Pulkrabek, Greseth, Guyot, Veert and Edginton Victorious at River Cities opener

River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks opened the 2026 season on a breezy Friday night. Yep, it was windy. Again. I am 3-for-3 on wind races so far.

The wind did RCS folks no favors, leading to a challenging night of track prep – not to mention the wind was blowing straight into the stands. It even impacted the order of the racing – the NOSA Sprints, with their wings, heats were held AFTER the Wissota Street Stock and Midwest Modified features, and after intermission because of the 30 mph-plus wind. I stood in the turn three tower taking photos and the wind was brutal.

The story of the night was 19-year-old Gage Pulkrabek of East Grand Forks breaking through for his first career NOSA Sprint feature win. Pulkrabek, who has raced in the sprints since 2022 (according to myracepass) has been traveling some this year including running some World of Outlaws and High Limit shows.

Mark Dobmeier of Grand Forks quickly moved into the lead of the NOSA Sprint Car feature on the opening lap and immediately pulled away. Colton Young of Devils Lake had Pulkrabek on his heels for second with Zach Omdahl of East Grand Forks running fourth and Grand Forks ace Jade Hastings was in fifth.

Dobmeier quickly moved into lapped traffic as Pulkrabek grabbed second. Pulkrabek was closing on Dobmeier but with 14 to go – and here is something you don’t see much at RCS – Dobmeier spun on his own in turn four; he would go to the tail of the field. I’ve been going/covering RCS for more than a decade, and I don’t think I’ve seen Dobmeier spin by himself.

Pulkrabek would inherit the lead with Young, Hastings and Zach Omdahl in the top four. Hastings would grab second on the restart with Zach Omdahl pressuring Young for third.  Nick Omdahl, a former NOSA champion, had climbed into the top five.

Hastings had cut into the lead some, but the caution would fly with seven to go when Jordan Graham’s 99 spun in turn one. Zach Omdahl’s hopes for a top five ended when he pulled in during that caution. He had been running very well. Brendan Mullen also had a tough night, pulling off about seven laps into the main event.

Jack Croaker of East Grand Forks had climbed into the top five and moved into third on the ensuing restart.

Pulkrabek stuck his G5 to the high lane and Hastings was diligent in his pursuit over the final laps but could not make the pass as Pulkrabek picked up career win No. 1.

Hastings, who started 10^th, settled for second, with Croaker capping off a nice run in third. Nick Omdahl and Young, who ran in the top five all night, rounded out the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Cole Greseth of Harwood had the best season of his career in 2025, finishing second in the Wissota Street Stock national points with 27 wins. He’s picked up right where he left off in 2025 with a dominating victory on Friday.  

Greseth led over Rodney Hulst of Emerado and Scotty Messner of Bemidji as Blaine Barnes of Grand Forks and John Halvorson of Warren fought for position in the top five. Greg Jose of Grand Forks was on the move into the top four.  Bryce Reimer of Cavalier spun in turn two to bring out the first caution just two laps into the main event.

On the restart Messner grabbed second with Jose moving into third ahead of Hulst. Halvorson would soon overtake Hulst for fourth. Jose moved into second as Messner slid high. Halvorson was fourth and Deryk Weleski of Bemidji was  in fifth.

Greseth had a little less than a straightaway on Jose with the best racing was for third between Messner and Halvorson.  Barnes was applying pressure to Weleski for the fifth spot.

Greseth was smooth through lapped traffic and that pushed his lead to more than a

straightway and cruised to his third win in four starts this season. Jose had a nice night in second with Messner holding off Halvorson for third. Weleski capped off the top five.

If you haven’t met the Greseths, they are a very nice family, and Cole has turned into a heck of a racer – and a clean one too.

