It's time to find out who I think the top drivers in each class are gonna for the 2013 race season at Norman County Raceway. Keep in mind, this is just for fun. I'm gonna try my best to not be biased and to also not offend anyone. I'll break down my predictions by each class and/or category. Please feel to comment with your predictions as well.
WISSOTA Modifieds.
Points Champion: Travis Saurer. Travis won it last year and I don't see any reason why he can't do it again. But it will be close. No driver in the A-mods won more than 3 times this season. That's how good and tight this field is at NCR. I honestly believe that ANY driver could win ANY night in this class. But as far as points go its based on consistency, and we all know Travis Saurer is as consistent as Lindsey Lohan's criminal record.
Who to Watch Bryce Borgen, Alex Englestad, Cody Erickson. All these guys have been strong contenders before and they will be again. Bryce is cursed at NCR and hasn't won a race there in any class...EVER. That will end this year and I think early in the season he finds victory lane. Alex seemed to have an off year last year and that should turn around for him in 2013. I predict he gets 4 wins this year and is top 3 in points. Cody Erickson is a wild-man. If you know him personally you'll understand why. On the track he'll do what needs to be done to put the 1x in the front. He's been traveling all over this winter racing so he won't be rusty. Pending he passes tech inspection he should win a couple. (just kidding...but not really).
WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Points Champion: Rob VanMill. This was a tough prediction. It was either gonna be Rob or Tyler Hall, but Rob was a little more consistent. Those 2 had a lot of good battles last year along with Travis Saurer.
Who to Watch Everyone. This class constantly put on great racing throughout the entire field. It wouldn't surprise me to see B-mains most weeks as well. Tyler Hall will be fast again. Gannon Miller had a great sophomore season last year and will be a strong contender moving forward. It's been fun watching him get better and better every race. Spud Wagner showed some major improvements toward the end of last year and it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the top 5 on a regular basis. Also Tyler Peterson, Joel Larson, and Tony Englestad are sure bets to gets wins this year. And Travis Saurer...he's pretty good too.
WISSOTA MOD 4s
Points Champion: Derek Vesledal. He's young, he's fast, and he's from Fertile. I mean seriously that town breeds race car drivers and good looking women better than any town, other than maybe Harwood. But back to Derek...He's got a new car this year, new paint scheme, and probably a new haircut. Perks of dating a hairstylist I guess.
Who to Watch: Aaron Wetterlin, Bryce Bjerken, Rob "WinMill, Wetterlin had a great season last year as did Bjerken. We shouldn't see much change from last year. Maybe a few new faces this year, but the contenders should be similar. I haven't heard for sure if Rob VanMill is running the mod-4s this year or not. But if he does he's hard to beat. Hence the new nickname...Rob "WinMill"....you know like "windmill" .....get it?
Street Stocks
Points Champion: I have no idea.
Who to Watch: I didn't pick a points champion because it's unknown yet who the weekly competitors are gonna be, but I have a good idea who'll show up. Jim Geringer was the points champion at River Cities Speedway, and if he races weekly he'll be a top contender. Also James Tandeski should be strong, as he got the win at NCR last year for the one race they had there. Other notables include Doug VanMill, Scott Messner (any relation to Messner that used to race Super Stocks?).
Pure Stocks
Points Champion: Do you know Ken Crane? Just don't call him Kenneth...he doesn't like that. Ken's a fan favorite. And there is no driver more caring and devoted to his fans than Mr. Crane. I wish every driver was as noble and unselfish as this man. He's a great man, hell of a race car driver, and a superb interview. I'd really like to see him move up to a street stock though.
Who to Watch: This could be a make or break year for the Pure Stocks. With West Fargo shutting down, it could bring in a few more much needed cars. Jesse Skalicky is good, sometimes a little too good if you know what I mean. I'm sure he learned his lesson anyways. John Sandvig and Jeremy Pearson had good years last year.
Other random predictions
Mother Nature is a bitch I doubt we'll get an early start this year. And flooding might be an issue. We'll probably miss the first 2 weeks and a few more throughout the year due to rain.
