Kurt nips Tyler to lead Davis racing charge in PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event

(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 27, 2024 - Five-time Akright Auto 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee edged his son, Tyler, to capture his first Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car A-main victory in over two years in the 25-lap MSA-PDTR main event Saturday, July 27 at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis.

Polesitter Bill Taylor of Boltonville raced into the lead on the drop of the green flag as Kurt Davis, who started fourth, jumped to the high groove of the third-mile clay oval to challenge third starter T.J. Smith of Greenville for second.

The first caution of two cautions appeared on lap 3 when Justin Erickson of Plymouth spun in turn two and collected Clayton Rossmann of Wadsworth, Ill, T.J. Haddy of Waupun and Alex Pokorski of West Bend. All three drivers retreated to the work area before rejoining the race at the rear of the field on the ensuing restart.

Taylor continued to hold down the lead when the race resumed while Kurt Davis stormed into second place along with the cushion on lap 7. Three laps later, the all-time winningest driver in the 25-season history of the Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association powered his way past Taylor to secure the lead on the slick, smooth and multi-groove racing surface.

The second and final caution flag was displayed on lap 13 when Taylor and Brandon Berth of Cascade were involved in an incident in turn two during a four-car duel for second. Both drivers were able to return to the race.

Following the restart, Kurt’s son, Tyler Davis of Franklin, moved up from the sixth starting spot to shoot past Smith into second on lap 14 as ninth starter Robbie Pribnow charged into third along the outside line.

With five laps to go, Kurt Davis caught the rear of the field and had to deal with a swarm of slower cars, which allowed Tyler Davis to reel in his father.

With one lap to go, Tyler pulled to within striking distance his father. However, Kurt Davis proved to be the top Davis family finisher on this occasion as he held on by a car length to capture his first victory in PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition since May 8, 2021, as well as his 26th career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main triumph and MSA A-main leading 65th career A-main win.

In his 39th season of competition, Kurt Davis’ PDTR 360 Sprint Car win moved him to within seven victories of all-time PDTR A-main victory leader Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who currently sits at the top of the heap at The Plymouth Dirt Track with 33 wins.

The win also helped Kurt Davis to stretch his lead at the top of the MSA 360 Sprint Car all-time A-main victory list to 13 over current runner-up Danny Schlafer of Sussex, who has 52 MSA 360 Sprint Car A-main victories to his credit. It was Davis’ first MSA win since May 15, 2022 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis.

“I’ve been going through the year doubting myself – am I too old, did I lose some stuff?” Kurt Davis said. “I may be a little bit more out of shape. I may have lost a bit of timing, but this one’s for the old guys. As for running the number 39 this year, we lost Cole Possi last year. The Possi family have been great friends to me. I’m glad I could at least pay them back for all their years of friendship and support with a victory.”

Tyler Davis claimed a career-best second place showing, Pribnow placed third, Smith wound up fourth and Chris Clayton of Waldo mounted an inspired run from the 20th starting spot to secure a fifth place showing in his first appearance of the 2024 season in MSA-PDTR 360 Sprint Car competition.

Clayton Rossmann claimed fast qualifier honors in PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car group qualifying with a time 13.365 of seconds.

The eighth event of the 2024 PDTR campaign, which was sponsored by Hopf Farms, featured 72 total entries, including 28 IRA 410 Sprint Cars, 23 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars and 21 B Mods.

The next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program on Saturday, Aug. 3 will feature the PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars, Grand Nationals, B Mods, IRA Lightning Sprints and the High School Racing Association.

The program will also include the VanDerVart Concrete Coin and Candy Drop, along with a coloring contest, which will feature prizes for the winners.

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

AKRIGHT AUTO PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS

A Main (25 Laps): 1. 39K-Kurt Davis [4]; 2. 68T-Tyler Davis [6]; 3. 0-Robbie Pribnow [9]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith [3]; 5. 2-Chris Clayton [20]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [19]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt [8]; 8. 53A-Paul Pokorski [2]; 9. 30-Doug Wondra [15]; 10. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [11]; 11. 3-Justin Erickson [5]; 12. 4-Alex Pokorski [13]; 13. 22B-Brandon Berth [7]; 14. 55P-Brady Portschy [21]; 15. 11-Tony Wondra [16]; 16. 09-Clayton Rossmann [10]; 17. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [14]; 18. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 19. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [17]; 20. 21H-TJ Haddy [18]; 21. 24-Scott Conger [12]; 22. 46-Kevin Ruh [23]; 23. (DNF) 52-Cody Schlafer [22]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 69S-TJ Smith [1]; 2. 68T-Tyler Davis [2]; 3. 09-Clayton Rossmann [4]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [5]; 5. 0-Robbie Pribnow [3]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [8]; 7. 21H-TJ Haddy [7]; 8. 11-Tony Wondra [6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 53A-Paul Pokorski [2]; 2. 39K-Kurt Davis [3]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson [4]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [1]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra [5]; 6. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [6]; 7. 46-Kevin Ruh [7]; 8. 55P-Brady Portschy [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Scott Conger [1]; 2. 69-Bill Taylor [2]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [3]; 4. 4-Alex Pokorski [5]; 5. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton [6]; 7. 52-Cody Schlafer [7]

Qualifying 1: 1. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 13.365 [7]; 2. 0-Robbie Pribnow, 13.375 [6]; 3. 68T-Tyler Davis, 13.591 [3]; 4. 69S-TJ Smith, 13.631 [5]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.671 [4]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra, 13.885 [2]; 7. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.950 [8]; 8. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 13.978 [1]

Qualifying 2: 1. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.600 [5]; 2. 39K-Kurt Davis, 13.629 [1]; 3. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 13.658[7]; 4. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 13.845[2]; 5. 30-Doug Wondra, 13.871[4]; 6. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 13.925 [3]; 7. 55P-Brady Portschy, 14.507 [8]; 8. (DNF) 46-Kevin Ruh [6]

Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.478[1]; 2. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.574 [5]; 3. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.670 [3]; 4. 24-Scott Conger, 13.727 [7]; 5. 4-Alex Pokorski, 13.774 [4]; 6. 2-Chris Clayton, 14.299 [6]; 7. 52-Cody Schlafer, 14.849 [2]