Jeff PedersonJosh Walter

Walter rebounds to go top-15 at 141 Speedway

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 8, 2020 – After a month-long break from
competition, Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team returned to the track for the
team’s 2020 debut outing the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association
Sprint Car Series at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Wis. on Sunday, July 5.
Walter opened the evening’s competition by timing in 12 th in the 26-car field with a
lap of 12.695 seconds around the third-mile semi-banked egg-shaped clay oval.
After lining up on the pole of the third 10-lap IRA heat race, Walter slipped to
second when third starter Paul Nienhiser powered into the lead on the opening
circuit. The 15 th -year Plymouth racer held on to second place throughout the race to
earn a spot in the dash redraw.
After drawing third starting spot in the second IRA four-lap dash to determine the
top 10 starters in the A main, Walter fell to fourth when Scotty Neitzel got past on
the opening lap. Walter held on to fourth at the finish to secure the eighth starting
spot in the 30-lap A IRA main.
“I feel like we found some speed and really have the engine dialed in,” Walter said.
“I wasn’t very excited about the qualifying laps that I put in because it just felt like
I left something out on the table to be gained.  I was pleasantly surprised to still
end up being in the top 12 for the invert.  It was nice to run the dash and work on
the car a little bit more before the A and turn a few more laps.”

Walter held strong inside the top 10 in eighth during the opening two laps of the
main event before the first of three caution flags was displayed on lap 2 when
Austin DeBlauw spun to a stop in turn four.

On the restart, Walter got high in turn one and brushed against the wall before
returning to the racing groove in 11 th place. After closing on the 10 th place car of
Robbie Pribnow, the red flag came out on lap 10 when Danny Schlafer and Jeremy
Schultz tangled hard in turn two just in front of Walter, who also got caught up in
the incident.
Walter then retreated to the work area to replace a broken steering assembly before
returning to the track at the rear of the field.
“The A main was frustrating for us as a team,” Walter said. “We really started off
well and I felt like I was getting a rhythm before the first caution. On the restart, I
was hit in the helmet by a rock and it flipped open the shield of my helmet, and I
was blasted with dust and dirt. I ended up riding up the wall and was able to stay in
the throttle and drive off of it.
“I started to find a rhythm again then a few laps later I was making up what we had
lost position wise when I drove into turn one and did my best to slow down for two
cars that were stopped in the middle of the corner,” he said. “However, there wasn’t
much I could do to turn off the cushion and avoid the incident. We went to the
work area and had to change the drag link for the steering.”
Walter wasted no time in battling back along the high groove to pass Chris Flick
and Hunter Custer on lap 11 before moving around Kris Spitz and Jereme
Schroeder on lap 15 and lap 16.
Two laps later, Jack Blackhurst ran into the back of Walter’s car and spun along the
frontstretch to bring out the third caution of the race.
Walter then moved to the low grove over the final 12 laps to work past Kris Spitz,
Jereme Schroeder, Robbie Pribnow and Jack Routson during the closing circuits to
finish the eventful race, which was won by Bill Balog, in 15 th place.
“After all the excitement early on, I had some work to do restarting in the back of
the field,” Walter said. “On a smaller track like that and starting single file, you
know it’s not going to take long for the leaders to catch you so you got to make as
many moves as fast as you can. We passed a bunch of cars early and were working
our way through the field as the leaders started lapping us.
“Every car the leader puts a lap down you try to pass to gain another position,” he
said. “I was running the high side the entire race and when leaders are coming

through you just do your best to run your line and allow them to do what they need
to, to get by. Unfortunately, we were caught up in the middle of the final caution
when the second place car slid us in turns 3 and 4 and bounced off the wall I
slowed to avoid any issue to not get collected in another incident and the third-
place car ran into the back of me when I slowed. In my opinion, it was a racing
deal, and sucks for everyone involved. After that the car still handled well, but as a
driver I had enough issues for one night, so I decided to go to the bottom of the
track and just ride out the rest of the race. We still passed some cars, but because of
where we were on the track and laps down, we were only able to pick up a few
positions.”
The next race for Josh Walter and the Torque Racing team will be the fourth annual
Harry Neitzel Tribute Race with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing
Association 410 Sprint Car Series on Friday, July 10 at the Dodge County
Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis.
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. with engine warm ups at 5:30 p.m. and hot laps and
qualifying to follow. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Torque Racing sponsors for the 2020 season included JDV Lawncare, Brittany’s
School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Doug’s Quality Beef, Cow
Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg
Concrete, Services, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.
Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions
Sheboygan by Owner was created in 2003 to give sellers of real estate in
Sheboygan, Calumet and Manitowoc Counites an avenue to sell their own home,
while having a presence on the internet and access to real estate partners at a low
flat fee rate, which allows them to keep more money in their own pockets.
Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner”
properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on
every home they drive by or hear about.
“Homebuyers can search the web to see what the homes have to offer, and then call
on only the ones they have an interest in, saving them both time and money,” said
Allison Smith of Sheboygan by Owner.

Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for
the 2020 racing season.
“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another
avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.
For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit
www.sheboyganbyowner.com
Home Transitions began in 2002 as a referral and buyer-only real estate company.
By 2008, it blossomed into a full-service real estate company serving customers
located mainly in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, while reaching out to other
outlying areas upon request.
“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home
buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.
For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit
www.hometransitions.us
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 Upcoming Schedule
Friday, July 10 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis. (IRA)
2020 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers

Total Events – 3
IRA events – 1
A-Main Victories – 0
B-Main Victories – 0
Top Five A-Main Finishes – 0
Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 0

Heat Race Victories – 0