Nygaard Ready to Tackle 28th Season!
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (April 4, 2018) – The 2018 racing season is officially underway for Wade Nygaard and the Nygaard/Mullen Motorsports team. This year will mark Wade’s 28th year behind the wheel of a Sprint Car and the veteran driver hasn’t missed a beat. This year’s schedule will look similar to that of last year’s 40-50 race campaign across several tracks and series.
“There are a lot of really good NOSA races this year right in our backyard. I would really like to get to Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturdays when we can and the new Jackson Motorplex a few times,” said Nygaard. “I think we’ll probably pick and choose where we want to run. We’ll run locally when we can, then go to some bigger shows too when we aren’t racing around here.”
With the bulk of his events tentatively scheduled to be Northern Outlaw Sprint Association (NOSA) races, Nygaard looks forward to running the 360 several times this season. “There’s quite a bit of MSTS 360 racing going on, a lot of Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) racing at Cedar Lake, there’s some good high paying races in the region this year,” he said.
Last year, Nygaard made his first 360 Knoxville Nationals appearance since 2009. He not only ran the 360 Nationals, but also competed at the Capitani Classic and the 410 Nationals. Nygaard will be returning to Knoxville this year for both Nationals, along with a couple weekly shows leading up to build upon the notes the team recorded at the big half-mile last summer.
Wade competed at Race 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan. last weekend to open the 2018 season. A practice night and two nights of competition gave the team a good opportunity to shake down their Rider powered J&J’s before the regular season kicks off. Tough draws for the heat races, combined with unfavorable track conditions made for results that didn’t necessarily reflect the team’s performance.
“It was still nice to get out of town. The racing didn’t go so well, but we had a good time anyways,” he laughed.
The weekend also marked Brendan Mullen’s Sprint Car debut. Mullen is the grandson of team owner, Bob Mullen, and had raced with the Northern Lightning Sprint Association the past few seasons. It didn’t take long for the 14-year-old to start turning heads.
“I have never, ever seen any kid start in a Sprint Car and be as good as he is for his first time out,” said Nygaard. “It was crazy. He was running the cushion and was smooth all the way around the track.”
Up Next:
April 13th: I-80 Speedway – Greenwood, NE
April 14th: Park Jefferson Speedway – North Sioux City, SD
2018 Stats:
Race: 2
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 0
Heat Wins: 0
Wade and the entire crew would like to thank their great sponsors for their continued support!
Auto Finance Super Center
C&M Ford Sales, Inc
Valley Oral & Facial Surgery
Ground Round Grill & Bar-Grand Forks, ND
Superior Steering Wheels
Energy Release
Northland Custom Woodworking
Bosh Enterprises
Rider Racing Engines
J&J Auto Racing
