This past Wednesday Cam Reimers became the first sport mod driver to win the Harris Clash two years in a row at Deer Creek Speedway in Minnesota. The road to those victories started in 2019 after the short course off-road racing team he drove for shut down.
“I had obligations with my sponsors,” said Reimers, of Kelley, Iowa. “I had always kept an eye on dirt-track racing, and I knew if I had to quit off-road racing, I would like to race on dirt ovals.”
Growing up in Iowa, Reimers was familiar with dirt-track racing.
“I’d been around oval racing all of my life [but], I wasn’t entrenched,” Reimers said. “I was a fan since my dad took me to Boone Speedway to watch the races every week. My dad, Kent, was not a racer, he was just a guy in the stands. Now, he’s on my crew.”
With no ride in off-road racing, Reimers talked with his sponsors.
“I asked, ‘How about we do this — IMCA sport mod racing?’” said Reimers. “They saw that I loved the idea. I explained why I loved the idea — and they loved it.”
Making the Switch to Dirt Ovals
Cam Reimers brought sponsors Gunk and Kicker, among others, with him to dirt racing. In his first season, 2019, he won two features. He doubled that number in 2020. Then, Reimers came to a realization.
“I came from [ATV] motocross — a type of racing that is more driver than machine,” Reimers said. “All you needed was decent equipment. I took that mentality too much into off-road. I bolted on what I could afford to and went racing.
“It was late in 2021 that things started clicking. I realized I was so dumb when I raced off-road. I was tuning shocks for things like jumps — I didn’t understand that tuning shocks to get traction to the ground was so important. Sport mods taught me about bar angles, springs, and how to get more traction. Everything we lacked in in off-road racing was equivalent to slick-track racing on an oval.”
What Applies from Off-Road Racing to Dirt-Track Racing
Reimers did quite a bit right when he competed in series such as TORC and the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. He won the World Championship Off-Road Races at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway in Wisconsin.
“Tire prep is the first thing of importance in off-road racing” said Reimers. “We used DOT tires — they didn’t fire off well. We were constantly trying to soften tires with grooving blades and sipes. You have to utilize grooves for more traction and knob flex.”
Reimers says that he can also gain more life out of his tires than other sport mod competitors.
“I may buy tires for a race like the Harris Clash,” Reimers said. “The rest of the time I’m fixing old tires. I’m spending a lot of time siping and grooving. I can get a three-night tire to work as well as a one-night tire. It just takes time, patience, and learning the skill of siping.”
What’s Ahead for Cam Reimers
While Cam Reimers maintains a busy schedule, he works full-time on his family’s 2,000-acre farm of corn and soybeans.
“I can’t make a living racing a sport mod,” Reimers said. “We have great sponsors; we chase all the big-money shows we can — and it still costs us some.”
With two Harris Clash victories under his belt, Reimers still seeks one event’s win. The big race at the dirt track he grew up going to.
“We’re doing well this season — we’re all having fun,” said Reimers. “The only big one left for us would be the IMCA Super Nationals.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
