The 2006 season was the most memorable of Dave Rohweder’s racing career.
The Wishek, N.D., rancher won the Wissota Street Stock National Championship by two points over Wisconsin driver Cory Crapser and recorded 26 clean sweeps. He also broke through and won his first-ever Jamestown Stampede race as well.
“Everything went well,” Rohweder said of 2006. “I did a lot of racing that summer. I raced four nights a week, sometimes five. The car handled really well. It was an amazing car.”
Rohweder’s street stock career spanned from 1996-2007. He was fourth in the Wissota Street Stock national points in 2005, won the title in 2006, and was national runner-up by three points to Crapser in 2007. In 2006, Crapser raced an incredible 88 nights — and Rohweder raced 62.
“Let’s call it a bad addiction,” laughed Rohweder, who turned 45 last week. “I loved going racing and I did well. It was fun to race against guys who were your friends. And you met new friends along the way.”
Rohweder had a friend who raced which led him to get into racing in 1996. During his career, he was a Wissota national champion, won track titles at Jamestown, Dacotah Speedway in Mandan and Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen.
“I liked the competitiveness (of racing) and hanging out with your buddies at the track,” Rohweder said.
The breakthrough year came in 2006, and that included winning the Jamestown Stampede.
“That was my goal my whole racing career was to win the Stampede,” Rohweder said. “I don’t know how many years I’d finished second, and I finally won it.”
He is most proud of winning the national title.
“Not everybody can claim one of those,” Rohweder said.
Rohweder quit racing on a regular basis after the 2007 season at age 32. He did race a friend’s car a few times in 2008. His first daughter was born in the fall of 2007 and that, along with day-to-day duties at his ranch, influenced his decision to end his weekly racing career after 12 years.
“Every night I had to be at home; there were cattle to feed,” said Rohweder, who is married to his wife Tammy and has three daughters. “I just decided to stay home and be a family guy. We wanted to build a house. We slowed down our lives a little bit.”
He remains a race fan to this day, even though his time behind the wheel ended 12 years ago.
“For a couple of years I did (miss it),” Rohweder said. “Now, I can go and enjoy and sit in the grandstand and have a couple of beers with my buddies and watch stock car racing and really enjoy it.”
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