Justin Schmidt
Justin Schmidt

Justin Schmidt
Cleveland, WI

Schmidt returns to Plymouth Late Model victory lane on Wall of Fame Night
141
7/13/2025

7/13/2025

Plymouth Dirt Track-Sheboygan Co Fair


Schmidt returns to Plymouth Late Model victory lane on Wall of Fame Night

Pokorski, Loehr, Jung, Hafemann claim A-main triumphs

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 12, 2025 – Five-time Plymouth Dirt Track Racing Late Model champion Justin Schmidt of Cleveland snapped a nearly four-year victory drought by outdueling six-time PDTR Late Model champ Brad Mueller of Random Lake in the 30-lap Seubert Calf Ranches Super Six Late Model Series headliner presented by Sheboygan Rock’s Station 106.5 The Buzz on Wall of Fame Induction Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 12.

West Bend native Alex Pokorski used a thrilling last-lap pass to claim his first career 25-lap Akright Auto 360 Sprint Car A-main victory.

Matt Loehr of Mount Calvary earned a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Dirt Devil Grand National Series main event presented by Oostburg Automotive.

Dan Jung of Iron Ridge raced to his first career 25-lap PDTR Sheboygan Flooring B Mod triumph.

Brad Mueller jumped in the lead on the drop of the green flag of the PDTR Super Six Series 30-lap main event from the pole position with third starter Justin Schmidt trailing in second and outside front row starter Paul Parker of Kaukauna third.

As Mueller stayed glued to the inside lane of the multi-groove track surface, Schmidt worked the high groove to close in as the leaders hit lapped traffic on lap 8. Running hard along the cushion, Schmidt continued to stalk Mueller over the next 15 laps before powering around Mueller in turn two on lap 23.

Three laps later, Mueller battled back to reclaim the top spot with a low move amid slower traffic. However, the cushion-pounding Schmidt refused to be denied as he fought back to surge into the lead once again in turn one on lap 28.

Schmidt held on over the final two circuits on the way to his first Late Model A-main victory at The Plymouth Dirt Track since July 24, 2021, and 19th career PDTR Late Model main event win in the caution-free race.

Mueller had to settle for second, Parker placed third, Joel Bennett of Hortonville finished fourth after starting fifth, and eighth starter Brett Swedberg of Shawano rounded out the top five.

“This win is a long time coming,” Schmidt said in victory lane. “We haven’t been very good over the last few years, but we’ve just kept working and working at it. It was a fun race. Brad [Mueller] really raced me clean.”

After a two-car incident aborted the initial start, polesitter Alex Pokorski claimed the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event with outside front row starter Billy Kreutz of Kiel holding down second.

On lap 4, Kreutz rode the high line to surge into the lead. After catching slower traffic on lap 8, Kreutz continued to hold down a full straightaway cushion over Pokorski at the halfway mark of the event.

Over the next six laps, Pokorski cut the gap down significantly as Kreutz dealt with heavy lapped traffic. Pokorski attempted to nose past Kreutz on lap 19, but Kreutz held strong to the top spot.

Three laps later, Pokorski ripped off a slide job in turn four to briefly take the lead. However, it turned out to be brief as Kreutz battled back to reclaim the top spot with a slide job of his own in turn one on lap 23.

On the final circuit, Pokorski unleashed the winning slide job in turn two to seize the top spot en route to his first career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and second career Midwest Sprint Car Association main event win.

Kreutz, who tallied back-to-back Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Winged Super Modified championships at Plymouth in 1998 and 1999, wound up second, two-time and defending PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Ben Schmidt of Plymouth placed third from the fifth starting spot, ninth starter Brandon Berth took fourth and Tyler Davis of Franklin completed the top five after starting seventh.

“It was great to race with Billy Kreutz over the last few laps,” Pokorski said. “On the last lap, I just sent it in there and wound up with the lead. I definitely had to work for that one.”

Behind the wheel of the J.J. Pagel-owned 82H car of Bristol Hittman, polesitter Matt Loehr paced the field on the first circuit of the 25-lap Dirt Devil Grand National Series headliner with third starter Jack Wiroll of Sheboygan in second. By lap 6, the 2018 PDTR Grand National champion had built up a full straightaway cushion over Wiroll.

Two laps later, fifth starter Nick Schumacher of Eagle took over second with Jeff Steenbergen of Johnson Creek surging into third from the 12th starting position.

A caution flag appeared on lap 2 for a three-incident in turn two on lap 11. On the restart, a collision with a pair of cars sent Wiroll’s flipping into the front stretch wall. Loehr again dominated the restart and quickly pulled away from the field.

