Balog, McMullen star in IRA-PDTR Sprint Car twinbill
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 5, 2020 – As multiple-time champions and the clear0cut favorites to add another title to their resumes in their respective divisions in 2020, nine-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog of Hartland and 2017 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing and three-time Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh put their considerable driving prowess on full display by picking up A-main victories, during an all-Sprint Car program at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 5.
In the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Series headliner, Balog outdueled Josh Schneiderman of West Burlington, Iowa in the closing laps to claim his 10th IRA A-main victory of the 2020 season.
McMullen snuck past early race leader Will Gerrits of Waupun at the mid-way point to claim his third PDTR A-main victory of the 2020 campaign and sixth overall MSA main event win of the 2020 campaign.
Balog started on the pole of the 30-lap IRA main event and quickly outpowered outside front row starter Scotty Thiel of Sheboygan to lead the opening circuit. On lap 3, Joey Moughan of Springfield, Ill., who started fifth, dipped under the high-riding Thiel to take second.
On lap 6, Balog began to negotiate heavy lapped traffic on the multi-groove track surface, which allowed Moughan to close the gap slightly. On lap 8, Schneiderman, who started seventh, dove low to take third from Thiel before passing Moughan for second on lap 12.
Two laps later, 11th starter Travis Arenz of Sheboygan, who was making his 410 Sprint Car debut driving for Ozzie Motorsports, flipped in turn four after clipping an infield tire. Arenz was uninjured, but unable to return to the race.
On the restart, Balog pulled away from Schneiderman before Moughan got sideways in turn four and collected Thiel, which resulted in both drivers flipping their machines hard on lap 15. Both drivers were uninjured, but done for the night.
Balog felt pressure from Schneiderman following the ensuing restart with Schneiderman closing the gap along the low groove, while Balog rode the cushion.
The race was slowed for the third time on lap 19 when a yellow flag was displayed for former IRA champion Jack Blackhurst of Hanna City, Ill., who stopped in turn four.
On the restart, Schneiderman stayed dedicated to the inside line, while Balog moved up high. On lap 23, Schneiderman used a big run along the low groove to wrestle the lead away from Balog exiting turn four.
Schneiderman maintained the top spot over the next six laps when lapped traffic became a factor. On lap 29, Balog dove low in turn three to sneak past Schneiderman in dense lapped traffic.
Sixth starter Scott Biertzer of West Bend followed Balog into second on lap 29 with Schneiderman dropping to third.
Balog then cruised over the final lap en route to his 10th IRA victory of the 2020 season, second IRA triumph of the season at The Plymouth Dirt Track and 123rd career IRA A-main victory.
Biertzer recorded a strong second-place finish, Schneiderman placed third, 15th starter Jordan Goldesberry of Springfield, Ill. finished fourth and Mike Reinke of Howards Grove, who started fourth, placed fifth.
In victory lane, Balog was thankful to have the opportunity to regain the lead, after losing the top spot to Schneiderman with just seven laps to go.
“I think I went upstairs too early, but I felt I was slowing down on the bottom too long,’ Balog said. “The track was good and you really had to drive your car to find the right groove. I’m happy to get this win because for a while there it looked like we were going to get beat.”
Biertzer was thrilled with his second-place run.
“It feels awesome to be here with a second-place result tonight,” Biertzer said. “I have to thank my crew for giving me a good car as well as all my sponsors for their support. We couldn’t be here without them.”
Knoxville Speedway regular Schneiderman, who was making his first career appearance at The Plymouth Dirt Track, was dejected in victory lane, after falling from first to third in the span of two laps.
“I’m pretty disgusted with the result,” Schneiderman said. “I’m upset at myself. Bill is a great race car driver, but we came here to win. My crew worked hard to give us the chance to win after we encountered motor problems last night at Dodge County.”
In the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car headliner, polesitter Will Gerrits of Waupun jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag, while third starter Brandon McMullen snuck under 2018 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Justin Miller of Plymouth, who started on the outside of the front row.
The first of two cautions came out on lap 3 when Blake Wondra of Fond du Lac spun in turn four. Gerrits bolted away from McMullen on the restart and held a solid cushion until lap 7 when Plymouth’s Adam Miller flipped in turn four.
Gerrits commanded the ensuing restart as the leaders back to work their way through lapped traffic on lap 10. Two laps later, McMullen dove low to slip past Gerrits for the top spot in turn four on lap 12.
McMullen held his own along the preferred inside lane around the increasingly one-groove racing surface. On lap 24, Justin Miller worked pass Gerrits to take over second with two laps to go.
McMullen pulled away in the waning laps to notch his 20th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A main triumph and his 29th career MSA A main victory.
Justin Miller placed second, Gerrits wound up third, 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender, who started fourth finished fourth and Jack Vanderboom of Dousman charged up from the 11th starting spot to place fifth.
Ryan Ruhl of Coldwater, Mich. was the fastest IRA qualifier with a lap of 11.767 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. Sean Rayhall of Woodstock, Ga. won the 15-lap IRA B main.
Kevin Karnitz of West Bend claimed the 15-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car B main.
The all-Sprint Car program, which featured a total of 59 cars, included 30 IRA 410 Sprint Cars and 29 PDTR 360 Sprint Cars. Cupcake Wonders was the trophy sponsor for the evening.
The next event at The Plymouth Dirt Track will take place next Saturday, Sept. 12 with the PDTR 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods, along with a special appearance from the Badger Midgets. The Sept. 12 event will be the final points event of the season for the PDTR Grand National and B Mod divisions.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
For all remaining 2020 PDTR races, Dennis Darovich of Sheboygan will have his new book “RPM – The Golden Era of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing” for sale under the grandstand for $10.
