Red River Valley Speedway to Re-Open in 2016!!!

It is by far the biggest racing announcement this year "in the Upper Midwest"

There's been many rumors and a lot of wishful thinking in the racing world these last couple months, but as it turns out the rumors are true. Red River Valley Speedway will return in 2016 on a somewhat limited schedule. The former 1/2 now 3/8 mile dirt track has sat stagnant since the end of the 2012 season.

Previously ran by the Schatz Family and under the WISSOTA sanction, RRVS will continue on Friday nights but with the IMCA banner and with new operators. This time around Nick Skalicky, who runs the Red River Kart Club, and Jake Bitker, who runs Norman County Raceway, will be continuing on the legacy of dirt track racing on the Red River Valley Fairgrounds. Skalicky will be the Chief Operations Officer and Competition Director of the Speedway. JS Bitker LLC signed a 3 year deal with the Red River Valley Fairboard to operate the facility through at least 2018

Racing will be on Friday nights at 7pm. 13 events are scheduled for 2016. Classes that will compete each week include IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Northern Sport Mods, IMCA Hobby Stocks/Pure Stocks, and INEX Legends. A complete schedule was not yet available, However, NOSA Sprints Cars will make an appearance on July 17th as part of the Red River Valley Fair. The season opener is set for May 6th.

Red River Valley Speedway first opened in 1972.

2015 Racing on the Radio "Best of Best"

So as the 2015 dirt track season has effectively came to a close, I feel now would be a good time to make mention of some of the best moments, drivers, races, and anything else that I feel deserves a high five, fist pound, thumbs up, or even standing ovation. Essentially it’s my way of pointing out things or people that deserve a little credit this season. Of course, these are my opinions based on my observations based on races I attended. There’s probably lots of stuff that I missed, so feel free to comment and add what you think deserves recognition.

First off on a lighter note:

Best Nachos: Gotta give this one to River Cities Speedway and their Bucket of Nachos. Taco Beef or shredded pork with nacho chips, nacho cheese, shredded cheese, salsa, jalopenos, and more! Best $7.50 I ever spent. And I did so on multiple occasions. Even their regular Nachos were loaded with extra cheese.

Best Hamburger: Norman County Raceway. I never actually had one, but if Jake Pommerer, Mike Spieker, and Corey Litton tell you that it’s the best around….it has to be true.

Best overall concessions: North Central Speedway in Brainerd gets the nod here. Very affordable prices and lots of unique options like the Pit Fries (fries loaded with BBQ’s and Cheese).

Pit Fries from North Central Speedway

My favorite race track of the year: I will exclude NCR because of my bias. I still didn't make it to as many tracks as would have liked, but I will give the nod to Buffalo River Race Park. Great fans, great affordable place to watch a race. Indoor seating. Great hospitality too. Races move quickly.

Other notables: I-94 Speedway in Fergus was a close 2nd. Love the seating. Cheap ticket. North Central Speedway is also a very affordable and family friendly race track.

On to some actual racing things…..

Modified Driver of the year: Can you give this to anyone besides Mr. Excitement, Dev Malmlov? I have never seen anyone driver a car like he did the 2^nd half of the summer.

Other notables: Justin Jones (He did win like 2 or was it 3 track championships), Alex Englestad, Dustin Strand, Mike Johnson

Dev Malmlov #91B

Late Model Driver of the Year: Gotta give it to Dustin Strand. The “Kid” proved this year he is a top contender in the Late Model field. Won the NLRA points championship.

Other notables: Ricky Weiss had a tremendous year but didn’t make any new friends by the sound of it. Don Shaw, Brad Seng, and the usual suspects.

Dustin Strand #71

Midwest Modified or Sport Modified Driver of the Year: Jason Strand was untouchable in a Midwest Mod. Swept the B-mod Blitz.

Other notables: Andy Wagner made a ton of progress this year. Brock Gronwold is still fast. Travis Saurer isn’t cheating after all. Matt Schow finished strong. Scott Jacobson still has it.

Jason Strand #E85

Biggest Surprise of the Year: We all knew Rob VanMill would probably win a race or at least be competitive, but I don’t think anyone predicted he would have more than 5…which he did. (He won 7) Rob clearly has great racing sense. Should be a dominant force in the future.

Other notables: Bill Mooney had some very bright moments this year. Bill Yonke won a few races and also may have exposed one of the biggest conspiracy theories I’ve heard in recent dirt track history.

