The North Dakota State Fair Ass’n’s charter was revoked in 1925 when a crash killed two spectators and injured five others. Soon after, the Grand Forks State Fair Ass’n was formed to govern the races. The organization would do so for 27 years.
Perhaps the track’s most famous visitor was in attendance on Oct. 4, 1937. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated the new grandstand after its construction that year. His appearance drew 20,000 people and the president remarked that maybe they should have built the grandstand a little bigger!
In the late 1950s, the track underwent a configuration change. It was cut to a quarter-mile in length, resulting in door-to-door racing. The first races on the new oval started from a standing start and soon two classes were created. The supermodifieds were the first step in the evolution to sprint cars in North Dakota and the Class C cars were the hobby class.
In the 1970s, the hobby cars became known as “streets” and late models were added. Meanwhile, sprint cars evolved into the premier class at the track. By 1999, Grand Forks Speedway had become River Cities Speedway.
In 2009, five structures at the Grand Forks County Fairgrounds, including the race track’s grandstand, were placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. The preservation of these structures shows the importance of the facility to the residents of Grand Forks County and is definitely unique in weekly dirt-track racing.
This past season, the grandstands were reinforced and new safety fencing was added following a freak incident during a WoO race resulted in a car getting stuck on top of a post. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
River Cities Speedway is one of the select few tracks still running 410 sprint cars and late models on the same weekly card. Family ties run deep at the local facility, as one might expect. The Mack family, led by local farmer and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Mack, is a prime example. Mack saw a race in Grand Forks in 1959 and never looked back.
This is where 10-time WoO sprint car champion Donny Schatz cut his teeth. Other giants of the sport have won in Grand Forks over the years, including Steve Kinser, Emory Collins, Deb Snyder, Sammy Swindell, Gary Wright, Bobby Grim, Pete Folse, Danny Lasoski, Terry McCarl, Al “Cotton” Farmer, Buzz Barton, Gordon Woolley and Jac Haudenschild. Schatz has also won late model features at River Cities.
The all-time winner at the track, however, won’t be topped anytime soon. Through 2019, hometown boy Dobmeier had graced victory lane no less than 142 times, while Wade Nygaard was second at 61.
The Dobmeier family is also ingrained at River Cities. Mark’s father, Mike, campaigned street stocks, late models and sprint cars. Too young to get in the pits at first, Mark Dobmeier sold programs with a friendly nature that built relationships in the local community and they have stood the test of time. Today, Mark Dobmeier owns Forx Radiator in Grand Forks.
The electricity from that night the WoO came to town in 2017 will never leave Dobmeier.
“It amazes me every year when the World of Outlaws come to town,” he said. “I don’t know why they don’t have a two-day show here, because every night, they pack the house. They cannot possibly fit anyone else in the grandstand. The people are crammed in there and the place gets electric. It’s amazing.
“They sold out the grandstands one year. Obviously, they wanted to sell more tickets. They got a semi-trailer …I think they got a flatbed from Brad Seng’s place. They had two of those and filled them with people. Everyone eats, breaths and sleeps sprint cars around here. When you get the Outlaws in town, it’s just nuts.”
Late model greats such as Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Rik Aukland, legend Mitch Johnson and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series contender Ricky Weiss are just a few who honed their skills at River Cities.
Dustin Strand and his father, Brian, are another typical family connection. A two-time NLRA champion, Dustin Strand summarized River Cities best. “I enjoy racing there a lot,” he said. “It’s next to home, which is a plus. It’s elbows up and you’re on the wheel. Everything sure does happen in a hurry.”