Smith rail rides to MSA Plymouth Wall of Fame win

T.J. Smith of Greenville, Wis. secured his fourth career MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 11.   - RC Custom Design photo

(Pedal Down Promotions) July 11, 2026 - T.J. Smith of Greenville, Wis. utilized the low groove in the closing stages to claim his second MMW Industrial Supply Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory of the 2026 season during Wall of Fame Induction Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 11.

For the second A main in a row at Plymouth, Katelyn Krebsbach of Johnsburg, who started second, grabbed the lead on the opening circuit of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car main event.

On lap 3, a red flag appeared when Ryan Sawusch flipped and made hard contact with the fence in turn one. His car suffered heavy damage, but Sawusch was able to escape uninjured.

Following the restart, MSA rookie Ethon Stear of Hebron, Ill., who started on the pole, rode the high groove to pressure Krebsbach for the top spot. On lap 9, Stear pounced with a low move in turn three to come out with the lead.

However, Krebsbach battled back and regained the lead in turn two one lap later. While Stear stayed with the top side, fourth starter T.J. Smith went to work on the bottom of the speedway.

On lap 16, Smith gained second and, two laps later, he pulled ahead of the high-riding Krebsbach in turn four. After a caution flag flew on lap 19 for Tom Becker’s spin, defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Kevin Karnitz of West Bend used the high line to vault his way from fourth to second on lap 20.

The cushion-pounding Karnitz nearly pulled even with the low-riding Smith, but he was unable to secure the pass. As the top groove faded, Krebsbach repassed Karnitz to regain second.

Smith could not be denied as he cruised to his second victory of the 2026 campaign and fourth career MSA A-Main win. Krebsbach nailed down a career-best A-main finish with a strong runner-up showing, Karnitz placed third, MSA rookie Carter Chevalier of Andover, Minn., took fourth from the third starting spot, and Justin Erickson of Plymouth, who started seventh, rounded out the top five.

The 11th event of the 2026 MSA campaign, sponsored by Butch and Janet Hafemann and the Southeastern Wisconsin Short Track Hall of Fame, drew a field of 24 MSA Sprint Cars.

The MSA is back in action at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, July 18.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and opening ceremonies at 6 p.m.

MMW Industrial Supply

Midwest Sprint Car Association

The Plymouth Dirt Track

Plymouth, Wis.

Saturday, July 11, 2026

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 2. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [2]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [10]; 4. 15-Carter Chevalier [3]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson [7]; 6. 35-Ben Schmidt [11]; 7. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [15]; 8. 11-Tony Wondra [13]; 9. 68T-Tyler Davis [5]; 10. 14J-Joseph Hintz [6]; 11. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl [16]; 12. 5C-Chad Stouthamer [14]; 13. 22B-Brandon Berth [8]; 14. 46-Steven Ruh [17]; 15. 69-Bill Taylor [9]; 16. 20W-Weston Finke [18]; 17. 34T-Tom Becker [20]; 18. 30-Nathan Skelton [21]; 19. 87R-Josh Rehberg [19]; 20. 68P-Frank Perko [12]; 21. 59-Ethon Stear [1]; 22. 55S-Ryan Sawusch [22]; 23. (DNS) 14AJ-Ryan Zielski

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl[3]; 2. 46-Steven Ruh[4]; 3. 20W-Weston Finke[1]; 4. 87R-Josh Rehberg[2]; 5. 34T-Tom Becker[7]; 6. 30-Nathan Skelton[5]; 7. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[6]; 8. (DNS) 5-Kevin Seidler

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 69S-TJ Smith[1]; 2. 14AJ-Ryan Zielski[2]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth[3]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor[4]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra[5]; 6. 5C-Chad Stouthamer[7]; 7. (DNF) 30-Nathan Skelton[6]; 8. (DNS) 5-Kevin Seidler

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 15-Carter Chevalier[1]; 2. 68T-Tyler Davis[2]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson[4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz[3]; 5. 68P-Frank Perko[5]; 6. 20W-Weston Finke[6]; 7. 87R-Josh Rehberg[8]; 8. 34T-Tom Becker[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach[1]; 2. 14J-Joseph Hintz[2]; 3. 59-Ethon Stear[6]; 4. 35-Ben Schmidt[3]; 5. 3BK-Billy Kreutz[4]; 6. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl[5]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh[7]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch[8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.903[3]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.955[4]; 3. 14AJ-Ryan Zielski, 14.036[8]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith, 14.089[1]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 14.313[5]; 6. 30-Nathan Skelton, 14.838[6]; 7. 5-Kevin Seidler, 14.838[2]; 8. 5C-Chad Stouthamer, 14.838[7]

Qualifying 2: 1. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.977[3]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 14.053[8]; 3. 68T-Tyler Davis, 14.074[6]; 4. 15-Carter Chevalier, 14.131[1]; 5. 68P-Frank Perko, 14.153[4]; 6. 20W-Weston Finke, 14.177[5]; 7. 34T-Tom Becker, 15.625[7]; 8. 87R-Josh Rehberg, 15.625[2]

Qualifying 3: 1. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 13.994[2]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 14.082[8]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 14.189[6]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 14.260[1]; 5. 59S-Hayden Schmuhl, 14.440[4]; 6. 59-Ethon Stear, 14.485[5]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh, 14.849[7]; 8. 55S-Ryan Sawusch, 15.166[3]