By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 15, 2022 – In his fifth season behind the wheel of a B Mod, James Rautmann of Howards Grove has stepped up his game to emerge as a top contender in Plymouth Dirt Track Racing B Mod competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., during the 2022 campaign.
Through the first five full nights of the 2022 PDTR B Mod season, Rautmann has collected a pair of top-five A-main showings and four top-10 finishes in main event action to sit sixth in the B Mod point standings 46 points behind point leader Shane Long with five points races remaining in the 2022 PDTR B Mod campaign.
Rautmann is fresh off of his best A-main showing of the 2022 season, as he led the first 19 laps of the PDTR B Mod main event last Saturday, July 9 before securing a season-best third-place finish.
“My main goal for this year is to finish in the top five every night, chase that first A-main win, and get as many heat wins as I can,” Rautmann said.
Rautmann was introduced to racing at a young age working with one of the most successful drivers in the history of The Plymouth Dirt Track.
“I first got into racing with my dad helping out Bob Brion and Gary Laack in the Winged Super Modified division,” Rautmann said. “From there, I stuck with the number 62, which Gary Laack was well known for running to many race victories and championships at Plymouth over the years.”
After several years of helping out others as an eager and dedicated pit crew member, Rautmann has leaped at the opportunity to get behind the wheel himself in a myriad of different race cars over the past eight seasons, often competing alongside his brother, Jonathan Hitsman, as part of the JBR team.
“I started racing in 2015 in a Mighty 4 car for only two seasons and after taking a year off, I started back up in 2018 in a B Mod,” Rautmann said. “I helped out Randy Sippel for about five or six years and got to jump in one of his 360 Sprint Cars a few times. I drove a Sprint Car in his driving school at 141 Speedway and then got to race at the old Chilton Speedway, Manitowoc Speedway and Plymouth a few times. Racing a Sprint Car is something I would really like to get back into maybe in the next few years, hopefully sooner.”
Rautmann has collected a number of preliminary race victories in his racing career, but he remains intensely focused on visiting victory lane for the first time in A-main competition.
“The highlights of my racing career so far are a handful of heat race wins and top-five finishes in the A mains, but I’m still looking for that A-main win,” Rautmann said. “I plan on finishing out the season at Plymouth and possibly run a few Fridays at Gravity Park Speedway.”
The pit crew members for Rautmann’s No. 62 JBR team are Sage Klein, Conner Thun, Blake Thun and Werner Binkowsky III.
The sponsors for the 2022 JBR No. 62 team include Richardson Industries, Harters Disposal B&N Drywall and Painting, Busch Light, Knockouts Tap and Eatery, Petrie Fabrication and Peterson Septic Systems.
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This Saturday, July 16 will feature the first of two planned 2022 Plymouth Dirt Track appearances for the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, which will join the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods to round out a five-division program sponsored by Pit Stop Pizza.
Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying slated for 5:30 p.m. and racing set to begin at 6 p.m.
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.
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.
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