Walter caps 2020 on high note in IRA finale
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) September 30, 2020 – A season that began a bit on the rocky side, closed out on the rock solid side for Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team with a strong top-10 A-main showing at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 26. during a doubleheader weekend to conclude the 2020 Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association season.
The team’s final race weekend of the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign began with a return trek to the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam. Wis. on Friday, Sept. 25 for the IRA 410 Sprint Car Series Rick Schmidt Memorial Race at the sprawling half-mile facility.
The 15th-year Sprint Car racer opened the event by qualifying ninth in the 25-car IRA field with a lap of 17.214 seconds.
Walter then lined up second in the third IRA eight-lap heat race where he settled into second behind polesitter Kyle Schuett and held the position throughout the race to finish second.
Walter, who recorded a season-best seventh-place showing in his last appearance at Dodge County on Sept. 4, rolled off 12th in the 25-lap IRA A-main. The initial start was aborted when Jereme Schroeder stopped in turn two on the opening circuit.
On lap 2, Walter slipped to 13th before Jeremy Schultz powered past Walter on lap 15 to move the Plymouth racer back to 14th in the running order on the lightning fast track surface.
On lap 20, Walter battled back to pass Dave Uttech exiting turn four to move back to 13th. The second caution flag of the race appeared on lap 21 when Scotty Thiel slowed along the backstretch.
Following the restart, Walter engaged in a duel with Robbie Pribnow for 13th. After Pribnow moved past Walter on lap 22, but Walter came back to return the favor to regain 13th.
One lap later, Walter advanced to 12th when Danny Schlafer retired from the race. Walter went on to finish 12th in the event, which was won by Bill Balog.
One night later at The Plymouth Dirt Track for the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships, Walter qualified 12th in the 29-car field with a lap of 12.176 seconds.
After starting on the pole of the third IRA heat race, Walter bolted away from outside front row starter Jeremy Schultz and led every lap en route to his first 10-lap heat race victory of the 2020 season and third career IRA heat race win to earn a spot in the dash.
After lining up third in the first four-lap IRA dash, Walter held the third position throughout the event to secure the fifth starting spot in the 30-lap IRA A main.
Walter ran sixth in the early going of the caution-plagued IRA A-main before dropping to seventh when Jeremy Schultz snuck by on lap 18. After the fifth IRA caution period on lap 22, Walter was running seventh before Scotty Neitzel swept around the Plymouth racer to move him back to eighth in the running order.
The sixth and final caution flag appeared on lap 29 when Scotty Thiel spun while racing for the lead in turn four. After Walter restarted seventh with a green-white-checkered flag scenario in place, Travis Arenz snuck past on the final lap to drop Walter back to eighth at the finish line in a race won by Bill Balog.
The eighth-place showing was Walter’s third top-10 A-main finish of the 2020 campaign.
“It turned out to a very different season that we originally planned, due to COVID-19,” Walter said. “We were originally going to do some travelling to some bucket-list tracks in Pennsylvania and race at Eldora Speedway this year. With the start of season delayed due to the pandemic, we decided to stick close to home and run the IRA events that fit in our personal schedule.
“We had a rough start to the season with a couple of mechanical issues and a few on-track incidents as well,” he said. “After all that settled down, the results really improved and we were able to pick up three top-10 finishes, a dash win. a heat race win and we qualified well in most of the races, so I’m pretty happy with that.”
Torque Racing sponsors for the 2020 season included JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, SCA Inc., Doug’s Quality Beef, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete Products, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.
Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Oostburg Concrete Products
The Torque Racing team is pleased to have Oostburg Concrete Products of Oostburg, Wis. on board as a sponsor for the 2020 season.
In 1946, six partners joined hands to form Oostburg Concrete Products. The original owners purchased special equipment to manufacture a wide range of concrete items, which they used during the summer months for construction work.
Oostburg Concrete Products’ recent investment in equipment allows the company to pour concrete through most of the winter months.
One of the original owners, Gordon Veldboom Sr. became the sole owner in 1959. Today, the company is owned and operated by Gordon J. Veldboom Jr., his wife, Helen, and their son, John.
Oostburg Concrete Products offers a complete line of concrete and masonry services, including footings, poured concrete walls, concrete floors, driveways, sidewalks, flatwork, fireplaces and exterior brick in stone.
Oostburg Concrete Products crews cover a large territory, including jobs in Brown, Calument, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha and Winnebago counties.
For more information or to inquire about services, call Oostburg Concrete Products at 920-564-3341.
Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping its clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.
For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.
2020 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers
Total Events – 11
IRA events – 9
World of Outlaws events – 2
A-Main Victories – 0
B-Main Victories – 0
Top Five A-Main Finishes – 0
Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 3
Heat Race Victories – 1
Dash Victories – 1
Dash Appearances – 6