By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 15, 2023 – With 11 accomplished competitors, five valued contributors and three dedicated racing families representing various eras of the track’s 73-year history in attendance as part of the second annual Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Night induction program, four modern-day racers carved out their own slice of history by notching Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main victories at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 15.
In the fourth Super Six Late Model Series main event of the 2023 campaign, 2014 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha outdueled Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha following a late restart and fended off a a spirited charge from four-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake in the closing laps to earn his second straight 30-lap 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series A-main triumph.
Kevin Karnitz of West Bend survived five caution and red flag restarts to secure his first Akright Auto PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory of the 2023 season in the incident-plagued time-shortened 19-lap main event.
Will Sorce of Franklin earned his second straight and fourth overall 25-lap Oostburg Automotive PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2023 season.
Cascade’s Barry Maas rolled to his first main event victory of the 2023 campaign in the caution-free 25-lap Next Step Insurance PDTR B Mod main event.
The initial start of the Super Six Late Model Series A main was negated when Bill Edler of Howards Grove spun in turn four. After dueling side by side on the opening circuit, outside front row starter Jayme Zidar of Greenfield used the outside groove to outpower polesitter Mitch McGrath and grab the lead on lap 2.
On lap 4, fourth starter Taylor Scheffler used the extreme high groove of the third-mile clay oval, which approached the outside fence, to take second away from McGrath on lap 6. One lap later, Scheffler blasted his way past Zidar into the lead exiting turn four on lap 7.
Scheffler wasted no time in building up a huge lead over Zidar during the next 10 laps before he caught the rear of the field on lap 17. Two laps later, McGrath used the outside lane to surge past Zidar into second on lap 19, while Scheffler continued to enjoy a half-lap lead at the front of the field.
Just as Scheffler appeared to be locked on cruise control, his half-lap cushion evaporated when the lone caution flag was displayed on lap 23 for the slowing car of Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls.
The ensuing restart kicked off a spirited display of slide jobs on the smooth and slick racing surface as Scheffler and McGrath exchanged the lead in turn two and turn four on laps 24 and 25 before McGrath ducked low to beat Scheffler into turn one on lap 26, following a lap 25 turn-four slide job, to secure the top spot for the first time in the race.
Meanwhile, eighth starter Brad Mueller worked the low groove to power his way into third on lap 26. Mueller’s late drive to the front saw him move past Scheffler into second on lap 28 before setting his sights on McGrath for the lead.
Mueller moved to within striking distance of the lead on the final circuit. However, he was unable to unleash a serious challenge for the lead on the white-flag lap as McGrath held on to pocket $1,500 and notch his 15th career PDTR Late Model A-main triumph to move into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time PDTR Late Model main event victory list.
Mueller had to settle for second, Scheffler placed third, Late Model rookie Jayden Schmidt of Seymour moved up from his 11th starting spot to finish fourth and fifth starter Justin Ritchie of New London rounded out the top five.
After battling side by side with polesitter Anthony Knierim of Franksville on the opening lap, fourth starter Brandon Berth of Cascade swept into the lead along the outside line on lap 2.
One lap later, sixth starter used the cushion to move past Berth into the lead in turn two on lap 3. With the smooth, wide and slick track surface receptive to sliders, Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum pulled one off to work past Berth into second lap 9.
As Karnitz ran away to an early half-lead advantage the first of five caution/red flag periods occurred on lap 12 when Alex Pokorski of West Bend brought out a red flag when he flipped his machine on its side in turn two.
On the restart, 2011 PDTR-MSA champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started ninth and came into the event as the winner of four consecutive PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A mains, ripped off a slider to edge two-time PDTR and five-time MSA champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee and gain fourth on lap 13.
Five laps later, Davis charged back to re-engage Schmidt in trading sliders for fourth on lap 18. Just as Karnitz caught the rear of the field, a caution flag was displayed just after the completion of lap 19 when rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc, who started third, and Shane Wenninger collided and spun to a stop in turn three in an incident, which also collected two-time PDTR and four-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh. All three contenders had to restart at the rear of the field.
