Scott Oeltjen of Villard already has a track championship in his young racing career, but he is still chasing something he wants even more. “I want a win,” Oeltjen said. “I want to get that monkey off my back. That’s all luck.” Oeltjen has raced in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds since 2020, racing mainly at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls and Viking Speedway in Alexandria. He won the 2025 track championship at I-94 last year. The 24-year-old, like many in racing, star

He’s raced in several different classes in his career, but Austin Veralrud feels he’s found a home in the B modified class. Veralrud has raced hornets, pure stocks, and even dabbled briefly in the A mod class. He actually has two cars – an IMCA Sport Mod and a Wissota Midwest Modified – that he races locally at tracks such as Fix It Forward Speedway, Norman County Raceway in Ada, Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon and I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls. “I feel like thi

Adrian Kubitz sometimes spends three nights a week at the racetrack. But only one of those is behind the wheel of a race car. Kubitz races the No. 84 Wissota Hornet Sunday nights at Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon. The other two nights? He is driving a tow truck for Fargo-Moorhead Towing at Norman County Raceway in Ada and Fix It Forward Speedway in West Fargo. Kubitz even helps with the tow truck at Buffalo River when he’s not racing. It certainly provides a differen

Tony Smith had a different hobby before hopping into a race car nearly a decade ago: bull riding. “I loved it. I was really good at that,” said the Jamestown resident. “I’m an adrenaline junkie.” He gave up bull riding in his early 20s, and a torn groin ended his comeback years later. His need for an adrenaline rush led him to stock-car racing; he started in the Bomber class at Jamestown in 2017. Smith started out in the Bombers at Jamestown in 2017 and moved into the

For more than 30 years, there has been at least one Hellerman on the racetrack at Viking Speedway in Alexandria. It started with Bryan Hellerman of Parkers Prairie, who began racing in the Sportsman class in the early 1990s; he’s been a fixture in the Wissota Super Stock class ever since. For a while, his children, Ben and Brooke Hellerman, shared a Wissota Midwest Modified fpr a few years; Brooke is now entering her 22nd season behind the wheel of the 2H. “People and en

Within the next few years, Josh Barker will turn over his No. 99 Wissota Street Stock to his son, Jordan, on a regular basis. But there is something the Thompson, N.D., driver would like to do before the torch is passed. Get that first career feature win. “I had a couple that I should have won – driver error and mechanical failure,” Barker said. “I’m still hoping to get that win. It would be awesome to get one before I hang it up.” Barker has raced in the Wissota Street

There is another Reinke making noise on the racetrack in Lisbon. Brothers Zach and Nate Reinke are former Wissota Midwest Modified track champions at Sheyenne Speedway and have been fixtures in the class for years at the 1/4-mile oval. Now, Zach’s son, Regan, 14, is having success in the early stages of his racing career. Regan Reinke races in the INEX Legend class and is in his third year in the class, having started at age 12. His last name is a familiar one to regul

For the Anderson-Swenson race team of Alexandria, dirt-track racing isn’t just a hobby. Ask Justin Anderson, father of drivers Avery Anderson and Maddie Swenson. “Racing is more than a sport to our family- it’s where we make memories, chase dreams, learn hard work, and stand together through every lap,” Anderson said. Avery Anderson, 22, drives the colorful #51A Wissota Modified at Viking and I-94 EMR Speedways, while his sister, Maddie Swenson, 25, drives the similarly

There isn’t a night at the racetrack – or behind the wheel – that Nick Preston of Fergus Falls doesn’t think of his brother, Kyle. “Every time,” Preston said. “I always wanted to drive another car. I wanted to race against him and never got the chance to race against him. Now I feel like he’s racing with me.” Kyle Preston died unexpectedly in January 2023, in what Nick described as “devastating” for the Preston family. “He took his life,” Preston said. “It was absolutel

Dalton Aabrekke was like many in racing as a kid – he eventually wanted to drive a car himself. At the age of 17, thanks to the Bogart family, he got a chance to try. “I wanted to since I was little,” Aabrekke said. “When I was 17 the Bogarts let use one of their minis to try out.” He’s been hooked ever since. The 27-year-old from Lisbon races in the Hobby Stock class at Sheyenne Speedway, his hometown track. Aabrekke has three career feature wins, including two in the

