By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 19, 2022 – After spending the bulk of his life working on and driving open-wheel race cars with and alongside his father, Bill, Shane Wenninger’s participation in the sport came to an abrupt halt in November 2020 when Bill, the founder and driving force behind Wenninger Motorsports, passed away at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loss dulled Wenninger’s desire to return to the track without his racing mentor and biggest fan by his side. Consequently, the familiar No. 53 Wenninger Motorsports machine was absent from The Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car scene during the entire 2021 season, as well as through the first two months of the current 2022 campaign.
However, after a 21-month absence, the Wenninger Motorsports team returned to competition with Shane fittingly back behind the wheel on Father’s Day weekend for the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car event at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 18.
“My family and close friends wanted me to get back in the car to honor my dad,” Wenninger said. “It has been a lot of fun, but it’s very difficult being in the car and on the track without my dad and his support. My dad and I have been in racing my whole life, between his car and then mine, so it’s a big change without him.”
As is often the case with racers, Wenninger was introduced to the sport of dirt track racing at a young age through his family’s participation, as Bill was a regular competitor in the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified division at The Plymouth Dirt Track during the 1980s and 1990s.
After helping with his father’s Winged Super Modified car, it was only natural that Wenninger eventually stepped into the driver’s seat himself.
“I got interested in racing from going with my parents and later watching and pitting for my dad when he started racing,” Wenninger said. “I started racing in the 360 Sprint Car division in 2004. I have had a few quick times, 94 heat race wins and two feature wins with the Midwest Sprint Car Association.”
Despite his extended absence from the cockpit, Wenninger has shown little signs of rust since his return. The 18th-year Kewaskum driver has tallied four top-10 and two top-five A-main showings in six PDTR 360 Sprint Car events this season, including a pair of fourth place finishes in main event action on July 9 and July 16.
“The competing part hasn’t changed,” Wenninger said. “I love the competition within the 360 Sprint Car division. There is a lot of talent in the division and that gives me a lot of motivation and drive to compete.”
With four events remaining in the 2022 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season, Wenninger stands 22nd in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car point standings, despite entering just six of the 11 race nights contested to date.
After competing at the front of the PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main field in three A-main events since his return, including leading eight laps of the July 9 main event, Wenninger has his sights set on parking his No. 53 car in victory lane again.
“The goal for the rest of the season is to have fun and learn as much as I can,” Wenninger said. “Hopefully, we can pick up another feature win.”
The Wenninger Motorsports team continues to be a family endeavor for Wenninger, his wife, Kristin, and their two children, Aubrey, 9, and Lucy, 5.
“Shane and I have been married for 14 years and have been together since 2005, which was his second year of racing,” Kristin Wenninger said. “Both girls have been going to the races since in the womb, Both are summer babies. Aubrey, who will be going into fourth grade in the fall, made her first appearance at Plymouth when she was three weeks old, and Lucy, who will be starting kindergarten this fall, made her first appearance at Plymouth when she was two weeks old.”
This year’s pit crew for Shane Wenninger and the Wenninger Motorsports 360 Sprint Car team includes Nich Melis (crew chief/co-owner), Anne Wenninger (mother), Steve and Kathy Boehm (father in-law, mother in-law), Chris Beckman, Tanner Schaub, Dan Espen and Brandon Knepprath.
The sponsors for Shane Wenninger and the Wenninger Motorsports team during the 2022 season are PMF Landscape Supply, Berres Unlimited, T.J.’s Custom Harvesting, Hoffert’s Auto Repair, Shufflebotham Tree Service, Kristine Hartmann, Realtor, RC Custom Design, LM Apartments, Kettle Moraine Deer Tracking and Superior Deer Tracking.
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This Saturday, Aug. 20 is the final night of points competition for the 2022 PDTR season in the Late Model, Grand National and B Mod ranks with a champion set to be crowned in all three divisions.
The Late Model division features a hotly contested battle at the top of the standings with the top five drivers separated by just 25 points.
Despite still searching for his first A-main victory of the 2022 season, four-time and defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland heads into championship night with a two-point lead over Late Model rookie Bill Edler of Howards Grove and a three-point advantage over Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee. Turk Letizia of Milwaukee stands fourth, 12 points behind Justin Schmidt, while Schmidt’s father, Jim, is 25 points back in fifth.
The other two Late Model competitors, who have entered all eight PDTR points races this year, also lurk not too far back, as Charlie Schmidt of Oostburg stands 35 points behind in sixth and Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls sits seventh, 66 points out of first place.
In the Grand National division, veteran Luke Scholten of Oostburg will be looking to lock down his first career track championship as he will head into the final points race of the season with a 32-point lead over 2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth.
The Bender Racing No. 89 car, which has been shared by co-drivers Matt Loehr of Dotyville, 2010 PDTR Grand National champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth and Steven Ruh of New Holstein this year, stands third 74 points out of first place, followed by Steven Weber in fourth 77 points behind and Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake in fifth 86 points back.
Andy Welter of Hartford holds a 12-point lead over Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls in the PDTR B Mod points. Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan is 26 points behind in third with Newton’s Jonathan Hitsman 35 points back in fourth and James Rautmann of Howards Grove is 52 points out of first place in fifth.
Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville stands sixth, 62 points out of first place, and Steve Lorier of Sheboygan ranks seventh, 72 points out of the lead, entering the PDTR championship night program.
Each of the top seven drivers in the B Mod standings are seeking their first career PDTR B Mod championship.
In addition, drivers in the Late Model division will be racing for an increased purse in the Aug. 20 A main, including $1,250 to win courtesy of Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson of Thiensville in memory of Scott and Wayne and Houpt, KW Electric of Sheboygan and Edler Bros Trucking of Sheboygan.
Competitors in the B Mod division will also be racing for extra money in the Aug. 20 A main thanks to longtime B Mod fan Tom Ott, including a first-place prize of $500.
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This Saturday, Aug. 20 is Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Junior Fan Appreciation Night with prize drawings, giveaways and special activities geared to kids 15 and under. Prizes include a kids battery powered Jeep donated by Neumann Plumbing & Heating, Nintendo Switch Lite with pouch and games donated by Larry Boedecker Family, Fondy Sports Park certificate, Kelly’s Creamery certificate and gas card donated by Dave & Brenda Mohs, a Sharper Image drone and assorted games donated by Luedke Auctions and a bike donated by Kim’s 5 Corners among others. Each kid in attendance will also receive a coupon for a free hot dog and soda with a coin and candy drop set to take place courtesy of Vander Vaart Concrete.
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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