Arenz, Bongiorno, Loehr, Hitsman tally PDTR A-main triumphs
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) May 14, 2022 – On an unseasonably warm spring evening, a pair of drivers stayed perfect in A-main competition, while two competitors made their first main event trip to victory lane of the 2022 season, during the second Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2022 campaign Saturday, May 14 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
Defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls made it two-for-two on the 2022 season as he rolled to victory in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasant View Realty 360 Sprint Car main event victory.
In the 25-lap Sheboygan’s Country B93.7 25-lap Late model A-main, Joe Bongiorno of Milwaukee earned his first career Late Model main event triumph.
2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville outdueled Luke Scholten of Oostburg to claim his first 25-lap Oostburg Automotive PDTR Grand National main event victory of the 2022 campaign.
Jonathan Hitsman of Sheboygan racked up his second 25-lap PDTR Next Step Insurance B Mod A-main victory in two attempts in 2022.
Outside front row starter Tim Haddy of Waupun got the jump on polesitter Bill Taylor of Boltonville to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car headliner.
On lap 2, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth, who started third, moved into second along the high groove, with Travis Arenz, who started sixth, trailing into third on lap 3.
Three laps later, Schmidt and Arenz closed the gap on Haddy as the top three drivers raced nose to tail along the preferred outside line of the third-mile clay oval. On lap 8, Arenz pulled off a slide job to seize second from Schmidt in turn four.
The leaders caught the rear of the field on lap 10, which allowed Arenz to close the gap significantly on Haddy. Arenz hounded Haddy over the next three laps as the leaders skillfully weaved their way through lapped traffic.
On lap 13, Arenz bolted past Haddy in turn three with Schmidt in tow as Haddy was shuffled back to third in the running order at the halfway mark of the race.
Six laps later Arenz found himself bottled up in heavy lapped traffic with a group of drivers racing side by side in front of him. However, Arenz dove low in turn one to put three lapped cars between himself and the second-place car of Schmidt on lap 20 and effectively seal the outcome of the race.
Arenz cruised over the final five laps en route to his 12th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and 24th overall Midwest Sprint Car Association main event triumph in the caution-free race.
Schmidt had to settle for second, two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis of West Allis placed third, after starting eighth, Haddy finished fourth and fourth starter Anthony Knierim of Caledonia rounded out the top five.
Four-time defending PDTR Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland grabbed the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap Late Model A main from the pole position as rookie Bill Edler of Glenbeulah, who started third, moved into second.
Schmidt maintained the lead over Edler before the first of two caution flags appeared on lap 7 for an incident in turn four involving Sawyer Specht of Sheboygan Falls and Turk Letizia of Milwaukee.
On the restart, fifth starter Joe Bongiorno worked the outside groove to pass Edler and slip into second. Seconds later, leader Justin Schmidt slowed to a stop in turn two to bring out the second caution flag on lap 8.
With Schmidt out of the race, Bongiorno assumed the lead on the restart as Kevin Baldry of Omro, who started sixth, used the high line to move into second on lap 9. Seven laps later Baldry closed in on Bongiorno and appeared that he was going mount a challenge for the lead.
However, Bongiorno used the next four laps to open up a full-straightaway cushion over Baldry and he maintained the top spot in the closing laps on the way to his first career PDTR Late Model A-main victory.
Baldry placed second, Jim Schmidt of Cleveland, who started seventh, finished third, Letizia recovered from his early-race incident to finish fourth and Edler took fifth.
Opening night A-main winner Luke Scholten took the lead on the first lap of the 25-lap Grand National main event from the pole. On lap two, 2008 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Yancey of Sheboygan moved into second after starting third.
On lap 3, second starter Matt Loehr engaged in a side-by-side duel with Yancey for second along the high line. Two laps later, Loehr charged into second and set his sights on Scholten.
By lap 13, Loehr had cut the gap considerably on Scholten and he moved in to challenge for the top spot on lap 20. The high-riding Loehr and low-running Scholten dueled side-by-side throughout lap 21 before sweeping into the lead utilizing the top groove exiting turn two.
Loehr fended off Scholten over the final three laps to notch his 10th career PDTR Grand National A-main victory in the non-stop race.
Scholten finished second, Yancey wound up third, fifth starter Brad Weiss of Cascade placed fourth and 2019 PDTR Grand National champ Tyler Kulow of Plymouth placed fifth after starting fourth.
Polesitter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls took the lead on the opening lap of the B Mod A main as sixth starter Jonathan Hitsman bolted into second along the outside groove on the first circuit.
On lap 3, Hitsman cruised around Long in turn two to take over the top spot. From there, Hitsman set sail as he built up a half-lap lead over Long on lap 15.
As Spencer Long’s car began to display smoke, eighth starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls moved in to take second on lap 23. With Hitsman enjoying a substantial lead on the final lap, Spencer Long slowed to a stop in turn two with heavy smoke streaming from his car as the race ended under a combined checkered and caution flag.
Hitsman racked up his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main victory in the caution-less event.
Shane Long finished second, seventh starter Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls placed third, Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan finished fourth after starting 10th and second starter Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville rounded out the top five.
Two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Danny Schlafer of Sussex won the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint B main.
Tim Haddy was the overall fast qualifier in PDTR 360 Sprint Car group qualifying with a lap of 12.702.
The second PDTR program of the 2022 season, which featured free admission for all police, fire and emergency medical services personnel, was sponsored by the city of Sheboygan Falls Fire Department.