Pack the Stands I think this will be an AWESOME year for crowd attendance. Last year was excellent and word has gotten out about the terrific racing on a nightly basis. Also the closing of RRVS doesn't hurt either.
Things get heated There's a lot of good A-mod drivers. A lot of them have tempers and take racing seriously. We saw it last year between Cody Skytland and Dustin Strand. Whether or not any drivers drop their fireproof gloves and duke it out is unknown, but I think we may see more of that again.
Feel free to call me an asshole and that I'm completely wrong, cuz I probably am. Also I'd like to hear your thoughts and predictions as well.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Changes coming to NCR
I feel like there's way too much damn snow on the ground to be getting everyone excited for the upcoming race season. But most drivers already have their cars tinned up and looking pretty so I guess it's time. As mentioned in my introductory post, I'll be writing a lot about Norman County Raceway. So I thought I'd talk about some of the upcoming changes to facility this year.
Scoreboard
This gets me excited. NCR is making it mandatory that all cars have transponders, something most tracks are going with now anyways. Transponders electronically do all the timing and scoring versus 3 people in the booth, who lets be honest, make mistakes. Because its all done electronically they can sync the timing up with a scoreboard that updates positions in real time. NEATO! When I talked to Jake Bitker (track owner) earlier this winter he said he was hoping to have it located either on the infield or on the back stretch. Either way with the scoreboard, plus the new lap counter installed last year, it should help modernize the facility. PLUS, if it's done the same way as River Cities Speedway, you should be able to download an app on your phone (for like $5) so that you can get the real timing on your droid or I-phone while watching the race.
Website
If you haven't been to the track website yet, I suggest you do as soon as you're done reading this post. Pardon my language, but HOLY BALLS is it an improvement over the old one. Not only does it no longer look like it was designed by a 6th grader, but the content is much better too. Along with the usual points, results, and schedule, you can now find driver profiles (which need to be filled out yet), photos, and even videos featuring stuff from YouTube of NCR. See for yourself at www.ncraceway.com
Street Stocks
We caught a glimpse of the Street Stocks last year, and I think most people were somewhat impressed. They're much more wide open and less predictable than the pure stocks. Don't get me wrong...the pure stocks can put on a hell of a show from time to time, but car #'s are low. NCR will still be running pure stocks and the trophy class, but not all 3 classes will run each week. Check the schedule for the dates the classes will run. NCR used to run street stocks when they first opened up. They move pretty good on the tracks wide, smooth surface. I would expect 2 heats every week.
Those are the main things. The 2013 schedule is looking sexier than a Louie Anderson in a wet suit. Ok, bad example. Very bad example. More on that to come in future posts.
PHOTO OF THE DAY: My brother Matt Askelson's Super Stock from the 2002 season. I absolutely hated this color scheme, otherwise know as the "flaming pumpkin."
Scoreboard
This gets me excited. NCR is making it mandatory that all cars have transponders, something most tracks are going with now anyways. Transponders electronically do all the timing and scoring versus 3 people in the booth, who lets be honest, make mistakes. Because its all done electronically they can sync the timing up with a scoreboard that updates positions in real time. NEATO! When I talked to Jake Bitker (track owner) earlier this winter he said he was hoping to have it located either on the infield or on the back stretch. Either way with the scoreboard, plus the new lap counter installed last year, it should help modernize the facility. PLUS, if it's done the same way as River Cities Speedway, you should be able to download an app on your phone (for like $5) so that you can get the real timing on your droid or I-phone while watching the race.
Website
If you haven't been to the track website yet, I suggest you do as soon as you're done reading this post. Pardon my language, but HOLY BALLS is it an improvement over the old one. Not only does it no longer look like it was designed by a 6th grader, but the content is much better too. Along with the usual points, results, and schedule, you can now find driver profiles (which need to be filled out yet), photos, and even videos featuring stuff from YouTube of NCR. See for yourself at www.ncraceway.com
Street Stocks
We caught a glimpse of the Street Stocks last year, and I think most people were somewhat impressed. They're much more wide open and less predictable than the pure stocks. Don't get me wrong...the pure stocks can put on a hell of a show from time to time, but car #'s are low. NCR will still be running pure stocks and the trophy class, but not all 3 classes will run each week. Check the schedule for the dates the classes will run. NCR used to run street stocks when they first opened up. They move pretty good on the tracks wide, smooth surface. I would expect 2 heats every week.