The next four attempts to restart the event proved to be fruitless as Bill Taylor of Boltonville stopped on the back stretch to bring out the third caution of the race before Justin Erickson of Plymouth hit the turn two wall and stopped to produce the race’s fourth caution flag.
Following a six-car incident involving Randy Post of Oostburg, Shane Wenninger, Doug Wondra of Oakfield, Logan Julien, rookie T.J. Haddy of Waupun and Robbie Pribnow of Lomira sent Julien and Haddy flipping along the back stretch on the third consecutive restart attempt, the race was determined to be complete at the 19-lap mark due to the 25-minute time limit.
In earning his first main event victory of the 2023 campaign, Karnitz claimed his sixth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph and eighth career MSA 360 Sprint Car main event win.
“When they sprinkled the top of the track with water at intermission, I knew it would probably be good on the cushion, but I didn’t know how good it would be or for how long,” Karnitz said. “It turned out to be really good for us. I knew Ben [Schmidt] would be coming as the winner of four in a row and trying to get that fifth one. I figured people behind me would be throwing sliders considering the way the track was shaping up in the A main.
“I have to thank Dan Mayer for the opportunity to drive this Mayor Automotive car this year,” he said. “I also want to thank all of the sponsors and people that have been with me for many years now. This is a great win for us and pretty special as the first one for us together as a team.”
Schmidt placed second to fall just short of extending his record four consecutive PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victories, Davis wound up third, Berth placed fourth and PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car rookie T.J. Smith of Greenville moved up from the 16th starting spot to earn a fifth place finish.
After a caution flew when Steven Ruh of New Holstein spun along the front stretch on the start of the 25-lap Grand National A main, outside front row starter Tyler Kulow of Plymouth moved into the lead in turn two on the opening lap.
On lap 2, Will Sorce moved up from the fourth starting spot to take second in turn two before working the outside groove to power around Kulow into the lead in turn four one lap later.
The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap eighth when Steven Weber of Plymouth stopped in turn one. On the restart, 2010 PDTR Grand National and six-time overall Plymouth Dirt Track division champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth, who started six, worked the cushion to pass fifth starter Donny Kulow of Plymouth and gain third in turn four.
Two laps later, Gilles maneuvered around Tyler Kulow to seize second, while 2022 PDTR Grand National champ Luke Scholten of Oostburg, who started third, followed in Gilles high-riding tire tracks to gain third on lap 14.
Gilles reeled in the low-riding Sorce in the closing laps, but he was unable to mount a serious challenge for the lead as Sorce went on to secure his fourth main event victory of the 2023 season and eighth career PDTR Grand National main event win.
Gilles placed second, Scholten wound up third, 2008 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan finished fourth after starting on the pole and Tyler Kulow rounded out the top five.
Polesitter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls grabbed the initial lead of the 25-lap PDTR B Mod main event before outside front row starter Barry Maas worked the high line to initiate a side-by-side duel with Long for the top spot over the next two laps.
Maas finally surged into the lead on lap four and began to stretch out a sizable advantage. As the laps wound down, two-time PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Malone, who started fourth, used the outside groove to sweep past Long into second on lap 23.
Two laps later, Warner used a huge run along the cushion on the white-flag lap to make a final run at Maas for the victory. However, Warner’s impressive final-lap charge fell a half car length short at the checkered flag as Maas notched his first A-main victory of the 2023 campaign and second career PDTR B Mod main event victory.
Warner wound up second, Long finished third, third starter Travis Schmidt of Waldo was fourth and 2022 PDTR B Mod champion Andy Welter of Hartford rounded out the top five after starting sixth.
Doug Drews of Sheboygan Falls won the special Milwaukee Stock Car Association Vintage Modified main event.
T.J. Smith earned his first career PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car race victory in the 12-lap B Main.
Kurt Davis collected the fast qualifier award in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.817 seconds.
Turk Letizia of Milwaukee was the fastest qualifier in the Super Six Late Model Series qualifying session with a lap of 14.055 seconds.
NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series driver Josh Bilicki of Menominee Falls, Wis. made the first Winged Sprint Car start of his career, earning a ninth place finish in the shortened 19-lap PDTR-MSA A main behind the wheel of Randy Sippel’s No. 38 car.
