Schmidt, Richards, Thomas bag A-main wins
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 10, 2024 – In his first appearance of the 2024 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Nick Anvelink of Bonduel utilized a late-race restart to slip past Random Lake’s Brad Mueller of Random Lake on the way to a $5,000 victory in the 30-lap Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 106.5 The Buzz Seubert Calf Ranches Super Six Late Model Series 2024 season finale A-main at the venerable third-mile clay oval in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 10.
On the strength of a second place finish in the main event, Brad Mueller secured his second consecutive Super Six Late Model Series title and a record sixth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model championship.
Former PDTR and Midwest Sprint Car Association champion and current point leader Ben Schmidt of Plymouth captured the 25-lap Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing – Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main.
Jake Richards of Neshkoro scored a wire-to-wire victory in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National main event.
Cole Thomas of Franklin survived an incident-plagued time-shortened 21-lap Sheboygan Flooring B Mod A-main to claim his second A-main victory of the season in PDTR competition.
Outside front-row starter Mike Mullen of Seymour used the high groove to move around polesitter Brad Mueller and secure the initial lead of the 30-lap Super Six Late Model Series main event.
On lap 5, Nick Anvelink, who started third, moved in to challenge the high-riding Mueller for second along the inside lane. The two celebrated veteran competitors exchanged the runner-up spot before Mueller cleared Anvelink to maintain the spot on lap 9.
Meanwhile, Mullen caught up to the rear of the field on lap 9. Five laps later he found himself immersed in dense two-wide lapped traffic, which allowed Mueller and Anvelink to surge in to make it a three-way battle for the top spot.
With Mullen wedged in behind a pair of slower cars, Mueller used a high move in turn two on lap 16 to take over the top spot before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 17 when Shawn Miller of Gillett spun in turn two.
On the restart, Anvelink dove low to power past Mullen and briefly challenge Mueller for the lead along the inside line of the smooth, slick, and multi-groove racing surface.
However, Mueller fended off Anvelink’s advances to maintain the lead along the cushion. The running order at the head of the pack stayed locked in place until the second caution flag flew on lap 27 when Kurt Moeller of Kaukauna spun along the back stretch.
Following a single-file restart, Anvelink reeled off a perfectly executed low-to-high short slider move to wrestle the top spot away from Mueller exiting turn four. The six-time WABAM Dirt Kings Late Model Tour champion went on to secure his third career PDTR Late Model A-main victory and take home a big $5,000 first-place check in a rare appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track.
“I saw Brad [Mueller] had his quarter panel ripped off, which probably wasn’t helping him near the end of the race,” Anvelink said. “I was able to get a run on that last restart, which ended up being just what we needed to end up with the win. They’ve done a great job with this series. I wished we would have been able to make it for more of these races this year, but it just didn’t work out for us schedule-wise. I have to thank everyone involved in making this happen. It was a fun race tonight.”
Mueller placed second to nail down back-to-back Super Six Late Model Series titles. In addition, Mueller moves to the top of the list of drivers who have competed in the PDTR Late Model division over the past 20 years by securing his sixth career track championship.
Mullen finished third, 2014 PDTR Late Model champion Mitch McGrath of Waukesha placed fourth after starting seventh and fourth starter Taylor Scheffler of Waukesha rounded out the top five.
The action was equally hot and heavy in the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event, as 1998 and 1999 Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champion Billy Kreutz of Kiel jumped out to the lead from the pole position.
On lap 4, 14-year-old 360 Sprint Car rookie Joseph Hintz of Burnett moved in from this third starting spot to challenge the cushion-pounding Kreutz along the low groove. Meanwhile, 2011 PDTR and MSA champion Ben Schmidt rode the high line from his sixth starting spot into third on lap 6.
Two laps later, Kreutz, Hintz and Schmidt became embroiled in a heated three-car tussle for the point with Hintz surging into the lead on lap 11 as Schmidt pulled off a slide job to roll past Kreutz into second exiting turn four.
On lap 13, Schmidt shot into the lead along the cushion in turn two. One lap later, the lone caution flag appeared following a Josh Bilicki of Menominee Falls spin in turn two.
