Sprints here tonight

Talk about it

Sprint cars.

A 1,300-pound, open-wheeled machine with a max wheelbase of 90 inches and a 60-inch wide wing on the top, being blown through the corners with a 410-cubic inch, methanol-burning power plant.

What’s not to love about that?

Bring your earplugs Jamestown, because the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association (NOSA) is back to turn circles at one of the finest quarter-mile dirt ovals in the Upper Midwest.

How can I make that statement?

I know over the past few summers I’ve given much love to Jamestown Speedway with a few snazzy editorial-type comments, like said comment. But I’m not one to blow sunshine if it’s cloudy.

I base by compliments on sheer fact. Just ask NASCAR’s Kenny Schrader, who tagged along with the United States Modified Touring Series to Jamestown Speedway a couple of summers ago. He took second in the feature, and he couldn’t say enough about the racing facility that’s right here in our backyard.

“It was a joy coming here, especially running with the USMTS,” Schrader said then. “You give them a track as good as this, where you can run all over, and they can put on a helluva show.”

That man has raced everything from trucks to shopping carts on tracks all across the country for more than 40 years. He’s also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Rick Hendrick and Richard Petty.

“The track was awesome,” Schrader continued. “It couldn’t have been any better — top, bottom, middle.”

Now that I’ve cleared that up, if any area racing fan hasn’t ventured out to the two-time WISSOTA Track of the Year yet this season, tonight would be as good a time as any.

The NOSA Sprints have been putting on a wild and exciting show since first annually coming to Jamestown in 2007. Fun fact: The NOSA Sprints were supposed to run at Jamestown Speedway in 2006, but the event was rained out.

Greg Nikitenko won the feature in Jamestown back in 2007, followed by Casey Mack (2008), Bob Martin (2009), Lou Kennedy Jr. (2010) and Mack again (2011).

Mack, out of East Grand Forks, Minn., is the defending NOSA champion after winning seven series feature victories — including his second career victory in Jamestown — last season. Thompson’s Chris Shirek won the series title in 2010.

The veteran Kennedy, out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, won in Jamestown for the first time back in 2010, after 250 career victories and 25 years of trying.

“I’ve been freaking close,” Kennedy said then. “All the tracks you travel to, to finally win one there for the first time.”

The man to beat this season — if he shows up — is Grand Forks’ Mark Dobmeier. Dobmeier has made just eight of NOSA’s 16 events so far, but he’s incredibly won seven of them. Kennedy has three series victories this year, while Shirek and Jason Linnell have each won twice.

Dobmeier has been busy running other racing schedules. Earlier this month, the driver won his second career World of Outlaws A-Main at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon (Sioux Falls), S.D.

He’s never won in Jamestown, but if he’s here tonight that’s where my money would be.

The NOSA Sprints ran last night (Friday) at their home track of River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, but those results were not available before press time. Prior to that, Shirek was holding off Mack for the series points lead 1,105 to 1,007.

There’s also plenty of excitement heating up in the Jamestown Speedway season standings. In the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and the Central Dakota Pure Stocks (Bombers), the top spot is separated by just one point.

Jamestown’s Scott Bintz and his two feature wins here is currently holding off Carrington’s Rusty Kollman in the Midwest Modified standings 415-414. That exact same margin separates leader Chris Gussiaas, of Carrington, and Cory Rodin, of Marion, in the Bomber standings.

But the main attraction tonight starting at 7 is the winged warriors.

They only come once a year, so get out there and feel the horsepower.

NOSA Sprint Cars 2012 season standings

(Top 10)

(* indicate 2012 NOSA feature victories)

1, **Chris Shirek, 1105; 2, Casey Mack, 1007; 3, *Chris Ranten, 968; 4, Austin Pierce, 931; 5, ***Lou Kennedy Jr., 923; 6, Wade Nygaard, 900; 7, Dave Glennen, 890; 8, Cory Mack, 823; 9, Thomas Kennedy, 810; 10, Mitch Mack, 807.

Jamestown Speedway

2012 Point Standings

(Top 10)

(* indicate 2012 feature victories)

WISSOTA Modifieds

1, ***John Corell, Jamestown, 395; 2, **Ryan Mikkelson, Jamestown, 370; 3, Eric Edwards, Edgeley, 362; 4, *Jason Grimes, Jamestown, 356; 5, Rusty Kollman, Carrington, 351; 6, Randy Tarno, Jamestown, 346; 7, Jerry Lamb, Lisbon, 331; 8, Josh Eberhardt, Jamestown, 311; 9, Dwight Wegner, Jamestown, 278; 10, Bob Banish Jr., Milnor, 271.

WISSOTA Street Stocks

1, *Duffy Froemke, Lisbon, 430; 2, *Billie Christ, Jamestown, 400; 3, **Joe Jacobson, Jamestown, 383; 4, *Rory Opp, Hannaford, 380; 5, Jake Emo, Jamestown, 352; 6, *Trent Grager, Sykeston, 331; 7, Dustin Erickson, Jamestown, 330; 8, Royce Jawaski, Horace, 324; 9, Matthew Lesmeister, Lisbon, 323; 10, *Josh Ganser, Jamestown, 320.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds

1, **Scott Bintz, Jamestown, 415; 2, *Rusty Kollman, Carrington, 414; 3, Greg Friestad, Valley City, 398; 4, Lucas Rodin, Fullerton, 370; 5 (tie), *Ryan Lehr, Jamestown, 355; Jeremy Forester, Jamestown, 355; 7, *Eric Edwards, Edgeley, 323; 8, Brandon Gussiaas, New Rockford, 296; 9, Tony Konold, Groton, 291; 10, Preston Carr, Carrington, 281.

Bombers

1, ***Chris Gussiaas, Carrington, 415; 2, **Cory Rodin, Marion, 414; 3, Leann Christensen, Spiritwood, 379; 4, Justin Schempp, Jamestown, 376; 5, *Bryan Wolf, Jamestown, 372; 6, *Tyler Pafaff, Enderlin, 362; 7, Keith Striefel, Jamestown, 346; 8, Brandon Moser, Aberdeen, 342; 9, Dusty Hinrichs, Jamestown, 317; 10, Kyle Anderson, Jamestown, 315.

Hornets

1, ***Dylan Wiesz, Carrington, 266; 2, Alex Kelstrom, Jamestown, 252; 3, ***Andrew Michel, Jamestown, 230; 4, Brandon Michel, Jamestown, 201; 5, *Aaron Michel, Jamestown, 126; 6, Sam Gray, Jamestown, 114; 7, Matt McPherson, Jamestown, 92; 8, Brad Docktor, Ypsilanti, 88; 9, *Donnie Schrader, Adrian, 67; 10, Charlie McPherson, Jamestown, 59.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: auto racing, sports