By Jeff Pederson
Pedal Down Promotions
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 13, 2020 – During a racing career that has spanned 20 years, Turk Letizia of Waukesha has enjoyed some major highs, while enduring his fair share of lows behind the wheel of his familiar D1 Late Model machine.
The 2020 season has definitely been filled with highlights for Letizia as he recently snapped a six-year winless drought by claiming his first Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model A-main victory since 2014 on Saturday, Aug. 1 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
“It felt great to get back to victory lane,” Letizia said. “My last A-main victory was a long time ago, coming way back in 2014 at Plymouth. That was a sweet one because we set the A-main track record on that night that still stands to this day.”
After watching his father, “Diamond” Jim, race as a youngster, Letizia got his start in racing in the Late Model division at the now defunct Hales Corners Speedway in 2000.
“I worked on my dad’s Late Model for years when he raced at Hales Corners Speedway,” Letizia said. “I finally saved up some money and bought Ted Dolhun’s backup Reliable Welding rolling race car and started in the Late Model division at Hales Corners in 2000 with a low budget all-steel NVR engine. I started racing against a lot of my idols, including my dad and Russ Scheffler. I only raced at Hales Corners for three or four years before Menards came along, but I spent almost every weekend there since I was a young boy.”
Through the first five weeks of the shortened 2020 PDTR season, Letizia leads the Late Model point standings by four points over two-time defending champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland on the strength of four top-five A-main finishes, including his Aug. 1 main event victory.
“We’ve had a really good year so far and we are definitely aiming to win the Late Model championship at Plymouth this year,” Letizia said. “We have not won a championship yet. We’ve come close several times, but fell short. Now we just took over the point lead at PDTR and have to run well during the final two point nights on August 15 and August 22nd.”
Letizia, who owns a total of three PDTR Late Model A-main victories in his career, has enjoyed the relationships he has formed in the tight-knit racing community.
“What I enjoy most about racing is the camaraderie, hard work, good crew and understanding family,” Letizia said.
Letizia credits his hard-working pit crew for his team’s success on the track this year.
“My crew chief, Joe Kloskey, puts in a ton of work for me,” Letizia said. “I couldn’t do it without out him. The rest of my crew includes Kevin Katzenberg, Jason “Jay-Dog” Babcock and Anthony “Itch” Iczkowski. They also do a great job. I also want to thank my wife, Natalie, and son, Gavin, for all of their support.”
Letizia’s 2020 sponsors include: Diamond Jim Auto Sales, Diamond Jim Motorcars, Greater Milwaukee Auto Auction, Diamond Jim’s Steakhouse, Pro Power Racing Engines, MB Customs, CMD Race Shocks, Schaffer’s Oil, Behling’s Racing Equipment and Wehrs Machine.
Over the last three years, Letizia has gotten involved with the race promotion side of the sport through an affiliation with the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour.
Letizia’s Diamond 42 Dirt Kings Late Model Tour event at The Plymouth Dirt Track this Friday, Aug. 14 honors his father Jim’s 42nd year of racing.
“I started the Diamond race three years ago because I wanted to get a little more involved in promoting the Dirt Kings Tour and show appreciation for some of my father’s accomplishments while he is still around to appreciate it,” Letizia said. “141 Speedway hosted the first two, but it didn’t work out with the schedule this year, and The Plymouth Dirt Track made room on their schedule for the crown jewel race for Dirt Kings. The race typically draws a good Late Model car count in the mid to upper 30s.”
This year’s Diamond 42 will pay $4,200 to the winner and $420 to start the A main with a strong field of Late Model competitors expected. Past race winners include: Jared Siefert of Luxemburg (Diamond 40 in 2018) and Justin Ritchie of New London (Diamond 41 in 2019).
Hot laps will begin at 5:30 p.m. with non-points racing programs also planned for the PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions.
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On Saturday, Aug. 15, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing will return to action with a four division program featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Late Models, Grand Nationals and B Mods.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
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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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