Rain Ruins Red River Return

Kaz Grafix photoNLSA Points leader Brent Steg on the gas at ALH Motor Speedway, Morden, MB.

Greg Cybulski, WINNIPEG, MB (June 21, 2014) The much anticipated return of the Northern Lightning Sprint Association to Winnipeg's Red River Co-op Speedway was washed away as heavy, steady rains forced the cancelation of the June 19 sanctioned race.

With 3 races in the books, here are your current 2014 NLSA Points Standings.

# Driver Points
7S Brent Steg 92
35W Wally Butler 89
11 Dexter Dvergsten 83
13K Al Giesbrecht 76
12 Brayden Pengilly 72
1HRP Chris Sorin 45
33 Murray Temple 42
3M Marcus Rothenbacher 40
13T Allan Trascinski 38
2R Roland Bernard 38
4 Eric Johnson 35
14 Edward Bell 34
96 Jared Kalynuik 9
27 Chris Unrau 8
2 Corey Olsen 7

Next action for the NLSA will be this coming weekend with 2 big nights of high-flying open wheel racing.

Friday, June 27 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Racing starts at 7:30pm
Saturday, June 28 at Devil's Lake Speedway, North Dakota. Racing starts at 7:00pm

About the Northern Lightning Sprint Association:
Created in September of 2008, the Northern Lightning Sprint Association is a rapidly growing organization committed to the creation and maintenance of safe, fast, fun, and affordable open wheel racing. Many of the organization’s members are dedicated to helping charities such as the Children’s Hospital Foundation and Cancer Care of Manitoba. More information can be found at http://www.nlsprints.com

NLSA Showing Early Positive Signs in 2014

Kaz Grafix photo
The Northern Lightning Sprint Association has 3 race nights in the books.

In 2013, the NLSA appeared to be on life-support for a good part of the season. Based on this season's car counts Manitoba's Open Wheel group are showing early signs of rebounding to respectability.

In 2014, car counts have been as follows,

15 Greenbush Race Park, MN
16 Devil's Lake Speedway, ND
9 ALH Motor Speedway, MB

The 9 cars in Morden are deceiving.

The average car count for ALH Motor Speedway last season was 9-10 which is on the mark. This does not include the Watermelon Cup which boasted a season-best 15 Sprints.

Some teams were unable to race due to mechanical/car issues from the previous night.

There will always be teams who opt out for personal reasons as well.

As I had suggested in a February post, NLSA 2014 Schedule and Other News, the Lightning Sprints would benefit, in the long term, from including 3 dirt tracks south of the border.

The big question mark which will be answered shortly are Red River Co-op Speedway's numbers. The NLSA's next scheduled race is there on Thursday, June 19.

Important keys to the future success of the NLSA in Manitoba are full membership participation and growth to sustain this class through the 2014 season and beyond.

It's still much too early to call, but based on what has transpired so far, the Lightning Sprint class appears to be headed in the right direction.

Open Wheel Racing Alive and Well in Western Canada

Kaz Grafix photoFans at ALH Motor Speedway standing for the NLSA Lightning Sprints parade lap.

Open Wheel racing is still alive and well in Western Canada.

Here's a few reasons why...

If variety is the spice of life, then Alberta continues to lead the way with Sprint Car racing events in Western Canada throughout the year.

Edmonton's Castrol Raceway hosts regular Sprint Car racing and specials that would satisfy any dirt track racing fan's need for speed.

Beginning in May and ending in mid-September, Castrol Raceway staggers race nights between ASCS 360 Sprints and Sportsman Sprints. On top of this, the dirt track oval hosts 3 big open wheel events in 2014.

July 18-19, the 60th annual Gold Cup race will take place featuring the ASCS 360 Sprints. Past winners of this prestigious event have included Travis Rilat, Jason Solwold, Travis Rutz, Sean Moran and Lou Kennedy Jr.

August 15-16, the Extreme Cup features a stout field of competitors in the very popular Sportsman Sprint class. Although the Sportsman Sprints race regularly at Castrol Raceway, they also travel and race on available nights at Rimbey, Alberta's Central Alberta Raceways. In the past, this group of racers have travelled as far as Swift Current, Saskatchewan to put on 2-night shows for the dirt track racing fans at Speedy Creek Raceway.

August 22-23, Castrol Raceway enjoys the privilege of hosting the STP World of Outlaws Sprint Series. This is the only Western Canadian stop for the 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars in their busy schedule.

Though not as entrenched in the Sprint Car culture as Alberta, Manitoba continues to support Open Wheel racing in it's own way.

