offroadspeedway Archives

Lapped traffic factors into Off Road finishes

By Randy Pospishilsports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (May 28, 2022) – Oddly enough, sometimes being in the lead of a main event can mean being equally concerned about the cars in front as the cars in pursuit. In other words, when the race leader catches up to cars that trail the field, those cars, who are expected to maintain the line their drivers are using, become “lapped traffic” and can factor into the race’s outcome. On Saturday night at Off Road Speedway, the winner of two races, Devin Johnson in the IMCA Sunoco Late Models and Colby Langenberg in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, were able to navigate lapped cars successfully and earn spots in victory lane. Johnson chased race leader Robert Osborne for 21 laps. Osborne maintained a significant lead of until catching up to cars at the back of the pack. Johnson seized the opportunity to close the gap, then got his chance at the lead when a caution with four laps left placed him on Osborne’s rear bumper. Johnson wasted no time getting [Read More]

Competitive races, close finishes at Off Road Speedway

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (May 14, 2022) – A large crowd turned out at Off Road Speedway Saturday night, with the closest, most competitive races, including action at the finish line, provided by three of the four IMCA main events. The IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature became an older brother vs. younger brother competition between Kyle and Cameron Wilkinson. With the track offering a variety of lines for drivers to choose, Kyle took over the lead from Chad Bruns by passing on the inside with 13 laps left. Cameron, who had a longer journey to the front after starting on the outside of the sixth row, overtook Bruns two laps later and joined Kyle for an eight lap battle, traveling nearly side-by-side during most of those laps. Finally, with three laps remaining, Cameron gained control of the lead and, despite a caution with two laps to complete, held on for the win by less than a car length over his older brother. The victory was Cameron’s second of the season at Off Road [Read More]

Early leads are formula for success at Off Road Speedway

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews NORFOLK, Neb. (May 7, 2022) – Drivers capitalized on starting positions at or near the front of the field Saturday night at Off Road Speedway. Winners in three of the four regular classes started on the outside of the front row with the outlier, Cory Dumpert, occupying the outside position in the second row, although each had to hold off challengers during caution restarts, especially late in the race. Dumpert, who finished second in the previous IMCA Sunoco Late Model feature after starting in the fifth row, took over the lead from Zach Zentner following a caution that brought Zentner back to the pack. Dumpert passed Zentner on the outside with 20 laps remaining and held off Zentner’s bids to retake the lead for several laps before Tad Pospisil took over second place and the chase continued. Three cautions, the last creating a green, white, checkered finish, gave Pospisil and Zentner opportunities on the restarts but the three-time defending national champion held off any attempts to pass and sped to IMCA [Read More]

Points racing begins at Off Road Speedway

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (April 23, 2022) – The quest for track championships is officially underway at Off Road Speedway. For drivers who are pursuing IMCA points in the four divisions contested at Off Road Speedway, the season began in earnest during a windy but competitive Saturday night slate of races. After an extended absence from racing to deal with an ailing back, Tejay Mielke was denied an immediate trip to victory lane in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature when Cameron Wilkinson snuck inside in turn two then, after the pair navigated turns three and four nearly even, edged Mielke by .12 of a second at the finish line. Kyle Wilkinson finished a close third. Ben Sukup and Travis Birkley alternated slide jobs seemingly corner after corner during the first few laps of the IMCA Sunoco Late Model feature before Sukup settled into the lead. Eventually, three-time defending national champion Cory Dumpert entered the fray and pursued Sukup for the remainder of the race, although unable to threaten for the lead even [Read More]

Iverson crowned IMCA Stock Car king at Off Road special

By Anthony Ainslie NORFOLK, Neb. (April 9, 2022) – With big money on the line, Tyler Iverson stood his ground late in the race to score the $2,000 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature win Saturday at Off Road Speedway. A stout field of 48 cars contended in the Crown Summer Series event. Ryan Harris led early in the 30-lapper before spinning in front of the field. That incident handed the lead to Iverson, who was constantly pressured by Jesse Sobbing. Sobbing got major runs off the top of turn two but could not get a big enough charge to get around Iverson and settled for second while Chanse Hollatz hustled to third after starting 15th. The biggest mover of the race was Minnesota driver Jeff Larson, who started dead last in the 24th position and charged all the way to ninth. Iverson’s career seventh win in the division made him eligible to qualify for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. The series is presented by Herbster Angus Farms. The first-ever IMCA Modified feature at [Read More]

$250 Sunoco bonus for Late Model winners in Nebraska this weekend

VINTON, Iowa – Extra money is on the line for the winner of weekend main events for IMCA Sunoco Late Models at a trio of Nebraska speedplants this weekend. The next three installments of the $250 Sunoco Race Fuels bonus will be paid to the July 15-17 Late Model winners at US 30 Speedway in Columbus, Boone County Raceway in Albion, and Off Road Speedway in Norfolk. Sunoco bonuses will be presented at IMCA Late Model sanctioned tracks in 2021. Drivers are eligible for one bonus during the racing season. Winners so far this year have been Matt Ryan at 300 Raceway in Farley, followed by Sean Johnson at Independence Motor Speedway, Andy Eckrich at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, and most recently Ron Klein at Dubuque Speedway. IMCA will announce mid-week before the dates bonuses are to be awarded at each track. Hot laps are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Columbus and Albion, and a half hour earlier at 7 pm in Norfolk.

Off Road Speedway season reaches halfway point

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (June 19) – The racing season at Off Road Speedway has reached its mid-point, with points races in all four divisions too close to call, and contenders continued to try to influence those outcomes on Saturday night. With a win in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature, Lance Mielke edged his friend Tanner Uehling at the checkered flag for his second Off Road Speedway win of the season and third overall victory this year. “I didn’t think I was going to do very good … a lot of tough competition out there, but I got out front pretty quickly and racing with my life-long buddy I didn’t know who was going to come out on top,” Mielke said. “I was too tight, and he was too tight, so to hang on to it for the win was nice for both of us to get first and second.” “I thought he was going to get me; I kind of over drove it when I needed to really drive it for [Read More]

Pettit, Prauner, Arduser top Off Road features

By Randy Pospishil sports@norfolkdailynews.com NORFOLK, Neb. (June 5) – Ron Pettitt picked up his first win of the season at Off Road Speedway, leading all 18 laps of the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature. Ryan Harris took second place, with Chad Bruns finishing third. Another local driver, Kyle Prauner, moved up from a starting position in the sixth row to take the lead with 12 laps left in the IMCA Sunoco Late Model feature, then won by several car lengths Nelson Vollbrecht and Robert Osborne, who finished in second and third, respectively. Mark Arduser came out of a four-wide battle with the lead in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature and won handily over Nate Buck–who came out on top of a multiple-car competition that lasted for several laps to take second place. Jason Wilkinson finished third.

Brothers battle in IMCA Stock Car feature at Off Road

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]

Off Road Speedway wins come in a variety of ways

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]