(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 28, 2023 – Former Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth continued his season-long stranglehold over the competition by notching his sixth Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car main event victory of the 2023 campaign during the third annual 25-lap Road America Challenge A-main at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Friday, July 28.
In the Akright Auto PDTR-Midwest Sprint Car Association 25-lap Road America Challenge main event, polesitter Kevin Karnitz of West jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag with rookie T.J. Haddy of Waupun, who started second, and 2011 PDTR and MSA champ Ben Schmidt, who started fourth, following in second and third, respectively.
On lap 3, Schmidt worked his way past Haddy to assume the runner-up spot before Karnitz caught the back of the field on lap 6. Schmidt hounded Karnitz through thick lapped traffic over the next two laps before surging ahead exiting turn four on lap 8.
As Schmidt skillfully sliced his way through lapped traffic on the lightning fast track surface, two-time PDTR and four-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh maneuvered his way into third before working past Karnitz to assume second on lap 20.
Two laps later, Devan Myers of Bringhurst, Ind. spun in turn four to bring out the lone caution flag of the race on lap 22. Following the single-file restart, Schmidt pulled away while McMullen moved up to the high line in an attempt to wrestle the lead away from the 24-year racing veteran, who captured the 2011 PDTR and MSA championships.
McMullen’s late bid for the top spot fell short as Schmidt claimed his sixth PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory of the 2023 season, fifth main event victory in the last six main PDTR 360 Sprint Car events, 21st career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory, seventh MSA A-main win of 2023 and 39th career MSA main event win.
McMullen had to settle for second, Karnitz was third, fifth starter Chris Clayton of Waldo finished fourth and 10th starter Alex Pokorski of West Bend rounded out the top five.
Bill Taylor of Boltonville registered top qualifying honors in the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car division in 13.567 seconds.
The 11th event of the 2023 PDTR campaign drew 25 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.
After making its debut at Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River, Wis. on Saturday, July 29, the Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car Series returns to the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 5, along with the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Grand Nationals and B Mods, as well as the IRA Lightning Sprints.
The event will also feature a kids coin and candy drop provided courtesy of PDTR and VanDerVart Concrete Products.
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 [6]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 4. 2-Chris Clayton [5]; 5. 4-Alex Pokorski [10]; 6. 21H-TJ Haddy [2]; 7. 7-Lance Fassbender [3]; 8. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [9]; 9. 3-Justin Erickson [7]; 10. 22B-Brandon Berth [12]; 11. 69S-TJ Smith [8]; 12. 6K-Kurt Davis [22]; 13. 53-Shane Wenninger [15]; 14. 51-Chris Larson [11]; 15. 38-Josh Bilicki [16]; 16. 11-Tony Wondra [14]; 17. 69-Bill Taylor [24]; 18. 53A-Paul Pokorski [17]; 19. 66T-Tristan Koenings [13]; 20. 88-Chris Flick [20]; 21. 85J-Logan Julien [21]; 22. 39-Michael Decker [19]; 23. 66-Nick Daywalt [23]; 24. 12P-JJ Pagel [18]; 25. 7R-Devan Myers [25]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Lance Fassbender [2]; 2. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [1]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [6]; 5. 53-Shane Wenninger [5]; 6. 38-Josh Bilicki [7]; 7. 53A-Paul Pokorski [9]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel [8]; 9. (DNF) 69-Bill Taylor [4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [3]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [2]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson [4]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra [6]; 6. 6K-Kurt Davis [1]; 7. 7R-Devan Myers [8]; 8. 88-Chris Flick [7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 98-Brandon McMullen [4]; 2. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [3]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy [8]; 5. 66T-Tristan Koenings [7]; 6. 85J-Logan Julien [1]; 7. 39-Michael Decker [5]; 8. (DNF) 66-Nick Daywalt [2]
Qualifying 1: 1. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.567 [7]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski, 13.612 [6]; 3. 7-Lance Fassbender, 13.738 [1]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.747 [4]; 5. 53-Shane Wenninger, 13.760 [2]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith, 14.077 [3]; 7. 38-Josh Bilicki, 14.140 [8]; 8. 12P-JJ Pagel, 14.210 [5]; 9. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 14.392 [9]
Qualifying 2: 1. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.979 [1]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.985 [6]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.991 [2]; 4. 6K-Kurt Davis, 13.999 [8]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 14.075 [4]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 14.082 [3]; 7. 7R-Devan Myers, 14.353 [5]; 8. 88-Chris Flick, 14.452 [7]
Qualifying 3: 1. 98-Brandon McMullen, 14.276 [3]; 2. 51-Chris Larson, 14.561 [8]; 3. 66-Nick Daywalt, 14.584 [7]; 4. 85J-Logan Julien, 14.737 [2]; 5. 39-Michael Decker, 14.858 [1]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 14.966 [4]; 7. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 15.032 [5]; 8. 21H-TJ Haddy, 15.032 [6]