32nd Annual Northern Nationals Presented by Bay Lock & Security is Bringing Back the Russ Laursen Late Model Classic.
The 32nd Annual Northern Nationals presented by Bay Lock and Security is bringing back the Russ Laursen Classic and will be the highest paying WISSOTA Late Model Race to ever take place at Gondik Law/Superior Speedway in track history.
The IRA 410 Sprints felt they could only get 16-17 Sprints to come to Superior, so declined their invitation back to the Northern Nationals. Track Promoter and one of the owners of Gondik Law Speedway, Joe Stariha said “Steve Sinclair with the IRA 410 Sprints did all he could to try to make this event happen again with his IRA 410 Sprint Series, so with the Sprints not coming, the right thing to do is bring the Late Models in for a two day event”.
The Russ Laursen Classic began back in 1970 at Superior for both the late model and sprint car divisions following the untimely death of Russ in a sprint car crash at Fairmont, Minnesota
Russ Laursen was a legend to those who witnessed his success in racing. Russ started his racing career in 1951 and recorded numerous feature wins throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Russ earned five straight track point championships at the Rice Lake Speedway from 1961-1965 which included an incredible 52 feature wins driving his famous #19 and #519 cars. Russ also raced on the IMCA sprint car circuit during the latter 1960s. In 1969, he raced 15 of 30 races in the IMCA sprint car division and finished fourth in national points. Russ won three Canadian Invitational races, was the second all-time money winner at the Minnesota State Fair and won over 500 trophies during his 19-year career.
Stariha said “When I was talking to Steve Laursen (Russ’s son) in the pits during our practice sessions in early May, Steve was telling me the story behind his new number this year, the 519, and immediately after that conversation, knowing the Sprints we most likely not coming to the Northern Nationals this year, I thought we have to bring back the Russ Laursen Classic and make it a huge event.”
The 32nd Annual Northern Nationals presented by Bay Lock and Security will kick off on Thursday September 10, 2020 with the Northern Renegade Sprint Car Series making its third appearance at GLS, and the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, Pure Stocks and Hornets rounding out the classes for Thursday.
Friday September 11th, the WISSOTA Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds will invade Gondik Law Speedway. Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds will run a complete show, while the Late Models will run two of their three heats, they will run over the next two days.
Saturday September 12th, The WISSOTA Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds will run another complete show, while the WISSOTA Late Models will run their third and last heat. The top 16 in passing points combined for all three heats will make the Feature, while the remaining Late Models will run B-Mains to fill the 25 car $5,190 to win $519 to start, 40 lap feature.
“We wanted to try something different with the Late Model race being this is the first year without the Sprints in a long time at Superior. Having three heats keeps the fans very interested, and every heat has a ton of meaning to the drivers as they need every point to make the top 16 on Saturday and won’t have to run a B-Main”. says Stariha.
Additional information about Gondik Law Speedway can be found at www.GondikLawSpeedway.com and their Facebook Page.
