Schmidt, Weber, Long, Strane Jr. shine as PDTR gets back on track

Fundraiser established to help injured racer Lance Fassbender

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 15, 2024 – A season that has been reluctant to fully accelerate finally kicked into gear as Plymouth Dirt Track Racing completed its second full racing program of the 2024 campaign out of seven scheduled attempts at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, June 15.

In just the second 25-lap Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing-Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main event of the 2024 season, 2011 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth put on a driving clinic en route to the initial main event victory of his 25^th season of racing.   

Veteran Steven Weber of Plymouth earned a wire-to-wire triumph in the 25-lap Oostburg Automotive Grand National A-main. 

Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls endured eight cautions to capture his first career A-main triumph in the time-shortened Sheboygan Flooring B Mod main event. 

In the visiting 20-lap 106.5 The Buzz IRA Lightning Sprints A-main, Brian Strane Jr. of Paris, Wis. continued his stellar 2024 season by capturing another main event triumph in convincing fashion.

Behind the wheel of Nick Daywalt-owned No. 66 machine, three-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Donny Goeden of Kewaskum emerged from semi-retirement to grab the lead on the drop of the green flag of the 25-lap PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car main event from the pole.

Goeden, who was making just his fourth 360 Sprint Car start since his retirement from full-time racing competition after the 2016 season, proceeded to build a solid lead in the early stages of the event as outside front-row starter T.J. Haddy of Waupun gave chase in the runner-up spot.

Things started to get interesting when Goeden caught up to the rear of the field on lap 9. As the leaders bunched up in slower traffic, Ben Schmidt, who started 12^th, flexed his muscle by working both the high and low grooves of the fast and smooth racing surface to slip past sixth starter Brandon Berth of Cascade and secure third on lap 11.

One lap later, Schmidt swiped second from Haddy and gradually reeled in Goeden for the top spot. On lap 17, Schmidt pounced to lift the lead from Goeden’s possession after executing what proved to be the winning move in turn two.

Once out front, Schmidt was not to be denied as he stretched out a full straightaway advantage en route to his 23^rd career PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event victory and 43^rd career Midwest Sprint Car Association A-main win. Schmidt’s triumph moved him into a tie with Danny Schlafer of Sussex for third place on the all-time PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory list.

Goeden held on to finish second, Alex Pokorski of West Bend stormed up from the eighth starting position to place third, Haddy claimed a career-best fourth-place showing and Berth rounded out the top five in the caution-free, non-stop, green-to-checkered flag race. 

Polesitter Steven Weber outpowered octogenarian racer Dick Hed of Plymouth to take the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Grand National A-main. Hed, who claimed a Sportsman division co-championship in 1966 and the 1969 Modified title at Plymouth, battled back along the high groove to challenge Weber for the top spot on lap 2. 

The two veterans dueled side by side until Weber surged ahead on lap 4. With Weber holding down the top spot, 2010 and defending PDTR Grand National co-champion Brian Gilles of Plymouth moved up from his seventh starting spot and 11^thstarter T.J. Smith of Greenville flew in to battle door to door with Gilles for third on lap 9.

One lap later, eighth starter Scott Kafka of Cleveland spun into the infield in turn two while Smith slowed before retiring to the pits with an apparent mechanical issue. 

With Smith out of the picture, Gilles, who owns a grand total of seven Plymouth track championships in the Super Stock and Grand National ranks, moved in to challenge Weber for the top spot starting on lap 17, while 2022 PDTR Grand National champ Luke Scholten of Oostburg seized third after starting ninth.

The lone caution flag of the event was displayed when Mavrick Ruh of Elkhart Lake stopped along the front stretch on lap 20. Weber maintained the lead after the restart and motored away from the field to notch his fifth career PDTR Grand National A-main triumph.

Gilles finished second, Scholten wound up third, 2019 PDTR Grand National champion Tyler Kulow of Sheboygan finished fourth after starting eighth and 2023 PDTR Grand National division co-champion Will Sorce of Franklin charged up from the 16^th starting spot to round out the top five.

Seven caution flags prompted the scheduled 25-lap B Mod main event to be shortened to 15 laps upon triggering the race’s 25-minute time limit.

Fourth starter Spencer Long maneuvered past rookie Parker Glander of Sheboygan Falls, who started second, to grab the lead on the opening circuit. Following the first two caution flags of the race, fifth starter Brandon Knepprath of Boltonville advanced to second on lap 3. 