The 10th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Butch and Janet Hafemann, drew a total of 88 cars, including 20 Super Six Late Model Series cars, 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Grand Nationals, 12 B Mods and 12 Milwaukee Stock Car Association Vintage Modifieds.
During intermission, drivers Steve Edler, Frankie Heimerl, Woody Klug, Hal Kulow, Gary Laack, Ron Luedtke, John and Rodney Michaels, Ken Painter, Jim Pitzen and Scott Vollbrecht were inducted into the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.
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Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2023 inductees in the Dedication to Racing category include track workers Donna Bader, Beth and Tom Breyer and Evie Robel, along with car owner and mechanic Glenn Haddy.
In addition, the Akright, Ruh and Wondra families were inducted to the Plymouth Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023 in the Racing Families category.
The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, July 22 will feature the fifth event of the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series, along with the 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing 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, Twitter and Instagram.
106.5 THE BUZZ SUPER SIX LATE MODEL SERIES
A Main (30 Laps): 1. 74-Mitch McGrath [1]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [8]; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [4]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [11]; 5. 70-Justin Ritchie [5]; 6. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [9]; 7. 3-Brett Swedberg [12]; 8. 42-Terry Casey [7]; 9. 19J-Justin Green [13]; 10. 97-Justin Schmidt [6]; 11. 44-Wayne Freimund [14]; 12. 42N-Paul Niznik [15]; 13. 54-Kevin Baldry [17]; 14. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [2]; 15. 22-Charlie Schmidt [10]; 16. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [16]; 17. 57M-Eric Michaels [18]; 18. 99-Sawyer Specht [20]; 19. 24-Turk Letizia [19]; 20. 77-Bill Edler [3]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 74-Mitch McGrath [2]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 3. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [3]; 4. 42-Terry Casey [7]; 5. 44-Wayne Freimund [5]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [6]; 7. (DNF) 99-Sawyer Specht [4]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [1]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 3. 22-Charlie Schmidt [2]; 4. 3-Brett Swedberg [4]; 5. 42N-Paul Niznik [5]; 6. 54-Kevin Baldry [6]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels [7]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 77-Bill Edler [1]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt [2]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie [5]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [4]; 5. 19J-Justin Green [6]; 6. 24-Turk Letizia [3]
Qualifying 1: 1. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.387 [5]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath, 14.414 [6]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller, 14.638 [2]; 4. 99-Sawyer Specht 14.995 [7]; 5. 44-Wayne Freimund, 15.433 [3]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 15.576 [1]; 7. 42-Terry Casey, 15.853 [4]
Qualifying 2: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 14.219 [5]; 2. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 14.368 [2]; 3. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 14.376 [1]; 4. 3-Brett Swedberg, 14.404 [7]; 5. 42N-Paul Niznik, 14.606 [4]; 6. 54-Kevin Baldry, 15.172 [3]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels, 15.639 [6]
Qualifying 3: 1. 24-Turk Letizia, 14.055 [1]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt, 14.112 [3]; 3. 77-Bill Edler, 14.161 [2]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.338 [6]; 5. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.398 [5]; 6. 19J-Justin Green, 14.632 [4]
AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [9]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [5]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [16]; 6. 16-Anthony Knierim [1]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel [20]; 8. 11-Tony Wondra [12]; 9. 38-Josh Bilicki [22]; 10. 4-Alex Pokorski [14]; 11. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [19]; 12. 98-Brandon McMullen [10]; 13. 7-Lance Fassbender [11]; 14. 69-Bill Taylor [17]; 15. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 16. 20-Robbie Pribnow [7]; 17. 54-Randy Post [2]; 18. 30-Doug Wondra [15]; 19. 21H-TJ Haddy [18]; 20. 85J-Logan Julien [3]; 21. 53-Shane Wenninger [8]; 22. 44-Hayden Johnson [21]
