- The roller coaster ride that was the 2026 Interstate Racing Association point race had a fitting end Saturday night during the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championship.
With four drivers having a mathematical shot at winning the championship going in a major shift in the point standings on Friday when Paul Nienhiser crashed, putting Travis Arenz into the lead going into Plymouth was crazy on its own, but the entire racing program at Plymouth adding some hills and valleys to that adventure.
With Will Armitage dominating the race up from and Paul Nienhiser charging through the field offset by Logan Jullien being involved in a couple of incidents and Arenz not being able to move up through the field had everyone wondering who would win the title until the final lap.
At one point during the feature event Arenz had dropped back to 13th position, leaving the door open for Nienhiser to pull off the title, but Arenz was able to rally and finish 9th to win the title by just 10 points.
While the season will be remembered for Arenz late season rally, it will also be remembered for the misfortunes Nienhiser crashing in some pivotal moments and Armitage fighting some engine issues mid-season that the major factors in them not winning the IRA championship.
With the IRA season completed Arenz, Nienhiser, Armitage, and Julien all deserve a standing ovation for one of the most entertaining championship battles for a regional title in recent memory.
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For years I have tried to take in a race in the state of Wisconsin, but every time the weather was so abysmal the events were cancelled before I could even leave the state of Michigan.
Last week when looking over the open wheel calendar I decided to shift my travel plans from Eldora Speedway over to Plymouth Dirt Track for the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championship.
Plymouth is another racetrack that was not on my list of must-see facilities until seeing it on various streaming outlets, and when the timing worked out, I headed to Wisconsin on Friday night to spend the day with my family in Sheboygan before heading to the racetrack.
Much like seeing USAC in Indiana just hits different than when they travel away from the Hoosier state, I wanted to see an IRA event in their natural habitat of Wisconsin.
All the hype from industry people from Wisconsin about Plymouth was justified. The racetrack is tremendous fun with a cushion that did not give up all night and a useable bottom with some treacherous buried tires to keep drivers honest. I saw more bicycles from winged sprint cars in one night than I have in the past 10 years at all the places I’ve been to the races combined. The facility itself is clean and highly under-rated in the sprint car world, and the surrounding area of Plymouth and Sheboygan make for an awesome racing getaway. Everyone I encountered from the series and track were extremely friendly.
While I’ll likely be at 4-Crown again next year, a return visit to Plymouth to see the World of Outlaws or an IRA event earlier in the season will be on my list again in the near future.