Plymouth’s Gilles earns third PDTR victory
by George Baumann Special to The Review
PLYMOUTH – The heavy rains that dumped on southeastern Wisconsin during the days leading up to Saturday couldn’t stop the Plymouth Dirt Track Racing.
The feature winners were Brian Gilles (Plymouth) in the Grand Nationals; Brian Kristan (Zion, Ill.), Sprints; Brad Mueller (Random Lake), Late Models; and Michael Zitzer (Sheboygan), Outlaw Compacts.
Gilles found victory lane for the third time this season after starting outside the front row and taking the lead on the second lap. Tim Thompson (Campbellsport) and Matt Yancey (Sheboygan) stayed close to the leader but Gilles never faltered.
Brad Lubach (Elkhart Lake) passed Brett Wenzel (Manitowoc) on the last lap to finish fourth ahead of Wenzel.
Kristan won the Sprint feature for the third time in four tries this season. After starting eighth he would quickly move ahead on the outside. After running side by side with leader Kenjay Fiedler (Sheboygan Falls) for a number of laps, he took the lead in turn two on the 15th lap.
Fiedler finished second. Danny Schlafer (Sussex) and Jim Melis (Glenbeulah) finished behind the leaders in third and fourth, respectively, and Lance Fassbender (Burnett) completed the top five.
Mueller was choked up a bit in victory lane after winning his first Late Model feature on the Plymouth track. Mueller started on the front row with Randy Markwardt (Sheboygan) and won the race to turn one.
The win was hard-earned as he had to survive a number of restarts and he said it wasn't easy, especially with Russ Scheffler (Waukesha) close behind him the final six laps. Mueller's win came just one week after he led the feature until the late laps when he was passed.
Turk Letizia (Milwaukee) finished third after racing hard with the two leaders and Markwardt for many laps. Tim Buhler, who started 11th, finished strong, taking fourth, one spot in front of Markwardt.
The Outlaw Compact feature saw Zitzer win after starting on the pole. The final laps saw Zitzer pressed hard by Travis Arenz (Sheboygan) and Aaron Stolp (West Allis).
The race was stopped on the second lap after several cars crashed on the backstretch with Glen Blanke (Sheboygan Falls) rolling over.
It was Zitzer’s second Feature win of the season. More results are available at: www.plymouthdtr.com. (George’s Corner). Racing continues Saturday with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m.
