Mark Dobmeier reflects on hitting 200 NOSA wins
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 1—GRAND FORKS — Mark Dobmeier started driving a sprint car full time in 1999. His goal was to get his first feature win that summer.
It didn't happen.
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"You get out there and you realize it's not as easy as it looks," he said.
In his second year, he got one.
On July 14, 2000, a 19-year-old Dobmeier held off Brad Pake to claim his first NOSA feature win at River Cities Speedway.
"I remember the feeling you get once you win a race, get out of the car and the crowd is going nuts," Dobmeier said. "The hair stands up on the back of your neck and it's one of the best feelings ever, an accomplished feeling."
Dobmeier has experienced that feeling plenty in the 26 years since then.
On Saturday night, the Grand Forks native won his 200th NOSA feature, beating out Andy Pake — Brad's son — and Jack Dover at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, S.D.
"It's been a fast journey, to be honest," said Dobmeier, who has won more than 300 total sprint features. "It's weird. I'm not one to keep a scorecard and I'm not keeping track of this stuff. I didn't know I was close to 200 until I hit 199 and everyone got excited. Time flies when you're having fun is what I'm learning."
Dobmeier, a 1999 Red River graduate, took off soon after getting his first feature win in 2000.
He won four NOSA features in 2001, two in 2002, nine in 2003 and 10 in 2004.
In 2005, Dobmeier won more than half of NOSA's shows (16 of 31).
"You're always focused on the next race, how to do it better, what you can do," Dobmeier said. "You take one at a time. When you do that, you start having some luck, you're running well, and it adds up over time, I guess."
Dobmeier passed Wade Nygaard as NOSA's all-time wins leader in 2012. Those two still rank 1-2.
It hasn't all been easy, though.
Friday marks the six-year anniversary of an ugly wreck during a World of Outlaws heat race at Cedar Lake Speedway near New Richmond, Wis.
Dobmeier suffered an L4 burst fracture that required fusion of his L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae. It kept him out of racing for a year.
In 2023, he suffered second- and third-degree burns on his legs while racing in Arizona.
"We had a hell of a run going, rattling off wins," Dobmeier said. "We had seasons with over 20 wins in a year, banner seasons, you could say. Then we had the back injury six years ago and had to take a year off. Then I tried to burn my legs off in Arizona. There are a lot of barriers to break through after injuries to get your speed back up and to get going again. I feel we've always had a good ability to do that. It doesn't always happen instantly. We've always had the ability to battle back and get back on top again."
Dobmeier returned after the Arizona fire to win 20 of NOSA's 38 features the next two seasons.
This summer, Dobmeier has won two NOSA features, and says he feels excellent.
"I don't feel the results this year have showed the speed we've had," Dobmeier said. "I think every race in Grand Forks, I could have been able to win if I didn't make a wrong decision or had an equipment failure. Everywhere we've gone, we've had good speed."
Dobmeier plans to compete Thursday at River Cities Speedway, then take the rest of the weekend off — an annual midsummer break he started taking after his back injury.
Then, he'll return to the track to try to add to his win total.
"I think one of the coolest things is that a lot of the same friends, family and crew members who were with me when I first got involved with racing are still part of the crew," Dobmeier said. "There's a lot of stuff that goes on in racing. Through everything, to still have the same crew behind me, I'm very proud of that."