Brandon Berth of Cascade used a strong start and an even better finish to secure his second straight 20-lap Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car Harry Neitzel Tribute Race victory and become the event’s first repeat winner Friday, July 26 at the Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway in Beaver Dam, Wis.
Polesitter Scott Conger of Eagle jumped into the lead on the drop of the green flag in one of the MSA’s most prestigious annual events before outside front row starter Brandon Berth used a huge run down the backstretch to power his way into the top spot with a well-executed low move in turn three.
By lap two, 2011 MSA champion Ben Schmidt of Plymouth had maneuvered his way into fourth place from his eighth starting position. One lap later, he bolted into third in the running order.
Two laps later, Berth had built up a sizable lead gap over Conger and the fast-closing Schmidt. On lap 5, Schmidt wrestled second away from Conger and quickly set his sights on Berth.
Five laps later, Berth set out on the task of working his way through the rear of the field. At the same time, two-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association champ Scotty Neitzel of Beaver Dam, who was in the seat of Lance Fassbender’s familiar purple No. 7 car, vaulted his way into third from the sixth starting spot.
On lap 16, Berth was bottled up in dense lapped traffic as Tony Wondra of Campbellsport and Bill Taylor of Boltonville dueled side-by-side for position in front of him.
With Berth bogged down behind the two cars, Schmidt swooped in to mount a challenge for the top spot.
One lap later, Berth used a daring move to split Wondra and Taylor in turn two shortly before Taylor’s car dropped off the pace and slowed along the backstretch to bring out the lone caution flag of the race.
With a single-file restart in place with less than five laps remaining, Schmidt dipped low in turn one in an attempt to oust the top spot away from the sixth-year Sprint Car competitor. However, Berth successfully fended off the spirited advances of the 44-time MSA 360 Sprint Car Series and three-time Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series A-main winner.
One lap later, Schmidt attempted a similar low move entering turn three, but Berth again denied the 25th-year veteran’s challenge. Berth then pulled away over the final two circuits to secure his second consecutive MSA Harry Neitzel Tribute Race triumph, second main event win of the 2024 season and his fourth career MSA A-main victory.
Schmidt had to settle for second; Neitzel placed third driving for Lance Fassbender, who continues to recover from serious burns suffered at The Plymouth Track on June 15; Robbie Pribnow of Lomira finished fourth after starting seventh and 10th starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend rounded out the top five.
“When saw him [Ben Schmidt] peak his nose in there after the restart, I hoped I had enough to hold him off and thankfully we did,” Berth said. “We were fortunate enough to win this race last year and I didn’t think we would get another one, especially back-to-back. I didn’t get to know Harry [Neitzel] very well, but I know what he meant to the area Sprint Car community and the MSA. I like racing with these guys – the whole MSA crew is a great group to be around. It’s awesome to get the chance to have fun racing with them and also be able to go out and get a win like this. It’s a dream come true.”
With his second victory in the event, Berth moves to the top of the MSA 360 Sprint Car Harry Neitzel Tribute Race winners list, which includes five-time MSA champion Kurt Davis (2017), Kevin Karnitz of West Bend (2018), Jim Melis of Glenbeulah (2019), five-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh (2020) and two-time MSA champion Travis Arenz of Sheboygan Falls (2022).
The event, which fell victim to rain in 2021, honors the universally respected Neitzel, who was one of the MSA’s biggest supporters.
The 10th MSA event of the 2024 season drew a solid field of 21 MSA 360 Sprint Cars to the sprawling “horsepower half mile” Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway facility.
Ben Schmidt earned the MSA 360 Sprint Car fast qualifier award with a top lap of 18.810 seconds in group qualifying.
Eight-lap MSA heat race victories went to Alex Pokorski, Scotty Neitzel and Ben Schmidt.
After the MSA competes at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, July 27, the 2024 MSA season continues at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Aug. 3 with gates opening at 4:30 p.m., qualifying at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
For more information on the 2024 Midwest Sprint Car Association season, visit www.msasprints.com or the Midwest Sprint Car Association Facebook page.
Article by Pedal Down Promotions
Photos by Larry Douma
Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association
Dodge County Fairgrounds Speedway
Beaver Dam, Wis.
July 26, 2024
A Main (20 Laps): 1. 22B-Brandon Berth [2]; 2. 35-Ben Schmidt [8]; 3. 7-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 4. 0-Robbie Pribnow [7]; 5. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [10]; 6. 69S-TJ Smith [4]; 7. 4-Alex Pokorski [9]; 8. 39-Kurt Davis [11]; 9. 24-Scott Conger [1]; 10. 3-Justin Erickson [13]; 11. 09-Clayton Rossmann [3]; 12. 11-Tony Wondra [16]; 13. 69-Bill Taylor [12]; 14. 53A-Spyder Akright [15]; 15. 46-Kevin Ruh [18]; 16. 55P-Brady Portschy [20]; 17. 66T-Tristan Koenings [17]; 18. 68T-Tyler Davis [5]; 19. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [19]; 20. 21H-TJ Haddy [14]; 21. 54-Randy Post [21]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Alex Pokorski [2]; 2. 63K-Kevin Karnitz [1]; 3. 22B-Brandon Berth [4]; 4. 39-Kurt Davis [6]; 5. 24-Scott Conger [3]; 6. 11-Tony Wondra [5]; 7. 46-Kevin Ruh [7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Scotty Neitzel [3]; 2. 69S-TJ Smith [2]; 3. 0-Robbie Pribnow [4]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy [1]; 5. 53A-Spyder Akright [5]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach [6]; 7. 54-Randy Post [7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt [4]; 2. 09-Clayton Rossmann [2]; 3. 3-Justin Erickson [6]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor [1]; 5. 68T-Tyler Davis [3]; 6. 66T-Tristan Koenings [5]; 7. 55P-Brady Portschy [7]
Qualifying 1: 1. 22B-Brandon Berth, 19.343 [2]; 2. 24-Scott Conger, 19.375 [7]; 3. 4-Alex Pokorski, 19.380 [5]; 4. 63K-Kevin Karnitz, 19.394 [4]; 5. 11-Tony Wondra, 19.501 [6]; 6. 39-Kurt Davis, 19.561 [1]; 7. 46-Kevin Ruh, 19.851 [3]
Qualifying 2: 1. 0-Robbie Pribnow, 19.193 [6]; 2. 7-Scotty Neitzel, 19.204 [3]; 3. 69S-TJ Smith, 19.278 [1]; 4. 21H-TJ Haddy, 19.776 [5]; 5. 53A-Spyder Akright, 19.791 [2]; 6. 08-Katelyn Krebsbach, 20.705 [4]; 7. 54-Randy Post [7]
Qualifying 3: 1. 35-Ben Schmidt, 18.810 [2]; 2. 68T-Tyler Davis, 19.205 [6]; 3. 09-Clayton Rossmann, 19.340 [5]; 4. 69-Bill Taylor, 19.598 [1]; 5. 66T-Tristan Koenings, 19.607 [4]; 6. 3-Justin Erickson, 19.642 [3]; 7. 55P-Brady Portschy, 22.526 [7]
