Schmidt fit for 50th MSA win

Ben Schmidt of Plymouth earned his 50th career MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, August 29.  - JW's Car and Raccing Photos

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 29, 2025 – With the bright lights of the Sheboygan County Fair midway framing a vibrant background, two-time and defending MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth flashed to his 50th career 360 Sprint Car victory Friday, Aug. 29 at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis.

Polesitter Lance Fassbender of Burnett, who claimed the 2005 MSA 360 Sprint Car title, led the opening two circuits of the 25-lap MSA 360 Sprint Car main event.

On lap 3, outside front row starter Brandon Berth of Cascade used a slide job to vault past Fassbender into the lead. Berth pulled away to a solid advantage before catching the rear of the field on lap 8. However, the slower cars didn’t faze Berth as he maintained a full-straightaway cushion over Fassbender on lap 11.

Seven laps later, the first caution flag of the race was displayed for the spinning car of Ryan Sawusch. When the race resumed, sixth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend moved into second with Ben Schmidt, who started eighth, following in third.

A red flag appeared on lap 19 for a flip involving Joseph Hintz of Burnett. Following the restart, Karnitz dove low to pressure the cushion-riding Berth for the lead. Another caution for a Sawusch spin bunched the field on lap 21.

When the green light turned on, Schmidt turned it on as he camped his No. 1 machine on the low line to power past Karnitz into second. On the 23rd circuit, Schmidt ripped off the winning move, sliding past Berth in turn four to seize the lead.

The 25th-year racer went on to nail down his fourth Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car victory of the 2025 season and 50th career MSA triumph.

Berth, who had outdueled Schmidt for the win one week prior, had to settle for second. Karnitz placed third, Chris Clayton of Waldo, the fourth starter, wound up fourth, and Fassbender rounded out the top five.

“I’ve been racing at this track since 2000,” Schmidt said. “I’ve had some huge support over the years. I need to thank everyone for that. This win feels awesome. Last week, he [Brandon Berth] got me for the win by running the bottom in the closing laps. Tonight, everyone was running the top, so I went where they weren’t, and the bottom worked for us to get the win.”

MMW INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MIDWEST SPRINT CAR ASSOCIATION SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 1-Ben Schmidt [8]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [6]; 4. 2-Chris Clayton [4]; 5. 7-Lance Fassbender [1]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith [9]; 7. 27G-Donny Goeden [11]; 8. 69-Bill Taylor [12]; 9. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [3]; 10. 51-Chris Larson [13]; 11. 52-Cody Schlafer [5]; 12. 24X-Eric Wilke [10]; 13. 12P-JJ Pagel [16]; 14. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [14]; 15. 11-Tony Wondra [15]; 16. 46-Steven Ruh [18]; 17. 16-Anthony Knierim [17]; 18. 53A-Spyder Akright [21]; 19. 26-Preston Ruh [19]; 20. P1-Mark Chevalier [22]; 21. 68P-Frank Perko [23]; 22. 20R-Weston Finke [24]; 23. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [20]; 24. (DNF) 14J-Joseph Hintz [7]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Cody Schlafer [1]; 2. 2-Chris Clayton [2]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor [3]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra [5]; 6. 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 7. 53A-Spyder Akright [6]; 8. P1-Mark Chevalier [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ben Schmidt [2]; 2. 7-Lance Fassbender [1]; 3. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [4]; 4. 27G-Donny Goeden [3]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [5]; 6. 16-Anthony Knierim [6]; 7. 26-Preston Ruh [7]; 8. 68P-Frank Perko [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 14J-Joseph Hintz [2]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [4]; 3. 69S-TJ Smith [1]; 4. 51-Chris Larson [3]; 5. 24X-Eric Wilke [6]; 6. 46-Steven Ruh [5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [7]; 8. 20R-Weston Finke [8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.600 [4]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.627 [8]; 3. 2-Chris Clayton, 12.804 [7]; 4. 52-Cody Schlafer, 12.821 [3]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.935 [6]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright, 12.955 [1]; 7. 12P-JJ Pagel, 12.976 [5]; 8. P1-Mark Chevalier, 13.091 [2]

Qualifying 2: 1. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 12.196 [3]; 2. 27G-Donny Goeden, 12.512 [1]; 3. 1-Ben Schmidt, 12.568 [6]; 4. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.572 [2]; 5. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.620 [4]; 6. 16-Anthony Knierim, 12.621 [8]; 7. 68P-Frank Perko, 13.066 [5]; 8. 26-Preston Ruh, 13.359 [7]

Qualifying 3: 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.689 [5]; 2. 51-Chris Larson, 12.795 [1]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.881 [4]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.940 [3]; 5. 46-Steven Ruh, 13.213 [6]; 6. 24X-Eric Wilke, 13.222 [2]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 13.932 [7]; 8. 20R-Weston Finke, 16.217 [8]