by Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 2, 2023 – Two-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh took a giant step toward securing another title by claiming his fourth straight 25-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, during the annual Sheboygan County Fair Night all-Sprint Car racing program at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 2.
In the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car A main, Jake Neuman of New Berlin, Ill. racked up his second career IRA A-main triumph by turning back a late charge from 10-time IRA champion Bill Balog of Hartland.
Alex Pokorski of West Bend grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR-MSA A main from the pole position as 360 Sprint Car rookie T.J. Smith of Greenville worked the high groove to settle into second, while third starter Matt Vandervere of Zion, Ill. took over the third spot.
On lap 4, Smith rode the extreme high groove, just off the outside retaining wall, to pressure the low riding Pokorski for the top spot on lap 4. Two laps later, Pokorski transitioned from the low groove to the high line, which trimmed back Smith’s momentum.
One lap later Smith slowed along the outside line in turn four to bring out the lone caution flag of the race. On the restart, Brandon McMullen, who started eighth, maneuvered underneath Vandervere to take over second in turn two on lap 8.
On the following circuit, McMullen worked the low line to challenge the high-riding Pokorski for the top spot. Pokorski attempted to move down to the low groove on lap 10. However, McMullen was able to slip underneath to seize the lead in turn two.
From there, the four-time MSA 360 Sprint Car champion quickly pulled away from Pokorski to build up a full straightaway lead on lap 15. McMullen caught up to the rear of the field on lap 16, while 14-year-old rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc, who started fourth, took third from Vandevere along the outside groove.
McMullen cruised the rest of the way en route to his division-leading 33rd career PDTR and 45th career MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main win, as well as his fourth straight and sixth overall PDTR and seventh MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main win of the 2023 season.
“I could really go anywhere on the track top or bottom, but I knew the bottom was really tacky,” McMullen said. “Hats off to my team. They’ve been phenomenal all year. They are what makes his program work so well.”
Pokorski placed second, Julien wound up third, Vandervere placed fourth and sixth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend rounded out the top five.
McMullen will look to seal the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing – Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car titles in the 2023 season finale as part of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Two-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag in the 30-lap Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprints 410 Sprint Car A main with second starter Jake Neuman following in second.
On lap 5, Neuman worked the high groove in the shadows of The Plymouth Dirt Track wall to sweep into the lead in turn three on lap 5. Two laps later, the leaders encountered lapped traffic before the first of three caution flags appeared on lap 8 when Tyler Brabant of Waupun got out of shape in turn three.
When the race resumed, third starter Bill Balog moved past Arenz to assume second in the running order before the second caution flag appeared on lap 12 when Russel Borland of Kewaskum spun exiting turn four. Two laps later, the third and final caution flag appeared when Dave Uttech of Kenosha spun in turn four.
Following the restart, Balog continued to pound the high cushion in an attempt to track down Neuman. On lap 28, Balog pulled off a slide jump in turn four to lead the lap. However, Neuman battled back to return the favor and regain the top spot from Balog in turn one on lap 29.
Meanwhile, fourth stater Joel Myers Jr. of Santa Rosa, Calif. slipped past Arenz to gain third place on lap 29 as Neuman went on to notch his second career IRA A-main victory, as well as his second career IRA A main triumph at The Plymouth Dirt Track.
“Bill [Balog] stole one from me last year in the last few laps, so I knew what I needed to do and we got it done tonight,” Neuman said.
Balog had to settle for second, Myers Jr. placed third, Arenz was fourth and fifth starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan rounded out the top five.
Paul Pokorski of West Bend won the 12-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car B main.
Kris Spitz of Salem captured the 12-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car B main.
Anthony Knierim of Franksville collected the Akright Auto PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division fast qualifier award with a lap of 12.723 seconds.
Mike Reinke of Howards Grove earned the fast qualifier award in the IRA 410 Sprint Car division with a lap of 11.539 seconds.
The 16th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Jensen’s Sales & Service, drew a total of 57 Sprint Cars, including 30 Bumper to Bumper IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.
The Plymouth Dirt Track will host the Wildman Watson Classic 2023 Dirt Kings Late Model Tour season finale on Saturday, Sept. 23.
The event will also include Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars, A Modifieds and Street Stocks.
Pit gates open at 2 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 4 p.m., hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing at 5:45 p.m.
The 2023 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing season will conclude with the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships on Saturday, Sept. 30 featuring the season finales for the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing – Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars, Wisconsin wingLESS Sprint Cars and IRA Lightning Sprints.