Winnipeg's Red River Co-op Speedway will host 2 NOSA Sprint races in 2014. The Grand Forks, North Dakota-based group provides weekly open wheel excitement at River Cities Speedway as well as travelling throughout the territory during weekends.

The NOSA Sprints will bring their high-flying, mud-slinging excitement to Winnipeg on June 26 and August 28.

Locally, the most active group of Open Wheel racers is the Northern Lightning Sprint Association. They have a busy racing schedule involving 5 dirt tracks. The biggest event in Manitoba is the NLSA's $1,000-to-win Northern Shootout for the Watermelon Cup which takes place on August 10 at ALH Motor Speedway in Morden, Manitoba.

Racing purists will delight in this class with their clean, fast-paced racing. Don't let their size fool you. This is THE fastest car class that regularly races in Manitoba. They do not disappoint.

The NLSA Lightning Sprints look forward to bigger and better things in their 6th season.

Before concluding this post…

My parents have only ever been to a speedway twice in their lives. In 2004 for an NLRA Late Model race, and then in 2005 for the NOSA Sprints, both at Victory Lane Speedway. Just knowing that they came out to see what I was always fussing about made everything I have ever done worth it.

I published my last blog post the day before my mom passed away on March 18th. She always loved to read what I had written, regardless how good or bad it was. She knew how much I loved Sprint Car racing and supported all of my efforts over the years. So it only seemed fitting that I should write my next post for Mother's Day weekend.

This one's for you, Mom.

Until next time race fans, take care and Happy Mother's Day.

Chris Sorin, Of Family Tradition and Triumph

Team Sorin photo Chris Sorin may very well be the next big name in Manitoba's Open Wheel racing scene. In Manitoba's Open Wheel racing community, the Sorin family embodies the spirit of initiative and active involvement. During the off-season, the familiar #1 Team Sorin Lightning Sprint can be found on display at local Spring events such as World of Wheels and Rodarama.

Team Sorin photo The Sorins are always willing to chat about the Northern Lightning Sprint Association and dirt track racing with motorsports fans and curious onlookers. A family-owned and operated racing team, the #1 sprinter is piloted by Chris Sorin. He is cheered on by his wife Corissa and his children Miley, Dominic and Ryland. His parents, Darlene and Jacques, are no strangers to Open Wheel racing in Manitoba. Jacques was involved in Mini Sprint racing at New Bothwell during the 1980's. In his early years, Chris would watch his dad race.

Team Sorin photo Now the roles have changed with dad, Jacques, wrenching and sharing his wealth of knowledge with Chris. Darlene also took on an active roll within the Northern Lightning Sprint Association as Secretary/Treasurer under NLSA Presidents Darren Pallen and Chris Unrau. With everyone's willingness to learn and grow, Team Sorin has earned it's place as one of the top competitive teams in Manitoba's Lightning Sprint class. After purchasing Eric Guyot's Henchcraft Lightning Sprint in 2010, the Sorins began their growing pains in a very competitive field of Lightning Sprints lead by Roland Bernard. They struggled racing at Red River Co-op Speedway in their rookie season, finishing 9th place in points. 2011 was a different story. In 11 starts, Chris put together a run of six Top 5 finishes, including a career-best three 3rd place finishes at the end of the season. This performance would earn Chris Sorin 3rd place in Lightning Sprint points and Most Improved Lightning Sprint Driver at Red River Co-op Speedway.

Kaz Grafix photo 2012 was considered Team Sorin's breakout season. After a slow start out of the gate, Chris Sorin earned consistent Top 5 finishes for the balance of the NLSA season at Red River Co-op Speedway. Included in Chris' accomplishments was back to back trips to Victory Lane early in July. Had the #1 not endured the slow start, Chris Sorin may very well have been in the run for a points championship. Sorin also earned consecutive wins at North Dakota's Devil's Lake Speedway. Even though Team Sorin ran a limited schedule in 2013, the #1 Lightning Sprint produced consistent Top 5 finishes, including 3 trips to Victory Lane. Once at Red River Co-op Speedway and two times at Devil's Lake Speedway. Although it is not certain what their 2014 racing schedule will look like, one thing will be certain. Expect to see a strong performance from the #1 Team Sorin Lightning Sprint as they race towards their next checkered flag. After paying his dues, learning his lessons and improving his skills, Chris Sorin may very well be in position to take that next step to be the next elite driver in the Lightning Sprint class. Perhaps one day, one of the Sorin children may want to get involved in racing just like dad. On that day, a new chapter will begin in a story of family tradition and triumph.