(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) June 29, 2024 – Robbie Pribnow of Lomira swept past 2011 Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth in the closing laps on the way to his first 25-lap Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association-Plymouth Dirt Track Racing A-main victory in the seat of Blake Wondra’s No. 0 car Saturday, June 29 at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis.
Inside second row starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend used a daring three-wide move to zip past front row starters Bill Taylor Boltonville and Chris Larson of Franksville to grab the lead on the opening lap of the 25-lap Akright Auto MSA-PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main.
With Karnitz holding a comfortable lead, fifth starter Ben Schmidt used the outside groove to vault his way into the top five on the second circuit before the lone caution flag of the race appeared on lap 5. Following the restart, Schmidt bolted past Larson, Taylor, Robbie Pribnow to secure second and move in to challenge Karnitz for the top spot on lap 6.
Three laps later, Schmidt used the high groove to shoot past Karnitz to secure the top spot in turn one on lap 11. Karnitz attempted to battle back over the ensuing lap along the inside lane. However, Schmidt was too strong as he powered away as he weaved his way through slower traffic starting on lap 13.
Schmidt, who captured seven main event victories at Plymouth during the 2023 campaign and has one A-main win in 2024, continued to hold down the top spot over Karnitz over the ensuing 10 laps.
Meanwhile, fourth starter Robbie Pribnow was mounting a spirited charge to the front utilizing the outside lane of the third-mile clay oval to take over third on lap 16. After disposing of Karnitz on lap 18, Pribnow started to reel in the leader.
On lap 23 Pribnow moved in to challenge Schmidt for the top spot before slipping past the 25-year veteran in turn two on lap 24. Pribnow powered away from Schmidt over the final two circuits to secure his fourth career PDTR 360 Sprint Car A-main victory and ninth career Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car main event triumph.
Schmidt placed second, Karnitz placed third, Taylor wound up fourth and rookie Clayton Rossmann of Wadsworth, Ill. rounded out the top five after starting sixth.
Alex Pokorski claimed his second fast time award of the 2024 campaign in PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Car hot-lap-group qualifying with a lap of 13.363 seconds.
GoFundMe donations continue to be accepted for 2005 MSA and 2008 PDTR 360 Sprint Car champion Lance Fassbender of Burnett, who suffered serious burns in a methanol fire during hot lap qualifying at The Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, June 15.
Those wishing to assist Fassbender and his family during his recovery can donate by visiting https://gofundme.com/f/help-lance-and-his-family-during-his-recovery.
The fourth completed event of the 2024 MSA campaign, which was sponsored by Pedal Down Promotions, drew 24 PDTR-MSA 360 Sprint Cars.
After taking a weekend off, the next Plymouth Dirt Track Racing event will feature the third annual Plymouth Racing Wall of Fame Induction Night Program on Saturday, July 13, during which the names of eight drivers (Fuzzy Fassbender, Donny Goeden, Dave Haag, Steve Hoffmann, Randy Markwardt, Pete Ostrowski, Steve Schad and K.J. Skelton), three track workers (Lee Glomski, John Laack and Bill Krueger) and the McMullen racing family will be added to the track’s Wall of Fame.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 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.com or check out Plymouth Dirt Track Racing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
AKRIGHT AUTO MIDWEST SPRINT CAR ASSOCIATION PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK RACING 360 SPRINT CARS
A Main: 1. 0-Robbie Pribnow [4]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [5]; 3. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [3]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 5. 09-Clayton Rossmann [6]; 6. 21H-TJ Haddy [7]; 7. 4-Alex Pokorski [8]; 8. 69S-TJ Smith [15]; 9. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 10. 51-Chris Larson [2]; 11. 39K-Kurt Davis [9]; 12. 12P-JJ Pagel [10]; 13. 22B-Brandon Berth [11]; 14. 53A-Paul Pokorski [17]; 15. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [12]; 16. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [20]; 17. 16-Anthony Knierim [23]; 18. 11-Tony Wondra [14]; 19. 54-Randy Post [19]; 20. 24-Scott Conger [18]; 21. 55P-Brady Portschy [24]; 22. 46-Kevin Ruh [22]; 23. 14J-Joseph Hintz [16]; 24. 33-Josh Bilicki [21]
Heat 1: 1. 39K-Kurt Davis [1]; 2. 4-Alex Pokorski [4]; 3. 51-Chris Larson [2]; 4. 22B-Brandon Berth [5]; 5. 3BK-Billy Kreutz [6]; 6. 24-Scott Conger [7]; 7. (DNF) 33-Josh Bilicki [8]; 8. (DNS) 16-Anthony Knierim
Heat 2: 1. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 2. 09-Clayton Rossmann [3]; 3. 0-Robbie Pribnow [2]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy [4]; 5. 69-Bill Taylor [5]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz [6]; 7. 53A-Paul Pokorski [7]; 8. 46-Kevin Ruh [8]
Heat 3: 1. 3-Justin Erickson [2]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 3. 11-Tony Wondra [1]; 4. 12P-JJ Pagel [3]; 5. 69S-TJ Smith [7]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 7. 54-Randy Post [5]; 8. 55P-Brady Portschy [8]
Qualifying 1: 1. 4-Alex Pokorski, 13.363 [8]; 2. 16-Anthony Knierim, 13.633 [1]; 3. 51-Chris Larson, 13.683 [4]; 4. 39K-Kurt Davis, 13.724 [6]; 5. 22B-Brandon Berth, 13.900 [3]; 6. 3BK-Billy Kreutz, 13.936 [2]; 7. 24-Scott Conger, 14.004 [7]; 8. 33-Josh Bilicki, 14.709 [5]
Qualifying 2: 1. 21H-TJ Haddy, 13.380 [6]; 2. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 13.576 [4]; 3. 0-Robbie Pribnow, 13.635 [3]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 13.643 [1]; 5. 69-Bill Taylor, 13.694 [8]; 6. 14J-Joseph Hintz, 13.846 [7]; 7. 53A-Paul Pokorski, 13.986 [5]; 8. 46-Kevin Ruh, 15.160 [2]
Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.627 [5]; 2. 12P-JJ Pagel, 13.845 [1]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson, 13.961 [4]; 4. 11-Tony Wondra, 14.096 [7]; 5. 54-Randy Post, 14.288 [3]; 6. 55P-Brady Portschy, 14.313 [8]; 7. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 14.356 [2]; 8. (DNS) 69S-TJ Smith, 14.356