Schumacher reeled in Loehr on lap 19 and moved in to within striking distance. However, Loehr proved to be too much to overtake over the final six laps on the way to his 13th career PDTR Grand National main event victory.

Schumacher finished second, two-time and defending PDTR Grand National champ Will Sorce moved up from the ninth starting spot to place third, three-time PDTR Grand National champion Don Sorce Jr. bolted up from the 18th starting position to finish fourth and seventh starter Dustin Weiss of Iron Ridge completed the top five.

Polesitter Brandon Knepprath of Kewaskum persevered through three caution flags for single-car spins to pace the first 17 laps of the 25-lap B Mod main event.

On lap 16, Dan Jung, who started fifth, moved in to challenge Knepprath for the lead along the inside line. After trying to work past Knepprath along the high and low grooves, Jung finally surged ahead on lap 18 with a high move in turn two.

Following two more caution flags for a pair of single-car spins, Jung pulled away to notch his first career PDTR B Mod A-main triumph.

Knepprath placed second, third starter Rory Welch of Plymouth took third, three-time PDTR B Mod champion Tim Warner of Malone finished fourth from the 11th starting position, and fourth starter Spencer Long of Sheboygan Falls rounded out the top five.

After being inducted into the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame earlier in the night, Butch Hafemann of Campbellsport was the winner of the special Vintage Modified main event.

Brad Weiss and Ryan Minster of Sheboygan claimed 12-lap PDTR Grand National B main wins.

Jim Zdroik of Hartford captured the 12-lap B Mod B main.

Brett Swedberg of Shawano registered the fastest Super Six Late Model Series qualifying lap in 13.707 seconds.

Alex Pokorski registered his second PDTR 360 Sprint Car fast qualifier award of the 2025 season with a top lap of 12.853 seconds.

The ninth event of the 2025 PDTR campaign, sponsored by Butch and Janet Hafemann, drew 107 cars, including 33 Grand Nationals, 24 B Mods, 23 360 Sprint Cars, 17 Late Models and 10 Vintage Modifieds.

During intermission, five drivers (Don Diener, Al Goetsch, Kermit Schulz, Jeff Theobald and Randy Tracy), four track workers/car owners (Dave Deicher, Butch and Janet Hafemann and Russ Waldron) and two racing families (Johnson and Melis) were inducted as members of the Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Class of 2025.

PDTR returns to action on Saturday, July 19, with the sixth round of the 2025 Super Six Late Model Series, 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods and the High School Racing Association.

Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying slated for 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.

Advance tickets for PDTR events are available for purchase at plymouthdirttrackracing.com/tickets.html

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.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.

SIX LATE MODEL SERIES BY SHEBOYGAN’S ROCK STATION 106.5 THE BUZZ

A Main (30 Laps): 1. 97-Justin Schmidt [3]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller [1]; 3. 10-Paul Parker [2]; 4. 7-Joel Bennett [5]; 5. 3-Brett Swedberg [8]; 6. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [13]; 7. D1-Turk Letizia [4]; 8. 70-Justin Ritchie [7]; 9. 5-Lukas Postl [9]; 10. 24S-Jayden Schmidt [17]; 11. 77-Bill Edler [10]; 12. 19J-Justin Green [12]; 13. 51-Chris Oertel [6]; 14. 55B-Joe Bongiorno [14]; 15. 21X-Kurt Moeller [11]; 16. 87-Adam Janke [15]; 17. 21M-Shawn Miller [16]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10-Paul Parker[1]; 2. D1-Turk Letizia[2]; 3. 51-Chris Oertel[4]; 4. 10S-Taylor Scheffler[3]; 5. 19J-Justin Green[6]; 6. 24S-Jayden Schmidt[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 89-Brad Mueller[2]; 2. 70-Justin Ritchie[1]; 3. 5-Lukas Postl[3]; 4. 77-Bill Edler[5]; 5. 55B-Joe Bongiorno[4]; 6. 21M-Shawn Miller[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Justin Schmidt[1]; 2. 7-Joel Bennett[2]; 3. 3-Brett Swedberg[3]; 4. 21X-Kurt Moeller[5]; 5. 87-Adam Janke[4]

Qualifying 1: 1. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.708[4]; 2. D1-Turk Letizia, 13.961[5]; 3. 10-Paul Parker, 14.052[6]; 4. 51-Chris Oertel, 14.068[3]; 5. 24S-Jayden Schmidt, 14.188[2]; 6. 19J-Justin Green, 14.461[1]