Derek Wettstein has raced in the Wissota Street Stocks at Viking Speedway since 2020. And he’s chasing one thing that has eluded him – a feature victory. He does have heat race wins, but he hasn’t found victory lane yet. The 37-year-old from Little Falls is aiming to change that this year. “I want to get the monkey off my back,” Wettstein said. “My first heat win was fun; I can’t even imagine my first feature win.” It would be even sweeter for Wettstein to get a feature

Reid Randall is one of the younger drivers locally in the IMCA Hobby Stock class. He’s also proving to be one of the fastest. The 17-year-old from Park Rapids already has three feature wins this season to make his career total 10, all coming over the last three years. He’s in his fourth year of racing in the hobby stocks, racing at local tracks Norman County Raceway in Ada, Fix It Forward Speedway in West Fargo and Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon. “A lot of seat time,

The Wissota Late Model competition at River Cities Speedway, on a weekly basis, is pretty stout. Grand Forks driver John Seng doesn’t mind the tough foes he sees every week. In fact, he says the level of competition pushes him to be better. “This region, for late model racing, is some of the most competitive. Anybody can win any night if they’ve got a little bit of luck,” Seng said. “There are probably eight guys that have the opportunity to win every night. It’s tough, bu

Ryan Ost has raced for several years, but this year is setting up to be something special for the 27-year-old. For the first time, he gets to race against his father, Steve. “Getting to race against my dad this year, that’s what I’ve dreamed of ever since I was a little kid is being able to run door-to-door with him,” Ost said. Ost races the No. 24x Wissota Midwest Modified at Jamestown and Sheyenne Speedways and races at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen. He’s in his f

Jerzee Rosinski got quite a gift when she turned five years old, and it was one that is still has an impact more than a decade later. “My dad bought me a go-kart for my fifth birthday,” Rosinski said. “And e just kind of ran with it.” The go-kart got her into racing, and as the years piled up behind the wheel, so did the wins. From 2017-23, racing at various levels of karts, she won 20 features, including an impressive 10 wins in 15 starts in 2023. Then, it was time to

Howie Briss didn’t have a racing background in the go-karts or anything, but a prompting from a pair of area veteran drivers got him to give driving a car. He’s been hooked ever since. “You can thank Joseph Thomas and Corky Thomas for helping me get into it,” Briss said. “Joe spit-balled the idea to me, and pretty much said why don’t you get a Legend. Tony Brockhouse had Elzetta Bitker’s old car, it was for sale and I bought it from him. I haven’t left, that’s a good sign

The racing bug bit Curt Kranz of Watertown when he started attending Casino Speedway as a kid. And he’s pretty much been at the 1/4-mile oval ever since. “My dad worked for the racetrack for several years when I grew up,” Kranz said. “I’ve been coming to races since before I remember.” Attending the races as a kid sparked his interest in driving someday. The 47-year-old’s driving career is nearing two decades, and he currently pilots two cars – a Wissota Late Model and a

It had always been a dream for Alex Truscinski to get behind the wheel of a 410 sprint car. Before the 2024 season, after spending 10 years in the lightning sprint division, the Greenbush resident finally got that chance. “We had an opportunity to buy out a guy for a reasonable price,” Truscinski said. “Dad decided he wanted to let me try it out because it had always been a dream of ours, and luckily here we are.” Truscinski is in his third year in the NOSA 410 Sprints a

One of the backbones of weekly racing has always been the budget racer. The one who is limited on what they spend in racing, who is a blown motor or wrecked chassis away from being done for the season, or perhaps for a couple of years. Those drivers are in the pits every week. Winning and contending isn’t important to some of them, knowing others may have better equipment and more money invested in their race cars. Yet they are the ones many of us watched growing up. John

Fergus Falls Wissota Hornet driver Zander Zuehlsdorff has goals for the 2026 season, and one is pretty simple: “Keep it on all fours,” Zuehlsdorff said. “I haven’t been very good at that the few years.” The 18-year-old, a recent graduate of Underwood High School, is in his fourth year in the Wissota Hornet class. He’s also rolled his car four times in his young career. He’s thinking he is due for some better luck this summer. “I’m hoping this year I am,” Zuehlsdorff s