Schmidt tops off PDTR 360 Sprint Car title with A-main triumph
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 28, 2024 – Ben Schmidt of Plymouth put a bow on an Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car championship season in fitting fashion by parking his No. 35 machine in victory lane to close out the 2024 campaign during the seventh annual Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, September 28.
After starting on the outside of the front row in the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car main event, Ben Schmidt emerged from a side-by-side duel with polesitter Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who was filling in behind the wheel of Bill Taylor's No. 69 car, to seize the lead in turn one on lap 2.
Two laps later, the first of three caution flags was displayed for the slowing car of Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee in turn one. Schmidt controlled the restart and built up a solid cushion over Wenninger by lap 6.
As T.J. Smith of Greenville rocketed into second from the eighth starting spot on lap 11, two-time Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified champion Billy Kreutz of Kiel advanced to third from the fourth starting position.
With Schmidt closing in on the rear of the field, the second caution flag of the race appeared on lap 12 for the stalled car of Chris Larson of Franksville in turn one.
Following the restart, Kreutz springboarded into second and 13th starter Joseph Hintz of Burnett rode the high line of the well-manicured track surface into fifth.
The third and final caution of the race came one lap later when Chris Larson stopped again in turn four.
The final restart of the race found Smith battling back to seize the runner-up spot, while Hintz powered up into third. At the head of the pack, Schmidt sliced his way through dense lapped traffic in the final few laps to secure his fourth A-main triumph of the 2024 season, 25th career PDTR A-main victory and 46th career MSA main event win.
The victory helped Schmidt capture his second career MSA and PDTR 360 Sprint Car championship 13 years after winning both titles in 2011.
Smith had to settle for second, Wenninger was third, seventh starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend finished fourth and Kevin Karnitz of West Bend charged up from the 18th starting spot to place fifth.
"We had kind of an odd start to the year with the rainouts and curfew night," Schmidt said. "We picked it up in the second half of the year. Since we put this team together in 2020, we've finished second every year we've run for points. Winning a championship is a great accomplishment for the guys on my crew. I have to thank them, my family and my sponsors for everything they do to help make this happen. This is awesome."
In memory of late 360-410 Sprint Car and Winged Super Modified driver Brian Portschy, who passed away 11 years ago, the Portschy family contributed $50 to the fifth place finisher in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main, which Kevin Karnitz claimed.
For Midwest Sprint Car Association off-season news and information about the 2025 season, visit the MSA Facebook page and www.msasprints.com.
AKRIGHT AUTO MIDWEST SPRINT CAR ASSOCIATION - PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 3. 69-Shane Wenninger [1]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [18]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [13]; 7. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [4]; 8. 2-Chris Clayton [16]; 9. 24-Scott Conger [3]; 10. 22B-Brandon Berth [17]; 11. 3-Justin Erickson [9]; 12. 30-Doug Wondra [21]; 13. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [5]; 14. 33M-Josh Bilicki [14]; 15. 11-Tony Wondra [19]; 16. 09-Clayton Rossmann [11]; 17. 55P-Brady Portschy [12]; 18. 53A-Spyder Akright [15]; 19. 52-Cody Schlafer [22]; 20. 29J-Ralph Johnson [23]; 21. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [24]; 22. 51-Chris Larson [10]; 23. 39K-Kurt Davis [6]; 24. 54-Randy Post [20]; 25. (DNS) 12P-JJ Pagel
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 09-Clayton Rossmann [1]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson [3]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [2]; 4. 14J-Joseph Hintz [5]; 5. 39K-Kurt Davis [4]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra [7]; 8. 29J-Ralph Johnson [9]; 9. 30-Doug Wondra [8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Scott Conger [1]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [2]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 5. 69-Shane Wenninger [5]; 6. 22B-Brandon Berth [7]; 7. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 8. 52-Cody Schlafer [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33M-Josh Bilicki [1]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [3]; 3. 55P-Brady Portschy [2]; 4. 53A-Spyder Akright [6]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [4]; 6. 54-Randy Post [5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [8]; 8. (DNF) 12P-JJ Pagel [7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 39K-Kurt Davis, 12.674 [9]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.805 [6]; 3. 51-Chris Larson, 12.861 [2]; 4. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 12.911 [5]; 5. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.956 [8]; 6. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.997 [1]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.213 [7]; 8. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.273 [4]; 9. 29J-Ralph Johnson, 13.518 [3]
Qualifying 2: 1. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.649 [5]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.663 [1]; 3. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 12.697 [6]; 4. 24-Scott Conger, 12.706 [2]; 5. 69-Shane Wenninger, 12.762 [3]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 12.907 [4]; 7. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.928 [7]; 8. 52-Cody Schlafer, 13.319 [8]
Qualifying 3: 1. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.691 [7]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.735 [3]; 3. 55P-Brady Portschy, 12.954 [4]; 4. 33M-Josh Bilicki, 13.002 [5]; 5. 54-Randy Post, 13.246 [1]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright, 13.297 [6]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.421 [2]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 14.670 [8]
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