McMullen, Scholten, Steenbergen rack up PDTR main events wins
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 12, 2023 – For all of his success at tracks throughout the state of Wisconsin, five-time Dirt Kings Late Model tour champion Nick Anvelink of Bonduel had not previously captured a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model main event victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. until besting a strong field of 25 competitors to claim a $2,000 payday in the 30-lap 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series A-main on Saturday, Aug. 12.
At the conclusion of the final event of the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series, Brad Mueller of Random Lake collected his fifth career Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model championship after recording one victory and top-five finishes in each of the five completed A main events.
In the 25-lap Akright Auto PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association A main, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh tallied his third A-main victory of the 2023 PDTR campaign to retain his points lead heading into the final four nights of the season.
Defending PDTR Grand National champion Luke Scholten of Oostburg picked up his first 25-lap Oostburg Automotive main event win of the 2023 season.
Jeff Steenbergen of Johnson Creek notched his first 2023 Next Step Insurance 25-lap B Mod A-main victory in the car normally driven by two-time PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Malone.
Five-time PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 30-lap Super Six Late Model Series A main from the pole position with third starter Nick Anvelink following in second.
On lap 3, Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha used the low line to work his way into third from the fifth starting position. By lap 5, Schmidt had built up a full straightaway lead over Anvelink before the leaders caught lap traffic three laps later.
With the leaders utilizing the preferred high groove of the well-manicured, multi-groove third-mile clay oval, Anvelink closed to within striking distance of Schmidt on lap 11. As Anvelink began to apply heavy pressure for the lead in dense lapped traffic, Schmidt’s car began to display heavy smoke on lap 14, which prompted him to pull his ailing machine into the infield.
Anvelink, who is the all-time career Shawano Speedway Late Model A-main victory leader, then inherited the lead with Scheffler trailing in second and 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha, who started sixth, following in third. The lone caption flag of the race was displayed on lap 15 for Schmidt’s smoking car in the infield, which necessitated assistance from the track’s fire crew.
When the race resumed, McGrath powered his way past Scheffler into second with a high move exiting turn four on lap 16. Anvelink continued to work the cushion to perfection over the second half of the race as McGrath gave chase in his tire tracks.
With two-wide lapped traffic to work through in the closing laps, Anvelink adjusted his line to move down to the bottom groove on several occasions, which proved successful in extending his lead over McGrath.
Anvelink went on to notch his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and claim the $2,000 first-place prize in the final race of the 2023 PDTR Super Six Late Model Series.
“The track was really top dominant, so I stayed up there most of the race because it was so good,” Anvelink said. “Then I got boxed in behind lapped traffic late in the race and didn’t want to get slid, so I pulled down to the bottom for a few laps and it actually worked well for me. We had a good car. I’m happy. That’s for sure.”
McGrath had to settle for second, Scheffler placed third, Brad Mueller of Random Lake captured the 2023 Super Six Late Model Series title and his fifth overall PDTR Late Model championship by a two-point margin over Taylor Scheffler with a fourth place finish, after starting 10th and Mike Mullen of Seymour worked his way up from the 11th starting spot to place fifth.
In the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A main, 2014 MSA Masters Series and three-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champ Paul Pokorski of West Bend took the lead in turn one of the opening lap from the pole behind the wheel of Spyder Akright’s 53A car.
On lap 2, Paul’s son, Alex Pokorski of West Bend, maneuvered his way into second in turn one from the third starting position. Two laps later, Brandon McMullen worked the high groove from his fifth starting spot to assume second from Alex Pokorski in turn two.
McMullen then swept past Paul Pokorski into the lead in turn one on lap six before quickly building up a full straightaway cushion over the rest of the field. On lap 10, 2011 PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Plymouth moved into third from his sixth starting spot before taking over second along the high groove in turn three on lap 12.
The first of two caution flags was displayed on lap 15 when Justin Erickson of Plymouth spun in turn four. After the restart, outside front row starter T.J. Smith of Greenville and Alex Pokorski exchanged slide jobs before Alex Pokorski maintained fourth place in the running order.
