February 22, 2021 2020 Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock National Champion Dustin Gulbrandson
USRA Director of Track Operations Bryce Hall, in conjuction with RacinDirt.com, recently spoke with 2020 Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock National Champion Dustin Gulbrandson to discuss this past year in the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series and what lies ahead for the 30-year-old from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In 2019, the division's trophy wound up somewhere other than Sioux Falls for the first time in six years when Eric Stanton snared the title, but it returned to its natural habitat in 2020 after Gulbrandson’s dominating campaign.
After Stanton snapped Gulbrandson’s string of five straight titles, Gulbrandson came back with a vengeance and laid down a wire-to-wire performance that netted him a USRA-best 26 victories in 2020. He started 51 races and won more than half of them while finishing in the top-five 46 times and all but once in the top-ten.
Ten of his wins took place at the Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and he was a winner nine times at the I-90 Speedway in Hartford, South Dakota. He cruised to the track championship at both venues. He also won three times at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa; twice at the Sports Park Raceway in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and once each at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota, and Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wisconsin.
For his efforts, Gulbrandson garnered $1,500 from the Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock national points fund and as much as $1,000 for his track championships and the PBM Performance Products Northern Region presented by MVT.
Final 2020 Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock national points:
1. Dustin Gulbrandson, Sioux Falls, S.D. ... 4685
2. Chris Hovden, Cresco, Iowa ... 4491
3. Tyler Schlumbohm, Sioux Falls, S.D. ... 4439
4. Eric Stanton, Carlisle, Iowa ... 4412
5. Scott Dobel, Manly, Iowa ... 4242
6. Levi Vander Weide, Sioux Falls, S.D. ... 4124
7. Tracy Halouska, Worthing, S.D. ... 4077
8. Joshua Ludeking, Decorah, Iowa ... 4064
9. Scott Spilde, Cresco, Iowa ... 4038
10. Matthew Machen, Roswell, N.M. ... 4034
11. Dylan Fitzpatrick, Magnolia, Minn. ... 4008
12. Jeremy Crimmins, Fort Dodge, Iowa ... 3963
13. Austin Hoeft, Charles City, Iowa ... 3875
14. Nick Brady, Sioux Falls, S.D. ... 3874
15. Steve Larson, Decorah, Iowa ... 3863
16. Todd Uhl, Sheldon, Iowa ... 3859
17. David Males, Roswell, N.M. ... 3776
18. Dylan Clinton, Edgewood, Iowa ... 3764
19. Bryce Sommerfeld, Fort Dodge, Iowa ... 3753
20. Nathan Machen, Roswell, N.M. ... 3688
Mensink Racing Products USRA Hobby Stock national champions include Dustin Gulbrandson (2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014), Eric Stanton (2019), Adam Cline (2013), Dillon Anderson (2012), Dan Strandberg (2011), Shane Klaassen (2010), Chris Hovden (2009), Jason McDaniel (2008), Mitch Hovden (2007) and Nathan Wood (2006).