7/28/2015
Sprint Source
Mark Dobmeier – Two Wins Cap off Busy Week!
A five-race week resulted in two wins for Mark Dobmeier and the Jimco Motorsports #13 team. The Grand Forks, North Dakota native earned his 111th career win at the River Cities Speedway in his hometown Friday. He also picked up his second FVP National Sprint League victory of the year Sunday at Huset’s Speedway near Brandon, South Dakota. It was his 60th career win at Huset’s. This week finds the team competing with the NSL at the “Road to Knoxville” event at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska Thursday and Friday. They will also compete at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on Saturday.
NSL “Fair Speedweek” kicked off at the Hancock County Speedway near Britt, Iowa Tuesday. Mark would start twelfth in the main event, and advance to sixth. “It was a fun little track,” he says. “It was really racy. I caught the top groove before a lot of other people did. I was getting a car every lap or two. As the race went on, they were catching on that the top was fast, especially in one and two. At that point, it took us the rest of the race to get by a couple more cars. I enjoy going to new racetracks, and Britt was fun.”
At the Iowa State Fair Speedway in Des Moines on Wednesday, track position was everything and he would finish 12th after starting 14th. “Des Moines has a great facility,” says Mark. “The grandstands and everything were awesome. They just have a lot of work to do on the racetrack. There was just nowhere to pass with the way the track was Wednesday.”
On Thursday, it was on to the Jackson Speedway in Minnesota. Mark would charge from 14th to ninth in the feature. “Compared to Jackson Speedway of the past, it was definitely racy,” he says. “We were able to run around a little bit. A lot of people were on the bottom of one and two. On the last caution, I paraded around the top of one and two and it looked decent. On the restart, I went up there and we were able to climb a couple of spots at the end.”
In River Cities on Friday, Mark would start fourth in his heat race. “We ran second to Austin Pierce in the heat,” he says. “At the end of the night, I have to tip my hat to the track. The heats were dry and slick. They came out at intermission and prepped it for the feature. It was an excellent track. You could run the top or bottom. You could even hang in the middle of the lapped cars if you wanted to.”
He would start fourth in the feature. “I think we got to the lead on the second lap or so,” says Mark. “We were railing it up on the cushion. It got to a point in traffic where a lot of the cars were running the top. I went to the bottom to see what was there and there was actually a good bottom down there too. There were a couple of late race cautions, which makes a guy nervous, but we were able to drive away.”
Coming out dead last with the NSL at Huset’s on Sunday, Mark would time in eighth quick. “They had enough water in the track that coming out late wasn’t a disadvantage,” he says. “Sitting in that eighth spot in the heat…you are a dead man walking. You have to get at least a spot or two, or ninth or tenth quick are going to pass you for the redraw. We ran it pretty hard and we were able to get up to second.”
A young fan drew a starting spot inside row two for Mark. “I really like the NSL redraw,” he says. “If I draw my own pill, you see what happens. If a kid draws for me, it goes a lot better. We had a good feature. (Dusty) Zomer was running a fast pace, and he was running it well. I could stay with him, but I didn’t have enough to pass him. My goal was to stay with him until we got to lapped cars.”
His winning move would have to come in traffic. “I tried the bottom early to see what was there,” says Mark. “There was enough to hang. I loved the racetrack. We were able to pinch him in lapped cars and sneak by on the bottom. Once I was by, I just went as fast as I could and got through lapped traffic as best I could.”
Jimco Motorsports would like to thank Senske & Son Transfer, Big Trucks by Jimco, Right Choice Electric, Acme Tools, X-treme Polishing, Interstate Towing & Recovery, B/L Strong Box, Steffes, Dahlstrom Motors, GLB Transport, Tireboss, Forx Radiator, Anderson Auto Body, Gary Gruhot Farms, Willow Ridge, Rose Creek, Great Plains Plumbing & Heating, Ironman Welding, DAV, Rendezvous Region Construction, High Mark Snowmobile Rentals, Boss Signs & Graphics and Dobmeier Bonding for all their help!
Photo: Mark with Hope Adam, Miss America North Dakota in Victory Lane at River Cities (Rick Rea – www.RickRea.com)
Article Credit: Bill Wright