Now that I’ve actually had some time to examine the schedules at the RaceChaser area tracks, several interesting things are worth watching this summer.
How high gas prices – which seem to impact all aspects of the economy – impact racing this summer remains to be seen. I’m not going to focus on that in this blog, although I have little faith in this current administration to address this country’s problems if I’m being honest. Let’s leave it at that
It’s a busy summer set at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, highlighted by two visits from the World of Outlaw Sprint Cars and an appearance from the World of Outlaw Late Models.
One show I’m curious to see is the IRA vs. NOSA Sprints on July 16. The IRA had a busy season in 2021 with 27 shows, and will bring some competitive 410 sprints to the bullring.
There are appearances by the Steffes Street Stock Tour, the Rebel Midwest Mod Tour, and the Advantage RV Mod Tour at River Cities. It’s a great schedule with a lot of variety for fans.
Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon likewise has a lot of offerings this summer. The Rebel Midwest Mod Tour and Steffes Street Stock Tour will be at Buffalo River on June 26. The NLRA Late Models are back on Aug. 28.
The POWRi Minn-Kota Lightning Sprints will make 17 appearances at the 1/4-mile oval, including the shootout finale on Aug. 14. The popular Corn Cob Nationals will be on Sept. 9-10.
There are some interesting things about Norman County Raceway in Ada this summer. NCR will be hosting five Wissota Late Model events this summer. That includes two NLRA events (June 23 and July 28).
The IMCA Sprint Cars – which had their inaugural season in 2021 at Red River Valley Speedway – are also slated to make five stops at NCR.
IMCA Modifieds will race five times at NCR and the Wissota-sanctioned Advantage RV Mod Tour comes back on July 21.
The IMCA Stock Cars, to me, are the premier class at NCR and Red River Valley Speedway. They always put on a show, and you have more and more quality drivers joining the class each year. Which makes for some outstanding feature races.
Speaking of Red River Valley, the IMCA Sprints return weekly in West Fargo for a second year, and I’m curious to see the growth of the class. One driver who will pilot an IMCA Sprint this summer is Josh Johnson of Harwood, who’s raced modifieds, late models and wingless sprints in his career. Josh still has his late model and mod as well and I expect to see those cars out this season as well. He’s a busy guy.
The World of Outlaw Sprints are back in August and are highly popular at the 3/8-mile oval.
One thing new at RRVS will be the Dakota Cat Mod Shootout on Sept. 13, which is going to be held during the Big Iron Farm Show. The IMCA mods will also be the highlight of the Bison Battle on June 10.
The Sanders Stock Car Challenge returns to both NCR And RRVS this summer as well. And, each track will host a 40-lap IMCA Sport Mod special.
The Wissota Late Models join the weekly card at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon this summer for 10 events. That includes three appearances by the NLRA Late Models.
Between weekly racing at River Cities Speedway and I-94 Sure Step Speedway, and the addition of late model shows at NCR and Sheyenne, there will be opportunities for late models to race more often locally.
I-94 Sure Step Speedway also has several big events, capped off by the Wissota 100 in September. The WOO Late Models are back in July.
The Fallen Lineman Mod race is now a two-show event. The first one is at I-94 on May 13 followed by the May 14 show at Viking Speedway in Alexandria. Both tracks will host Advantage RV Mod Tour events.
I-94 will host a doubleheader on April 29-30 and also host a doubleheader on June 3-4. The Dick Johanneck King of the Dirt event is set for June 4 along with the Rebel Midwest Modified Tour.
The Wissota Late Model Challenge Series at is I-94 on May 13 and Viking Speedway on May 14.
The Short Trackers are a new addition to the Viking Speedway weekly program this summer after joining the program in July last year. I’m curious to see the weekly car counts; I think 15 a night would be a good ballpark to average.
The Rebel Midwest Modified Tour and Steffes Street Stock Tour will be at almost all of the RaceChaser tracks this summer and will both be busy. Viking will host the Memorial Day doubleheader for the Steffes Tour which piled in the cars last year.
It’s looking like a busy summer for the blog, I’ll take more nights off this year but will still be at plenty of shows. Should be fun!
Notes
Ryan Johnson of Karlstad, a multi-time Wissota Street Stock Champion at River Cities Speedway, will face a Wissota Modified this season. He plans to race at Greenbush Race Park and run some of the mod specials at River Cities Speedway.
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