PREVIEW: Buffalo Wild Wings Minn-Dak Summer Swing

By Mike Spieker

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (June 21, 2018) – Summer is officially here and the Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprints are kicking it off with a big four-race swing through the upper Midwest. All four events will be Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Challenge qualifying events, meaning the winner of each race will be locked into the $8,200-to-win Blazin’ Challenge finale at River Cities Speedway on Sept. 7th. 

The action begins tonight, June 21st at Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn as the NOSA Sprints make their 17th appearance to the high-banked paper-clip three-eights mile. Despite having just one NOSA event per year, Norman County Raceway provides some of the best racing seen all year.

Wade Nygaard, who leads all drivers with five career wins at NCR – including last year’s event – is the series’ most recent winner with his win on June 9th at Jamestown Speedway.

Mark Dobmeier, who has four NOSA wins thus far in 2018, has two career Norman County Raceway wins, but his latest one came in 2004.

A total of 10 different winners have visited KRJB/KRJM Victory Lane, including two Harwood, N.D. drivers with 360 powerplants under the hood. Loren Langerud topped the NOSA 410s in 2001 for one of his three series victories. In 2014, Lee Grosz also won with a 360 after holding off Wade Nygaard and Mark Dobmeier in the closing laps.

If you can’t make it to Norman County Raceway, tune in the live radio broadcast of the Ada Nationals on 106.5FM and RJbroadcasting.com.

On Friday, the NOSA Sprints head to their home track, River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. The event will mark the fourth NOSA race of the season at the Bullring. Each of the previous three have been won by Mark Dobmeier.

Following Friday’s event, the NOSA Sprints will head to South Dakota for the first time since 2011. On Saturday the series will make its first-ever appearance to Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen. Several NOSA drivers competed at the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event at Brown County in 2016. For most, it was their first laps around the three-eighths mile oval.

Nine-time NOSA champion, Wade Nygaard, might have the most experience at Brown County from his days running with the WISSOTA Championship 360 Sprints in the late 90s and early 2000s. Nygaard has a WISSOTA Western 100 victory to his credit, which came at Brown County Speedway.

On Sunday, the Minn-Dak Summer Swing wraps up at Casino Speedway in Watertown. This will also be NOSA’s first visit to the high-banked quarter-mile.

Entering the weekend, Wade Nygaard holds a slim 12 point lead over Nick Omdahl atop the NOSA standings.

NOSA Notebook:
Previous Norman County Raceway Winners:
1996: Wade Nygaard
1997: Wade Nygaard (2)
1998: Brad Pake
1999: Wade Nygaard
2000: Brad Pake
2001: Loren Langerud
2002: Flood
2003: Mark Dobmeier
2004: Mark Dobmeier
2005: Scott McDonald
2007: Lou Kennedy Jr.
2013: Donny Schatz
2014: Lee Grosz
2015: Casey Mack
2016: Austin Pierce
2017: Wade Nygaard

Previous NOSA Winners at South Dakota Tracks:
Aug. 21, 2004: Terry McCarl - Huset’s Speedway
May 30, 2006: John Lambertz - Dakota State Fair Speedway
May 27, 2007: Lou Kennedy Jr. - Dakota State Fair Speedway
June 1, 2007: Mark Dobmeier - Huset’s Speedway
May 17, 2008: John Lambertz - Dakota State Fair Speedway
May 24, 2009: Bob Martin - Dakota State Fair Speedway
May 29, 2009: Jake Peterson - Huset’s Speedway
May 30, 2010: Lou Kennedy Jr. - Dakota State Fair Speedway
June 4, 2010: Jody Rosenboom - Huset’s Speedway
May 28, 2011: Cody Hansen - Dakota State Fair Speedway
May 29, 2011: Shane Stewart - Huset’s Speedway

Track Facts:
Norman County Raceway:
Location: Ada, Minn.
Size: 3/8 mile
Banking: High-banked
Established: 1918

River Cities Speedway:
Location: Grand Forks, N.D.
Size: 3/10 mile
Banking: High-banked
Established: 1903

Brown County Speedway:
Location: Aberdeen, S.D.
Size: 3/8 mile
Banking: High-banked
Established: Early 1970’s

Casino Speedway:
Location: Watertown, S.D.
Size: 1/4 mile
Banking: Semi-banked
Established: 1955