By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 26, 2021 – In his 10 years as a regular competitor in the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model division, Justin Schmidt of Cleveland has put together plenty of impressive performances in the form of weekly A-main victories, multiple division championships and special event wins.
With last Saturday’s rain out, Schmidt officially put a bow on his fourth straight PDTR Late Model points title to tie him with Plymouth racing legends Ken Markwardt, Etchie Biertzer and Brian Gilles as the only drivers in the 70-year history of The Plymouth Dirt Track to earn four consecutive championships in any division at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
As a three-time and defending division champion, Schmidt came into the 2021 season as the odds-on favorite to secure yet another PDTR Late Model crown. However, the accomplishment ended up being far from easy, following a series of mechanical and on-track setbacks, which left Schmidt and his team far back in the points race and seriously considering giving up on a run to a fourth title.
“The beginning of the season started out and we weren’t ready to go,” Schmidt said. “Just like the rest of the world, we couldn’t get parts. They were unavailable. We were waiting for pistons for my WISSOTA motor with no expected delivery date, or any kind of timeline in sight.
“When I couldn’t make the first Dirt Kings race of the season, Brett Swedberg reached out to me about renting me a motor,” he said. “I am forever grateful that Brett, and Butch and Pete Laska gave me that opportunity. I really can’t thank those guys enough. They want cars out on the track as much as I do. So, again thanks to those guys.”
In the early stages of the PDTR campaign, Schmidt found the going to be quite tricky as he opened the season with someone else’s unfamiliar motor under the hood of his familiar No. 97 machine.
“With a rented motor comes some challenges,” Schmidt said. “First of all, I was not used to the engine. Every engine has its own personality I guess for a lack of a better term. Second, I’m always scared to use other people’s equipment. I was terrified the whole time that engine was in my car that something was going to happen to it because of something I did, and I’d end up returning it in a box of pieces. It’s really hard to concentrate 100 percent on the track with that in the back of your mind.
“We used that engine for the first two nights and at that point there was still no timetable on my own WISSOTA motor to be completed,” he said. “Like I said, I hate using someone else’s stuff, even though they were more than willing. We picked another engine. After I drove 12 hours to pick it up, we dropped it in on Friday and on Saturday six laps into the feature, the motor went down because of a faulty fuel pressure regulator.”
With engine woes haunting his team’s early-season efforts, Schmidt was on the verge of calling off his PDTR Late Model division championship pursuit.
“After this, we contemplated calling it a season, but decided to drop in the rental motor for one more night,” Schmidt said. “That night, I was racing for the lead when I hooked an infield tire with the nose of the car and spun myself up the track and collected the leader. We both got sent to the tail. I felt so bad about the situation. I just said, ‘the heck with it, until my motor is done, we’re calling it a season.’ That next day we got the call that my WISSOTA motor was ready to go.
“I just had more confidence with having all my own equipment back in the car,” he said. “The next Saturday we came through the field in the feature, passed for the lead and coming out of turn four coming to the checkered, there was contact with another car, while maneuvering through lapped traffic, and we spun out 100 feet from the finish line. It was yet another heartbreak incident. I don’t know if we were even in the top five in points anymore at this point. In the back of my mind, I was thinking anything with points is out the window. I just said, ‘let’s get after it, we know we’ve got to go to work.’ The main focus is always feature wins. They pay the bills.”
Starting with the June 12 event, Schmidt mounted a stellar six-week run, during which he won five of the next six PDTR Late Model A-main events, including five points races in a row not including the non-points Russ Scheffler Tribute Race on June 25.
“After that incident near the finish line on May 29th, we won the feature during the next five points nights,” Schmidt said. “We won two and then the Russ Scheffler Tribute non-points race fell in between there. I thought we were building momentum just in time for the Scheffler race, but a terrible pill draw just got us behind the whole night. We came through the B main. Started at the tail of the feature and ended up sixth, I believe. Then the next three features in a row we won. So, you could call it five out of six features or five points nights in a row.”
Schmidt finished the 11-race 2021 PDTR Late Model points season with five A-main victories to lift his career A-main victory tally to 18 over the past 10 seasons, while ending up 26 points ahead of Turk Letizia of Milwaukee in the final point standings.
Schmidt, who is a farmer by trade, finds it hard to comprehend that his name is now permanently etched in the PDTR record books next to the highly renowned names of three Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame drivers – Markwardt, Biertzer and Gilles.
“As far as winning four championships in a row and joining the company of those Hall of Fame drivers, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Schmidt said. “The championship night getting rained out was really unfulfilling. Out of all the nights to rain out, that’s the one you don’t want to. I like to finish things on the track, win or lose, with all the friends, family and fans in attendance. Getting together around the car after the races are over is half the fun of it.
“To me, it doesn’t feel like we’ve won enough to even fit into a conversation with those names and it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been four years since the first championship already,” he said. “But all in all, looking back knowing we won five features at Plymouth and we were up there contending for the win in at least three others is a satisfying enough. The championship is really the icing on the cake. I think it’s just a testament to my team of how much we work at this to get better every season and every week. We’ve come a long way in 10 seasons.”
Now Schmidt is set to run one more race this season at The Plymouth Dirt Track as the Dirt Kings Tour comes to town this Friday, Aug. 27, as well as the bulk of the remainder of the 2021 Dirt Kings schedule.
“The plan for the rest of the year is to finish out all the remaining Dirt Kings Tour races as much as the fast-approaching fall farming season allows,” Schmidt said.
As far as a potential drive for a Plymouth record-setting fifth-consecutive division championship next season, Schmidt is optimistic, while taking a wait-and-see approach at this time.
“The plan for next year is probably much of the same,” Schmidt said. “I can’t say for sure if we’ll be contending for another championship. With my wife, Samantha, and I having our second kid on the way in February, it will make traveling more challenging than it already is. So, for now, as far as I can tell, we’ll stick close to home.
“I’ll hopefully be back at Plymouth and jump on the Dirt Kings tour in our free time,” he said. “One of these seasons though we’re going to get out of here for a while. Whether it’s racing or watching, there’s other races and tracks I want to get to experience sometime soon.”
While the driver typically gets the vast majority of the accolades for a championship-winning season, Schmidt knows it takes a total team effort to be successful.
“At the end of the day, I want to thank all my crew, family, and fans for the continued support,” Schmidt said. “Scott Sixel and Mike Barts are my two main crew members that work on my car and go up and down the road with me, I’d probably be retired without them. If not retired, I’d be a lot slower that’s for sure.
“My wife, Samantha, let’s me burn up most of our summer weekends at the track,” he said. “She also takes care of all racing apparel and keeping my 2-year-old daughter, Revie, entertained at the track every night. My dad, Jim, gives me this opportunity. He owns the car and gives me good equipment. Andy Boll and Kevin Sixel are also always there and willing to lend a hand and help me out if I need it as well. Sponsors to thank are Schmidt Excavating, Hopf Farms, Waldo Oil, Woa Nellie’s, Butch & Ann’s Pine Grove, Hometown Holsteins, CMD race shocks, MB Customs race cars and Farm Inc.”
***
This Friday, Aug. 27, the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour returns to The Plymouth Dirt Track for the Mueller Sales and Service 30.
The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will also be action for a full points program, while the PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions round out the card with non-points events with trophies sponsored by Hidden Dreams Livestock LLC.
In addition, Friday, Aug. 27 is also Autograph Night and Kids Night. Free backpacks and checkered flags will be distributed to the first 200 kids through the gate courtesy of Hopf Farms with a candy-coin drop compliments of Vandervart Concrete Products and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and a glow stick giveaway also planned.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 6:30 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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