Arenz, McDermand, Loehr, Lorier claim PDTR triumphs, Sorce Jr. and Frank secure titles
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 11, 2021 – The penultimate Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2021 season saw four drivers make return visits to A-main victory lane and pair of competitors claim division championships, during an incident-plagued evening of action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 11.
PDTR 360 Sprint Car point leader Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls rolled to his sixth A-main victory of the 2021 campaign in the 25-lap Kristine Hartmann Pleasantview Realty 360 Sprint Car main event.
Chase McDermand of Springfield, Ill. nailed down his third consecutive Badger Midget Auto Racing Association by claiming his 10th BMARA A-main victory of the 2021 season in the 25-lap main event.
2018 PDTR Grand National champion Matt Loehr of Dotyville picked up his third 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main victory of the 2021 season and Sheboygan’s Steve Lorier racked up his second 25-lap Cellcom B Mod A-main triumph of the 2021 campaign.
Veteran Don Sorce Jr. of West Allis secured his third career PDTR Grand National championship and second-year competitor Trevor Frank of Sheboygan secured his first career PDTR B Mod title.
Outside front row starter Brandon Berth of Cascade bolted outdueled polesitter Bill Taylor of Boltonville to lead the opening lap of the 25-lap 360 Sprint Car A main. Berth then proceeded to build up a big lead in the early going on the lightning-fast third-mile clay oval.
As Berth worked the cushion to perfection, sixth starter Travis Arenz moved into fourth on lap four. Berth caught the rear of the field on lap 6 and proceeded to extend his lead to a full straightaway over Adam Miller of Plymouth, who started third.
On lap 11, Arenz worked around Miller to claim the runner-up spot. By lap 17, Berth continued to hold down a full-straightaway cushion over Arenz.
On lap 20, the first of three red flags appeared when two-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen and rookie Matt Rechek of Beaver Dam made contact in turn three, which sent Rechek flipping into the third three fence. Rechek emerged uninjured, but the contact resulted in a delay to repair the fence.
The ensuing restart saw the lapped car of Blake Wondra hit the turn two wall before Adam Miller flipped and Cole Possi of Rock, Mich. was collected in the incident.
Berth controlled the restart and led the ensuing two laps before getting out of shape in turn two on lap 22, which allowed Arenz to dive low and take over the top spot as the two drivers raced down the backstretch in close formation.
Berth attempted to move around Arenz along the outside groove in turn three. However, the two cars made contact, which sent Berth head on into the turn four wall. Despite the hard contact, Berth was uninjured in the incident. However, the contact necessitated more fence repair.
Arenz powered away from the field on the final restart and cruised over the final three laps en route to his 10th Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main victory of the 2021 season, 10th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main win, third straight MSA victory and 21st career MSA main event triumph.
2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett, who started fourth, finished second, Will Gerrits of Waupun charged from the 18th starting spot to place third, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Howards Grove finished fourth after starting 14th and Brandon McMullen, who started 15th, recovered from his lap 20 incident and trip to the pit area for repairs to round out the top five.
Arenz heads into the final PDTR 360 Sprint Car points race of the 2021 season on Saturday, Sept. 26 with a 22-point lead over McMullen.
Polesitter Lamont Critchett of Demotte, Ind. dueled side by side with outside front row starter Ken Hanson of Vinton, Iowa on the opening circuit of the 25-lap Badger Midget A main before Critchett surged ahead along the high groove on lap 2.
The first caution flag of the race appeared on lap 4 for a three-car incident in turn two. On the restart, fifth starter Zach Boden of Cambridge utilized the low line to pull even with Critchett for the top spot. The two drivers dueled side by side for the next two laps before Boden assumed the top spot on lap 6.
On lap 7, Charles Kunz of Springfield, Ill. hit the back stretch wall and flipped to bring out the red flag. When the race resumed, Critchett regained the lead on lap 11 two a high move in turn two.
Two laps later, eighth starter Chase McDermand pulled off a thrilling three-wide move in turn two to work past Boden and Critchett into the lead. Four laps later, Critchett made hard contact with the turn four wall to bring out another red flag.
McDermand bolted away on the restart and maintained the top spot the rest of the way en route to his second Badger Midget A-main triumph of the 2021 season at The Plymouth Dirt Track after scoring a win in the series’ previous appearance on July 3.
Boden placed second, ninth starter Jeff Zelinski of Joliet, Ill. finished third, Cody Weisensel of Sun Prairie placed fourth after starting sixth and Sun Prairie’s Todd Kluever placed fifth after starting seventh.
Outside front row starter Josh Pierce of Random Lake worked around polesitter Matt Loehr to seize the lead in turn two of the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A main.
