Driving a sprint car isn’t new for Adam Sobolik. Driving one with a wing is.
The 19-year-old from Grand Forks is making the transition from the wingless sprint cars – a division where he was highly successful the past three years – into the Buffalo Wild Wing NOSA 410 Sprint Division.
Sobolik won 31 features in the Western Renegade Wingless Sprints since starting in the class in 2020. This year, with the help of sponsors, the team bought a 410 sprint; he made his debut in the class on June 9 at River Cities Speedway, his hometown track.
“The wingless class came, and it was a really good class for what we were looking for,” Sobolik said. “It was a lot easier to get in; and now that we’re in the sprint car world you have everything so it’s a lot easier to go to a 410.”
Sobolik’s background was in motocross – he raced bikes for 13 years – but he was around the racetrack growing up, watching his uncle James Sangrait race in various divisions.
“My uncle used to race all the Wissota classes, and I would watch as a little kid,” Sobolik said. “My parents always wanted me to get into a car.”
In 2020, that happened when Sobolik moved into the wingless sprints. He earned one feature win during his first season.
In his second season, Sobolik emerged as a top runner in the series with 10 feature wins.
“I did a lot of research and learned a lot. I experimented with setup,” Sobolik said. “I figured out the whole first year my car was wrong. The whole rear end was bound up and wasn’t working right; we fixed that. We got the car working right, and I got more comfortable.”
The 2022 campaign saw more of the same with 13 wins in 27 starts.
“Last year I won every race at Devils Lake besides one. That was pretty good,” Sobolik said.
Onto this year, where he’s still piloted the wingless sprint to six wins. But it there was the opportunity to move into the 410 class.
“We were kind of ready, and a lot of my sponsors wanted to see me in one; they helped out too,” Sobolik said. “This is the premier class around here.”
He got eighth in his debut on June 9.
“I was just trying to get around the track and put the car in one piece on the trailer,” Sobolik said of his debut.
He’s learning on the go in the 410s, and his best finish in a feature is seventh (Twice). Not only is the wing an adjustment, so is the additional horsepower.
“The wing is the hardest part. The non-wing cars, you drive really sideways,” Sobolik said. “These cars you have to drive really straight. It’s two different things. They’re still a sprint car, and I have to keep telling myself that. It’s a learning curve.”
The plan is to sell the wingless car and buy another engine for the 410 car. His goals for the rest of 2023 are pretty simple.
“I would like to finish the year off with a motor that is still good and a car that is still good. I don’t care where I finish. It’s all about learning the first year.”
Driver Profile
Adam Sobolik
NOSA Sprint/Western Renegade Wingless Sprint #52
Age: 19
Residence: Grand Forks, N.D.
Sponsors: Evil Iron Classic Automobiles, Storbakken and Sons Construction, Phyllis Schindele MedilWRx, Granny’s Restaurant, Argyle and Stephen Builders Supply, Dr. J Motorsports, Traill Painting Company, Brent’s Pit Stop, Birchwood Chevrolet, Gereszek Law Office PLLC, Darin Englestad, The Listen Center, Finish First Coatings, LLC, Lunseth Plumbing and Heating, Abbco Tools, Golden Rule Auto Repair, Grandma and Grandpa Sangrait
Comments