Pit gates open at 2 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 4:30 p.m. and on-track action at 5 p.m., followed by hot laps, qualifying and racing.
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.
AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [8]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [1]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien [4]; 4. 10V-Matt Vandervere [3]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 6. 6K-Kurt Davis [9]; 7. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 8. 51-Chris Larson [7]; 9. 68T-Josh Bilicki [11]; 10. 69-Bill Taylor [10]; 11. 2-Chris Clayton [21]; 12. 30-Doug Wondra [18]; 13. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 14. 22B-Brandon Berth [20]; 15. 16-Anthony Knierim [12]; 16. 66-Nick Daywalt [15]; 17. 21H-Tim Haddy [19]; 18. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [14]; 19. 12P-JJ Pagel [22]; 20. 11-Tony Wondra [16]; 21. 53A-Paul Pokorski [17]; 22. (DNF) 44-Hayden Johnson [5]
B Main (12 Laps): 1. 53A-Paul Pokorski [1]; 2. 30-Doug Wondra [3]; 3. 21H-Tim Haddy [7]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 5. 2-Chris Clayton [5]; 6. 12P-JJ Pagel [4]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt [9]; 8. 54-Randy Post [8]; 9. 7-Kristian Wagner [11]; 10. (DNF) 52-Cody Schlafer [10]; 11. (DNF) 42X-Brett Peterson [6]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 51-Chris Larson [1]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien [3]; 3. 68T-Josh Bilicki [2]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson [4]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt [5]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [7]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 8. 42X-Brett Peterson [8]; 9. 7-Kristian Wagner [9]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 44-Hayden Johnson [1]; 2. 10V-Matt Vandervere [2]; 3. 6K-Kurt Davis [3]; 4. 16-Anthony Knierim [4]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 7. 30-Doug Wondra [7]; 8. 21H-Tim Haddy [8]; 9. 52-Cody Schlafer [9]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [4]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor [5]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 6. 53A-Paul Pokorski [6]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 8. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 9. 54-Randy Post [9]
Qualifying 1: 1. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.012 [8]; 2. 85J-Logan Julien, 13.037 [9]; 3. 68T-Josh Bilicki, 13.182 [7]; 4. 51-Chris Larson, 13.198 [2]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt, 13.212 [6]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.248 [1]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.437 [4]; 8. 42X-Brett Peterson, 13.438 [3]; 9. 7-Kristian Wagner, 15.704 [5]
Qualifying 2: 1. 16-Anthony Knierim, 12.723 [4]; 2. 6K-Kurt Davis, 12.938 [6]; 3. 10V-Matt Vandervere, 12.965 [5]; 4. 44-Hayden Johnson, 13.133 [7]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.165 [2]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.177 [3]; 7. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.335 [1]; 8. 21H-Tim Haddy, 13.359 [8]; 9. 52-Cody Schlafer, 14.822 [9]
Qualifying 3: 1. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.921 [1]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.963 [5]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.046 [9]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.080 [4]; 5. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.096 [7]; 6. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 13.211 [8]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.452 [6]; 8. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.608 [2]; 9. 54-Randy Post, 13.800 [3]
BUMPER TO BUMPER IRA 410 SPRINT CAR SERIES
A Main (30 Laps): 1. 3N-Jake Neuman [2]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [3]; 3. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr. [4]; 4. 25T-Travis Arenz [1]; 5. 73-Scotty Thiel [5]; 6. 10W-Mike Reinke [7]; 7. 1-Brenham Crouch [15]; 8. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [6]; 9. 49-Josh Schneiderman [10]; 10. 79-Ian Madsen [12]; 11. 85M-Steve Meyer [11]; 12. 2W-Scott Neitzel [17]; 13. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [13]; 14. 25-Danny Schlafer [8]; 15. 4K-Kris Spitz [19]; 16. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [9]; 17. U2-Jack Vanderboom [16]; 18. 9K-Kyle Schuett [23]; 19. 87A-Austin Hartmann [14]; 20. 99-Tyler Brabant [21]; 21. 23-Russel Borland [18]; 22. 71M-Caden Englehart [22]; 23. 68-Dave Uttech [20]; 24. (DNF) 19J-Jett Mann [24]
