Trevor Walsh already has wrapped up one track championship this season in the Gen X Late Model class. By the time Labor Day weekend is over, he could have two more track championships added to his resume – and the Fast Threads Gen X Series championship. Walsh won the track title at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls last week. He leads the points at Casino and Madison Speedways heading into season championships at those tracks this weekend; and is just one point behind Parker

If you have followed racing in the Red River Valley over the past 50-plus years, you know the last name Pavlicek. The Pavlicek racing tradition started in 1973 when Steve “Duffer” Pavlicek hopped behind the wheel of his first race car. He had a successful career that culminated in being elected into the Red River Valley Racing Hall of Fame in 2026. The family racing legacy is carried on by Steve’s son, Rich, who is in his 23rd year behind the wheel and Rich’s son Jayden,

Racing is a sport full of highs and lows. Brad Lorentz of Eagle Bend has seen both this season in his #36 Wissota Street Stock. The high for Lorentz came with the solid season he was putting together at Viking Speedway in Alexandria. Entering the Aug. 8 racing program, he was leading the points at Viking and in a close points race with J.J. Nieuwbeerta of Alexandria. He had recorded three top five finishes and nine top 10s in 10 feature starts and been a steady runner all s

Caleb Gardner won’t get to race much, if at all, in 2027. So he’s looking to make the most of the remaining nights of the 2026 season. The 24-year IMCA Hobby Stock driver from Glyndon isn’t retiring from racing. He’ll instead be serving his country overseas as a member of the National Guard. Beginning in May 2026, he begins a 12-month deployment, which starts in Texas for two months and ends up with him serving in Kuwait. “It’ll be a good experience,” Gardner said. “I t

Bomber/Hobby Stock driver Brent Wilkinson picked up his first career feature win earlier this season. This week, he has the chance to wrap up his first track championship. The third-year driver from Jamestown leads the Hobby Stock points at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon by just five points over former track champion Bo Gregor of Lisbon. Sheyenne wraps up its 2026 season on Thursday night during the Ransom County Fair with its season championship. “I’m hoping to finish in t

Being a contender in the IMCA Stock Car division at local tracks isn’t easy, with so many drivers capable of winning a feature. Wil Dittmer of Casselton has seen this first hand since joining the class in 2023. He has recorded one top five in the class since jumping into it. And while it’s every driver’s goal to get a feature win – his goal is simply to run with the pack more. “Now it’s get up there and mix it up with those guys as much as I can,” Dittmer said. “Competiti

Zach Wilde stopped racing after the 2021 season – but it was never meant to be a retirement. He made his racing return in 2025 for a few shows behnd the wheel of his #6 NOSA Sprint Car. This year is his first full season back behind the wheel. “I was never going to quit. I just had to take some time off,” said the Thief River Falls resident. “The stuff sat in the shop and was ready to go back out there. I’m happy to be back in there.” In fact, being a part of the racing

It’s been said that persistence pays off, and that definitely applies for Jamestown driver Arin Beyer. Beyer, who pilots the #4B Wissota Midwest Modified, won his first career feature on Aug. 19, 2017 at his home track, Jamestown Speedway. But it would be a while before his next feature victory. Like almost nine years. Since 2024, he’s finished as runner-up six times in the feature at Jamestown. “Lots of seconds,” Beyer said earlier this summer. “Just can’t get the job

Contending for wins and top five finishes in the INEX Legends class locally is difficult because of the deep field of competition at tracks in the Red River Valley. Shawn Dement of Fargo sees this first hand. The 42-year-old, in his third year in the class, and has raced at Fix It Forward Speedway, Norman County Raceway, Jamestown Speedway, Dacotah Speedway in Mandan and Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon. In 12 starts this year he has five top 10 finishes with a best feat

Brennan Schmidt’s 32B Wissota Midwest Modified had been running well, often in the top five, through the month of June. He was craving a feature win. Then came July. He won three features in July, all at his hometown track of Bemidji Speedway, and has continued the consistent finishes in the top five. In 24 starts this year, he’s finished in the top five 17 times. “The season has been great, very consistent in the top five and podiums compared to previous years,” said Sch

Dairy farming has been a constant in the Lund family for decades. The other is dirt-track racing. Long-time Larry Lund started the racing tradition, way back in 1982 at Viking Speedway in Alexandria. He ran in the Sportsman class for many years before transitioning to the super stock class in the 1990s. Lund was inducted into the Viking Speedway Hall of Fame in 2025, and is a two-time track champion at the half mile. He was also named Sportsman of the Year at the track tw

Dale Mittleider spent many years helping Mike Mund with his race car at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon. About a decade ago, he decided it was time to hop behind the wheel himself. “I was working for Mike Mund, and I just started coming to the races when we was racing,” Mittleider said. “I helped him out the pits enough years; I figured if I had to be at the races, I might as well race myself.” He jumped into the class that has been known as Mini Stocks, Hornets and Short Tra

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