dacotahspeedway Archives

Strand Edges Dahl in Modified Main Before Rainstorm Rolls In

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (May 30, 2025) — In the final feature of the evening at Dacotah Speedway, it was not only a race for the win in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, but a race against the weather as rain in the distance was starting to settle in. Pole sitter Caden Roberts led early before defending track champion Shawn Strand took the lead on lap two. Strand quickly distanced himself from the field but as the laps wound down, Mark Dahl started to cut into Strand’s lead. By lap 10, Dahl was challenging Strand for the lead. They raced side by side, door to door for several laps. However, lapped traffic made it an exciting race for the win as the leaders sliced and diced their way around the slower cars. Coming to the white flag, Dahl cleared Strand for the top position. However, as they raced back to the checkered flag, Shawn Strand just narrowly edged Mark Dahl for the win — his first of 2025 in the Razor Chassis North Central Region. [Read More]

Dakota Classic Mod Tour Set to Bring Six Nights of Intense Racing Action to the Northern Plains

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (May 16, 2025) — The 2025 Dakota Classic Mod Tour is set to bring six straight nights of high-octane competition across North Dakota and Saskatchewan, featuring the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars. The tour kicks off at J-Town on Saturday, July 5 at Jamestown Speedway, where fans will get their first look at this year’s competitors. From there, the tour heads to the Playground of Power at Nodak Speedway in Minot on Sunday, where the stakes intensify on the fast 3/8-mile oval. On Monday, the series crosses the border into the Land of the Living Skies in Saskatchewan, stopping at Estevan Motor Speedway for what is always a fan-favorite event. Following the Canadian leg, the tour returns to North Dakota on Tuesday for a stop at Williston Basin Speedway, where drivers will go Racin’ at the Basin on the tight and demanding bullring. The penultimate night of the tour takes the field to Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on Wednesday, with the grand finale set for Dacotah Speedway [Read More]

Hellman Claims First IMCA Stock Car Win at Dacotah Speedway

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (May 9, 2025) — The Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature at Dacotah Speedway was a thrilling battle for the lead, with Scott Gartner initially leading the charge. However, Geoff Hellman made his move on lap two and quickly distanced himself from the pack. Gartner then found himself under pressure from Jason Meidinger, and a mistake off turn two allowed both Meidinger and Todd Carter to slip by. As the race wore on, the battle for fifth became the focal point with Aaron Aaseth, Andrew Jochim, and Brock Beeter fighting hard for position. Hellman, though, was untouchable out front, crossing the finish line for his first career IMCA Stock Car feature win in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Meidinger secured a career-best second-place finish, while Carter rounded out the top three. Geoff Hellman celebrates in victory lane after claiming his first Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature win at Dacotah Speedway. (Photo by MS Photography) Dahl Dominates for First Modified Win at Dacotah Speedway The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature saw pole [Read More]

Jochim Wins Mandan Meltdown Finale; Carter Claims First Career Stock Car Victory on Friday

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (May 3, 2025) — Andrew Jochim was the Saturday night star in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature, outdueling a stacked field on the final night of Dacotah Speedway’s Mandan Meltdown doubleheader. Pole sitter Shawn Strand and Geoff Hellman swapped the lead in a spirited side-by-side battle until a lap eight caution regrouped the field. Strand cleared Hellman on the restart, but found himself under siege from Kalvin Kesselberg, Matt Dosch, and Andrew Jochim in a thrilling four-car battle for second. Contact shifted the running order, putting Jochim into the runner-up position. With ten laps to go, Jochim passed Strand and led the rest of the way, despite a determined charge by Strand, who searched for speed in the closing laps. Jochim crossed the line for his second win of the season at Dacotah and in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Kesselberg finished third. Todd Carter found victory lane on Friday night in the weekend’s opening IMCA Stock Car feature. He and Jason Berg exchanged the top spot early before [Read More]

Jochim Wins Thrilling Stock Car Feature to Kick Off Dacotah Speedway Season

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (Apr. 25, 2025) — For only the third time in Dacotah Speedway history, the track hosted its season opener in the month of April, kicking off the 2025 campaign with action-packed IMCA racing. Headlining the night was a thrilling Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature, where Andrew Jochim delivered a late-race slide job to claim his first-ever Dacotah Speedway victory and first win of 2025 in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Adam Goff and Jeremy Engelhardt led the field to the green flag in the IMCA Stock Car feature. A series of early cautions regrouped the field, allowing Shawn Volk to enter the mix and make it a three-car battle. Running the high side of the track, Volk surged into the lead, but he soon had company in the form of a hard-charging Andrew Jochim. The two drivers battled intensely for the top spot. With three laps remaining, Jochim threw a perfectly timed slide job underneath Volk to take the lead and never looked back. Volk settled for second, while Brock [Read More]

