Frost Bite 100 a new twist on Southwest Speedway racing

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It’s time to go racing!

Yes, even though it’s almost October.

Thanks to a run of nice weather, the Southwest Speedway is set to host the Frost Bite 100, a two-day event scheduled to start at 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

“I think we got lucky,” said Mark Selle, president of the Roughrider Racing Association. “It sounds like it’s going to be in the 80s for the weekend. A lot of places are racing. It’s a chance for us to get one more in before everyone packs it in for the winter.”

The Frost Bite 100 won’t follow the Speedway’s regular race procedures either.

Drivers in the IMCA Modified, Pure Stocks and Thunder 4 classes will earn their feature race position through NASCAR-style time trials.

The track’s timing system will then gauge the best time of two laps for each car. As in NASCAR, the car with the best lap time starts at the pole position and so on down the line.

“Instead of just drawing a number and saying, ‘This is where you start,’ you actually get to earn your spot,” said Selle, who is also a Pure Stocks driver.

The Wissota Street Stocks will run both time trails and regular heat races since they are still racing for their organization’s state and national points. Their position in the heat will be determined by the time trial.

The IMCA Modifieds will run 40 laps with one mandatory pit stop. The Streets will race 30 laps, the Pure Stocks 25 laps and the Thunder 4’s will go 20.

More than $2,000 has been added to the normal payout, too, giving the winner of the Modifieds feature $750. The Street Stocks winner takes home $350.

Selle said the payout increase, combined with the fact that the races are sanctioned by both IMCA and Wissota has out-of-state drivers inquiring about the event.

“Everyone’s trying to find out what’s going on,” Selle said. “We were getting calls a month ago. It looks great. We’ve got a lot of guys calling and asking about it.”

Because of an expected high car count, there will be a B-Main consolation race for classes that have more than 24 cars.

“It’s looking like it’s going to be a pretty packed show,” Selle said.

Selle said track officials are adamant about keeping September’s Harvest Shootout as the Southwest Speedway’s signature postseason event.

However, he said the possibility of continuing the Frost Bite 100 is intriguing and challenging at the same time since the race will depend entirely on the weather.

“This is a first trial to see how it goes, not to say this isn’t going to be our show of choice,” Selle said. “It’s so late in the season, it’s hard to say we’re going to do it every year.”

Frost Bite 100

4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

At Southwest Speedway

Pits open at 1 p.m.; races at 4 p.m.

Prices: Adults $10, Kids 6-12 $3, 5-and-under free.

Directions: The track is located 10 miles south and 1 mile west of Dickinson.

Tags: southwest speedway, auto racing, frost bite 100, sports