe Bongiorno 7, Tim Buhler 8, Justin Schmidt 9, Charlie Schmidt 10, Sawyer Specht 11, Eric Michaels 12, Jake Van Engen 13, Donny Singer 14, Justin Ritchie 15, Chad Ludwigson (DNS).
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
HEAT 1
1, Don Sorce Jr. 2, Dick Hed 3, Matt Loehr 4, Derek Kaat 5, Randy Post 6, Dylan Struve.
HEAT 2
1, Tyler Kulow 2, Steven Weber 3, Brad Weiss 4, Luke Scholten 5, Donny Kulow.
A MAIN
1, Tyler Kulow 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Steven Weber 4, Luke Scholten 5, Matt Loehr 6, Brad Weiss 7, Donny Kulow 8, Derek Kaat 9, Dick Hed 10, Dylan Struve 11, Randy Post.
CELLCOM B MOD
HEAT 1
1, Gary Glander 2, Glen Blanke 3, Brendan Ostrowski 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, Jonathan Baumann 6, Steve Lorier.
HEAT 2
1, Justin Bauer 2, Spencer Long 3, Rick Kretschmann 4, Rory Welch 5, Christopher Gilson 6, Phil Campanella.
HEAT 3
1, Trevor Frank 2, Jonathan Hitsman 3, Shane Long 4, Donny Singer 5, Randy Theys 6, Patrick Hanson.
A MAIN
1, Justin Bauer 2, Jonathan Hitsman 3, Gary Glander 4, Shane Long 5, Glen Blanke 6, Donny Singer 7, Jonathan Baumann 8, Rory Welch 9, Brandon Knepprath 10, Randy Theys 11, Trevor Frank 12, Spencer Long 13, Brendan Ostrowski 14, Rick Kretschmann 15, Christopher Gilson 16, Phil Campanella 17, Steve Lorier 18, Patrick Hanson (DNS).
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