Racing is a truly a passion for the Nord family of Enderlin, N.D. John Nord and his sons Zack and Nick all are behind the wheels of their own race cars; and the family spends quality time in the shop working on their machines, getting them ready to race on the weekends.
“We work on the cars all weekend long and get them ready for Sunday,” Nick Nord said. “We spend quality time in the race car shop.”
John Nord, who works in construction as a crane operator and also farms part-time, has raced more than 25 years. He’s currently racing in the IMCA Modified class, mainly at Jamestown Speedway. He got into racing when some buddies raced, plus his dad used to be an assistant flagman at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon. John raced in the bombers, outlaw streets and super stocks before settling into the A mods about a decade ago.
“I’ve been around the racetrack all of my life,” John Nord said.
Zack Nord, 20, is a college student at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and plans to take over the family farm one day. He’s in his fifth year of racing in the hobby stocks, racing the #98 car at Sheyenne Speedway and occasionally at Jamestown.
“Ever since I could crawl, basically I was out there wrenching on it, doing something on it,” Zack Nord said.
Nick Nord, 17, will be a senior at Enderlin High School this fall. He’s in his third year of racing in the hobby stocks, driving the #45 car. And yes, that means racing against his older brother.
“I didn’t know anything about it. My dad surprised me going to get a car, saying he was going to get a parts car for himself,” Nick Nord said. “I got surprised with the car and I’ve loved it ever since.”
John Nord has won a pair of track championships at Jamestown; he estimates he’s had about 30 feature wins in his career. This year he’s battled engine issues but last weekend looked to be a step in the right direction — he finished sixth after starting 15th at Red River Valley Speedway and finished a season-best second at Jamestown Speedway on Saturday. He leads the points at Jamestown.
Zack Nord had two wins in 2019, with his first career win coming on June 2 of that year.
“It felt great getting the monkey off my back,” Zack said. “We started making some ground and being competitive more.”
Last year was as struggle for Zack. Despite a setback with a blown motor, Zack has two top fives this season and finished a season-best third at Sheyenne on May 31.
“Last year we struggled a lot,” Zack Nord said. “This winter we put all new shocks and springs in it, and new bearings and everything. We looked it all over, and it seems to be working good now.”
Nick Nord’s best career finish is second, and his goal is to break through for that first career win. He has two top fives this season as well.
Sunday nights can be interesting for the Nord brothers as they race against each other in the hobby stocks.
“It’s frustrating when he does better than me,” Nick said. “But I love it; it’s fun to be competitive with him.”
“It’s good and bad,” Zack said. “You see him there and you want to pinch him off, but he’s your brother and you’ve almost got to race him clean. It’s fun working in the shop every weekend with him.”
The IMCA Modifieds don’t race at Sheyenne Speedway, which allows John to help in the pits with Zack and Nick’s cars.
“It gives me a chance to give them pointers and help them with problems they have on the cars, tell them what lines to use,” John Nord said. “I don’t have to do that quite as much anymore, they’re getting a little bit more experienced themselves and understanding what to do themselves.”
John’s construction job requires him to travel, and Zack and Nick spend time working on the #98 modified during the week in addition to their own cars.
“They’ve helped me for many years on my all cars,” John Nord said. “When they were younger they’d have a to-do list while I was at work. They do a lot of the work on the car on the weekdays when I was busy doing construction. Without their help I definitely couldn’t get it done.”
Is all the time in the shop, and time together racing, worth it?
“I wouldn’t do anything else,” Zack said. “I wouldn’t be at the lakes, that’s for sure.”
Driver Profiles
Zack Nord
Hobby Stock #98
Residence: Enderlin, N.D.
Age: 20
Sponsors: Nord Farms, K and S Seed, Holub Ranch, Performance Auto, FDM Farms
Nick Nord
Hobby Stock #45
Residence: Enderlin, N.D.
Age: 17
Sponsors: Nord Farms, Holub Ranch, Galbreath Farms, Sandvig Construction, Thrill Hills, K and S Seed
John Nord
IMCA Modified #98
Residence: Enderlin, N.D.
Age: 49
Sponsors: Taracon Precast/Wysan Precast (Hawley), Performance Auto (Fargo), Precision Performance (Oxford, Iowa) , Kava Construction (Fargo), Local 49 Union of Operating Engineers (Fargo), Maid for You (Enderlin)
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