B Main (12 Laps): 1. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor [5]; 3. 21H-TJ Haddy [4]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [3]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel [6]; 6. 44-Hayden Johnson [1]; 7. 66T-Tristan Koenings [9]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [8]; 9. 51-Jeff Neubert [11]; 10. 53A-Spyder Akright [7]; 11. (DNF) 92-Kevin Seidler
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Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien [1]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [4]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith [5]; 7. 44-Hayden Johnson [8]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [7]; 9. 66T-Tristan Koenings [9]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 53-Shane Wenninger [1]; 2. 20-Robbie Pribnow [3]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 16-Anthony Knierim [5]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 6. 30-Doug Wondra [8]; 7. 21H-TJ Haddy [6]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 9. 51-Jeff Neubert [9]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 2. 54-Randy Post [1]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [5]; 4. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson [6]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [2]; 7. 38-Josh Bilicki [9]; 8. 53A-Spyder Akright [7]; 9. (DNF) 92-Kevin Seidler [8]
Qualifying 1 (5 Laps): 1. 6K-Kurt Davis, 12.817 [2]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.818 [3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.854 [6]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.866 [5]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.895 [9]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.069 [4]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.104 [7]; 8. 44-Hayden Johnson, 13.122 [1]; 9. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 13.168 [8]
Qualifying 2 (5 Laps): 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.124 [3]; 2. 20-Robbie Pribnow, 13.174 [1]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.372 [6]; 4. 53-Shane Wenninger, 13.393 [7]; 5. 16-Anthony Knierim, 13.531 [2]; 6. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.603 [4]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 14.035 [5]; 8. 51-Jeff Neubert, 14.117 [9]; 9. 30-Doug Wondra, 14.212 [8]
Qualifying 3 (5 Laps): 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 13.305 [8]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 13.444 [2]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.590 [3]; 4. 54-Randy Post, 13.634 [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.636 [1]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.693 [6]; 7. 38-Josh Bilicki, 13.855 [9]; 8. 53A-Spyder Akright, 14.259 [5]; 9. 92-Kevin Seidler, 15.609 [4]
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
A Main: 1. 14X-Will Sorce [4]; 2. 89-Brian Gilles [6]; 3. 80-Luke Scholten [3]; 4. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 5. 24K-Tyler Kulow [2]; 6. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 7. 53W-Dustin Weiss [7]; 8. 93-Mavrick Ruh [12]; 9. 5M-Nate Ruh [10]; 10. E85-Justin Pearson [11]; 11. 6-Dick Hed [13]; 12. 23-Scott Kafka [15]; 13. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [14]; 14. 82H-Steven Ruh [9]; 15. 72E-Chad Espen [16]; 16. 8-Jake Richards [17]; 17. 34-Steven Weber [8]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 89-Brian Gilles [6]; 2. 54-Matt Yancey [1]; 3. 80-Luke Scholten [5]; 4. 24K-Tyler Kulow [7]; 5. E85-Justin Pearson [4]; 6. 82H-Steven Ruh [8]; 7. 6-Dick Hed [3]; 8. 8-Jake Richards [9]; 9. (DNF) 72E-Chad Espen [2]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 95-Donny Kulow [5]; 2. 53W-Dustin Weiss [1]; 3. 14X-Will Sorce [7]; 4. 34-Steven Weber [6]; 5. 93-Mavrick Ruh [4]; 6. 5M-Nate Ruh [8]; 7. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [2]; 8. (DNF) 23-Scott Kafka [3]
NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS
A Main: 1. 22M-Barry Maas [2]; 2. 03W-Tim Warner [4]; 3. 17S-Shane Long [1]; 4. 3-Travis Schmidt [3]; 5. 32Z-Andy Welter [6]; 6. 84-Mark Hoeppner [7]; 7. 96-Brian Konitzer [5]; 8. 9L-Hunter Larson [8]; 9. 66-Steve Lorier [9]; 10. 62-James Rautmann [11]; 11. 73-Rory Welch [10]; 12. 19-Parker Glander [12]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 3-Travis Schmidt [1]; 2. 17S-Shane Long [2]; 3. 22M-Barry Maas [6]; 4. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 5. 66-Steve Lorier [4]; 6. (DNF) 19-Parker Glander [5]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 03W-Tim Warner [6]; 2. 96-Brian Konitzer [1]; 3. 32Z-Andy Welter [2]; 4. 9L-Hunter Larson [3]; 5. 73-Rory Welch [4]; 6. 62-James Rautmann [5]
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