By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 5, 2022 – As a newcomer this season to full-time competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. 15-year racing veteran Andy Welter of Hartford has taken the PDTR B Mod division by storm during the 2022 campaign.
Through the first six full PDTR programs of the 2022 season, Welter currently leads the way in the B Mod point standings with an eight-point cushion over Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls, heading into the final three B Mod points races of the season.
Despite his very limited experience at The Plymouth Dirt Track third-mile clay oval, Welter has been strong throughout the 2022 PDTR B Mod campaign never finishing outside the top-six in A-main action, while collecting four top-three main-event finishes, including his first career A-main victory on dirt in PDTR B Mod competition on July 9.
“My first feature win on dirt at Plymouth on July 9th was my 26th career feature win,” Welter said. “I’ve won two track championships that are pretty special to me. My first track championship was in 2011 in the Thunderstock division at Slinger Speedway and the second track championship was in 2016 in the Area Sportsman division at Slinger. The feature win I had at the Wisconsin State Championships at Jefferson Speedway was an awesome win, but my first win on dirt means the most.”
The spark for Welter’s diverse racing career was ignited as a younger attending races with his father.
“My dad would take us as kids to Slinger Speedway,” Welter said. “I always loved sitting in the cars after the races and collecting everyone’s speed cards.”
At the age of 13, Welter made the big jump from a face in the crowd watching in the stands to one of the drivers competing in a race car on the track.
“When I was 12, my dad took me to watch the races at Slinger and when their Slinger Bee division came out, the track announcer said you could start racing a 4-cylinder car at age 13,” Welter said. “My birthday was in a month, so I got all my money together and bought my first race car for my birthday. I started racing in 2007 and have been hooked ever since.”
Welter has tested the racing waters in several different divisions at a wide range of tracks and racing surfaces over the past 15 years behind the wheel.
“I’ve competed in 4-cylinders, Thunderstocks, Late Models and Area Sportsman all on asphalt,” Welter said. “On the dirt side, I’ve race an IMCA Sport Mod so far. I’ve been lucky enough to race all over on asphalt and dirt. I’ve raced at Slinger Speedway, Jefferson Speedway, Madison Speedway, La Crosse Speedway, Rockford Speedway, Columbus Speedway, Beaver Dam Raceway, Gravity Park Speedway, The Plymouth Dirt Track, The Hill in Sturgeon Bay, 141 Speedway in Francis Creek and Eagle River Speedway. This past March we went down and raced at the Bristol Dirt Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.”
Welter says he is all-in on each of the experiences that racing has offer.
“I enjoy every aspect of the sport,” Welter said. “I like the racing itself, working and building the car and hanging out with fans after the races. I love everything about it.”
Despite having limited starts at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Welter jumped at the opportunity to compete with PDTR on a regular basis during the 2022 season.
“We decided to race at Plymouth with PDTR mainly in 2022 because it’s closer to home for us and I hadn’t run a lot there previously, so we figured, why not?” Welter said. “My goal this season is to rack up feature wins
“Outside of racing all of the nights that the B Mods are scheduled at Plymouth, I want to get up to Eagle River Speedway again this year yet and we will run the Duel at the Dam at Beaver Dam Raceway at the end of the season,” Welter said. “We are still deciding if we want to run the Captain of the Creek at 141 Speedway yet.”
With dirt track racing now firmly in his blood, Welter has his eyes on possibly moving up the dirt division ranks in the future.
“My plan or dream really is to end up racing Dirt Late Models,” Welter said. “I’ve always wanted to race one ever since I saw one for the first time when I was a kid.”
The Andy Welter Racing pit crew includes Zack Welter, Thomas Wilhelme and Adley Kadubeck.
“I want to thank my crew for their hard work,” Welter said. “I also need to thank my mom and dad for the use of their shop and the rest of family for the support and last, but definitely not least, my girlfriend, Kelly, for putting up with all the late nights and time on the road.”
Welter is extremely appreciative of the support of the team’s sponsors.
“My sponsor Randy Rosbeck and his family at RMR Spindle Repair in Belgium have sponsored me since day one,” Welter said. “I also want to thank Jacob Wilhelme at Jake’s Custom Sawing, Steven and Heather Fischer at the Kirchhayn Country Club, Mr. Holland’s Home Services, Jeff Steenbergen at Ultimate Racecars and Suspension, Wegner Automotive for the horsepower and Circle B Recreation in Cedarburg. I couldn’t do it without any of them.”
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This Saturday, Aug. 6 will feature the rescheduled inaugural Plymouth Wall of Fame induction with 10 drivers, five track workers and three racing families honored among the Class of 2022 inductees.
The inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 includes drivers Dick Berth, Etchie Biertzer, Buck Carman, Willie Goeden, Wayne Goetsch, Dick Hed, Bill Johnson II, Carl Kulow, Ken Markwardt and Ken Steffen.
Dedication to Racing honorees include Eddie Foy, Bill Hoftiezer, Happy Laack, Karen Ruh and Donny Ruh. Inductees in the Racing Families category are the Goetsch, Laack and Schulz families.
The Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 inductees will be recognized during a ceremony at intermission of the racing program.
In addition, this Saturday, Aug. 6 will be PDTR Kids Autograph Night with checkered flags and backpacks sponsored by Hopf Farms.
All kids are encouraged to visit the pit area after the racing program to get autographs from their favorite drivers, many of whom will have special items and treats to handout.
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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