Frank Veert of Winnipeg (pictured above) took the lead of the Wissota Midwest Modified feature over Brendan Luschinski of Headlingley, Manitoba in a battle of Canadians up front. Cylen Vargason of Edinburg was third when the caution waved for Casey Jenkins’s spin in turn two. He would require a push to the pits.  Veert opened some breathing room on Luschinski on the restart as Jory Berg of Grand Forks went to work on Ryan Schow of McIntosh for fourth.

Luschinski made a run on the outside of the frontstretch but got a bit into the marbles and was unable to make the pass. Meanwhile, Berg had grabbed fourth from Schow. A few laps later Schow would slide off turn two to bring out the caution. That moved Brennan Schmidt of Bemidji into the top five.

Defending RCS champion Austin Hunter of Winnipeg was lurking outside the top five as was Kenna Breidenbach of Grand Forks.

Berg and Schmidt fought hard for fourth as Veert pulled away to a few car length lead. There was contact between Schmidt and Vargason with six laps left that sent Vargason spinning; Schmidt was tagged with the yellow.

Veert was strong out front as Hunter moved into third. Luschinski, though stayed close to Veert but didn’t have enough to make a charge to the lead as Veert prevailed. Luschinski settled for second with Hunter in third as Canadians went 1-2-3 in the main event. Berg was able to make a late pass of Vargason for fourth.

Nick Shirek of Thompson and Eric Guyot of Fannystelle, Manitoba led the Western Renegade Non-Winged Sprints to the green flag, with Guyot grabbing the lead. Steve Nordrum was third but had a lton of pressure from Jeremy Lizakowski of Veseleyville, North Dakota. Myles Tomlinson of Turtle Lake was on their heels.

Guyot was pulling away as the non-winged sprints pretty much stayed on the bottom lane. 

There wasn’t much change among the top five as the laps waned as Guyot’s lead hovered around one second. The caution would fly with three to go when a car went off of turn two to erase Guyot’s advantage.

Guyot would pick up his first-ever RCS win by about a half second over Shirek. Lizakowski finished third at the line with Nordrum fourth and Tomlinson fifth. Guyot celebrated by climbing the frontstretch fence after parking in victory lane.  Guyot had never won at RCS until Friday.

It was a daughter-father front row as Kelsi Pederson of East Grand Forks started next to her dad, Joey in the Wissota Late Model feature.

Kelsi Pederson led the opening lap with Joey Pederson and John Seng of Grand Forks in pursuit. Shane Edginton of East St. Paul, Manitoba moved into fourth with Brody Troftgruben of Grand Forks in fifth.

Seng was putting pressure on Kelsi Pederson for the lead as Joey Pederson and Edginton fought for third.  Dustin Strand climbed into the top five after starting

Things were heating up at the front as Edginton muscled past John Seng, and would set his sights on Kelsi Pederson. Seng was running third and Strand had a good duel with Joey Pederson for fourth.

Edginton was patient and made the pass for the lead with seven laps to go. Strand and Joey Pederson, two RCS late model mainstays, had a great fight for the fourth spot.

Edginton, meanwhile, dominated the final portion of the race, stretching out to a 3.7 second lead on his way to the win. Strand edged Kelsi Pederson, who had an excellent run all night, for second. Joey Pederson was fourth and Seng rounded out the top five, just ahead of Troftgruben.

RCS notes

--Adam Sobolik of Grand Forks has been a regular in the NOSA Sprints at River Cities; his younger sister Emma, 17, is racing in the wingless sprints. Emma Sobolik is in her second year in the wingless sprints; she will race against Adam some nights at Devils Lake when he pilots his wingless sprint car.

--One of the nicer people you will meet in racing is Myles Tomlinson. Tomlinson owns the Western Renegade Sprint Series, and his family is involved in running the McLean County Speedway in Underwood. Tomlinson has a good perspective on racing and car counts for his series have been solid over the past few years. The Western Renegades will race at RCS four more times this summer. They will be at Devils Lake nine times, and have stops at Mclean County Speedway, Greenbush, Minot, Winnipeg, Mandan and Williston in what will be a busy summer.

