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Kenmare well represented at State Fair Enduro race

There’s no doubt Kenmare continues to be a hot bed of auto racing activity and that was evident during the North Dakota State Fair.

8/01/17 (Tue)

Top 10 finisher . . . Joe Nelson stands next to the car while his son Austin puts on his head gear in preparation for the Enduro race. Nelson, who has gained valuable racing experience the past two years, finished eighth in the race.

By Marvin Baker

There’s no doubt Kenmare continues to be a hot bed of auto racing activity and that was evident during the North Dakota State Fair.

Seven people who call Kenmare home were involved in the 2017 enduro race held Monday, July 24 – seven of 64 – that’s nearly 10 percent of the field.

And that’s pretty impressive when you consider there were drivers in that race from Douglas, Rugby, Minot, Bottineau, Valley City, Belcourt, Dunseith, Estevan, Williston and others.

Rick Gottbrecht of Dunseith won the race having completed 108 laps in the time limit. That’s the second consecutive year that Gottbrecht has won the race.

However, it was Kenmare’s Austin Nelson who gave him a run for his money.

Nelson finished in eighth place  and he might have been closer to Gottbrecht, but he finished the race with 10 fewer laps than the winner.

Several other Kenmare drivers not only raced in the enduro, but ended with respectable spots which impressed not only the fans who follow the Kenmare group, but leadership of the Nodak Speedway, the organization that sponsored the race.

What’s even more impressive is that two of the seven are current Kenmare High School students while the five others are 2016 or 2017 graduates.

Nelson is a 2017 graduate, Michael Schlosser, who finished in 36th place with 37 laps, will be a junior and Devin Triplett, who finished 39th with 35 laps, will also be a junior.

Ty Jesz, Brandon Burtch and Hunter Harris, were all 2016 graduates while Caden Mau just graduated in May with Nelson.

Harris, who normally runs a solid race and was in the top 10 a year ago, finished with 12 laps. He said he had mechanical difficulties early on and it plagued him throughout the race.

Betty Nordstrom, who has been involved with the Nodak Speedway for years and has been its official photographer, said she thought to herself, a lot of Kenmare drivers when all the names were announced.

“It’s good to recognize them, even if it wasn’t their best year” she said. “A lot of work goes into getting a car ready.” ... 

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