After 17 seasons, Josh Walter-Torque Racing Sprint Car team rides into sunset
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) November 12, 2021 – A passion-fueled endeavor that started in 2005 as a dream to race a Sprint Car, which later propelled Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team to the heights of the sport at tracks throughout the state of Wisconsin and beyond, has drawn to a bittersweet conclusion for the tight-knit, hard-working collection of Plymouth, Wis.-based Sprint Car racing enthusiasts.
On the heels of one of the team’s best seasons of 410 Sprint Car competition to date, during which Walter posted five top-10 A-main showings and one top-five main event finish in 12 events, Walter has made the decision to discontinue the racing team that he originally formed with his wife, Stephanie, and several friends in 2005.
“It is definitely sad for us to close down the racing team,” Walter said. “It came down to the fact that we don’t have the time needed to devote to it as a team at this point. I thought we were getting to be pretty fast with the 410, so it is unfortunate to have to end it.”
Despite running a very limited schedule of mainly Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series events during the 2021 campaign, Walter and the Torque Racing team made the most of their few opportunities to hit the track.
Walter kicked off the 2021 season in IRA action at Wilmot Speedway in Wilmot, Wis. on Saturday, May 1. He was among 28 IRA 410 Sprint Car drivers to register for the evening’s event on the tight and tricky third-mile clay oval located in far southern part of Wisconsin on the Kenosha County Fairgrounds.
The Plymouth drive rolled off from the 14th starting spot in the 30-lap A main event and methodically worked his way up through the field to break into the top 10 and found himself running seventh in the closing stages of the race. After a late caution bunched the field, Walter fell back several spots to finish 12th.
The following weekend saw Walter and the Torque Racing team venture to the western portion of Wisconsin for an IRA event at the famed Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.
After qualifying 11th and placing third in his heat race, Walter started 11th in the 30-lap main event and endured a slew of caution flags to place 13th.
The highlight of the 2021 campaign came on Saturday, May 22 when Walter equaled his career-best IRA 410 Sprint Car Series A-main finish at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis.
Walter opened the evening by qualifying 12th before earning his first IRA heat race victory of the season and placing third in the second IRA dash to roll off sixth in the 30-lap main event. Walter ran inside the top-five throughout the majority of the race and as high as third at one point en route to an IRA career-best fourth-place A-main finish.
A home-track appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. saw Walter compete in a FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobil 1 and Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on Saturday, June 5.
Walter’s up-and-down night against many of the top Sprint Car drivers in the nation ended with an eighth-place finish in the B main.
The next event for the team saw Walter compete with the top Winged Sprint Car touring series in the world for the sixth time in his career as the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series made its annual stop at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. on Saturday, June 19.
After placing fifth in his heat race to earn his second World of Outlaws A-main start, Walter came home 22nd in the 40-lap main event.
The team then returned home on Thursday, July 1 for a special $5,000-to-win IRA event held in conjunction with the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series weekend at nearby Road America.
After starting 12th in the 30-lap main event, Walter advanced into the top five in the late going before coming home with a sixth-place showing, which is his best career main event finish in 410 Sprint Car competition at The Plymouth Dirt Track.
The team’s first IRA doubleheader weekend of action took place on Friday, July 23 at Outagamie Speedway Powered by EWSC Racing in Seymour, Wis. followed by another IRA event at Beaver Dam Raceway on July 24.
Walter’s night ended early at Outagamie Speedway after contact while running seventh in the 30-lap A main forced him to retire from the race.
After some quick overnight work, Walter was back in action the following night at Beaver Dam Raceway where he came home with a solid 11th-place A-main showing after hovering in and around the top-10 throughout the race.
Walter racked up another top-10 showing in IRA action at the Langlade County Speedway in Antigo, Wis. on Friday, July 30 as he came home seventh in the 20-lap A main on the huge, lightning-fast 3/5th-mile clay oval.
Walter then capped another IRA doubleheader weekend with another strong showing in the 25th annual Frank Filskov Memorial at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 31.
Walter qualified ninth in the 22-car field with a lap of 11.582 seconds around the third-mile clay oval and led every lap of the first IRA dash to start on the pole of the 30-lap main event. Walter paced the first eight laps of the A main before coming home with a solid ninth-place finish.
After taking the month of August off from competition, the team’s season hit a snag in the annual IRA event held during the Sheboygan County Fair at the Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, Sept. 4 as a broken rocker arm ended Walter’s night early in heat race action.
The rocker arm issue forced the team to miss several events during the month of September before it finally returned to action one last time at The Plymouth Dirt Track for the 2021 IRA season finale as part of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships on Saturday, Sept. 25.
The Torque Racing team closed out its 17-season run by recording a ninth-place finish in the 30-lap IRA headliner.
In all, Walter and the Torque Racing team capped the 2021 season with one top-five A-main finish, five top-10 A-main showings, two heat race wins, four IRA dash appearances and one IRA dash victory in 12 races, including 11 IRA events, on the way to a 17th-place finish in the final IRA point standings.
Even though the Torque Racing team’s run may be coming to an end, Walter still has the will and desire to compete and would welcome a chance to continue his career behind the wheel of a race car.
“I’d be more than happy with a full or part-time opportunity to drive in any type of race car,” Walter said. “I’m always looking for a new experience and opportunity. I’d love to get back in a 410 or 360 Sprint Car and would love to get an opportunity in a Midget.”
During his highly successful 13-year Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car career, Walter collected six A-main victories, including a career-best third-place finish in the 2018 MSA point standings, along with a third-place showing in the 2014 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car points race.
One of the standout memories of Walter’s 410 Sprint Car career was the team’s entry in the Knoxville Nationals at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa in 2017.
Josh Walter can be reached by email atsprint.racer12w@gmail.com or via the Torque Racing Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TorqueRacing12w.
The members of Walter’s Torque Racing team are Stephanie Walter (car owner), Tiffany Vorpagel (team manager), Chad DeKarske (crew chief), Justin Vorpagel (car chief) and mechanics Andy Rieth, Noah Koepke and Scott Allmann.
The Torque Racing sponsors for the 2021 season are Dlapa Construction, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, SCA Inc., Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete Products, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.
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2021 Josh Walter-Torque Racing
Final Statistics
Total Events – 12
IRA events – 11
World of Outlaws events – 1
All Star events – 1
A-Main Victories – 0
B-Main Victories – 0
Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1
Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 5
Heat Race Victories – 2
Dash Victories – 1
Dash Appearances – 4
IRA Points Finish – 17th
