By Josh Holt
After not being able to make the prestigious Knoxville Nationals Main Event in his entire career, Mark Dobmeier comes out this year with a bang, standing on top of the podium at the end of the night of Thursday’s qualifying race for the 51st Annual Knoxville Nationals.
Going into the Knoxville Nationals of 2011, Lunstra/Dobmeier Motorsports elected to qualify on Thursday rather than their traditional Wednesday night of qualifying for the Nationals. “We just wanted to mix things up a bit,” says Mark. “We haven’t been able to do better than mid-field of the B-Main, so we thought the track might be more to our advantage on Thursday and I guess it worked out fairly well!”
Dobmeier drew the #34 pill which denoted where his pit stall was and the order of qualifying for the evening. Mark took the track with his Senske and Son Big Trucks by Jimco #13 and set an 11th quick time which gave him a starting spot of 6th in the first heat race.
Dobmeier was up to fifth behind the Knoxville great of Danny Lasoski and with 2 laps to go, a red flag bunched up the field to give “Dynamite” Dobmeier one last chance to make it past the 33 of Lasoski and guarantee him a starting spot in the ever-so-important Main Event. At the drop of the green flag, Dobmeier expected Lasoski to take the bottom, but instead the 33 took the middle which allowed Mark to make an awesome pass on the bottom of turns 1 and 2, securing him into that transfer spot.
“I was so happy after making the main, I about jumped out of my car,” exclaims Dobmeier. “I have raced this deal enough to understand how critical the points are throughout the week, and then qualifying 11th along with transferring to the main event, I knew this was the turning point! I just can’t thank the guys enough for providing me with the car I had!”
Dobmeier lined up on the second row for Thursday’s Qualifying Main Event. At the beginning of the race, Terry McCarl (55) and Stevie Smith (1Z) got together causing a yellow flag and setting Mark in second behind World of Outlaw Champion Jason Meyers (14).
Dobmeier nearly passed Meyers going through the 1st two turns on the ½ mile following the restart, but didn’t make the pass so Mark got up top and tried to race Meyers down.
“Our Fisher Motor was unbelievable, and our car worked just amazing,” mentions Mark. “Here at Knoxville you have to worry about dirty air, but our car sitting behind Meyers was working great! I was running about the same line as he was and gaining on him, and I knew we would have a shot at passing the Champion. I was a little mad at myself after that caution for not making the pass then, but I knew we were fast. I was just ‘licking my chops’ waiting for the right time.”
The right time came as Dobmeier took the lead with a Knoxville “Slider” through turns 3 and 4, and with a couple attempts of Meyers doing the same and Dobmeier shutting the doors, Mark Dobmeier went in the books as the 51st Annual Knoxville Nationals Thursday Qualifier victor.
“This is awesome!” exclaims Dobmeier. “When I crossed the checkered in the lead, I didn’t really know what to think, except for the fact that we won. But, when I got out of the car and stood on that podium and all of those fans were cheering, yelling, and clapping….It was something that I just can’t explain. We have had a great run at Knoxville this year, and our motor program is the best it has ever been and with Dave Lunstra on our side along with Davey Whitworth, our team couldn’t possibly be any better. The guys gave me a great car. This is pretty darn sweet!”
Dobmeier then lined up 7th in the 51st Annual Knoxville Nationals. Mark fell back to 9th at the time of the “pit stop” and the team decided to give it new tires, fuel, and a different set of gears to give the Senske & Son Right Choice Electric #13 just a bit more speed.
The changes were successful as Mark charged up to fifth until a last lap slider was put on by Daryn Pittman (27) which set the Lunstra/Dobmeier Motorsports car back to sixth to finish out the week.
“This entire week has been awesome,” explains the Grand Forks, ND, native, “It hasn’t set in yet that we won the qualifying night, but I am sure it’s coming! I have to give an extra special thanks to my crew, my sponsors, and most importantly all the fans that give their continued support! Thanks again to the Dammer camp, Senske & Son Transfer, Rose Creek Tavern, and Willow Ridge guys who came down from Grand Forks!”
Following the Nationals, Dobmeier headed to Huset’s Speedway for another contest against the All Star boys. Dobmeier qualified 7th quick, started fourth in the heat and raced up to third, and then ran third in the dash to set the Senske & Son Right Choice Electric #13 on the inside of the second row for the 30 lap All Star Main Event.
“I took it pretty cautiously the first 10 laps or so, because of the mistake I made last time I raced with the All Stars a couple weeks ago,” adds Mark. “But once (David) Gravel got by my I figured I better elbow up!”
Dobmeier charged to the lead and took the checkers capping off a very successful week for Lunstra/Dobmeier Motorsports.
Up Next will be an All Star race in Fargo this Thursday, followed by a World of Outlaw Event in Grand Forks on Friday and Saturday at Huset’s Speedway.
“I am really looking forward to these next few races,” exclaims Dobmeier going into two Outlaw shows at his home tracks, “Our confidence level is the highest it has ever been, and we’ve ran strong against these guys many times… I would love to bring the Right Choice Electric Dammer Trucking Lunstra/Dobmeier Motorsports #13 to victory lane!”
FAST FACTS ON DOBMEIER:
Mark graduated from The University of North Dakota in Grand Forks with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in which he then put the degree to work as he currently has a business in his hometown called Forx Radiator where he specializes in radiator repair and other vehicle service work.
LUNSTRA/DOBMEIER MOTORSPORTS TEAM WEBSITE:
Be sure to follow the team through the team website www.markdobmeier.com. Latest results, news and photo updates will be updated regularly.
Follow Dobmeier on Twitter! www.twitter.com/dobmeierracing
By Josh Holt
While you are at www.markdobmeier.com, don’t forget to swing by the contact page and sign yourself up for the weekly press releases! Or, you can email josh@driverwebsites.com with subject Mark Dobmeier Press to be added to the list.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Senske & Son Transfer, Right Choice Electric, Big Trucks by Jimco, Dekalb Seed, Dahlstrom Motors, Forx Radiator, IQBid.com, Dammer Trucking, Anderson Brothers Body Shop, Willow Ridge, Rose Creek Farms, Forks Mobile Wash, Rite Spot Liquor, X-treme Polishing, High Mark Snowmobile Rentals, the Disabled American Veterans, the City of Grand Forks, and Driver Websites.com.