(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) April 24, 2019 – Aiming to dust off the offseason cobwebs and turn some competitive laps before firing up the 2019 Midwest Sprint Car Association and Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car season, Josh Walter and his Torque Racing team ventured to the Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. to take part in the Wipperfurth Memorial Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series event on Saturday, April 20.
Despite facing a significant horsepower disadvantage against the high-powered IRA field, which featured 25 entries, Walter more than held its own throughout the evening in his 360 machine.
“The night went really well for our Torque Racing team in shaking down the car and getting the rust off the driver,” Walter said. “We we're 15th fast in hot laps and 20th in qualifying, which wasn't bad considering we were the last car to take a qualifying time.”
After lining up seventh in the second 10-lap IRA heat race, the Plymouth driver took advantage of two yellow flag restarts to work past three cars on the way to a fourth-place finish and a spot in the A-main event.
In the 30-lap A-main, Walter rolled off from the 13th starting spot and flexed his muscle in the early going to move into ninth place on lap 3. After a caution flag restart on lap 4, the 15th-year racer used the low groove to slip underneath IRA frontrunners Mike Reinke and Scotty Thiel to take seventh on lap 9.
Three laps later, Walter found himself challenging Brandon Wimmer for sixth place before the second caution flag of the race appeared for a spin involving Russel Borland. After the restart, Reinke and Thiel battled back along the high groove to maneuver around the low-riding Walter.
A spin by Scott Biertzer on lap 27 brought out the third and final caution of the event. Following the restart, Justin Miller powered past Walter before Borland charged back from his early spin to take the 10th spot on the final lap, pushing Walter to an 11th-place finish in a race won by multi-time IRA champion Bill Balog.
“All in all, it was a good night considering what we we're up against,” Walter said. “We learned a lot for our return to Beaver Dam Raceway in August with the MSA. We didn't adjust on the car all night to get a gauge on how conditions would affect the car. Late in the A main, we found the car’s tendencies and now we know what we need to make adjustments. The team did a great job and made the best of this opportunity before our season kicks off. If we would have made changes, we wouldn't know what we know now and that is to our benefit considering we were pretty fast and will be faster next time.”
After finishing third in both the MSA and PDTR point standings last year, Walter is eager to make his presence felt in the 360 Sprint Car ranks this season. The team will kickoff the 31-race MSA campaign this Saturday, April 27 at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis.
Spectator gates are set to open at 3:30 p.m. with Sprint Car hot laps at 4:30 p.m. and racing at 5 p.m.
“We are feeling good heading into our 360 season opener at Plymouth,” Walter, “I’m anxious to see how we match up against a level playing field.”
Torque Racing sponsors for the 2019 season include JDV Lawncare, Brittany's School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, Plymouth Tap, Platinum Restoration Services, Doug's Quality Beef, Tiffany's Wildtree, Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete, Kombucha Brothers, Ruh Custom Woodworking, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions.
Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Sheboygan by Owner, Home Transitions
Sheboygan by Owner was created in 2003 to give sellers of real estate in Sheboygan, Calumet and Manitowoc Counties an avenue to sell their own home, while having a presence on the internet and access to real estate partners at a low flat fee rate, which allows them to keep more money in their own pockets.
Sheboygan by Owner also gives buyers a quick glance at “for sale by owner” properties at the convenience of their homes/phones without having to call on every home they drive by or hear about.
“Homebuyers can search the web to see what the homes have to offer, and then call on only the ones they have an interest in, saving them both time and money,” said Alison Smith of Sheboygan by Owner.
Smith is thrilled to be involved with sponsoring Josh Walter and Torque Racing for the 2019 racing season.
“This a great opportunity to both help Josh and his racing team and to have another avenue to promote our business,” Smith said.
For more information and to view Sheboygan by Owner properties, visit www.sheboyganbyowner.com
Home Transitions began in 2002 as a referral and buyer-only real estate company. By 2008, it blossomed into a full-service real estate company serving customers located mainly in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties, while reaching out to other outlying areas upon request.
“Home Transitions works best on referrals and the goal is to make the home buying and selling transition go smoothly for all parties,” Smith said.
For more information and to view Home Transitions properties, visit www.hometransitions.us
Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping its clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.
For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.
2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, May 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, May 11 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, May 18 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
2019 Josh Walter-Torque Racing By The Numbers
Total Events – 1
IRA events – 1
MSA events – 0
A-Main Victories – 0
Top Five A-Main Finishes – 0
Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 0
Heat Race Victories – 0