Qualifying 2: 1. 5-Lukas Postl, 13.716[5]; 2. 89-Brad Mueller, 13.855[1]; 3. 70-Justin Ritchie, 14.179[6]; 4. 55B-Joe Bongiorno, 14.216[2]; 5. 77-Bill Edler, 14.556[4]; 6. 21M-Shawn Miller, 14.765[3]

Qualifying 3: 1. 3-Brett Swedberg, 13.707[1]; 2. 7-Joel Bennett, 14.090[4]; 3. 97-Justin Schmidt, 14.126[5]; 4. 87-Adam Janke, 14.930[3]; 5. 21X-Kurt Moeller, 14.968[2]

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 4-Alex Pokorski [1]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [3]; 3. 1-Ben Schmidt [5]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [9]; 5. 68T-Tyler Davis [7]; 6. 7L-Ellie Hensley [4]; 7. 14J-Joseph Hintz [6]; 8. 69S-TJ Smith [10]; 9. 6K-Kurt Davis [13]; 10. GR8-Will Gerrits [14]; 11. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [15]; 12. 24X-Eric Wilke [11]; 13. 51-Chris Larson [8]; 14. 69-Bill Taylor [16]; 15. 11-Tony Wondra [19]; 16. 44-Hayden Johnson [18]; 17. 7-Lance Fassbender [17]; 18. 57-Tristan Furseth [22]; 19. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [12]; 20. 46-Steven Ruh [20]; 21. 30-Doug Wondra [21]; 22. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 23. (DNS) 55P-Brady Portschy

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 14J-Joseph Hintz[2]; 2. 68T-Tyler Davis[1]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski[4]; 4. 51-Chris Larson[6]; 5. 69-Bill Taylor[3]; 6. 7-Lance Fassbender[5]; 7. 44-Hayden Johnson[7]; 8. 57-Tristan Furseth[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Ben Schmidt[1]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson[2]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth[3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith[5]; 5. 6K-Kurt Davis[7]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra[4]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh[6]; 8. (DNS) 55P-Brady Portschy

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7L-Ellie Hensley[1]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz[3]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach[2]; 4. 24X-Eric Wilke[5]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz[4]; 6. GR8-Will Gerrits[7]; 7. 30-Doug Wondra[6]

Qualifying 1: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 12.853[1]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor, 12.950[5]; 3. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 12.998[8]; 4. 68T-Tyler Davis, 13.034[3]; 5. 7-Lance Fassbender, 13.129[2]; 6. 51-Chris Larson, 13.143[7]; 7. 44-Hayden Johnson, 13.228[4]; 8. 57-Tristan Furseth[6]

Qualifying 2: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 12.947[6]; 2. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.050[7]; 3. 1-Ben Schmidt, 13.058[1]; 4. 55P-Brady Portschy, 13.086[5]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.092[4]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.180[3]; 7. 46-Steven Ruh, 13.190[2]; 8. 6K-Kurt Davis, 13.334[8]

Qualifying 3: 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 12.943[2]; 2. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 12.944[4]; 3. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.141[6]; 4. 7L-Ellie Hensley, 13.288[7]; 5. 24X-Eric Wilke, 13.290[5]; 6. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.609[1]; 7. GR8-Will Gerrits[3]

DIRT DEVIL SERIES OOSTBURG AUTOMOTIVE GRAND NATIONALS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 82H-Matt Loehr [1]; 2. 47-Nick Schumacher [5]; 3. 14X-Will Sorce [9]; 4. 99-Don Sorce Jr. [18]; 5. 53W-Dustin Weiss [7]; 6. 8R-Jake Richards [13]; 7. 24K-Tyler Kulow [15]; 8. 5M-Jeff Muehlbauer [20]; 9. 62S-Jeff Steenbergen [11]; 10. 80-Luke Scholten [10]; 11. 89-Brian Gilles [8]; 12. 11-Dylan May [3]; 13. 4-Darryl Traber [4]; 14. 15-Derek Kaat [6]; 15. 6-Dick Hed [19]; 16. 42-Jason Juech [12]; 17. 1-Jack Wiroll [2]; 18. 53B-Brad Weiss [16]; 19. 37-Ryan Minster [17]; 20. 93-Mavrick Ruh [14]; 21. (DNS) 27-Greg Goschey

B Main 1 (12 Laps): 1. 53B-Brad Weiss[1]; 2. 99-Donald Sorce Jr[5]; 3. 5M-Jeff Muehlbauer[4]; 4. 72E-Chad Espen[2]; 5. 5R-Nate Ruh[3]; 6. 19P-Marshall Plate[7]; 7. 44G-Rich Garb[9]; 8. 93S-Daniel Schumacher[6]; 9. 53T-Tanner Lorenz[8]

