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Mark Dobmeier – Jackson Champ!

Mark Dobmeier and the Jimco Racing/Polaris #13 team wrapped up another track championship, but this one came at a different track. The Grand Forks, North Dakota team picked up the title at the Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota. The track concluded its 410 season last Saturday night, and Mark finished fourth in the main event. This weekend, the team plans on the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Back Row Challenge at River Cities Speedway.

A two-day event at Jackson was turned into one by Mother Nature on Friday. “It rained after hot laps,” says Mark. “They kept trying to get it in. We qualified fourth or fifth quick. We made it out of the heat, and after that, it started raining again and they called it.”

Coming out nineteenth in the order, Mark timed in fifth quick Saturday. “We turned a decent lap there,” he says. “It was a solid qualifying effort. We started fifth in the heat and needed to make the top four. On the first start, I nailed it. We came out of turn two in second place. The second start, a couple cars got tangled up in front of me and got crossed up. I checked up, and they got going again. I was stuck in fifth and couldn’t advance.”

That meant starting inside row six in the feature. “The track was really dry,” says Mark.
“It had rubbered up in the 360 feature. It was already late, but they got the tiller out and scratched both corners. It took awhile, but it created a decent track for the feature.”

Mark bided his time in the finale. “There was a lot more traction at the beginning and we were tight,” he says. “About halfway through, our car really came into play and we got lightning fast. We were able to drive up to fourth. With a yellow three-quarters of the way through, it would have been interesting. That didn’t happen, and we had to settle for a fourth-place finish.”

It was good enough to earn the team the track title. “We were really proud of that,” says Mark. “Our team has been working hard all year, and our big track program is where it needs to be. We did it without winning a race there, but if you look at our results at Jackson, we’ve qualified well, started back in the pack most nights, and finished in the top three or five.”

The Blazin’ Back Row Challenge has become a tradition in Grand Forks, and Mark is looking forward to it. Staring at the tail and winning the finale nets a driver $8,200. “I’ve always enjoyed the back row challenge at River Cities Speedway,” he says. “They used to offer a little more for finishing in the top five, but after I pulled it off a few times, they haven’t been paying quite as much there! But $8,200 to win isn’t bad at all to go for!”

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