B Main (12 Laps): 1. 4K-Kris Spitz [1]; 2. 68-Dave Uttech [2]; 3. 99-Tyler Brabant [3]; 4. 71M-Caden Englehart [5]; 5. 9K-Kyle Schuett [4]; 6. 19J-Jett Mann [6]; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder [8]; 8. 24-Scott Conger [7]; 9. 88-Chris Flick [11]; 10. 17W-Dylan Winkel [10]; 11. 39V-William Huck [9]; 12. (DNS) 21-Will Gerrits
Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 25T-Travis Arenz [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 3. 73-Scotty Thiel [4]; 4. 10W-Mike Reinke [5]; 5. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [3]
Dash 2 (4 Laps): 1. 3N-Jake Neuman [1]; 2. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr. [2]; 3. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [3]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer [5]; 5. 49-Josh Schneiderman [4]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3N-Jake Neuman [2]; 2. 85M-Steve Meyer [1]; 3. 10W-Mike Reinke [4]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer [3]; 5. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [5]; 6. 23-Russel Borland [8]; 7. 4K-Kris Spitz [6]; 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett [7]; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder [9]; 10. 88-Chris Flick [10]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [1]; 2. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr. [2]; 3. 73-Scotty Thiel [4]; 4. 26-Tyler Tischendorf [3]; 5. 87A-Austin Hartmann [5]; 6. 2W-Scott Neitzel [7]; 7. 99-Tyler Brabant [8]; 8. 71M-Caden Englehart [9]; 9. 39V-William Huck [10]; 10. (DNF) 21-Will Gerrits [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog [3]; 2. 49-Josh Schneiderman [2]; 3. 79-Ian Madsen [1]; 4. 25T-Travis Arenz [4]; 5. 1-Brenham Crouch [7]; 6. U2-Jack Vanderboom [5]; 7. 68-Dave Uttech [6]; 8. 19J-Jett Mann [10]; 9. 24-Scott Conger [8]; 10. 17W-Dylan Winkel [9]
Qualifying: 1. 10W-Mike Reinke, 11.539 [2]; 2. 73-Scotty Thiel, 11.942 17]; 3. 25T-Travis Arenz, 11.973 [5]; 4. 25-Danny Schlafer, 11.995[21]; 5. 26-Tyler Tischendorf, 12.070 [12]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.118 [20]; 7. 3N-Jake Neuman, 12.134 [15]; 8. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr, 12.145 [27]; 9. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 12.181 [6]; 10. 85M-Steve Meyer, 12.182 [8]; 11. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.217 [28]; 12. 79-Ian Madsen, 12.233 [30]; 13. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 12.253 [3]; 14. 87A-Austin Hartmann 12.262 [19]; 15. U2-Jack Vanderboom, 12.329 [24]; 16. 4K-Kris Spitz, 12.343 [7]; 17. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.346 [23]; 18. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.362 [16]; 19. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 12.381 [14]; 20. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 12.434 [10]; 21. 1-Brenham Crouch, 12.483 [4]; 22. 23-Russel Borland, 12.499 [11]; 23. 99-Tyler Brabant, 12.524 [1]; 24. 24-Scott Conger, 12.915 [25]; 25. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 13.004 [18]; 26. 71M-Caden Englehart, 13.020 [29]; 27. 17W-Dylan Winkel, 13.098 [22]; 28. 88-Chris Flick, 13.376 [13]; 29. 39V-William Huck, 13.780 [26]; 30. 19J-Jett Mann [9]
Hot Laps: 1. 73-Scotty Thiel, 11.853 [17]; 2. 79-Ian Madsen, 11.987 [30]; 3. 1-Brenham Crouch, 12.063 [4]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.111 [20]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.167 [16]; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.230 [28]; 7. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr, 12.263 [27]; 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 12.329 [14]; 9. 71M-Caden Englehart 12.348 [29]; 10. 3N-Jake Neuman, 12.373 [15]; 11. U2-Jack Vanderboom, 12.374 [24]; 12. 25T-Travis Arenz, 12.444 [5]; 13. 21-Will Gerrits, 12.491 [23]; 14. 26-Tyler Tischendorf, 12.496 [12]; 15. 87A-Austin Hartmann, 12.525 [19]; 16. 25-Danny Schlafer, 12.602 [21]; 17. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 12.750 [6]; 18. 23-Russel Borland, 12.754 [11]; 19. 19J-Jett Mann, 12.789 [9]; 20. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 12.871 [10]; 21. 85M-Steve Meyer, 12.902 [8]; 22. 99-Tyler Brabant, 12.924 [1]; 23. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 13.147 [3]; 24. 4K-Kris Spitz, 13.147 [7]; 25. 10W-Mike Reinke, 13.160 [2]; 26. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 13.200 [18]; 27. 39V-William Huck, 13.273 [26]; 28. 17W-Dylan Winkel, 13.603 [22]; 29. 24-Scott Conger, 13.730 [25]; 30. 88-Chris Flick, 13.872 [13]
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