Following a flurry of five caution flags reeled off in rapid succession, Cole Thomas of Franklin moved in from his ninth starting spot to duel with fourth starter Rory Welch of Plymouth for the runner-up spot. 

Thomas sealed second on lap 14 and was reeling in Long when Welch stopped along the front stretch to bring out the race’s seventh caution flag and invoke the race’s 25-minute time limit. 

When the dust settled on an eventful main event, Long guided his No. 59s machine to victory lane for the first time in his career. 

Thomas had to settle for second, Colten Van Hierden of Waupun moved up from the 10^th starting spot to place third, Knepprath came home fourth and Tony Gates of Chilton moved up six spots from his 11^thstarting position to round out the top-five finishers. 

In the visiting IRA Lightning Sprint main event, Tim Brannam of Holiday Hills, Ill. grabbed the initial lead from his outside front row starting position with fourth starter Jordan Funderburk of Wadsworth, Ill. and polesitter Ron Brannam of Barrington, Ill. giving chase.

By lap 5, Tim Brannam built up a full straightaway lead over Funderburk before Mark Heinert of Waukesha, who started eighth, passed Funderburk for second lap 8. 

With the leaders moving through slower traffic, Heinert advanced his way in to challenge Tim Brannam for the lead before seventh starter Brian Strane Jr. bolted in to sweep around both Heinert and Brannam to grab the top spot on lap 12.

Over the final eight laps, Strane Jr. built up a big half-lap lead en route to his third IRA Lightning Sprints A-main victory of the 2024 campaign in three outings. 

Heinert finished second, ninth starter Nick Petska of Spring Grove, Ill. placed third, Tim Brannam was fourth and Mike Neau of Pleasant Prairie advanced from the 10^th starting position to take fifth. 

Two-time PDTR and five-time MSA champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee won the 12-lap PDTR-MSA B-main. 

Will Sorce won the 12-lap Grand National B-main. 

Alex Pokorski claimed the fast time award in PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car hot-lap-group qualifying with a 12.450-second lap. 

Mike Neu earned fast qualifier honors in IRA Lightning Sprints qualifying with a lap of 13.515 seconds.  

During PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car qualifying, 2005 MSA and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett was transported to an area medical care center after suffering burns in a methanol fire. 

 

A Go Fund Me fundraiser has been set up to help Lance and his family during his recovery. Donations can be made by visiting https://gofundme.com/f/help-lance-and-his-family-during-his-recovery.

The fourth event of the 2024 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Josfo Electric, attracted 86 total entries, including 27 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, 23 Grand Nationals, 18 B Mods and 18 IRA Lightning Sprints.  

Plymouth Dirt Track Racing action continues on Saturday, June 22 with the lone 2024 appearance of the Badger Midgets, which will serve as the evening’s featured guest division. The PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals and B Mods will also be in action. 

Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifyingat 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

Weather information for all Plymouth Dirt Track Racing events will be posted on the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram pages, as well as the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing website – www.plymouthdtr.com. 

The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds is located at 229 Fairview Drive in Plymouth, Wis.

For more information, visit www.plymouthdtr.comor check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [12]; 2. 66-Donny Goeden [1]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski [8]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy [2]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth [6]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson [4]; 7. 11-Tony Wondra [5]; 8. 69-Bill Taylor [7]; 9. 0-Robbie Pribnow [13]; 10. 39-Kurt Davis [16]; 11. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [3]; 12. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [17]; 13. 33M-Josh Bilicki [9]; 14. 7L-Ellie Hensley [18]; 15. 69S-TJ Smith [15]; 16. 54-Randy Post [11]; 17. 53A-Paul Pokorski [19]; 18. 51-Chris Larson [14]; 19. 14J-Joseph Hintz [22]; 20. 24-Scott Conger [10]; 21. 30-Doug Wondra [20]; 22. 46-Steven Ruh [21]

B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 39-Kurt Davis [6]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [7]; 3. 7L-Ellie Hensley [4]; 4. 53A-Paul Pokorski [2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra [8]; 6. 46-Steven Ruh [1]; 7. 14J-Joseph Hintz [9]; 8. 55P-Brady Portschy [10]; 9. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [3]; 10. (DNF) 12P-JJ Pagel [5]; 11. (DNS) 7-Lance Fassbender; 12. (DNS) 09-Clayton Rossmann