Rob VanMill #4D

Drivers to Watch in 2016: Brady Petermann was close to his first win in his rookie year in a mod. Definitely has the car. Tyler Hall is close. Jesse Skalicky will keep winning more races. Cole Schill looked very confident this year.

Best Race of the Year: Personally the John Seitz Memorial Race was the top choice for me. 92 laps of close racing. Lots of lead changes plus tons of drama and story lines to go with it.

Other notables: Sander's Mod Challenge was a great experience, and literally every Street Stock race ever this summer.

Biggest Rivalry: Ryan Satter vs Travis Robertson. It was a friendly rivalry, but those two battled hard many nights together. Good kids, cool heads, great race car drivers. 

Other notables: Andy Wagner vs the Jacobsons. Actually come to think about it...nobody made any friends in the sport mod class this year. 

Tough luck Award: Compared to her tremendous 2014 campaign, Tailin Tommerdahl had a pretty rough go of things this summer. Besides her scary roll over at Norman County Raceway, it was just was one of those years where she couldn’t get things to click. She has a ton of potential in the sport and I’m really looking forward to seeing her start fresh in a Modified in 2016.

Favorite Driver to Interview/Speak to: Tom Cummings. Let's be honest this is probably the only award he had a shot at winning. Just a quality individual though. Always smiling. Funny as hell. Smarter than I ever imagined.
Other notables: Billy Vogel is a character. Brad Seng is a goofball, but super nice too. Dustin Strand tells it like it is. 

All Photo Credit (with the exception of the food one) goes to Mike Spieker of Speedway Shots. 

Track Review: North Central Speedway

North Central Speedway 

Saturday Nights, 6:45pm

www.racencs.net

Classes: IMCA Modifieds, Super Stocks, Northern Sport Mods, Mod 4s, Street Stock, Pure Stocks, and Hornets.

Admission: $12 for adults, $5 for Kids. Pretty much the league average

Concessions: I highly recommend the pit fries for $5. (Fries with BBQs and Nacho Cheese). Items such as burger, hot dogs, chicken strips. Lots of filling stuff. Very fair prices. I really liked how they had a separate line for pop and candy. It really sped things up quite a bit. Beer prices were exceptionally reasonable if I remember correctly. Corey Litton was a big fan of the Dad’s Root Beer.

Pit Fries :)

Nacho Factor: NCS has one of the more interesting approaches to Nachos I had seen in some time. First off, basic Nachos were $2, which is hands down the cheapest price of Nachos anywhere. BUT, for an extra 0.50 you could get could get extra cheese. Throw down a couple more quarters and you could extra chips! I went with the basic. Good chips, good cheese. Solid price, but you get slightly smaller proportion then most tracks. If you don’t plan on eating anything else, get the upgrade for $1 more.

The facility: Looks massive from the highway and it sort of is. But NCS has a unique set of grand stands. They’re steep, and they’re tall. If you’re sitting in the back row, you still feel like you’re right on top of the of the race track. There is also seating on the backstretch and a couple of tailgating spots. The suites look really cool. Each one has a deck. From the outside they look more like apartments then suites. Venue appears to be clean and updated. I like the trees on the backstretch. Bathrooms could use some work though. But at least the troughs had "privacy" dividers for you shy guys.

The racing: Car counts weren’t amazing, but it was the first race of the year and it’s their first year under the IMCA banner. The race action was fine though. Track has long straights and tight corners. It wasn’t one lane but there wasn’t really ever more than two.

Other notes: Very family friendly atmosphere and there was even kids activities going on during intermission. Plus you can’t go wrong with the affordable prices. But no candy toss? Maybe that’s not a tradition there like I’m used to at my nearby tracks. 

Head to Head Fantasy Dirt Track Racing

Photo by Mike Spieker 

Head to Head Fantasy Dirt Track Racing

This is a game I’ve been playing with friends for years. I doubt I created it and I am sure there are many variations of it. This is something I feel adds a little more fun and enjoyment to your average night of dirt track racing. The basic concept of this game is that two players pick the drivers they feel are most likely to win and at the end of the night, the player who makes the best picks will have most points and will win the game. What I enjoy most about the game is that it is fun for both those with years of racing knowledge and those who have none. It also gives you somebody to cheer for in every race. 

General Rules

-Played best with 2 people

-Coin flip or Rock-Paper-Scissors decides who starts games.