Meanwhile, McMullen had built up a half-straightaway lead over Schmidt at the head of the pack. The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 20 just before the second and final caution flag came out on lap 21 when T.J. Haddy of Waupun spun in turn two.
With five laps remaining in the race, a single-file restart was incorporated as McMullen used a strong restart to bolt away from Schmidt in the closing laps en route to his third PDTR 360 Sprint A-main victory and fourth MSA 360 Sprint main event win of the 2023 season. It was also the four-time MSA 360 Sprint Car champion’s all-time division leading 30th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph and 42nd overall MSA 360 Sprint A-main win to move into sole possession of third place on the all-time MSA victory list.
Second starter Luke Scholten outpowered polesitter Nick Schumacher of Eagle to assume the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National main event with Schumacher following in second.
On lap 2, third starter Justin Pearson of Horicon moved his way into second before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 3 when Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge stopped along the front stretch, after losing a left front tire in turn four.
Following the restart, Pearson bolted in to pressure Scholten for the lead on lap 11. As the leader weaved their way through lapped traffic, Pearson continued to hound Scholten for the top spot.
Finally, on lap 21, Pearson used the outside groove to swing past Scholten into the lead. Two laps later, Scholten battled back to challenge Pearson for the top spot. However, one lap later Pearson slowed and pulled his car into the infield exiting turn four on lap 24, as the white flag was just about to be displayed to the field.
With Pearson out of the race, Scholten regained the lead and held on through a green-white-checkered flag finish to secure his first PDTR Grand National A-main victory of the 2023 season and 18th career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph to move him six wins behind overall division victories leader Brad Lubach.
Fourth starter Will Sorce of Franklin placed second, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed third after starting fifth, Seth Westimayer of Horicon finished fourth after starting fourth and six-time Plymouth Dirt Track Super Stock and Grand National champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth finished fifth after starting seventh.
Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum led the opening lap of the 25-lap B Mod A main from the pole with third starter Mark Hoeppner of Rubicon sliding into second on the opening lap.
On lap 2, Hoeppner began to close in on Knepprath before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 3 when Joey Krentz of Denmark spun in turn four.
On the restart, Jeff Steenbergen steered the 03W car normally driven by Tim Warner into third in turn four from the sixth starting spot. Steenbergen advanced to second on lap 5 before powering his way into the lead with a high move in turn two on lap 6.
Two laps later, the second and final caution flag appeared when Michael Strean of Sheboygan stalled his car near the frontstretch infield off of turn four.
Steenbergen powered out to a sizeable advantage over Hoeppner on the restart as fourth starter Barry Maas of Cascade moved into third on lap 11. Steenbergen cruised the rest of the way en route to his first PDTR B Mod A-main victory of the 2023 campaign and fifth career PDTR B Mod main event win. It was also the fifth time Tim Warner’s 03W car had parked in victory lane in PDTR B Mod A-main competition this season.
Hoeppner finished second, Maas placed third, Knepprath wound up fourth and ninth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls wound up fifth.
Taylor Scheffler was the top qualifier in the 106.5 The Buzz Super Six Late Model Series and set a new Plymouth Dirt Track Late Model track record in the process with a lap of 13.605 seconds.
Ben Schmidt registered the fast qualifier award in the Akright PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.566 seconds.
Tom Naeyaert of Shawano collected the victory in the 12-lap Super Six Late Model Series B Main.
Bill Taylor of Boltonville posted a victory in the 12-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.
Extra money was donated to the top 12 finishes in the Grand National and B Mod A-main fields courtesy of Tom Ott and the family of Dave Deicher.
The 13th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by JDL Automotive and Detailing, drew a total of 80 cars, including 25 Super Six Series Late Models 24 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 16 Grand Nationals, 15 B Mods.
The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Aug. 19 will feature the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods and the third and final appearance of the 2023 season from the Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series.
