(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 8, 2023 – Going where no 360 Sprint Car racer has gone before at The Plymouth Dirt Track, 2011 Plymouth Dirt Track and 360 Sprint car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth stayed flaming hot behind the wheel of his white and orange No. 35 machine by turning in a record fourth straight Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and sixth overall Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main triumph of the 2023 campaign at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 8.In the 25-lap Oostburg Auto PDTR Grand National A-main, Will Sorce of Franklin executed a last-lap pass to rack up his third main event win of the 2023 campaign.
Outside front row starter Justin Erickson of Plymouth outpowered polesitter Katelyn Krebsbach of Cascade to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag. On lap 2, Schmidt, who started fourth, moved up into second and quickly began to pressure Erickson for the top spot.
After hounding Erickson for four laps, the 24-year racing veteran worked his way past Erickson entering turn three. One lap later, the 2011 MSA 360 Sprint Car champ caught the rear of the field as Shane Wenninger of Kewaskum, who started sixth, charged past Erickson into second.
As Schmidt found himself bottled up in slower traffic, Wenninger closed the gap considerably on lap 17. Four laps later, Wenninger ducked low to pull even with Schmidt in turn four. On the following circuit, Wenninger attempted to wrestle the lead away from Schmidt using the high line.
However, Schmidt fended off Wenninger’s challenge and pulled away over the final three laps while two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion, four-time MSA champ and current point leader Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started fifth, worked his way into second.
Schmidt went on to notch his fifth PDTR, sixth MSA and record fourth straight PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2023 season in the caution-free race. It was also Schmidt’s 20th career PDTR and 38th career MSA 360 Sprint Car main event triumph.
McMullen placed second, Wenninger wound up third, eighth starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend took fourth and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion and 2005 MSA champ Lance Fassbender of Burnett placed fifth, after starting third.
Alex Pokorski of West Bend earned his first-career fast qualifier award in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division with a top lap of 12.368 seconds.
The ninth event of the 2023 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions, drew 19 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.
The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, July 15 will feature the fourth event of the Super Six Late Model Series, along with the 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods and a special appearance from the Vintage Modifieds.
In addition, the program will feature the second annual Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Night program, during which 11 drivers, five track workers and car owners/mechanics and three racing families will be honored during intermission.
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.
AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [5]; 3. 53-Shane Wenninger [6]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [8]; 5. 7-Lance Fassbender [3]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 7. 22B-Brandon Berth [12]; 8. 4-Alex Pokorski [9]; 9. 85J-Logan Julien [14]; 10. 69S-TJ Smith [18]; 11. 11-Tony Wondra [10]; 12. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [1]; 13. 21H-TJ Haddy [7]; 14. 69-Bill Taylor [13]; 15. 51-Chris Larson [19]; 16. 54-Randy Post [16]; 17. 12P-JJ Pagel [11]; 18. 53A-Spyder Akright [15]; 19. (DNF) 30-Doug Wondra [17]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 11-Tony Wondra [2]; 2. 53-Shane Wenninger [3]; 3. 7-Lance Fassbender [4]; 4. 30-Doug Wondra [1]; 5. 12P-JJ Pagel [6]; 6. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 7. (DNF) 51-Chris Larson [5]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 4. 3-Justin Erickson [5]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [3]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright [6]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen [3]; 3. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien [2]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 6. 54-Randy Post [6]
Qualifying 1: 1. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.524 [4]; 2. 53-Shane Wenninger, 12.829 [3]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.998 [1]; 4. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.154 [7]; 5. 51-Chris Larson, 13.198 [2]; 6. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.316 [6]; 7. (DNS) 69-Bill Taylor, 13.316
Qualifying 2: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.368 [2]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith, 12.485 [4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.641 [6]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 12.782 [5]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.801 [3]; 6. 53A-Spyder Akright, 12.837 [1]
Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.397 [3]; 2. 98-Brandon McMullen, 12.557 [4]; 3. 85J-Logan Julien, 12.611 [5]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.696 [2]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.696 [1]; 6. 54-Randy Post, 12.870 [6]