The next PDTR event will feature the fifth-ever appearance of the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car Series at The Plymouth Dirt Track in conjunction with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series on Saturday, May 21.
The PDTR 360 Sprint Cars will also be on the card for the all-Sprint Car event.
Spectator gates open at 3:30 p.m. with on-track action slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
Advance tickets for the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions – Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car event at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, May 21 are available at
The new book “Racing Recollections – Plymouth Racetrack Fans & Drivers 1950-2021” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan, George Baumann of Waupun and Verla Peichl of Sheboygan Falls will be available for purchase at every race during the 2022 PDTR season, as well as at the Sheboygan County Fair office during regular business hours and online at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.
KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANT VIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS
QUALIFYING
1, Tim Haddy 12.702 2, Scott Conger 12.896 3, Preston Ruh 12.910 4, Danny Schlafer 12.957 5, Anthony Knierim 12.962 6, Jack Vanderboom 12.962 7, Doug Wondra 12.974 8, Tommy Colburn 13.017 9, Spyder Akright 13.026 10, Travis Arenz 13.041 11, Bill Taylor 13.045 12, Chris Larson 13.140 13, Mike Yurmanovich 13.194 14, Ben Schmidt 13.233 15, Brandon Berth 13.313 16, Nick Daywalt 13.350 17, Al Schlafer 13.358 18, Brandon McMullen 13.380 19, Will Gerrits 13.412 20, Tyler Davis 13.525 21, Kurt Davis 13.591 22, Lance Fassbender 13.644 23, Tony Wondra 13.712 24, Justin Erickson 13.807 25, Dylan Winkel 13.867, 26, Katelyn Krebsbach 13.932 27, Alex Pokorski 13.935 28, Justin Miller 14.691 29, Andy Rein 14.792 30, Tyler Brabant 14.957 31, Blake Wondra no time 32, Chris Clayton no time 33, Randy Post no time.
HEAT 1
1, Tony Wondra 2, Justin Erickson 3, Kurt Davis 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Justin Miller 6, Andy Rein 7, Katelyn Krebsbach 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Randy Post.
HEAT 2
1, Brandon McMullen 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Nick Daywalt 4, Will Gerrits 5, Al Schlafer 6, Tyler Davis 7, Alex Pokorski 8, Dylan Winkel.
HEAT 3
1, Anthony Knierim 2, Travis Arenz 3, Doug Wondra 4, Scott Conger 5, Danny Schlafer 6, Mike Yurmanovich 7, Blake Wondra 8, Brandon Berth (DNS).
HEAT 4
1, Jack Vanderboom 2, Tim Haddy 3, Bill Taylor 4, Spyder Akright 5, Preston Ruh 6, Tommy Colburn 7, Chris Larson 8, Chris Clayton.
B MAIN
1, Danny Schlafer 2, Tyler Davis 3, Preston Ruh 4, Chris Larson 5, Mike Yurmanovich 6, Alex Pokorski 7, Chris Clayton 8, Blake Wondra 9, Al Schlafer 10, Dylan Winkel 11, Tommy Colburn 12, Randy Post 13, Will Gerrits (DNS) 14, Tony Wondra (DNS) 15, Katelyn Krebsbach (DNS) 16, Brandon Berth (DNS).
A MAIN
1, Travis Arenz 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Kurt Davis 4, Tim Haddy 5, Anthony Knierim 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Danny Schlafer 8, Jack Vanderboom 9, Lance Fassbender 10, Justin Erickson 11, Bill Taylor 12, Scott Conger 13, Nick Daywalt 14, Doug Wondra 15, Justin Miller 16, Chris Larson 17, Tyler Davis 18, Andy Rein 19, Mike Yurmanovich 20, Spyder Akright 21, Alex Pokorski 22, Preston Ruh.
SHEBOYGAN’S COUNTRY B93.7 LATE MODELS
HEAT 1
1, Bill Edler 2, Kevin Baldry 3, Joe Bongiorno 4, Jim Schmidt 5, Charlie Schmidt.
HEAT 2
1, Turk Letizia 2, Justin Schmidt 3, Sawyer Specht 4, Chad Ludwigson 5, Eric Michaels.
A MAIN
1, Joe Bongiorno 2, Kevin Baldry 3, Jim Schmidt 4, Turk Letizia 5, Bill Edler 6, Sawyer Specht 7, Justin Schmidt 8, Charlie Schmidt 9, Chad Ludwigson (DNS) 10, Eric Michaels (DNS).
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
HEAT
1, Tyler Kulow 2, Matt Loehr 3, Matt Yancey 4, Luke Scholten 5, Donny Kulow 6, Brad Weiss 7, Steven Weber.
A MAIN
1, Matt Loehr 2, Luke Scholten 3, Matt Yancey 4, Brad Weiss 5, Tyler Kulow 6, Steven Weber 7, Donny Kulow.
NEXT STEP INSURANCE B MODS
HEAT 1
1, Trevor Frank 2, Shane Long 3, Rory Welch 4, Brandon Knepprath 5, James Rautmann 6, Andy Welter.
HEAT 2
1, Jonathan Hitsman 2, Gary Glander 3, Steve Lorier 4, Spencer Long 5, Jonathon Baumann.
A MAIN
1, Jonathan Hitsman 2, Shane Long 3, Gary Glander 4, Jonathon Baumann 5, Brandon Knepprath 6, Andy Welter 7, Steve Lorier 8, James Rautmann 9, Spencer Long 10, Rory Welch 11, Trevor Frank.