Plymouth’s Gilles races to Grand National win

PLYMOUTH – A hot and humid day gave way to an action- packed night of Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at the Sheboygan County Fair Park oval.

Fans and racers were anxious to have racing after rainouts the previous two weekends.

A-main winners were Russ Scheffler (Waukesha) in Late Models; Brian Gilles (Plymouth), Grand Nationals; Paul Pokorski, (West Bend) Sprints; and Tim Simon (Fond du Lac), Outlaw Compacts.

Scheffler's win was in a race that was slowed by one red flag and a number of yellow cautions. The race was stopped on the second lap when the car of Roger Nelson (Fond du Lac) flipped two and a half times after climbing the front stretch wall. Nelson was not injured.

Bill Rezutek (Big Bend) led the first seven laps until Scheffler passed him on the outside off turn four following a restart. Behind the leader, the racing was hard with Rezutek, Tim Buhler (Glenbuelah) and Ted Dolhun Sr. (Franklin) and Turk Letizia (Milwaukee) battling for position.

Buhler, after settling into second, charged after Scheffler during the final laps but couldn’t complete a pass. Dolhun finished third, Rezutek fourth and Rick Scheffler, after starting 19th, finished fifth.

Gilles won the Grand National A-main leading every lap. The race saw three-wide racing at times, and positions behind the leader changed frequently. Tim Thompson (Campbellsport) ran second for the first 11 laps until Tim Warner (Malone) passed him on a restart.

The race was stopped when Brett Wenzel (Manitowoc) flipped very hard in turn three on lap 11. Back under green, Warner held second until Luke Scholten (Oostburg) passed him.

Later, it would be Mark Fieber (Cascade) finishing second, Thompson third, Matt Yancey (Sheboygan Falls) fourth and Scholten fifth.

The Sprint car feature was very exciting from start to finish. T.J. Luedke (Plymouth) led early with Pokorski close behind. On lap 10 as the leaders were caught in lapped traffic, Pokorski passed for the lead.

Then on lap 15, Luedke and Pokorski made contact in turn four, resulting in Luedke stopping with his race over. Kurt Davis (West Allis) and Jason Johnson (Campbellsport) then swapped positions while staying close behind the leader.

Ben Schmidt (Plymouth) and Jeremy Schultz (Beaver Dam) joined the fun at the front. Davis would finish second, Schmidt third, Johnson fourth and Schultz fifth.

The Outlaw Compact A-main saw points leader Simon pass J.J. Pagel (St. Cloud) on lap 10 and cruise to victory lane. The race was slowed several times for incidents – the final coming on the last lap when Tim Green (Sheboygan) flipped several times in turn four.

Travis Arenz (Sheboygan) passed Pagel for second with Glen Blanke (Falls) finishing fourth and Shaun Goetsch (Sheboygan) fifth.

In preliminary races the Sprints ran two B-mains. The first saw Scotty Neitzel (Beaver Dam) win with Terry Marten (Falls) second ahead of Tony Wondra (Campbellsport). The second was won by Tim Melis (Plymouth). Brian Johnson (Kewaskum) and Josh Walter (Plymouth) also transferred.

The Grand National B-main was won by Wenzel with Jason Roe (Sheboygan), Steven Weber (Plymouth) and Ken Glander (Falls) going to the Main.

Dolhun, Letizia and Russ Scheffler won Late Model heat races. Grand National heat race winners were Chris Baumann (Elkhart Lake), Warner, Thompson and Gilles.

Sprint heat winners were Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan), Jay Riemer (Falls), Ken Jay Fiedler (Falls), and Schultz. Todd King (Sheboygan Falls) flipped hard in his heat but was not injured.

Winning Outlaw Compact heats were, Goetsch, Joe Miller (Plymouth) and Blanke.

More results are available at www.plymouthdtr.com (George’s Corner). Racing continues Saturday with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. This will be Kids Night with many prizes to be given away. Children under age 12 are admitted free.