-Person with most points at the end of game wins.

-Side bets are encouraged

-No Picks to be made during Amateur races (ex: Trophy classes at Norman County Raceway or Buffalo River Race Park)

How to play

Heat Races – As soon as all the cars are believed to be on the track, whoever has first pick will choose the driver they believe will win the race. Once they made their pick, the next person playing can make theirs. Player with the last pick has until the green flag drops to make their pick. They may change their pick at any time until the green flag drops. If either one of the competitor’s picks are taken out during the first lap of a heat race, they may use a mulligan and may pick another driver. Only 1 mulligan is allowed per night. The person whose driver finishes the highest at the end of the heat race gets 1 point. If their driver wins their heat race, they get a bonus point. No points are awarded for the other player.

There are two way of deciding which player gets the first pick in the next heat race. A.) Alternating picks - If Player 1 picked first in heat 1, Player gets first pick in heat 2. B.) Street Rules – Whoever wins (or finished highest) in the previous heat, gets first pick in the next heat.

The person with the highest total points at the end of the Heat races will get first pick in the first feature.

Features – Feature races are played similarly to heat races. However, no mulligans are allowed. If your pick goes out of the race with no more than 1 lap completed, you may receive a courtesy last row pick, in which you are allowed to pick a driver in one of the last two spots on the race track. This rule only applies if there are 10 or more cars currently in the race. If there is not, no courtesy pick is granted.

Players will get two picks each in the features. Whoever has the most points after the heat races gets first pick in the first feature. The next player then picks. Whoever has first pick will also get 3^rd pick and the next player gets 4^th.  Whoever has the last pick has until the green flag drops to make their last pick. They may change their last pick as many times as they wish until the green flag is dropped. Whose ever pick finishes the highest gets 2 points and bonus point is awarded if their pick wins. No points awarded for the other player.

Feature Points Option #2 – Whose ever driver finishes highest will get 4 points (bonus point for winning race also), the next highest finisher will get 3 points, then 2 points for the next pick, and 1 point for the last finishing pick. Maximum amount of points one could receive for feature race is 8 points. Least amount of points is 3. I only recommend using this system if you are able to follow along on Race Monitor, where it is easier to track where your picks finished.

Street rules apply during picking in the Feature Events. Whichever player has the highest finishing pick in the previous feature will get first pick in the next feature.

Tie Breaker – If at the end of the night, both players are tied, the player who has the highest finishing pick in the final feature is the winner. 

Those are my rules. Feel free to amend and adjust as you so wish. If you have questions, please ask. Most importantly...Have fun! 

Track Review: River Cities Speedway

River Cities Speedway

Friday Nights, 7pm

www.rivercitiesspeedway.com 

Classes: NOSA 410 Sprints, NLRA Late Models, WISSOTA Midwest Mods, WISSOTA Street Stocks

Admission: $18 at the gate, $15 in advance. Worth every penny to see late models and sprints. Tickets for World of Outlaw shows are $35-$40, which is ridiculous if you ask me, especially if you are bringing your family. But the Grand Forks community has a lot of disposable income.

Concessions: Prices weren't ridiculously high, but $3.50 for a 20oz pop might be for some. If it is too high, just stop at Gateway Cenex, buy a pop for $2 and advance ticket, and sneak it in your sweatshirt like everyone else does. Boom I saved you $4.50,*** which is about the price of a 16oz beer.  For 5.25 you can get a Reds, summer shandy, or my favorite: Mikes Harder Lemonade. They have 8% alcohol so its gets you drunk for less. They’re great on a hot day too. Concession lines move quickly. Plenty of options.

Nacho factor: The Nacho Factor is strong with RCS. Cost is $4.25, but the quirky (and attractive) looking concession worker loaded, and I mean loaded, my tray with nacho cheese. I made sure to tell her how grateful I was. I debated asking her to marry me, but it seemed a bit too much. Also for a little over $7, you can have super nachos. Two words: Worth it. Tons of nachos, cheese, taco meat, salsa, and whatever the hell you want stuffed into a bucket. Is it healthy? Well does anything healthy ever come served in a bucket?  Do you feel like a man ordering it? Damn straight.