Those are the main things. The 2013 schedule is looking sexier than a Louie Anderson in a wet suit. Ok, bad example. Very bad example. More on that to come in future posts.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Welcome to my racing blog!
Well I thought about this for a solid 6 minutes before I decided to go ahead with the publishing of my own blog. This blog will be used mostly for happenings in the racing world, specifically things that have to do with Norman County Raceway, as I'm there every week broadcasting their races on the radio. I will also use it to post interviews with drivers, post-race comments, opinions, and any other inside "dirt" that I happen to come across. The opinions are my own and do not reflect the radio station I work for.
There. All the boring stuff is out of the way. I'm excited to announce the return of "Racing on the Radio Review" Saturday mornings at 8:45am on 106.5 KRJB (krjbradio.com), Gold 101.5 KRJM (krjmradio.com) and our new sister station in Fosston, 96.7 KKCQ (kkcqradio.com). I'll have to double check, but I believe the first air date for this season is April 6th. I'm currently looking for interviews from drivers or people involved in the racing scene. Hit me up if you're interested.
Also if you haven't figured it out yet, we will once again be broadcasting the weekly racing live on Thursday nights from Norman County Raceway in Ada. Race broadcasts start at about 6:50pm with prerace coverage and can be heard on the airwaves of 106.5 KRJB and online at krjbradio.com. Along with the play-by-play of the race, we'll have driver interviews, post-race interviews from victory lane, and other misc. racing news. I also hope to bring back Mike Spieker again for the intermission report. And who knows, maybe Corey Litton will stumble his way from the beer garden and join me sometime. Which reminds me, my favorite part about broadcasting the races is my one free beer after the race. Mmmmmm.....beeeeeer.
Announcing....that I'm going to be doing some more announcing this year too. Most likely for the 6 pack 1000 enduro series and other random BAJA and possibly other Demo Derby stuff. I was asked to announce the Mudslingers ATV Mud Runs again as well, but it all depends on scheduling if I can or not. They're a lot of fun to announce and a great organization, but it takes alot to announce for 4 straight hours in the hot sun and then have to turn around and announce the BAJA race right afterwards.
That's all I got for now. Future blogs I will have my 2013 NCR predictions, changes coming to the track, and whatever I can preview for the upcoming racing season.
There. All the boring stuff is out of the way. I'm excited to announce the return of "Racing on the Radio Review" Saturday mornings at 8:45am on 106.5 KRJB (krjbradio.com), Gold 101.5 KRJM (krjmradio.com) and our new sister station in Fosston, 96.7 KKCQ (kkcqradio.com). I'll have to double check, but I believe the first air date for this season is April 6th. I'm currently looking for interviews from drivers or people involved in the racing scene. Hit me up if you're interested.
Also if you haven't figured it out yet, we will once again be broadcasting the weekly racing live on Thursday nights from Norman County Raceway in Ada. Race broadcasts start at about 6:50pm with prerace coverage and can be heard on the airwaves of 106.5 KRJB and online at krjbradio.com. Along with the play-by-play of the race, we'll have driver interviews, post-race interviews from victory lane, and other misc. racing news. I also hope to bring back Mike Spieker again for the intermission report. And who knows, maybe Corey Litton will stumble his way from the beer garden and join me sometime. Which reminds me, my favorite part about broadcasting the races is my one free beer after the race. Mmmmmm.....beeeeeer.
Announcing....that I'm going to be doing some more announcing this year too. Most likely for the 6 pack 1000 enduro series and other random BAJA and possibly other Demo Derby stuff. I was asked to announce the Mudslingers ATV Mud Runs again as well, but it all depends on scheduling if I can or not. They're a lot of fun to announce and a great organization, but it takes alot to announce for 4 straight hours in the hot sun and then have to turn around and announce the BAJA race right afterwards.
That's all I got for now. Future blogs I will have my 2013 NCR predictions, changes coming to the track, and whatever I can preview for the upcoming racing season.
Mr. Bigshot Bryce Borgen approves of this Blog
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