Regardless of his past results, 52-year-old driver Ed Turnbull always looks forward to racing late models.
He's never taken the checkered flag in the class, but the Estevan, Sask., native has a clear goal in mind for this weekend at Nodak Speedway.
"We're planning on winning this Sunday," Turnbull said.
Flooding washed away a scheduled WISSOTA late model race a year ago, but if weather cooperates, the Northern Late Model Racing Association will bring the class back to the track for the first time since 2010.
The machines are the fastest full-fender race cars that'll appear in Minot, according to Nodak Race Club Vice President Lindsay Lawson. Unlike many race cars that come off the street, late models are built for the sole purpose of racing.
They're the cars that Tony Stewart brought national attention to in his "Prelude to the Dream" event earlier this month in New Weston, Ohio, an HBO Pay-Per-View affair won by Kyle Busch.
But these cars don't often make appearances in the western part of the state. Late model races are held weekly in Grand Forks, occasionally in Jamestown and seldom anywhere else in North Dakota. So when Nodak announced late models would make their return, it got the attention of local drivers.
"That's the one thing that I look forward to," Minot's Steven Pfeifer said. "It's something that gets marked on the calendar.
"We've got half of the field just in western North Dakota. We just don't get to run them much."
Lawson expects a field of 20-24 cars for the feature race. While some, like Mandan's Jeremy Keller, are regulars to the NLRA circuit and make about 40 appearances a year, many are like Pfeifer - running six-to-eight times, wherever they can find a race.
"It's just a total freelance deal," Pfeifer said. "There's no points involved (for part-timers) in that because we don't race consistently with that. If things don't work out perfectly it's not going to ruin your day."
Keller raced to victory lane for the first time as a late model driver in 2007 at Nodak.
His last trip to the dirt track wasn't so fortunate.
"I won my heat and then my car broke before my race even started," Keller said. "The car wouldn't start, bad ignition block."
That feeling is one Turnbull can relate to. Turnbull led the 2010 feature when his front brake locked up, preventing him from turning and forcing him to the pits early.
Sunday night he'll have another chance at victory lane. And despite his plans for success, he knows something could potentially go wrong.
"I don't think I can make any guarantees," Turnbull said. "I'm going to give it my best shot."