We are quickly working through the dog days of summer and that leads us to two of the most exciting points of the year and that is the track championships and the invitational season. We will discuss track championships in another article but in this one we take a look at the upcoming area invitational races. The end of the season is called multiple names such as "invitational season", the "month of money", and a few other entertaining names as well. Whatever you want to call it, one thing is for sure and that is North Dakota has an extremely fun month of September for both fans and drivers. So let's break it down and take a look at what's in store for the 2021 invitational season.
Opening Week: Aug. 27-29
While the Wissota invitational season technically starts with the Silver 1,000 at the Halvor Line Speedway, ours is going to start at the Estevan Motor Speedway and the Buffalo River Speedway. These both are technically outside of North Dakota but it does see a lot of our local drivers participating at these tracks. Estevan hosts their annual Dirt Wars and it is often well attended by drivers and fans. Estevan should hopefully see a boost in car count now as the border begins to open up, this race will be a two day full show event. The Dirt wars will host all of their classes of IMCA modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA stock cars, IMCA hobby stocks, and slingshots.
Meanwhile at Buffalo River Speedway the Corn Cob Nationals will be taking place. Much like the Dirt Wars, it will be a two day show with a complete show each day. However, this race place will take place on Saturday and Sunday and will be offering free corn on the cob to those in attendance. There will be a bevy of classes for the weekend as BRS will host the IMCA modifieds, IMCA sport mods, IMCA hobby stocks, INEX legends, Minn-Kota lightning sprints, limited late models, short trackers, and Wissota modifieds. It looks to be another big race weekend at the Corn Cob.
Labor Day Weekend (week 2): September 3-6
Labor Day weekend sees a long standing invitational race take place up at Playground of Power in Minot. Yes, it's Motor Magic! A weekend so magical that it can only happen in the magic city. Three nights of racing to close out the season for the Nodak Speedway and they will be hosting the all of their weekly classes (IMCA modifieds, IMCA stock cars, IMCA sport mods, IMCA hobby stocks, IMCA sport compacts, and sling shots). The fans will be treated to complete shows each night.
Week 3: September 6-12
The first race we will talk about is the IMCA Super Nationals. It's a week long extravaganza where ridiculous car counts are the norm (610 have pre-entered so far) and the atmosphere is a complete party for a week straight. Not only does Boone provide some of the best car counts, it always provides the best IMCA drivers in the nation. If you're a fan of IMCA racing this is a bucket list race for you. Oh don't forget to buy one of the mammoth steaks on a sandwiches you won't regret it!
Ok so back to the invitational races in our state. North Dakota hosts one of, if not the most prestigious Wissota late model races of the year and that's the John Seitz Memorial at the River Cities Speedway! This is one of the highest paying late model races of all of Wissota and brings in arguably the most diverse fields of cars as it is one of the most central races of the year. River Cities has three nights of excellent racing action as the first night is the Prelude to the Johny, the second night is qualifying night, and the final night is the big grand finale. If you're a Wissota diehard fan this is a bucket list race that you will want to attend. The classes for the weekend are late models, modifieds, midwest mods, and street stocks. The NOSA sprints will join the show on Friday but that's it.
Meanwhile back towards the central portion of the state Wishek and the Tri County Speedway hosts its annual Sauerkraut 500 weekend. The Tri County Speedway will be rocking as the 500 is a party atmosphere. It is a two night show and will run its weekly classes (Wissota street stocks, Wissota midwest mods, INEX legends, and hobby stocks) along with short trackers/sport compacts class. The Sauerkraut 500 will be a fun weekend for everyone attending and don't forget to pick up some of the world famous Wishek Sausage.
On the west side of the state Dickinson will be reviving the Harvest Shootout this year. The revival of the Harvest Shootout is a great race for the western part of the state and its drivers who decided to not head to the Super Nationals. The Harvest Shootout will be running their regular IMCA classes (modifieds, sport mods, stock cars), INEX legends, and hobby stocks. This weekend will cap off an exciting year under new management.
Week 4: September 14-19
After a big weekend for IMCA and the Super Nationals it will be Wissota's turn to put on their big show as it's the Wissota 100. Every Wissota class will be represtented at the I-94 Speedway, which is a very big deal as this will be the first time ever that the pure stocks and hornets will be allowed to participate. This will be a great weekend for Wissota racing fans as all of the big guns of Wissota will be in attendance. Classes to be expected are all Wissota based: late models, modifieds, super stocks, street stocks, midwest modifieds, mod fours, pure stocks, and hornets.
Meanwhile back in the western part of the state is the Fall Round-Up at the Williston Basin Speedway. From what we have found so far, this will be the only place of racing in North Dakota for the weekend. The Williston Basin Speedway has made some excellent upgrades at the track and has had a stellar season so far. They will be running their weekly classes of IMCA modifieds, IMCA stock cars, IMCA sport mods, and IMCA hobby stocks.
Week 5: September 23-25
As the invitational season nears its end we cross paths with an invitational race that runs deep with tradition. What could be considered one of the biggest season ending races originally for Wissota, the Jamestown Stock Car Stampede has stood the test of time and continues to draw large fields of cars and hosts a party atmosphere that everyone enjoys. Thursday night is the Calcutta where drivers are paired up in each class and are auctioned off. Friday and Saturday provide excellent racing in a plethora of classes. There are the Wissota late models, Wissota street stocks, Wissota midwest modifieds, INEX legends, hobby stocks, slingshots, IMCA modifieds, and the IMCA sport mods. This year also marks a huge milestone as it is the fiftieth annual running of the Stampede, so get out to this wonderful celebration of racing!
Week 6: October 1-2
This is it, this is the end of the 2021 racing season and it all concludes at the Dacotah Speedway and Oktoberfest! Dacotah Speedway has opened its doors to a ton of different classes that usually don't run there and are ready to send the season out in style. Now in the past Oktoberfest usually has had one night at Dacotah Speedway and one night at Southwest Speedway. However, this year Oktoberfest will stay both nights in Mandan and that will lead to one awesome weekend. The classes that will be running are the IMCA modifieds, IMCA stock cars, IMCA sport mods, IMCA sport compacts, Wissota street stocks, INEX legends, hobby stocks, and wingless sprints. The pits should be packed for this seasoning ending weekend and the bragging rights will be on the line!
So there you have it, a quick look and a guide to the invitational season! 2021 still has a lot of racing left to take place but it's never too early to start planning out your invitational season!
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