Dement aiming to turn fortunes around in home stretch of season

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 feature finish of seventh.

“There’s a lot of us and there’s some really fast drivers in this class,” Dement said.

Dement has raced in the Short Tracker, Pure Stock and Mod 4 classes in his career. His interest in racing started with his family.

“My grandpa used to race, Ray Miller and my uncle Wayne Miller,” Dement said.

In his first year in the INEX Legends class, Dement recorded three top 10 finishes in 18 starts with a best finish of seventh.

Fifth in points at Buffalo River, sixth at Fix It Forward,

The 2025 campaign saw marked improvements for the 42-year-old. He had 15 top 10s in 26 starts, including a career-best third-place finish at Fix It Forward Speedway on June 6. He finished fifth in the point standings at Buffalo River and sixth in the points at Fix It Forward Speedway.

He also finished sixth in the INEX Legends Masters Dirt national points, just one spot behind veteran Scott Richardson of Pelican Rapids.

“It went pretty good,” Dement said.

He credited avoiding trouble on the track to his good points finishes in 2025; he did not have a DNF all season long. This year, his fortunes have been reversed however.  Three of his first four nights were DNFs.

“This year has been kind of a rocky year for us,” Dement said.  “The race season definitely didn't start the way we had hoped.  We battled multiple DNFs after getting caught up in wrecks, but with a few changes to the car, we started seeing improvements.”

He has been running out at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan a bit more this year in addition to the tracks in the area.  The key to handling an INEX Legend car? “Air pressure and stagger, and throttle control. That’s pretty much it,” he said.

Because the team was down a set of gears, Dement has taken some time off this summer to regroup and make more changes to the car.

“While it wasn't an easy decision, it was the right one to get everything back where it needs to be. We'll be back at it in the near future and are looking forward to getting back on the track,” Dement said.

He is chasing that first career feature win in the INEX Legends.

“I would love to. I’ve been close; I just haven’t broken (through) yet,” Dement said.

While it hasn’t been the easiest season on the track, he does enjoy being at the track on a nightly basis. “Just being in the car, and being around friends and family that come out,” Dement said.

Driver profile

Shawn Dement

INEX Legend #38D

Residence: Fargo, N.D.

Age: 42

Sponsors: Jemco/Max Air , OLR Transportation, Superior Customs, King Motorsports