The facility: Johnny Gibson says it’s his favorite track in the world and for good reason. Old school covered grandstand in the center with large open bleachers on the wings. Lots of cool views too from the far bleachers. Kinda neat to mix up the perspective a little. The facility itself is old, but kept up. Could use a modern touch down the road, but the old school-ness kinda adds to the flavor. Also the archway at the main entrance to the fairgrounds is sooo badass. The track is a 1/3 mile high banked “bullring.” Billboards surround the entire track, which makes it feel more like an arena then a race track.

The Racing: Each class has always has 2-3 heats. On this particular night, the track got really slick and all the heat racing was down on the bottom line. However, by the time the features came around it started to open up, which made for some exciting late model and sprint car racing. As NLRA Late Model Champion Brad Seng says: “The racing is tight and the crashes are big.” I know too from previous experiences that most of the racing is pretty good on weekly basis. Show can go a little late sometimes though.

Other Notes: As a fellow track announcer, I really enjoy listening Bob Hultgren. His voice is as smooth and charming as Pat Doar's mustache.

***I do not actually condone sneaking items into any racetrack. Often time local groups and organizations work those concession stands with tips going back their group. Please Support them.

Racing on the Radio Track Review: Devils Lake Speedway

Devils Lake Speedway (1/4 miles dirt oval)
Saturday Night Racing, 6pm
www.dlspeedway.com 

Classes: WISSOTA Midwest Mod, WISSOTA Street Stock, Pure Stock, Mini Trucks, Hornets, Slingshots

Admission Price: $15. A bit high for the premiere class being a Midwest Modified, but you know…inflation I guess.

Concessions: Prices seemed pretty fair, and the food appeared to be good. Pop was served as fountain drinks which is unusual, but I personally prefer fountain soda.  My only concern was was that the line moved awfully slowly. But it was the first race of the season.

Nacho factor: Nachos were good. Chips weren’t stale. Cheese was hot. I felt I was given a proportionally adequate amount of cheese. Price was either $3 or $3.50.

The facility: The speedway has a really cool vibe to it. It’s set in sort of a bowl with the grandstands on top of the hill. There’s a beautiful grassy area in between the stands and the fence. Great for kids to play and run around on in-between races. Plus, the Speedway Bar and Grill is an awesome spot to watch the race. The facility as a whole, however, could use a face lift. All the paint is chipped off the fence poles and grandstands, plus the wood is in tough shape. Plus there’s still junk all around from when a tornado came through last summer. With a little work, it would be beautiful. Bathrooms appeared somewhat new and clean. Hope you’re not gun shy though. Troughs are still a thing.

The racing: I have a hard time going to race track that doesn’t have a premiere level class on a regular basis (Modifieds, Late Models, or Sprint Cars), But most the racing was pretty fun to watch. The truck class was a bit of let down with their only being a handful, but I like the concept of that class. Everything else was great. The pure stocks were rubbing and slamming into to each other like they should. The top hornet driver has some sort of “intentional” problem, faded to the back, and then tried make his way to the front. The street stocks and Midwest mods battled hard all night too. It was worth the $15 admission and the 2 hour drive to get there. Average car turnout for the time of year.

Other notes: Not the speedway’s fault, but a nearby farmer was spraying anhydrous ammonia, and the wind sent it right toward the track. Not a pleasant thing. Excuse me while I go check for cancer. Very relaxed atmosphere, which makes it perfect for a Saturday night track.

Corey Litton to join Racing on the Radio!

Racing on the Radio will be adding a new, but experienced voice to the Thursday night live racing broadcasts from Norman County Raceway in Ada. Corey Litton (Fargo, ND) will join the duo of NCR announcer Mark Askelson and color commentator Mike Spieker (Mike Spieker Speedway Shots/All the Dirt).

Litton will be running a majority of the racing broadcasts. Mark Askelson will take his spot for select dates when Jim Birkemeyer returns to the announcing booth. Corey will replace Jacob Anderson, who is leaving KRJB at the end of April.

"Corey adds years of racing experience and knowledge to the Racing on the Radio broadcasts to go along with a good voice and a fun personality. He knows the drivers as well as anyone in this area. Plus he knows a good story or two" says Mark Askelson.

Litton is the track announcer for the Red River Kart Club and is the victory lane reporter for Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon and other dirt tracks in the area.

The Norman County Raceway Season Opener is Thursday, May 7th. Tune in to Racing on the Radio all season long  on Thursday nights on 106.5 KRJB and www.rjbroadcasting.com. PreRace Show begins at 6:45pm.