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. 15-Nick Anvelink [3]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath [6]; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [5]; 4. 89-Brad Mueller [10]; 5. 99M-Mike Mullen [11]; 6. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [15]; 7. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [4]; 8. 77-Bill Edler [8]; 9. 8R-Bill Rezutek [2]; 10. 70-Justin Ritchie [13]; 11. 19J-Justin Green [16]; 12. 10-Paul Parker [9]; 13. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [17]; 14. 33E-Chris Engels [7]; 15. 24-Turk Letizia [21]; 16. 99-Sawyer Specht [14]; 17. 57M-Eric Michaels [19]; 18. 22-Charlie Schmidt [18]; 19. 54-Kevin Baldry [12]; 20. 97-Justin Schmidt [1]; 21. (DNS) 44-Wayne Freimund
B Main (12 Laps): 1. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [1]; 2. 22-Charlie Schmidt [8]; 3. 57M-Eric Michaels [2]; 4. 44-Wayne Freimund [5]; 5. 24-Turk Letizia [7]; 6. 21-Bobby Gash [3]; 7. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [4]; 8. (DNF) 5X-Chad Ludwigson [6]; 9. (DNS) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 8R-Bill Rezutek [2]; 2. 97-Justin Schmidt [6]; 3. 54-Kevin Baldry [1]; 4. 70-Justin Ritchie [3]; 5. 99-Sawyer Specht [5]; 6. 21-Bobby Gash [4]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels [7]; 8. 5X-Chad Ludwigson [8]; 9. (DNS) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 9Z-Jayme Zidar [1]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath [2]; 3. 77-Bill Edler [3]; 4. 33E-Chris Engels [6]; 5. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [5]; 6. 19J-Justin Green [7]; 7. 22-Charlie Schmidt [4]; 8. 24-Turk Letizia [8]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Anvelink [1]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [3]; 3. 89-Brad Mueller [2]; 4. 99M-Mike Mullen [4]; 5. 10-Paul Parker [7]; 6. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [5]; 7. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [6]; 8. 44-Wayne Freimund [8]
Qualifying 1: 1. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.116 [9]; 2. 8R-Bill Rezutek, 14.330 [5]; 3. 54-Kevin Baldry, 14.533 [7]; 4. 21-Bobby Gash, 15.022 [8]; 5. 99-Sawyer Specht, 15.149 [4]; 6. 97-Justin Schmidt, 15.390 [2]; 7. 57M-Eric Michaels, 16.225 [1]; 8. 5X-Chad Ludwigson, 17.231 [3]; 9. (DNF) 95W-Aaron Wickersheim, 17.231 [6]
Qualifying 2: 1. 24-Turk Letizia, 13.836 [6]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.868 [3]; 3. 9Z-Jayme Zidar, 13.948 [7]; 4. 77-Bill Edler, 14.031 [8]; 5. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 14.085 [4]; 6. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.518 [5]; 7. 33E-Chris Engels, 14.579 [2]; 8. 19J-Justin Green, 14.985 [1]
Qualifying 3: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.605 [5]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.742 [7]; 3. 15-Nick Anvelink, 13.855 [4]; 4. 99M-Mike Mullen, 13.876 [2]; 5. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.120 [3]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 14.180 [8]; 7. 10-Paul Parker, 14.273 [6]; 8. 44-Wayne Freimund, 14.902 [1]
AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [5]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [6]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski [1]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [7]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [9]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [12]; 9. 7-Lance Fassbender [8]; 10. 85J-Logan Julien [14]; 11. 30-Doug Wondra [10]; 12. 66-Nick Daywalt [11]; 13. 66T-Tristan Koenings [15]; 14. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 15. 51-Chris Larson [18]; 16. 11-Tony Wondra [21]; 17. 24-Scott Conger [17]; 18. 69-Bill Taylor [16]; 19. 54-Randy Post [19]; 20. 7L-Ellie Hensley [20]; 21. 21H-TJ Haddy [4]; 22. 38-Ben Doak [22]; 23. (DNS) 08-Katelyn Krebsbach