--Tom Corcoran of East Grand Forks has been a mainstay in racing in his region for decades, and began Year No. 57 in a late model on Friday.

--Halvorson was doing double duty in the Wissota Street Stock and Midwest Modified classes.

--I talked to Jamie Dietzler of Larimore, pilot of the #39 Wissota Late Model. He plans to hit several NLRA shows this year; his son,, Colin is a rookie in the Wissota Midwest Modified class.

--I visited with Trey Hess of Grand Forks, who finished third in the Wissota Street Stock national standings last year, with 17 wins in 87 shows. He sold his street stock and plans to take the 2026 season off from driving; you can expect to see him helping his friend Tucker Pederson out with his late model this summer.

Burdick Wins Challenge Series Race at I-94

Kevin Burdick of Proctor won the Structural Buildings Wissota Late Model Challenge Series event Friday night at I-94 EMR Speedway.

Tyler Peterson of Hickson ws second, Kevin Eder of Cameron, Wis., was third, Cole Schill of Hawley was fourth and Shane Sabraski of Rice was fifth.

Tanner Bitzan of Brandon won the Wissota Midwest Modified feature over Jake Smith of St. Joseph. Dusty Peterson of Kindred was third, Nate Reinke of Lisbon was fourth and Travis Engebretson of Cyrus was fifth.

Kyle Dykhoff of Starbuck is 2-for-2 in the Wissota Street Stocks with another win over Levi Randt of Siren. Braedyn Fleck of Cold Spring was third, Jeff Ekdahl of North Branch was fourth and Greg Platzer of Robbinsdale was fifth.

Jeff Rohner of Willmar topped Lincoln Miller of Fergus Falls for the Wissota Hornet win. Eli Green of Osakis was third, Brady Fosso of Hibbing was fourth and Emma Nelson of Fergus Falls was fifth.

Defending I-94 champion Trevor Walsh of Watertown topped Cade Skytland of Kindred for the Scott’s Gen X Late Model win. Ben Wolden of Fergus Falls was third, Parker Gilbertson of Montevideo was fourth and Blake Swenson of Watertown was fifth.

NCR Opening Wins to Carter, Skalicky, Wilke (twice), Jones and Pavlicek

Jonny Carter of Lisbon won the IMCA Stock Car feature Friday night at Norman County Raceway in Ada. Daniel Aberle of Finley was second, Rob VanMil of Barnesville was third, Brody Carlsrud of Moorhead was foufth and Ryan Satter of Dent was fifth.

Jesse Skalicky of Fargo won the IMCA Modified feature over John Nord of Enderlin. Tyler Hall of Fertile was third, Jamie Schulz of Harwood fourth and Brennan Borg of Harwood was fifth.

Tye Wilke of Detroit Lakes won the IMCA Racesaver Sprint Car feature over Ty Hanten of West Fargo. Evan Hendrickson of Mapleton was third, Marcus Rothenbacher of Ulen was fourth and Brandon Rekow of Ellendale fifth.

Wilke also won the INEX Legends feature over Scott Richardson of Pelican Rapids. Alexander Clark of Moorhead was third, Joshua Wiest of Jamestown was fourth and Howie Briss of Glyndon was fifth.

Brad Jones of New Ulm topped Reid Randall of Park Rapids for the IMCA Hobby Stock feature win. Brad Orvedal of Fargo was third, Daniel Beckman of Mahnomen was fourth

Rich Pavlicek of Casselton won the IMCA Sportmod feature over Andy Wagner of Ada. Scott Jacobson of Fargo was third, Ryan Restad of West Fargo was fourth and Jayden Pavlicek of Casselton was fifth.

Friday notes

Bailey Rosch of Alexandria won the Wissota Super Stock feature Friday night at Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo.  Ryan Flaten of Madison won the Wissota Modified special worth $1,000 and added a win in the Wissota Midwest Modifieds.