Back-to-back race nights requires luck

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Back-to-back nights can be tricky business for race car drivers.

A wreck on the first night might shatter any chances for even getting in his car on the second night. So, being careful and finishing the race is of the utmost importance.

Zach Frederick said getting across the finish line is his goal for this weekend’s doubleheader at the Southwest Speedway.

Races begin at 7 p.m. today and Sunday.

The Wissota Street Stocks driver from Hebron, who is tied with defending track champion Bill Miller of Plevna, Mont., for the season standings lead, said he loves winning but doesn’t mind if he only has a good finish.

“You’ve just got to finish each night, you don’t have to win it, just finish up front,” Frederick said. “In two nights of racing, anything can go wrong.”

Whichever driver emerges from weekend with the steadiest hands behind the wheel will help themselves greatly in the long run.

“I think it’s all going to come down to luck,” said Frederick, who is in his second season racing Street Stocks.

Olheiser beginning to find his bearings in Modifieds

Travis Olheiser did not have strongest debut season in the IMCA Modifieds in 2010.

But, the Dickinson racer seems to be getting the hang of his car this summer.

Olheiser is in fifth place heading into tonight’s races and just nine points behind leader Marlyn Seidler in the class he joined last year after winning the track’s Pure Stocks title in 2009.

Olheiser said he has no illusions about becoming a track champion this season. His only goal is to continue improving.

“Honestly, I’m hoping to try and get in the top five again. That’s all I’m hoping for,” Olheiser said. “I don’t know if I’m good enough to win yet. I might luck into it.”

Olheiser said he has noticed the difference in his racing from last year to this year.

He said the experience he gained from last season, which was peppered with issues and low finishes, has showed him what it takes to race in the Southwest Speedway’s premier class.

“It helps to have a year,” he said. “Any seat time you can get in a race car is good for a guy. There’s a lot to learn on them. I don’t even think I’ve scratched the surface on it.”

Don’t expect influx of Minot racers

Roughrider Racing Association President Mark Selle said not to expect an influx of Minot-area drivers displaced by the city’s flooding at the Southwest Speedway.

Races in Minot are canceled indefinitely because of the flooding as the Nodak Speedway has been dismantled and used to make an earthen berm to protect the North Dakota State Fair’s new grandstands.

Minot Daily News sports reporter Chris Aarhus, who used to be a sports reporter for The Dickinson Press, said Minot drivers he has spoken with who plan to continue racing this summer said they will likely attend races at Williston’s Basin Speedway or Mandan’s Dacotah Speedway.

Tags: auto racing, southwest speedway, sports