offroadspeedway

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (May 22) – Saturday’s IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Off Road Speedway became a battle between Neligh’s Wilkinson brothers, Kyle and Cameron.  Kyle moved quickly from the outside of the second row into the lead during the first lap and Cameron needed just four laps to find his brother’s rear bumper, even while navigating a group of cars often traveling three- and four-wide in the backstretch. “I knew he was there, I kept on seeing his nose,” Kyle said. “I was trying everything I could not to let him around me.” Cameron had his chances with four cautions during the race’s final 12 laps, but eventually followed Kyle to the checkered flag in second place. Meanwhile, Chad Bruns finished third.  “It’s a friendly deal, I guess, but we always want to beat one another,” Kyle said. “We don’t keep track of who has more wins. For me, every night is a different night. I just come down here and try to win.” “I wasn’t even going to come tonight, [Read More]

By Randy Pospishil  sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (May 15) – Saturday night’s winners at Off Road Speedway got to the finish line first in a variety of ways. For example, fans watching the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature saw what appeared to be race winner Jason Wilkinson moving both higher and lower on the track, evidently blocking the path of the car trailing him, which was driven by Lance Mielke, during the final few laps. But that was not the case.  “I was just trying to hang on, trying to keep control of it. I didn’t have any brakes. I lost all brakes with five laps to go,” Wilkinson said. “When I’d come in there (to the turns), I’d try to be nice and smooth, but then it seemed like I’d hit a hole and it would bounce around. I didn’t have any brakes to calm the car down, there was nothing I could do.”  Oddly, Wilkinson said it was the second time the situation had happened this year, although the cause of the problem was different.  [Read More]

By RANDY POSPISHIL  sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (May 1) – Even experienced and successful dirt track drivers surprise themselves on occasion. That was the case for Kyle Prauner and Cameron Meyer when each won features at Off Road Speedway on Saturday night that they didn’t necessarily expect to win, albeit for different reasons.  Prauner, who had 141 wins driving in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods, is competing in the IMCA Sunoco Late Model division this season and won for the first time.   “We’ve always wanted to run Late Models but I never honestly felt that we’d be able to afford a Late Model,” Prauner said. “We scoured the web and found a car. It’s a 2012 so it’s probably older than most of them that are out there (on the track). Everything in it, like the motor and transmission, is used.”  “But we’ve got a good friend, Cory Dumpert, who helped us out getting it set up with all the right equipment,” he added. “He’s had a lot of success and he was gracious enough to help [Read More]

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (April 24) – Cameron Wilkinson ended in victory lane after an IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature that ended green, white, checkered Saturday at Off Road Speedway. Wilkinson used the high side of the track, along with the benefit of a caution that set up that finish, to go from fourth place with three laps remaining to first.  “We had a little luck with that caution but I found that top side because at the beginning (the car in front of me) was spinning out in front of me,” Wilkinson said. “I had bad luck there, so I got to falling back and searching for what (line) was best.”  “I finally figured out that in turn one and two I needed to go to the top, and in three and four I just needed to hit it as hard as I could … just keep the tires on and keep it as straight as I could,” he said. “When we had that caution I was like, well, we’re going to give [Read More]

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com  NORFOLK, Neb. (April 10) – Winning an “A” feature on opening night is a special experience for any dirt track racer.  However, Justin Addison’s victory in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Off Road Speedway is one he’ll always remember, not so much for the win itself, but also for the circumstances, as unfortunate as they were. “We laid my dad to rest today, earlier this morning,” Addison said. “We debated whether we were going to go racing or not, and I figured that’s what he would want to do. Sitting at home wasn’t going to solve anything, so we decided to go.”  Addison described his father Larry as the person responsible for his love of racing.  “If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be in racing. He dragged me along to races when I was a little kid, and he’s the one who went out and bought my first car,” Addison said. “This is my 15th year of racing and I can count on one hand the number [Read More]

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (Aug. 1) – Austin Brauner started in the seventh of nine rows and finished first in the Saturday night IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Off Road Speedway.  “It’s kind of nerve wracking starting all the way back there, with a lot of tough cars to pass,” Brauner said. “You need a lot of patience when you start that far back.” The task for a driver navigating a journey through the field includes trying to pass experienced drivers and avoiding getting caught up in situations causing cautions which, for Brauner, meant catching up to John Hadcock, who led 14 straight laps until Brauner was able to make his way into the front three cars before eventually passing Jeremy Hoskinson with six laps remaining. Brauner then caught up to Hadcock and passed on the inside of turn two before establishing a solid lead during the final three laps for the win. Hadcock finished second, just ahead of Hoskinson. “This was two wins in a row, after winning Friday night in [Read More]