Most of my life has involved racing.
I started watching the races when I was about 10 years old, at the Red River Valley Speedway by going with my aunt and uncle. At that time, my favorite drivers to watch were Jack McDonald, Rick Auckland, Mitch Johnson, Duane Miller, Duane Wadeson, Don Covell, Troy Olson and Steve Ackerland.
Back then, the cars were basically either hobby stocks or late models. I had two uncles that raced - Clinton Berg (who raced only briefly but was around racing for many years) and Jim Fischer (who raced for several years). Jim really got me hooked on racing. He taught me to build cars and do weekly maintenance/repairs.
After Jim retired from racing, I was working at WW Wallworks, and several of its employees also worked at the Red River Valley Speedway. I was asked to work on the track doing line-ups on yellow flags. I did that for several years and had a blast.
I worked my way up to Assistant Flagman, and after learning from one of the best in the area (Jim Smith) I became Head Flagman at the Red River Valley Speedway when Jim Smith retired. Serving in this role was one my favorite racing experiences to date.
I have since worked as a Completion Director/Head Flagman at several tracks in the area including Red River Valley Speedway, Buffalo River Race Park, Norman County Raceway, I-94 Speedway and Greenbush Race Park.
I also had the opportunity to work as an official for great events and series around the area including WOO Sprint Cars and Woo Late Model Events at the Red River Valley Speedway, and the Red River Coop Speedway in Winnepeg, Jamestown Speedway, and local series NLRA and NOSA. About the only track I haven't flagged yet is the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND.