Father edges son in Davis family duel at Plymouth races

If you were to describe the eighth Plymouth Dirt Track Racing program of the 2024 season on Saturday, July 27, in one word, “ordinary” most certainly wouldn’t be it.

Whether it was a father-son 1-2 finish, inspired runs from the back to the front of the field, a heaping helping of slide jobs, a pair of A-main leaders meeting misfortune in the same race, a father driving his daughter’s car to an A-main win or two  incidents involving hard impacts with the outer wall and fence, action in the Akright Auto Plymouth Dirt Track Racing – Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 sprint cars, PDTR B Mods and the visiting Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 sprint car divisions provided fans with an abundance of wheel-to-wheel entertainment at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth.

Two-time Akright Auto 360 Sprint Car champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee topped a career-best run from his son, Tyler, to capture his first A-main victory at PDTR in more than three years as the Davis’ achieved a rare 1-2 father-son showing in the 25-lap PDTR-MSA main event.

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

The first caution of two cautions appeared on lap three 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 Davis stormed into second place along with the cushion on lap seven. Three laps later, the 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 PDTR 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. It was Davis’ first MSA win since May 15, 2022 at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie.

Joel Myers Jr. of Santa Rosa, Calif., nailed down a victory in the 30-lap IRA 410 Sprint Car Series main event.

Mike Sandholm of Oconomowoc made his first start in the car normally wheeled by his daughter Miranda a memorable one as he led wire-to-wire en route to victory in the 25-lap PDTR B Mod A-main.

The next PDTR event on Saturday, Aug. 3 will include the a coin and candy drop and a coloring contest with 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.