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 0-Robbie Pribnow [2]; 2. 66-Donny Goeden [4]; 3. 69S-TJ Smith [6]; 4. 35-Ben Schmidt [3]; 5. 51-Chris Larson [1]; 6. 39-Kurt Davis [5]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [7]; 8. 30-Doug Wondra [8]; 9. 55P-Brady Portschy [9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Scott Conger [1]; 2. 21H-TJ Haddy [2]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [3]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra [4]; 5. 54-Randy Post [5]; 6. 53A-Paul Pokorski [7]; 7. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [8]; 8. 7L-Ellie Hensley [9]; 9. (DNF) 09-Clayton Rossmann [6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson [1]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor [3]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 5. 33M-Josh Bilicki [6]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [8]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh [5]; 8. (DNF) 12P-JJ Pagel [7]; 9. (DNS) 7-Lance Fassbender

Qualifying 1: 1. 66-Donny Goeden, 12.802 [8]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt, 12.939 [7]; 3. 0-Robbie Pribnow, 13.035 [5]; 4. 51-Chris Larson, 13.038 [9]; 5. 39-Kurt Davis, 13.286 [3]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.304 [1]; 7. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.411 [2]; 8. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.613 [6]; 9. 55P-Brady Portschy, 14.536 [4]

Qualifying 2: 1. 11-Tony Wondra, 12.639 [7]; 2. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 12.749 [8]; 3. 21H-TJ Haddy, 12.777 [2]; 4. 24-Scott Conger, 12.850 [1]; 5. 54-Randy Post, 12.860 [6]; 6. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 12.923 [9]; 7. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 12.943 [5]; 8. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 13.089 [3]; 9. 7L-Ellie Hensley, 13.154 [4]

Qualifying 3: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.450 [2]; 2. 7-Lance Fassbender, 12.506 [8]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.564 [1]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.608 [5]; 5. 3-Justin Erickson, 12.659 [4]; 6. 46-Steven Ruh, 12.734 [7]; 7. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.798 [9]; 8. 33M-Josh Bilicki, 12.848 [6]; 9. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.213 [3]

OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Feature: 1. 34-Steven Weber [1]; 2. 89-Brian Gilles [7]; 3. 80-Luke Scholten [9]; 4. 24K-Tyler Kulow [8]; 5. 14X-Will Sorce [16]; 6. 53W-Dustin Weiss [10]; 7. 52W-Jack Wiroll [3]; 8. 5R-Nate Ruh [4]; 9. 95-Donny Kulow [6]; 10. 55-Tony Miller [13]; 11. 72E-Chad Espen [15]; 12. 53B-Brad Weiss [14]; 13. 42-Jason Juech [17]; 14. 58-Dave Holm [18]; 15. 23-Scott Kafka [5]; 16. 55S-Don Singer [19]; 17. 98G-Shawn Goetsch [20]; 18. (DNF) 93-Mavrick Ruh [12]; 19. (DNF) 69-TJ Smith [11]; 20. (DNF) 6-Dick Hed [2]

B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 14X-Will Sorce [1]; 2. 42-Jason Juech [3]; 3. 58-Dave Holm [2]; 4. 55S-Don Singer [5]; 5. 98G-Shawn Goetsch [6]; 6. 41-Mark Haskins [4]; 7. 23B-Trent Bogart [7]; 8. 54-Austin Yancey [8]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 34-Steven Weber [1]; 2. 52W-Jack Wiroll [2]; 3. 89-Brian Gilles [4]; 4. 93-Mavrick Ruh [6]; 5. 55-Tony Miller [3]; 6. 14X-Will Sorce [5]; 7. 41-Mark Haskins [7]; 8. 23B-Trent Bogart [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24K-Tyler Kulow [4]; 2. 5R-Nate Ruh [2]; 3. 6-Dick Hed [1]; 4. 53W-Dustin Weiss [5]; 5. 53B-Brad Weiss [3]; 6. 58-Dave Holm [6]; 7. 55S-Don Singer [7]; 8. 54-Austin Yancey [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 80-Luke Scholten [4]; 2. 23-Scott Kafka [2]; 3. 95-Donny Kulow [3]; 4. 69-TJ Smith [5]; 5. 72E-Chad Espen [6]; 6. 42-Jason Juech [1]; 7. 98G-Shawn Goetsch [7]

