NORTH DAKOTA
The Peace Garden State
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From the travels and adventures of the “World’s #1 Trackchaser”
All-Time Favorite North Dakota Track:
River Cities Speedway
Current lifetime trackchasing state rank: 2
Best Memories:
Years ago I used to be the Central Regional Sales Manager for my company. As you might imagine the “central region” included North Dakota. We didn’t have much business in the state. I would normally only get out there once a year to work with our reps. That visit would come in the summer. That visit would come when a North Dakota track was having a mid-week racing special. With power comes privilege! When I’ve been in North Dakota I’ve tried to see as many Trackchasing Tourist Attractions as I could…..like the tour of the North Dakota State Capitol building (above).
My sales rep and I showed up at the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo for their World of Outlaws sprint car show. The grandstand was sold out. The best we could do was stand all night in an area roped off for fans in the pit area. Not only was it difficult to see the racing from there but the North Dakota state bird, that would be the mosquito, nearly chewed us up one side and down the other. Our arms were like windmills swatting at the mosquitos all night long. This was not one of my favorite trackchasing memories.
I’ve done the North Dakota week-long modified tour. That was fun. Visiting the Geographical Center Speedway in Rugby was a good trip because the place was so ruggedly rural. River Cities is a fast little quarter-mile but the night I was there it was about 100 degrees. It was fun seeing the county fair enduro at Flaxton but much less so the enduro at the Wells County Fairgrounds. During one of my winter trips, I made it to a University of North Dakota hockey game (above). Wow! Seeing the Englestad Arena was one of my all-time favorite Trackchasing Tourist Attractions. Their arena rivals just about any in the NHL.
TRACK | CITY | STATE | COUNTRY | DATE | TRACK TYPE |
Red River Valley Speedway | West Fargo | North Dakota | United States | July 13, 1981 | DO |
Jamestown Speedway | Jamestown | North Dakota | United States | July 12, 2003 | DO |
Nodak Speedway | Minot | North Dakota | United States | July 12, 2003 | DO |
Williston Basin Speedway | Williston | North Dakota | United States | July 15, 2003 | DO |
Southwest Speedway | Dickinson | North Dakota | United States | July 16, 2003 | DO |
Dacotah Speedway | Mandan | North Dakota | United States | July 17, 2003 | DO |
River Cities Speedway | Grand Forks | North Dakota | United States | June 17, 2005 | DO |
Sheyenne River Speedway | Lisbon | North Dakota | United States | May 29, 2006 | DO |
McLean County Speedway | Underwood | North Dakota | United States | June 11, 2009 | DO |
Thunder Mountain Speedway | Bottineau | North Dakota | United States | July 26, 2009 | DO |
Wishek Tri-County Speedway | Wishek | North Dakota | United States | June 17, 2010 | DO |
Geographical Center Speedway | Rugby | North Dakota | United States | August 2, 2013 | DO |
Devil’s Lake Speedway | Crary | North Dakota | United States | July 26, 2014 | DO |
Flaxton Speedway | Flaxton | North Dakota | United States | June 27, 2015 | DO |
Wells County Fairgrounds | Fessenden | North Dakota | United States | June 22, 2018 | DRC |
New Rockford Autocross Course | New Rockford | North Dakota | United States | September 25, 2022 | DRC |
Pirate Trap Racetrack | Hankinson | North Dakota | United States | September 17, 2023 | DO |
If you see a track link in the above list simply click on it to be transferred to my Trackchaser Report. Here you will be able to read about my adventure at this particular track. Not only will you learn about my time at the track but you’ll hear about all of the interesting people, places and things I encountered during the entire trip, coming and going, to that speedway. Most of my Trackchaser Reports will also include a photo album and YouTube video. Check it all out. Don’t be afraid to use the “search” box in the upper right corner of my website’s home page. Just type in the track name or whatever and you’ll be directed to the place you want to be. Below is a key to surface types and track configurations so you can understand the above list just a little bit easier.
Surface types: D-dirt; P-paved; M-mixed Configuration types: O-oval; RC-road course; F8-figure 8 track