B Main 2 (12 Laps): 1. 37-Ryan Minster[4]; 2. 6-Dick Hed[2]; 3. 95-Donny Kulow[6]; 4. 23-Scott Kafka[5]; 5. 54-Austin Yancey[1]; 6. 28-Peter Hall[3]; 7. (DNF) 3-Jim Wirtz[7]; 8. (DNS) 45-Trent Bogart

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 82H-Matt Loehr[1]; 2. 62S-Jeff Steenbergen[8]; 3. 1-Jack Wiroll[2]; 4. 42-Jason Juech[4]; 5. 53B-Brad Weiss[5]; 6. 5R-Nate Ruh[7]; 7. 99-Don Sorce Jr.[6]; 8. 19P-Marshall Plate[3]; 9. 44G-Rich Garb[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 47-Nick Schumacher[4]; 2. 89-Brian Gilles[6]; 3. 53W-Dustin Weiss[5]; 4. 8R-Jake Richards[7]; 5. 54-Austin Yancey[2]; 6. 28-Peter Hall[8]; 7. 23-Scott Kafka[3]; 8. 3-Jim Wirtz[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 14X-Will Sorce[6]; 2. 15-Derek Kaat[4]; 3. 11-Dylan May[2]; 4. 93-Mavrick Ruh[3]; 5. 72E-Chad Espen[5]; 6. 5M-Jeff Muehlbauer[7]; 7. 93S-Daniel Schumacher[8]; 8. 53T-Tanner Lorenz[1]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 27-Greg Goschey[1]; 2. 80-Luke Scholten[6]; 3. 4-Darryl Traber[3]; 4. 24K-Tyler Kulow[7]; 5. 6-Dick Hed[2]; 6. 37-Ryan Minster[5]; 7. 95-Donny Kulow[4]; 8. 45-Trent Bogart[8]

SHEBOYGAN FLOORING B MODS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 167-Dan Jung [5]; 2. 17-Brandon Knepprath [1]; 3. 73-Rory Welch [3]; 4. 03W-Tim Warner [11]; 5. 59S-Spencer Long [4]; 6. 33H-Barrett Hummelmeier [10]; 7. 12T-Tim Thrun [6]; 8. 91-Cole Thomas [12]; 9. 66-Steve Lorier [14]; 10. 89-Logan Brass [9]; 11. 18Z-Geoff Zdroik [7]; 12. 6Z-Jim Zdroik [15]; 13. 4JR-Joel Seegert Jr. [13]; 14. 67-Vince Jung [17]; 15. 19-Parker Glander [18]; 16. 48-Matt Urban [8]; 17. 85B-Kevin Braaksma [16]; 18. 69-Travis Kleindl [2]; 19. 27L-Brendan Ostrowski [19]; 20. 4-Justin Blackburn [20]

B Main (12 Laps): 1. 6Z-Jim Zdroik[1]; 2. 85B-Kevin Braaksma[2]; 3. 67-Vince Jung[3]; 4. 19-Parker Glander[4]; 5. 27L-Brendan Ostrowski[7]; 6. XV-Don Marquart[6]; 7. 11B-Brad Buckman[5]; 8. (DNF) 54-Michael Strean[9]; 9. (DNS) 31W-Kelan Wolfe

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Brandon Knepprath[1]; 2. 59S-Spencer Long[4]; 3. 33H-Barrett Hummelmeier[7]; 4. 18Z-Geoff Zdroik[6]; 5. 4JR-Joel Seegert Jr[2]; 6. 6Z-Jim Zdroik[5]; 7. 19-Parker Glander[3]; 8. 27L-Brendan Ostrowski[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 48-Matt Urban[6]; 2. 167-Dan Jung[4]; 3. 03W-Tim Warner[7]; 4. 12T-Tim Thrun[5]; 5. 4-Justin Blackburn[8]; 6. (DNF) 85B-Kevin Braaksma[3]; 7. (DNF) 11B-Brad Buckman[1]; 8. (DQ) 31W-Kelan Wolfe[2]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 91-Cole Thomas[7]; 2. 73-Rory Welch[3]; 3. 89-Logan Brass[6]; 4. 69-Travis Kleindl[2]; 5. 66-Steve Lorier[5]; 6. 67-Vince Jung[4]; 7. (DNF) XV-Don Marquart[1]; 8. (DNF) 54-Michael Strean[8]


Submitted By: Jeff Pederson

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