B Main: 1. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 2. 24-Scott Conger [4]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [3]; 4. 54-Randy Post [2]; 5. 7L-Ellie Hensley [8]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 7. 38-Ben Doak [7]; 8. (DNF) 88-Chris Flick [5]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 66T-Tristan Koenings [2]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt [5]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton [7]; 7. 24-Scott Conger [6]; 8. 88-Chris Flick [8]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski [5]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien [2]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [1]; 7. 54-Randy Post [7]; 8. 38-Ben Doak [8]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [3]; 3. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra [5]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 7. 51-Chris Larson [6]; 8. 7L-Ellie Hensley [8]
Qualifying 1: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.753 [2]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.768 [5]; 3. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 12.823 [4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.854 [8]; 5. 66-Nick Daywalt, 12.908 [7]; 6. 24-Scott Conger, 13.129 [6]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton, 13.172 [1]; 8. 88-Chris Flick, 13.410 [3]
Qualifying 2: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.566 [6]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.808 [5]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.811 [3]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.986 [1]; 5. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 13.109 [7]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.158 [4]; 7. 54-Randy Post, 13.192 [2]; 8. 38-Ben Doak, 15.270 [8]
Qualifying 3: 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.899 [5]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.996 [7]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.031 [1]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.112 [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.223 [3]; 6. 51-Chris Larson, 13.281 [4]; 7. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.358 [6]; 8. 7L-Ellie Hensley, 13.652 [8]
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
A Main: 1. 80-Luke Scholten [2]; 2. 14X-Will Sorce [8]; 3. 24K-Tyler Kulow [5]; 4. 14-Seth Westimayer [4]; 5. 89-Brian Gilles [7]; 6. 47-Nick Schumacher [1]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow [9]; 8. 5R-Nate Ruh [13]; 9. 87-Eric Lingford [14]; 10. 34-Steven Weber [6]; 11. 6-Dick Hed [15]; 12. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [16]; 13. 42S-Jackson Specht [12]; 14. E85-Justin Pearson [3]; 15. 23-Matt Loehr [11]; 16. 53W-Dustin Weiss [10]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 34-Steven Weber [1]; 2. 14-Seth Westimayer [3]; 3. 89-Brian Gilles [8]; 4. 80-Luke Scholten [6]; 5. 23-Matt Loehr [2]; 6. 5R-Nate Ruh [4]; 7. 42S-Jackson Specht [7]; 8. 6B-Vince Bartolotta [5]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 14X-Will Sorce [5]; 2. E85-Justin Pearson [1]; 3. 24K-Tyler Kulow [6]; 4. 47-Nick Schumacher [2]; 5. 53W-Dustin Weiss [4]; 6. 95-Donny Kulow [7]; 7. 6-Dick Hed [3]; 8. 87-Eric Lingford [8]
NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 03W-Jeff Steenbergen [6]; 2. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 3. 22M-Barry Maas [4]; 4. 17-Brandon Knepprath [1]; 5. 17S-Shane Long [9]; 6. 66-Steve Lorier [5]; 7. 73-Rory Welch [7]; 8. 26-David Paskiewicz [8]; 9. 59S-Spencer Long [11]; 10. 19-Parker Glander [13]; 11. 117-Tom Barnharst [12]; 12. 54-Michael Strean [15]; 13. 3-Travis Schmidt [10]; 14. 26JK-Joey Krentz [14]; 15. 25-Jim Fischer [2]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 17S-Shane Long [2]; 2. 3-Travis Schmidt [5]; 3. 03W-Jeff Steenbergen [6]; 4. 84-Mark Hoeppner [3]; 5. 17-Brandon Knepprath [4]; 6. 25-Jim Fischer [8]; 7. 19-Parker Glander [1]; 8. (DNF) 26JK-Joey Krentz [7]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 73-Rory Welch [1]; 2. 66-Steve Lorier [2]; 3. 26-David Paskiewicz [6]; 4. 22M-Barry Maas [5]; 5. 59S-Spencer Long [3]; 6. 117-Tom Barnharst [4]; 7. (DNS) 54-Michael Strean
- Jeff Pederson on Aug 13, 2023
- Article Date: 8/13/2023 by Jeff Pederson - Pedal Down Promotions