LITTLE RACE TRACK ON THE PRAIRIE

LittLe racetrack on the prairie

RC drivers from across the country have come to new track

By Rocky Hulne

If you’ve made the trip north on Highway 218 at any time in the past few months, you’ve surely noticed that a new speedway has popped up.

But this isn’t your typical speedway, it’s built for remote control cars and is a welcome addition for RC drivers all around the Midwest and beyond.

Southern Minnesota Raceway, which is located right off of 218 as you enter Blooming Prairie from the south, was started by Justin Dokken of Austin and his wife Nadia. Their four children have all contributed to the track as well.

The track was formerly located at Clarks Grove off Interstate-35 by a gas station and it sat there for six years, before Dokken moved it to its BP location in the summer of 2021. The new location will offer indoor racing in the winter, as well as lights for nighttime races.

“We’re going after the biggest fish. We’re going after the big events. We didn’t want to go small, we wanted to go big or go home,” Justin said. “We need a big enough place to host big events for people around the United States to run on and we wanted a professional track that the pros run on.”

Justin and his family spent a good portion of the spring preparing the track, which was designed by Bobby Moore, a renowned trackmaster from North Carolina. Some of the

preparation included tearing down a shed, developing the land, and putting up a grandstand. By summer, the track was hosting weekly races for area racers. Justin is hoping the track will draw bigger and better events in the summer of 2022 as he is looking to add concessions, retail and eating booths. “It’s been a slow moving process. It’s more work than everyone thinks it is,” Justin said. “Just to get the land to build and to get to the time to build it, it’s been an adventure. But we’ve had some good racing out here.” Justin began RC racing at a young age and he said there are a lot of tracks in Northern Minnesota. He has seen people race with a variety of cars, but the more exThe Dokken family, from left: Sam, Dru, Nadia and Justin have brought radio control action to Blooming Prairie. pensive the RC car, the better it will perform on the track. “Hobby grade RC cars are a good start, but when they break, you want to upgrade to better cars,” Justin said. “It’s like going from a Chevy to a Porsche. You work your way up and it gets a lot more expensive, depending on your budget. I’ve had Walmart cars out here before, but they usually don’t make it a lap before they break.” RC racing has helped bring the Dokken family together, and sometimes they get a little bit caught up in trying to beat each other. Justin often tries to top his oldest son Dru and Nadia gets on the track and joins in the fun as well. “It’s something we can all do together and on race day, the competitive spirit really ramps up,” Nadia said. P

Southern Minnesota Raceway in Blooming Prairie offers racing on the small scale with radio controlled action. Sam Dokken launches one his car off a jump. Photos by Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com