Mark races with Aaron Reutzel (87) at Jackson (Jeff Bylsma Photo)
(Bill W) June 5, 2017 – A strong field gathered for the 39th Annual Jackson Nationals last weekend, and Mark Dobmeier and the Jimco Racing/Polaris #13 team was stout all three nights. The Grand Forks, North Dakota driver ended the three-night event with an eighth place finish in Saturday’s finale. The team will race close to home this Friday night at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks.
Mark qualified well both nights. In Thursday’s prelim, he was eighth quick in his group. “We’ve figured a few things out with our qualifying this year, and we have things where we need them to be,” he says. “We seemed to have ironed that out. Our EMi chassis is really handling well, and I’d like to thank them.”
He started fourth in his heat, and made a move to finish second, qualifying him for the Dash. “We started in the back, and raced with (Aaron) Reutzel there for a little bit,” says Mark. “We really couldn’t get going enough to pass cars, so we used that to search around the track and find some things for the feature.”
Mark started the feature eighth. “That finish was kind of deceiving,” he says. “We were back and forth. We were up to seventh at one time, and back in 17th at another. It was good racing, and we eventually were shuffled into 11th where we finished.”
Friday night, he would time in fifth quick in his group. “It was another good qualifying run,” says Mark. “We started third in the heat. We got to third and we were catching Scott Winters for second. I went to the top of one and two and kind of got hung out to dry a little bit. Cap (Henry) got back by me and we ended fourth.”
Mark lined up inside row seven for the main event. “It was a lot like Thursday’s feature,” he says. “There was a lot of shuffling around. The track was racy pretty much every night. There was a top and a bottom. It was another good fight and we ended up 13th.”
The point system used lined drivers heads-up in their heats with the winner getting a spot in the Dash. Mark would be outside row one for his. “We started next to (Joey) Saldana,” he says. “We were even down the straightaway, but he had that inside lane. I chose to let him slide up and tried to tuck underneath him. I couldn’t get enough speed down the backstretch to get him in turn three. We stayed with him though, and ran a strong second, one spot out of the Dash.”
He would save his best finish of the weekend for last after starting 11th in the finale. “We kept trying things, and the crew was working hard. There were some things that didn’t work as well the first two nights. We found some speed for the feature, and we were able to advance up to eighth in the end.”
Mark and the team were happy with the weekend. “There were forty solid cars there, so we had a good weekend at the end of the day,” he says. “This week, we’ll run River Cities Speedway on Friday. We want to get geared up there before the Outlaws come next week. One of our priorities is getting an Outlaw win at River Cities, and we want the guns blazing when they get here!”
About Polaris…
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) is a global powersports leader with annual 2015 sales of $4.7 billion. Polaris fuels the passion of riders, workers, and outdoor enthusiasts with our RANGER®, RZR® and POLARIS GENERAL™ side-by-side off-road vehicles; our SPORTSMAN® and POLARIS ACE® all-terrain off-road vehicles; VICTORY® and INDIAN MOTORCYCLE® midsize and heavyweight motorcycles; SLINGSHOT® moto-roadsters; and Polaris RMK®, INDY®, SWITCHBACK®, and RUSH® snowmobiles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments, and accessories sold under multiple recognizable brands, and has a growing presence in adjacent markets globally with products including military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. www.polaris.com
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Jimco Motorsports would like to thank Polaris, Senske & Son Transfer, Big Trucks by Jimco, Right Choice Electric, Acme Tools, Interstate Towing & Recovery, Kyllo Trucking, B/L Strong Box, Steffes, Dahlstrom Motors, GLB Transport, Forx Radiator, Anderson Auto Body, Gary Gruhot Farms, Willow Ridge, Rose Creek, Herberg Custom Harvesting, Great Plains Plumbing & Heating, DAV, Ron Gatheridge, Boss Signs & Graphics and Dobmeier Bonding for all their help!
Photo: Mark races with Aaron Reutzel (87) at Jackson (Jeff Bylsma Photo)
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