Loehr battled back to challenge Pierce along the low groove on lap 3, but Pierce fended off his advances. The lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 7 when rookie Darren Meyer spun in turn three.
On the restart, Loehr continued to pressure Pierce before fifth starter Dick Hed of Plymouth moved in two challenge Loehr for second on lap 12. Loehr then ventured up to the high groove to close in on the leader.
On lap 17, Loehr powered around Pierce to secure the lead in turn two and he never looked back en route to his ninth career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.
Pierce placed second, ninth starter Steven Weber of Plymouth finished third, Hed was fourth and seventh starter Luke Scholten of Oostburg placed fifth.
Polesitter Steve Lorier paced the opening laps of the 25-lap B Mod A main with third starter Jesse Cullen of Chilton in hot pursuit. The first of four caution flags appeared on lap 10 when Travis Arenz, who was guest driving for Jonathan Hitsman, spun in turn one on lap 10.
Following the restart, Cullen ducked low on lap 15 to wrestle the lead away from Lorier in turn one. However, Lorier battled back to regain the top spot with high move in turn four on the following lap.
The second caution appeared on lap 18 when Rory Welch of Grafton and Gary Glander of Sheboygan Falls spun in turn four. Another caution flag was displayed on the restart when Jonathon Baumann of Sheboygan spun in turn four.
On the restart, fifth starter Spencer Long worked his way into second and moved in to pressure Lorier for the lead on lap 19. However, Long brought out the fourth and final caution of the race when he spun in turn four lap 23.
Lorier held down the top spot over the final two laps on the way to his fourth career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph. Kyle Odekirk of Plymouth placed second after starting 10th, Cullen finished third, 12th starter Shane Long of Sheboygan Falls placed fourth and Trevor Frank secured his first career PDTR B Mod championship with a fifth-place showing, after starting 13th.
Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac won the 12-lap PDTR B Mod B Main and R.J. Corson of Markham, Ill. won the 12-lap Badger Midget B Main.
After exiting his car under his own power, Dan Kleven of Marshall was transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure, following a hard flip in turn four during the 10-lap Badger Midget non-qualifier event.
The 17th PDTR program of the 2021 season, which was sponsored by Hidden Dreams Livestock, drew 88 total cars, including 27 360 Sprint Cars, 27 Badger Midgets, 19 B Mods and 15 Grand Nationals.
The final PDTR event of the 2021 season is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Sept. 26 featuring the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships with season-ending action and season point championships crowned in the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Cars, Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Cars, IRA Wisconsin WingLESS Sprint Car Series and IRA Lightning Sprints.
Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with on-track action slated to get under way at 5 p.m. with IRA qualifying and racing to following
The new book “70 Years of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” by Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan and George Baumann of Waupun, covering every season of racing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. from 1950 to 2020 will be available for purchase at every race during the 2021 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 PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS
HEAT 1
1, Dylan Winkel 2, Adam Miller 3, Brandon Berth 4, Justin Miller 5, Chris Larson 6, Tristan Koenings 7, Jeremy Hunt 8, Tony Wondra 9, Kevin Karnitz.
HEAT 2
1, Lance Fassbender 2, Travis Arenz 3, Cole Possi 4, Tim Haddy 5, Doug Wondra 6, Blake Wondra 7, Paul Pokorski 8, Justin Erickson 9, Tyler Brabant.
HEAT 3
1, Bill Taylor 2, Preston Ruh 3, Josh Teunissen 4, Matt Rechek 5, Ben Schmidt 6, Brandon McMullen 7, Will Gerrits 8, Katelyn Krebsbach 9, Chris Clayton.
B MAIN
1, Blake Wondra 2, Chris Larson 3, Will Gerrits 4, Tony Wondra 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Katelyn Krebsbach 7, Justin Erickson 8, Tyler Brabant 9, Chris Clayton 10, Jeremy Hunt 11, Paul Pokorski
A MAIN
1, Travis Arenz 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Will Gerrits 4, Ben Schmidt 5, Brandon McMullen 6, Justin Miller 7, Kevin Karnitz 8, Doug Wondra 9, Josh Teunissen 10, Preston Ruh 11, Tony Wondra 12, Chris Larson 13, Katelyn Krebsbach 14, Brandon Berth 15, Tim Haddy 16, Dylan Winkel, 17, Adam Miller 18, Cole Possi 19, Matt Rechek 20, Blake Wondra 21, Bill Taylor DQ – Tristan Koenings.