SHEBOYGAN FLOORING B MODS

A Feature: 1. 59S-Spencer Long [3]; 2. 91-Cole Thomas [9]; 3. 66C-Colten Van Hierden [10]; 4. 17-Brandon Knepprath [5]; 5. 5X-Tony Gates [11]; 6. 66-Steve Lorier [6]; 7. 11B-Brad Buckman [12]; 8. 11S-Zachary Schmidt [1]; 9. 19-Parker Glander [2]; 10. 89-Logan Brass [18]; 11. 73-Rory Welch [4]; 12. 3-Travis Schmidt 8]; 13. 18-Miranda Sandholm [15]; 14. 25S-Steve Ellis [17]; 15. 9-Hunter Larson [7]; 16. 29S-Scott Quarnstrom [13]; 17. 31W-Kelan Wolfe [16]; 18. (DNS) 33H-Mark Hummelmeier

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Steve Lorier [4]; 2. 91-Cole Thomas [5]; 3. 89-Logan Brass [6]; 4. 11S-Zachary Schmidt [2]; 5. 11B-Brad Buckman [3]; 6. 18-Miranda Sandholm [1]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 66C-Colten Van Hierden [5]; 2. 73-Rory Welch [3]; 3. 9-Hunter Larson [4]; 4. 19-Parker Glander [2]; 5. 29S-Scott Quarnstrom [1]; 6. (DNF) 31W-Kelan Wolfe [6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 59S-Spencer Long [2]; 2. 3-Travis Schmidt [4]; 3. 17-Brandon Knepprath [3]; 4. 5X-Tony Gates [5]; 5. 33H-Mark Hummelmeier [6]; 6. 25S-Steve Ellis [1]

IRA LIGHTNING SPRINTS

A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 22S-Brian Strane Jr. [7]; 2. 55H-Mark Heinert [8]; 3. 18-Nick Petska [9]; 4. 74-Tim Brannam [2]; 5. 16-Mike Neau [10]; 6. 17-Jordan Funderburk [4]; 7. 18Q-Chris Quillman [3]; 8. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [14]; 9. 74M-Max Brannam [6]; 10. 14-Nate Kirchner [15]; 11. 87R-Josh Rehberg [5]; 12. 63-Jacob Irwin [18]; 13. 13-Tucker Richards [16]; 14. 01-Ron Brannam [1]; 15. 55X-Xander York [13]; 16. 23-Dominick Swierad [11]; 17. 00-Dakota Duncanson [17]; 18. 6-Jeff Schmidt [12]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 74M-Max Brannam [2]; 2. 55H-Mark Heinert [3]; 3. 16-Mike Neau [4]; 4. 17-Jordan Funderburk [1]; 5. 74-Tim Brannam [5]; 6. 55X-Xander York [7]; 7. 14-Nate Kirchner [8]; 8. 23-Dominick Swierad [6]; 9. 00-Dakota Duncanson [9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Nick Petska [4]; 2. 22S-Brian Strane Jr. [3]; 3. 87R-Josh Rehberg [2]; 4. 18Q-Chris Quillman [1]; 5. 01-Ron Brannam [5]; 6. 5S-Chad Stouthamer [7]; 7. 6-Jeff Schmidt [6]; 8. 13-Tucker Richards [8]; 9. (DNS) 63-Jacob Irwin

Qualifying: 1. 16-Mike Neau, 13.515 [15]; 2. 18-Nick Petska, 13.699 [8]; 3. 55H-Mark Heinert, 13.795 [3]; 4. 22S-Brian Strane Jr, 13.916 [2]; 5. 74M-Max Brannam, 14.000 [9]; 6. 87R-Josh Rehberg, 14.033 [7]; 7. 17-Jordan Funderburk, 14.238 [13]; 8. 18Q-Chris Quillman, 14.317 [14]; 9. 74-Tim Brannam, 14.570 [17]; 10. 01-Ron Brannam, 14.587 [6]; 11. 23-Dominick Swierad, 14.902 [11]; 12. 6-Jeff Schmidt, 15.009 [18]; 13. 55X-Xander York, 15.067 [16]; 14. 5S-Chad Stouthamer, 15.079 [12]; 15. 14-Nate Kirchner, 15.639 [1]; 16. 13-Tucker Richards, 16.386 [10]; 17. 00-Dakota Duncanson, 16.639 [4]; 18. (DNS) 63-Jacob Irwin