A portion of the money collected from the sale of the book will be donated to Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.
BUMPER TO BUMPER INTERSTATE RACING ASSOCIATION
QUALIFYING
1, Ryan Ruhl 11.767, 2, Joey Moughan 11.777, 3, Bill Balog 11.813, 4, Mike Reinke 11.991, 5, Scotty Thiel 12.018, 6, Scott Biertzer 12.095, 7, Kyle Schuett 12.146, 8, Jake Blackhurst 12.151, 9, Scotty Neitzel 12.195, 10, Travis Arenz 12.216, 11, Danny Schlafer 12.236, 12, Josh Schneiderman, 12.257 13, Russel Borland 12.299, 14, Scott Uttech 12.317, 15, Jeremy Schultz 12.343, 16, Jordan Goldesberry 12.356, 17, Robbie Pribnow 12.372, 18, Dave Uttech 12.398,19, Sean Rayhall, 20, Johnny Fahl 12.486, 21, Jereme Schroeder 12.577, 22, Kris Spitz 12.609, 23, Hunter Custer 12.630, 24, Dan McCarron 12.660, 25, Bailey Goldesberry 12.667, 26, Jack Routson 12.703, 27, Wayne Modjeski 12.811, 28, Bryce Schmitt 13.050, 29, Kevin Seidler 12.314 30, Blake Nimee (DQ).
HEAT 1
1, Kyle Schuett 2, Travis Arenz 3, Mike Reinke 4, Russel Borland 5, Jordan Goldesberry 6, Ryan Ruhl 7, Sean Rayhall 8, Bailey Goldesberry 9, Kris Spitz 10, Bryce Schmitt.
HEAT 2
1, Danny Schlafer 2, Scotty Thiel 3, Jake Blackhurst 4, Joey Moughan 5, Rrobbie Pribnow 6, Jack Routson 7, Johnny Fahl 8, Hunter Custer 9, Scott Uttech 10, Kevin Seidler.
HEAT 3
1, Josh Schneiderman 2, Scott Biertzer 3, Scotty Neitzel 4, Bill Balog 5, Jeremy Schultz 6, Jereme Schroeder 7, Dan McCarron 8, Wayne Modjeski 9, Blake Nimee 10, Dave Uttech.
DASH 1
1, Bill Balog 2, Ryan Ruhl 3, Joey Moughan 4, Josh Schneiderman 5, Kyle Schuett.
DASH 2
1, Scotty Thiel 2, Mike Reinke 3, Scott Biertzer 4, Jake Blackhurst 5, Danny Schlafer (DNS).
B MAIN
1, Sean Rayhall 2, Blake Nimee 3, Dan McCarron 4, Dave Uttech 5, Wayne Modjeski 6, Johnny Fahl 7, Hunter Custer 8, Kris Spitz 9, Bailey Goldesberry 10, Bryce Schmitt 11, Scott Uttech.
A MAIN
1, Bill Balog 2, Scott Biertzer 3, Josh Schneiderman 4, Jordan Goldesberry 5, Mike Reinke 6, Russel Borland 7, Ryan Ruhl 8, Robbie Pribnow 9, Scotty Neitzel 10, Wayne Modjeski 11, Dan McCarron 12, Jack Routson 13, Sean Rayhall 14, Kyle Schuett 15, Dave Uttech 16, Jeremy Schultz 17, Blake Nimee 18, Johnny Fahl 19, Jeremy Schroder 20, Jake Blackhurst 21, Joey Moughan 22, Scotty Thiel 23, Travis Arenz 24, Danny Schlafer.
KRISTINE HARTMANN PLEASANTVIEW REALTY 360 SPRINT CARS
HEAT 1
1, Bill Taylor 2, Lance Fassbender 3, Anthony Knierim 4, Chris Larson 5, Blake Wondra 6, Tim Haddy 7, Scott Conger 8, Brady Portschy.
HEAT 2
1, Justin Miller 2, Ben Schmidt 3, Adam Miller 4, Kurt Davis 5, Doug Wondra 6, Austin Hartmann 7, Mike MacFarlane.
HEAT 3
1, Will Gerrits 2, Brandon McMullen 3, Jack Vanderboom 4, Tyler Davis 5, Nich Melis 6, Preston Ruh 7, Josh Teunissen.
HEAT 4
1, Tyler Brabant 2, Tony Wondra 3, Justin Erickson 4, Brandon Berth 5, Kevin Karnitz 6, Shane Wenninger 7, Paul Pokorski.
B MAIN
1, Kevin Karnitz 2, Tim Haddy 3, Blake Wondra 4, Shane Wenninger 5, Scott Conger 6, Paul Pokorski 7, Josh Teunissen 8, Preston Ruh 9, Austin Hartmann 10, Chris Larson 11, Tyler Davis 12, Brady Portschy 13, Mike MacFarlane.
A MAIN
1, Brandon McMullen 2, Justin Miller 3, Will Gerrits 4, Lance Fassbender 5, Jack Vanderboom 6, Anthony Knierim 7, Bill Taylor 8, Kevin Karnitz 9, Brandon Berth 10, Justin Erickson 11, Tim Haddy 12, Paul Pokorski 13, Tony Wondra 14, Nich Melis 15, Shane Wenninger 16, Blake Wondra 17, Doug Wondra 18, Tyler Brabant 19, Kurt Davis 20, Scott Conger 21, Ben Schmidt 22, Adam Miller.