BADGER MIDGET AUTO RACING ASSOCIATION
QUALIFYING
1, Jeff Zelinski 13.422 2, Chase McDermand 13.642 3, Todd Kluever 13.721 4, Cody Weisensel 13.811 5, Zach Boden 13.827 6, Kyle Stark 13.916 7, Jake Dohner 14.029 8, Kevin Olson 14.040 9, R.J. Corson 14.066 10, Jeremy Douglas 14.112 11, Mike Stroik 14.219 12, Kevin Douglas 14.263 13, Derek Doerr 14.279 14, Ken Hanson 14.353 15, Lamont Critchett 14.556 16, Kyle Koch 14.572 17, Dave Collins Jr. 14.808 18, Charles Kunz 14.913 19, Jake Goeglein 14.922 20, Aaron Muhle 14.948 21, Harrison Kleven 14.948 22, Shay Sassano 15.137 23, Jim Fuerst 15.451 24, Dan Kleven 15.636 25, Denny Smith 16.051 26, Dwight Stefan 16.898 27, Mike Burba 17.092.
NON-QUALIFER
1, Shay Sassano 2, Jim Fuerst 3, Jake Goeglein 4, Denny Smith 5, Harrison Kleven 6, Dwight Stefan 7, Aaron Muhle 8, Dan Kleven.
HEAT 1
1, Chase McDermand 2, Kyle Koch 3, Ken Hanson 4, Jeremy Douglas 5, Cody Weisensel 6, Kyle Stark 7, Kevin Olson 8, Kevin Douglas 9, Charles Kunz.
HEAT 2
1, Lamont Critchett 2, Todd Kluever 3, Jeff Zelinkski 4, Zach Boden 5, Derek Doerr 6, Jake Dohner 7, Mike Stroik 8, R.J. Corson 9, Dave Collins Jr.
B MAIN
1, R.J. Corson 2, Dave Collins Jr. 3, Kevin Douglas 4, Aaron Muhle 5, Charles Kunz 6, Jim Fuerst 7, Harrison Kleven 8, Jake Goeglein 9, Denny Smith 10, Dwight Stefan 11, Shay Sassano 12, Dan Kleven (DNS).
A MAIN
1, Chase McDermand 2, Zach Boden 3, Jeff Zelinski 4, Cody Weisensel 5, Todd Kluever 6, Jeremy Douglas 7, Derek Doerr 8, R.J. Corson 9, Kevin Olson 10, Mike Stroik 11, Aaron Muhle 12, Kevin Douglas 13, Dave Collins Jr. 14, Kyle Koch 15, Harrison Kleven 16, Jake Dohner 17, Jim Fuerst 18, Jake Goeglein 19, Lamont Critchett 20, Ken Hanson 21, Charles Kunz 22, Kyle Stark.
OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS
HEAT 1
1, Tyler Kulow 2, J.J. Pagel 3, Dick Hed 4, Steven Weber 5, Josh Pierce 6, Brad Weiss 7, Mavrick Ruh 8, Derek Kaat.
HEAT 2
1, Luke Scholten 2, Don Sorce Jr. 3, Matt Loehr 4, Donny Kulow 5, Jeff Muehlbauer 6, Matt Yancey 7, Darren Meyer.
A MAIN
1, Matt Loehr, 2, Josh Pierce 3, Steven Weber 4, Dick Hed 5, Luke Scholten 6, J.J. Pagel 7, Don Sorce Jr. 8, Donny Kulow 9, Jeff Muehlbauer 10, Brad Weiss 11, Matt Yancey 12, Mavrick Ruh 13, Darren Meyer 14, Derek Kaat 15, Tyler Kulow.
CELLCOM B MOD
HEAT 1
1, Tom Schneider 2, Gary Glander 3, Jonathon Baumann 4, Rick Kretschmann 5, Shane Long 6, Justin Bauer 7, Travis Arenz.
HEAT 2
1, Kyle Odekirk 2, Rory Welch 3, Patrick Hanson 4, Donny Singer 5, Phil Campanella 6, Christopher Gilson.
HEAT 3
1, Barry Maas 2, Spencer Long 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Steve Lorier 5, Trevor Frank 6, Travis Schmidt (DNS).
A MAIN
1, Steve Lorier 2, Kyle Odekirk 3, Jesse Cullen 4, Shane Long 5, Trevor Frank 6, Justin Bauer 7, Barry Maas 8, Rory Welch 9, Rick Kretschmann 10, Travis Arenz 11, Jonathan Baumann 12, Patrick Hanson 13, Christopher Gilson 14, Spencer Long 15, Tom Schneider 16, Gary Glander 17, Phil Campanella 18, Andy Singer (DNS) 19, Travis Schmidt (DNS).
