8/5/2021
Josh Walter
Walter posts pair of top-10s in IRA doubleheader
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 4, 2021 – Josh Walter and the Torque Racing 410 Sprint Car racing team took on the challenge of competing at the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association’s longest, fastest track and the team’s hometown racing facility, coming away with two top-10 A-main showings during a doubleheader weekend of IRA action at the Langlade County Speedway in Antigo, Wis. on July 30 and The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on July 31.
With 19 IRA Sprint Cars on hand, Walter opened the night at the huge, lightning-fast 3/5th-mile Langlade County Speedway by turning in the 12th-fastest qualifying lap with a time of 17.856.
Walter then started on the pole of the third IRA eight-lap heat race and outpowered outside front row starter Scotty Neitzel to gain the lead in turn one of the opening lap. Walter held the lead throughout the race to notch his second IRA heat race victory of the 2021 season.
After drawing the fourth starting spot in the first IRA four-lap dash, Walter wound up fourth in the race to earn the seventh starting position in the 20-lap IRA A-main.
On the drop of the green flag of the A main, Walter fell back to ninth in the running order before battling back to pass Jordan Goldesberry for eighth on lap 2.
The first of two stoppages occurred when a yellow flag appeared on lap 8 when Goldesberry spun in turn four. After the restart, Steve Meyer slipped past Walter to take over the eighth spot and drop the 16th-year driver to ninth.
Just as Kyle Schuett slowed on the backstretch with apparent engine issues, Russel Borland flipped in turn four on lap 15 to bring out a red flag. With Schuett and Borland out of the race, Walter restarted seventh and held the position over the final five laps to earn his third top-10 A-main finish of the 2021 campaign in a race won by Scotty Thiel.
“After winning a dash and earning the pole at Antigo last year, but not being able to start the race due a mechanical issue, it was nice to come home with a solid top-10 finish,” Walter said. “We had good speed, but it was hard to pass in dirty air most of the night. I’ll certainly take a top 10 and a nice clean night.”
The Torque Racing team then took the short trip down the road to its home track – The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. – on Saturday, July 31 for the 25th annual IRA Frank Filskov Memorial.
Walter qualified ninth in the 22-car field with a lap of 11.582 seconds around the third-mile clay oval before starting on the outside front row of the third 10-lap IRA heat race. Walter bested polesitter Jack Vanderboom to take the lead on the first lap and led until the white flag lap when contact occurred with Jeremy Schultz causing both drivers to spin their cars in turn four. Walter restarted sixth, which is where he finished the race.
Walter then drew the pole position for the first four-lap IRA dash and led every lap to earn the victory and the pole position for the 30-lap IRA main event. Walter grabbed the early race lead and rode the cushion at the front the 20-car field until lap 8 when Scotty Neitzel moved past along the low groove after Walter jumped the cushion in turn two.
Walter fell back to fourth after Blake Nimee and Jordan Goldesberry got past on lap 16. The Plymouth driver worked primarily the low groove in the closing 14 laps en route to a ninth-place finish, which was the team’s fourth top-10 A-main finish of the 2021 season.
“Overall, it was another good night,” Walter said. “We won the dash and earned the pole for the A main. We can’t really complain about another top-10 finish and it was another fairly clean night where we were able to bring the car home in one piece.”
The team is now scheduled to go on hiatus during the month of August before embarking on a busy month of IRA action in September.
“We are not planning to do any racing in August as we have a few family events, outings and trips planned,” Walter said. “We will be coming back in September and at this point, we plan to run most of the remaining IRA schedule in September to close out the season.”
The next race on the Torque Racing team’s schedule is an IRA event on Friday, Sept. 3 at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis., following by another IRA event during the Sheboygan County Fair at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis. on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Torque Racing sponsors for the 2021 season include Dlapa Construction, Brittany's School of Dance, Sheboygan by Owner, SCA Inc., Cow Pies, Full Throttle Ink, Lakehouse Bar & Grill, Home Transitions, Oostburg Concrete Products, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions
Stay tuned to the Torque Racing Facebook and Twitter pages for schedule changes and up-to-date information.
Torque Racing Sponsor Showcase – Full Throttle Ink
The Torque Racing team is pleased to have Full Throttle Ink in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. and Plymouth, Wis. on board as a sponsor for the 2021 season.
Full Throttle Ink is Sheboygan County's premier tattoo, piercing, and apparel shop, located at 501 North Main (Highway 32) in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. Under the direction of owner Jeff Klug, Full Throttle Ink features a 1,100-square foot state-of-the-art tattoo and piercing parlor, as well as a complete line of 1940s and 1950s-themed high-end hot-rod style clothing.
Full Throttle Ink, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., also offers Motorcult Apparel, Lucky 13 Apparel and Klug's personal line of Sheboygan County-exclusive apparel.
In May 2021, Full Throttle Ink opened a second shop at 406 East Mill St. in downtown Plymouth.
To book a tattoo or piercing appointment, call the Sheboygan Falls location at 920-467-2215, call the Plymouth location at 920-449-5067 or email fullthrottleink@hotmail.com.
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 pedaldownpromo-tions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.
2021 Josh Walter-Torque Racing
By The Numbers
Total Events – 10
IRA events – 9
World of Outlaws events – 1
All Star events – 1
A-Main Victories – 0
B-Main Victories – 0
Top Five A-Main Finishes – 1
Top 10 A-Main Finishes – 4
Heat Race Victories – 2
Dash Victories – 1
Dash Appearances – 4
2021 Josh Walter-Torque Racing
Tentative Upcoming Schedule
(Additional dates to be announced)
Friday, September 3 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis. (IRA)
Saturday, September 4 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis. (IRA)
Article Credit: Jeff Pederson-Pedal Down Promotions
Submitted By: Jeff Pederson