Hughbanks scores sixth straight at Mandan

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (Aug. 16, 2024) – There’s no doubt about it, Zach Hughbanks is on a roll. The Minot hotshoe won his sixth straight Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature Friday at Dacotah Speedway. Defending track champion Krys Yost led early as Alex Thompson, Benjamin Burke and Hughbanks raced hard for second place. Hughbanks shuffled into the third position and quickly challenged Thompson for second. Hughbanks passed Thompson and set his sights on the leader. On lap five, Hughbanks passed Yost for the lead as Yost fell into the clutches of Thompson and Burke. As the laps wound down, Burke patiently worked his way toward the front, passing Yost for third and Thompson for second. Unfortunately for Burke, he ran out of time and had to settle for second place ahead of Thompson and Yost. Kevin Purdue held off Harrison Schwartz for fifth. Jeremy Keller held off Shawn Strand for the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory. Jason Wolla made a last-lap pass to finish third ahead of Chris Tushcherer and Marlyn Seidler. Scott [Read More]

Dacotah Stock Car checkers are first for Gartner

By Becca Pelkey MANAN, N.D. (Aug. 2, 2024) – It was a super hot Friday night at Dacotah Speedway on Friday and the night kicked off with the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car make-up feature from June 28. Dylan Herner and Jason Meidinger led the field to the green flag. Meidinger took the early lead but Shawn Strand quickly worked his way to the front to challenge. They raced door-to-door for several laps before Strand slipped by on lap four. Meidinger then fell into the clutches of Hunter Domagala. As they raced hard for second, Shawn Volk made it a three-car battle. While racing for second, Domagala got loose and spun in front of the field with six laps to go. On the restart, Todd Carter passed Volk for second and was all over Strand’s rear bumper. When the checkered flag waved, Strand held off Carter for the victory. Volk finished a season-best third. When the green flag waved in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature, it was a three-car battle for the lead between Alex [Read More]

Governor’s Cup checkers fly for Turnbull, Domagala, Hughbanks

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (July 27, 2024) – Rain did its best to wreak havoc but couldn’t wash away all of the North Dakota Governor’s Cup Auto Races at Dacotah Speedway. Saturday checkers would ultimately fly for $1,500 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified winner Aaron Turnbull, $1,000 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winner Hunter Domagala and $400 Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact winner Zach Hughbanks. Tim Perkins and Mark Dahl led the field to the green flag in the Modified main event, the final feature of the weekend. Cautions were frequent as drivers struggled to get laps in but despite the yellows, the seventh starting Turnbull stealthily moved through the field. Restarts helped him grab the lead by lap four but cautions continued to fall. As the Canadian driver led the field back to line, he would quickly pull away from the field. It was now a race for second between Dahl, Quentin Kinzley and Jeremy Keller. Keller used the cautions to slip by Kinzley and Dahl to take second. Dahl and Kinzley continued to race hard [Read More]

Seidler scores first IMCA Stock Car win on Hall of Fame Night at Mandan

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (July 19, 2024) – Hall of Fame Night Friday brought Hall of Famers to the track, to watch future Hall of Famers race at Dacotah Speedway. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds had a make-up feature from June 28. Jacoby Traut and Crist Pittenger led the field to the green flag. Traut led early while Pittenger had his hands full with Quentin Kinzley. Although Kinzley appeared to be faster, he struggled to get around the young driver. They battled door-to-door for second place until Kinzley took the position and set his sights on Traut. Once again, Kinzley struggled to get around Traut but practiced patience on the young driver. With 12 laps to go, Kinzley overtook the top spot and pulled away. Kinzley went on to win his third straight victory at Dacotah Speedway. Shawn Strand finished second ahead of Mark Dahl. Zach Hughbanks wasted no time going to the front in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature field. Hughbanks quickly distanced himself from the pack while Kyrs Yost and Alex Thompson [Read More]

Win at Mandan is record-setter for Berry, Braaksma clinches IMCA Dakota Tour title

MANDAN, N.D. (July 11, 2024) – Tom Berry Jr.’s second win of the week was one for the record book. Ethan Braaksma’s third runner-up finish was good for a championship. Berry led every lap of Thursday’s Dakota Classic Modified Tour powered by Industrial Electric main event at Dacotah Speedway, his career 10th Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory breaking the previous record held by Ricky Thornton Jr. and dating from 2006, when IMCA resumed sanctioning the tour. “It’s pretty incredible, to know what Ricky has done in his career and to pass a record like that,” Berry said. “I know he holds a lot of ‘em and we’re trying to break them. I’m kind of like his little brother, I guess. We’re just trying to do the best we can and make it somewhere in life.” Also first to the checkers Monday at Estevan and the only repeat winner in either division following the tour, Berry led Braaksma the first four times around the track before the only caution of the night – just the second in [Read More]