ARLINGTON, Minn. (Aug. 3, 2024) – Ben Reierson led every lap but the last one last week.
He got the job done Saturday night at Arlington Raceway, beating Matt Looft to the finish line by all of 18 thousandths of a second for his career first Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature win.
“I definitely replayed that in my mind a bunch. We were supposed to have that Stock Car special (rained out and rescheduled to this Wednesday) so I was trying to erase that from my memory and start fresh,” said Reierson, 22 and in his fourth full season in the class. “Then it came to Saturday, I was able to start second row and I got the lead on the second lap. I tried to stay as smooth and consistent as I could.”
Unsure exactly where the scoring loop is, Reierson took the checkers at the end of the caution-free main event and looked to his right, seeing Looft running with him virtually side-by-side.
“It was great to get this win. We’ve worked pretty hard for it,” said Reierson, the winner in his 23rd start of the season. “We really had a slow start to the year. We’ve had a lot of problems getting the car to handle right. We finally got that figured out and then I broke two times while leading.”
“Last week Matt beat me on the last lap, so it was a relief to get our first win out of the way. Hopefully we can keep going in the right direction.”
Reierson followed his father Brent, uncle Brian and cousins Briana and Britany onto the dirt and grew up going to Arlington Raceway. He started in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, moving to the Northern SportMods in time for the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes specials in 2021.
He’s made early-season trips to Arizona for three years, as much to get away from the Minnesota winter as to get in some January racing.
“It almost like it breaks up the race season again,” he explained. “After we go to Arizona, we’ll have three months before we race again and after the season here it will be another two and a half, three months before we go back. It’s something that’s fun to do and it breaks up the winter.”
With career win number one accomplished, Reierson will be back on track Wednesday at the Sibley County Fair Shootout, running with six-time national champion Looft while continuing his on-track education.
“I enjoy racing with him. Every time I race with Matt I use it as a learning experience,” said Reierson, pilot of a 2022 Skyrocket. “When he gets by you or if he sees something maybe you can improve on, he isn’t afraid to tell you that. He’s been a huge help to me and my team, getting us pointed in the right direction. It’s been really fun to race with him.”
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