Schmidt darted away from the field on the ensuing restart while Kreutz battled back to regain second from Hintz on lap 17.
The 25-year racing veteran cruised over the final 10 laps of the race to secure his second PDTR A-main victory and third overall MSA win of the 2024 campaign.
In addition, Schmidt moved into third place on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list by claiming his 24th main event victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track, while also claiming his 45th career MSA A-main triumph to tie five-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh for third on the all-time MSA victory list.
Kreutz notched a PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car career-best second place showing, Hintz was third, fourth starter T.J. Smith of Greenville placed fourth and seventh starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend completed the top five.
Polesitter Jake Richards outdueled outside front-row starter Jake Wiroll of Sheboygan to grab the lead on the first lap of the Grand National main event. By lap nine, Richards had built up a half-straightaway cushion over Wiroll.
On lap 10, fourth starter Scott Kafka of Cleveland was dueling with Wiroll for second when a flat tire on Kafka’s machine brought out the first of three race stoppages.
With sixth starter Nick Schumacher of Eagle his new pursuer, Richards again powered away from the field on the restart as two-time PDTR Grand National champ and seven-time overall track champion at The Plymouth Dirt Track Brian Gilles of Plymouth slowed with a flat tire before Jared Weiss of Fond du Lac made contact with Gilles’ disabled car along the front stretch to produce another caution on lap 11.
A four-car incident, which blocked the backstretch, forced a red flag on lap 13. Following the final restart, Schumacher stayed close to Richards during the second half of the race, as action raged behind them with four drivers racing in close quarters for third place in the closing laps.
Richards went on to post his first career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in very limited appearances at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Schumacher finished second, seventh starter Steven Weber of Plymouth took third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed fourth after starting eighth and defending PDTR Grand National-co-champion and current point leader Will Sorce of Franklin moved up from the 13th starting position to finish fifth.
Rookie Zachary Schmidt of West Bend assumed the early lead in the B Mod main event from the pole, while fifth starter Cole Thomas mounted an early charge to the front assuming second on lap 3 and taking over the lead from Schmidt with a low move in turn four.
The first of five caution periods came on lap 6 with a five-car incident on turn two. By lap 9, Thomas had built up a huge half-lap advantage over seventh starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls.
The ensuing 12 laps were interspersed with four more caution flags with Barrett Hummelmeier’s run from the 11th starting spot into second on lap 18 highlighting the green flag action.
The fifth caution flag displayed upon the completion of lap 21 prompted the race to end due to the 25-minute time limit.
Thomas posted his second PDTR B Mod A-main victory of the 2024 season and his career at The Plymouth Dirt Track. Hummelmeier finished second, Long wound up third, Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville moved up from the ninth starting position to place fourth and PDTR B Mod point leader Travis Schmidt of Plymouth advanced from the 12th starting spot to finish fifth.
Hunter Larson of Oshkosh won the B Mod B main.
Brad Mueller claimed fast qualifier honors in Super Six Late Model Series qualifying with a lap of 13.261 seconds.
Brandon Berth of Cascade earned the overall PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car fast qualifier award with a quick lap of 12.608 seconds.
The A-main winners in each division received additional pay from Judy Deicher in memory of her late husband, Dave Deicher, who was a longtime Winged Super Modified and Sportsman driver, as well as a flagman at The Plymouth Dirt Track.
The 10th event of the 2024 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Mayer Automotive, drew 79 total entries, including 23 B Mods, 21 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 20 Late Models and 15 Grand Nationals.
The next PDTR racing program on Saturday, Aug. 17 will include special guest appearances from the Midwest Legends Dirt Series and Street Stock divisions.
The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods will also be in action.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
The 2024 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Awards Ceremony is set to take place Saturday, Oct. 12 at Racers Hall in Plymouth at 7 p.m.
Weather information for all Plymouth Dirt Track Racing events will be posted on the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram pages, as well as the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing website – www.plymouthdtr.com.
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 SEUBERT CALF RANCHES SUPER SIX LATE MODEL SERIES
A Main (30 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Anvelink [3]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 3. 99M-Mike Mullen [2]; 4. 74-Mitch McGrath [7]; 5. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [4]; 6. 70-Justin Ritchie [5]; 7. 77-Bill Edler [6]; 8. D1-Turk Letizia [9]; 9. 22-Charlie Schmidt [11]; 10. 99-Sawyer Specht [12]; 11. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [13]; 12. 42-Paul Niznik [16]; 13. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [15]; 14. 21X-Kurt Moeller [18]; 15. 79-Jim Schmidt [14]; 16. 10-Paul Parker [19]; 17. 21M-Shawn Miller [17]; 18. 97-Justin Schmidt [20]; 19. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [10]; 20. 54-Kevin Baldry [8]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Nick Anvelink [2]; 2. 70-Justin Ritchie [1]; 3. 74-Mitch McGrath [3]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [4]; 5. 9N-Tom Naeyaert [5]; 6. 42-Paul Niznik [7]; 7. (DNF) 10-Paul Parker [6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 99M-Mike Mullen [3]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [2]; 3. 99-Sawyer Specht [1]; 4. 22-Charlie Schmidt [4]; 5. 79-Jim Schmidt [5]; 6. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [7]; 7. 21X-Kurt Moeller [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 89-Brad Mueller [3]; 2. 77-Bill Edler [1]; 3. D1-Turk Letizia [2]; 4. 54-Kevin Baldry [5]; 5. 21M-Shawn Miller [4]; 6. (DNS) 97-Justin Schmidt
Qualifying 1: 1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.841 [5]; 2. 15-Nick Anvelink, 13.947 [1]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.084 [2]; 4. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.177 [3]; 5. 9N-Tom Naeyaert, 14.261 [6]; 6. 10-Paul Parker, 14.456 [4]; 7. 42-Paul Niznik, 14.594 [7]
Qualifying 2: 1. 99M-Mike Mullen, 13.637 [4]; 2. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.761 [1]; 3. 99-Sawyer Specht, 13.885 [6]; 4. 22-Charlie Schmidt, 13.994 [3]; 5. 79-Jim Schmidt, 14.078 [7]; 6. 21X-Kurt Moeller, 14.403 [5]; 7. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 14.661 [2]
Qualifying 3: 1. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.261 [3]; 2. D1-Turk Letizia, 13.875 [4]; 3. 77-Bill Edler, 13.908 [6]; 4. 97-Justin Schmidt, 14.162 [2]; 5. 21M-Shawn Miller, 14.225 [5]; 6. 54-Kevin Baldry, 14.269 [1]
AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [6]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [1]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz [3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 5. 4-Alex Pokorski [7]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [4]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [10]; 8. 3-Justin Erickson [12]; 9. 11-Tony Wondra [2]; 10. 53A-Paul Pokorski [5]; 11. 22B-Brandon Berth [20]; 12. 09-Clayton Rossmann [15]; 13. 30-Doug Wondra [18]; 14. 24-Scott Conger [9]; 15. 46-Kevin Ruh [17]; 16. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [13]; 17. 51-Josh Bilicki [14]; 18. 24X-Eric Wilke [16]; 19. 98M-Ron Malec [19]; 20. 12P-JJ Pagel [11]; 21. (DNS) 51T-Shane Wenninger
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 53A-Paul Pokorski [2]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt [3]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra [1]; 5. 51-Josh Bilicki [7]; 6. 46-Kevin Ruh [6]; 7. 24X-Eric Wilke [5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 2. 24-Scott Conger [2]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [3]; 4. 14J-Joseph Hintz [5]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel [6]; 6. 09-Clayton Rossmann [7]; 7. (DQ) 22B-Brandon Berth [4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Justin Erickson [1]; 2. 51T-Shane Wenninger [2]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 4. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [3]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [5]; 6. 30-Doug Wondra [6]; 7. 98M-Ron Malec [7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.666 [5]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.704 [1]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 12.743 [6]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.905 [2]; 5. 24X-Eric Wilke, 13.211 [7]; 6. 46-Steven Ruh, 13.427 [3]; 7. (DNF) 51-Josh Bilicki [4]
