Familiar names take checkered flags at PDTR

Four distinguished Plymouth Dirt Track Racing veterans paid visits to victory lane in A-main competition during the inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Induction Night and Autograph Night program at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds on Saturday.

In the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car 360 Sprint Car A main, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh went flag-to-flag to notch his first main event win of the season.

After starting on the outside of the front row, McMullen outpowered polesitter Tony Wondra of Campbellsport to lead the opening lap as third-starter Tyler Brabant of Waupun ducked underneath Wondra to take second, followed by Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started fifth.

On lap eight, McMullen caught the rear of the field on the lightning fast and tricky third-mile clay oval track surface. Two laps later, Schmidt worked his way past Brabant to assume second in the running order.

The first of three caution flags appeared on lap 12 when Tyler Davis of Franklin spun in turn four. On the restart, Brabant got caught along the treacherous cushion and flipped his machine in turn two to bring out a red flag.

Following the restart, McMullen bolted away from the field with Schmidt chasing in second and fourth-starter Brandon Berth of Cascade following in third.

On lap 14, the third and final caution flag appeared when Doug Wondra of Oakfield bicycled on the cushion and came to a stop in turn two.

McMullen again controlled the final restart as defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and current points leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who started 13th, moved into fifth on lap 19.

On lap 20, the leaders began to work their way through slower traffic, which allowed Schmidt to cut the gap on McMullen. However, McMullen held strong over the final five laps to fend off Schmidt’s advances en route to his 25th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, which moved him into a tie for first place on the all-time main event win list with two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee.

The race also marked McMullen’s 35th career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event victory, which ranks him third on the all-time MSA A-main victory list.

Schmidt had to settle for second, followed by Berth, Lance Fassbender of Burnett and Arenz.

In other races:

ν Justin Ritchie of New London claimed his second 25-lap PDTR Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 Late Model A-main victory of the season.

Four-time PDTR late model champion Brad Mueller of Random Lake outdueled polesitter Turk Letizia of Milwaukee to lead the opening lap.

On lap two, fourth-starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha used a low move to take over second before the first of six caution flags appeared on lap three after Letizia turned sideways in turn two to trigger a four-car pile-up.

On lap nine, Scheffler used the high groove to close the gap on the low-riding Mueller before the second caution was displayed when Jim Schmidt of Cleveland slowed in turn two on lap 11.

On the restart, Scheffler hounded Mueller for the lead while Ritchie, who started 12th, worked his way into third. After Mueller drifted high in turn two on lap 13, Scheffler pulled off a slide job to briefly sweep past Mueller and into the lead before spinning in turn four to bring out the third caution of the race.

When the race resumed, Mueller felt pressure from Ritchie, who worked the low groove, while Mueller moved up to the cushion. Four-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland, who started seventh, moved into third.

On lap 15, the fourth caution flag appeared when Charlie Schmidt of Oostburg spun in turn four before first-time PDTR visitor Bobby Gash of Tinley Park, Ill., brought out the fifth caution period after spinning in turn four.

Ritchie flexed his muscle on the restart to duck underneath Mueller and into the lead in turn four on lap 17 just before Mueller exited the race with a rear-end failure. That gave second place to Justin Schmidt, who was racing with a broken left ankle suffered in an accident at PDTR on July 16.

After Turk Letizia brought out the sixth and final caution following a spin in turn two on lap 21, Ritchie held on over the final four laps to collect his sixth career PDTR Late Model A-main win.

Justin Schmidt placed second, followed by PDTR Late Model rookie Bill Edler of Howards Grove, eighth-starter Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee and Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls.

ν PDTR Grand National point leader Luke Scholten of Oostburg notched his second 25-lap Oostburg Automotive A-main triumph of the season.

Tyler Kulow of Plymouth, who started third, outpowered polesitter Steven Weber of Plymouth to lead the opening lap.

After the first of four caution flags was displayed on lap seven when Vince Bartolotta of West Allis spun in turn three, Weber spun in turn two while running second to bring out the second caution flag of the race.

Following the restart, Scholten used the high line to power his way around Weber to take over the top spot in turn two

After Vince Bartolotta and Scott Kafka of Kiel spun in turn three to bring out the third caution, Scholten pulled away from Kulow to build up a full straightaway lead on lap 20.

The fourth and final caution appeared on lap 22 when Brian Gilles of Plymouth made contact with the turn two wall.

Following a single-file restart, Scholten bolted away to notch his 17th career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph. Weber worked his way past Kulow with a low move on the final lap to secure second. Kulow placed third, second-starter Donny Kulow of Elkhart Lake finished fourth and Kafka was fifth.

ν Travis Schmidt of Waldo used a late-race pass to collect his second 25-lap PDTR Next Step Insurance B Mod A-main victory of the season.

After an incident on the initial start involving Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls, Andy Welter of Hartford and Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan in turn one, polesitter Brian Konitzer of Sheboygan grabbed the lead on the opening lap with outside front-row starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls in second.

On lap five, Tim Warner of Malone, who started sixth, steered to third just before Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville spun in turn four. On the restart, Warner used the high groove to power around Long into second before moving in to challenge Konitzer for the lead on lap eight.

After the caution flag appeared on lap 11 for debris in turn two, fourth-starter Travis Schmidt worked his way into third on lap 12. Three laps later, Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls spun on turn two to bring out the third caution of the race.

When the race resumed, Schmidt and Warner waged a side-by-side duel before Schmidt surged into second and quickly closed in on Konitzer. On lap 19, Schmidt swept past Konitzer and into the top spot.

The fourth and final caution period came on lap 20, but Schmidt was not to be denied as he cruised over the final five laps on the way to his seventh career PDTR B Mod A-main victory.

Warner placed second, followed by Konitzer, Jonathon Baumann, and PDTR B Mod points leader Andy Welter.

ν 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Justin Miller of Plymouth won the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main. Ben Schmidt earned PDTR 360 Sprint Car overall fast qualifier honors with a lap of 12.883 seconds.

The inaugural Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2022 induction ceremony took place at intermission with drivers Dick Berth, Etchie Biertzer, Buck Carman, Willie Goeden, Wayne Goetsch, Dick Hed, Carl Kulow, Bill Johnson II, Ken Markwardt and Ken Steffen and track workers (dedication to racing) Eddie Foy, Bill Hoftiezer, Happy Laack, Karen and Donny Ruh and the Goetsch, Laack and Schulz families earning inaugural induction accolades.

Racing resumes Saturday, Aug. 13, with Kids Fan Appreciation Night featuring special prizes, giveaways and activities for children and competition in the PDTR 360 Sprint Car. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.com.

Slinger races are rained out

Slinger Speedway’s races got rained out on Sunday.

On Sunday, Aug. 14, the MGK 15th annual reunion night will be held.

Gates open at 4:45 p.m. with features to start at 5:15 p.m., the Balloons to Heaven event at 6 p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m.

For more information, visit slingersuperspeedway.com.