Qualifying 2: 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.619 [2]; 2. 24-Scott Conger, 12.639 [6]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.772 [1]; 4. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.799 [4]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel, 12.940 [5]; 6. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 12.996 [7]; 7. (DQ) 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.608 [3]
Qualifying 3: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.680 [4]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 12.916 [1]; 3. 51T-Shane Wenninger, 12.963 [5]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.161 [2]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.162 [3]; 6. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.441 [6]; 7. 98M-Ron Malec, 13.924 [7]
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 8-Jake Richards [1]; 2. 47-Nick Schumacher [6]; 3. 34-Steven Weber [7]; 4. 24K-Tyler Kulow [8]; 5. 14X-Will Sorce [13]; 6. 53W-Dustin Weiss [9]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow [15]; 8. 23-Scott Kafka [4]; 9. 42-Jason Juech [14]; 10. 15-Derek Kaat [5]; 11. 54-Austin Yancey [11]; 12. 89-Brian Gilles [10]; 13. 52W-Jack Wiroll [2]; 14. 5M-Nate Ruh [3]; 15. 35-Jared Weiss [12]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Jake Richards [1]; 2. 23-Scott Kafka [4]; 3. 5M-Nate Ruh [3]; 4. 47-Nick Schumacher [5]; 5. 53W-Dustin Weiss [7]; 6. 54-Austin Yancey [2]; 7. 14X-Will Sorce [8]; 8. 95-Donny Kulow [6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 89-Brian Gilles [7]; 2. 52W-Jack Wiroll [1]; 3. 24K-Tyler Kulow [6]; 4. 34-Steven Weber [5]; 5. 15-Derek Kaat [4]; 6. 35-Jared Weiss [2]; 7. 42-Jason Juech [3]
SHEBOYGAN FLOORING B MODS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 91-Cole Thomas [5]; 2. 33H-Barrett Hummelmeier [11]; 3. 59S-Spencer Long [7]; 4. 17-Brandon Knepprath [9]; 5. 3-Travis Schmidt [12]; 6. 73-Rory Welch [6]; 7. 66-Steve Lorier [10]; 8. 89-Logan Brass [14]; 9. 11S-Zachary Schmidt [1]; 10. 26-David Paskiewicz [17]; 11. 9-Hunter Larson [16]; 12. 29S-Scott Quarnstrom [18]; 13. XV-Don Marquart [2]; 14. 31W-Kelan Wolfe [19]; 15. 19-Parker Glander [3]; 16. 11B-Brad Buckman [13]; 17. 25S-Steve Ellis [20]; 18. 69-Travis Kleindl [4]; 19. 32Z-Andy Welter [8]; 20. 9R-Matthew Roehl [15]
B Main: 1. 9-Hunter Larson [1]; 2. 26-David Paskiewicz [2]; 3. 29S-Scott Quarnstrom [3]; 4. 31W-Kelan Wolfe [5]; 5. 25S-Steve Ellis [6]; 6. 18-Miranda Sandholm [7]; 7. 54-Michael Strean [4]; 8. (DNS) 54S-Ryan Spoehr
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 33H-Barrett Hummelmeier [7]; 2. 17-Brandon Knepprath [6]; 3. 73-Rory Welch [5]; 4. 69-Travis Kleindl [4]; 5. 11B-Brad Buckman [3]; 6. 18-Miranda Sandholm [8]; 7. 29S-Scott Quarnstrom [1]; 8. 25S-Steve Ellis [2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 91-Cole Thomas [4]; 2. 3-Travis Schmidt [7]; 3. 59S-Spencer Long [5]; 4. XV-Don Marquart [2]; 5. 89-Logan Brass [3]; 6. 9-Hunter Larson [6]; 7. 54-Michael Strean [1]; 8. (DNF) 54S-Ryan Spoehr [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11S-Zachary Schmidt [1]; 2. 19-Parker Glander [3]; 3. 66-Steve Lorier [6]; 4. 32Z-Andy Welter [5]; 5. 9R-Matthew Roehl [7]; 6. 26-David Paskiewicz [4]; 7. (DNF) 31W-Kelan Wolfe [2]
- Jeff Pederson on Aug 11, 2024
- Article Date: 8/11/2024 by Jeff Pederson - Pedal Down Promotions