It was a homecoming to remember for Gage Pulkrabek. The 19-year-old sprint car driver from East Grand Forks kicked off his 2026 season by traveling the country with High Limit Racing—one of the premier sprint car circuits in the nation. That experience against the best in the sport paid off Friday night, as Pulkrabek captured his first career win at River Cities Speedway, taking the checkered flag in the NOSA 25-lap feature at "The Bullring."

The young driver caught a crucial break when NOSA career wins leader Mark Dobmeier spun out with 13 laps to go, erasing a 2.704-second lead. "It's a pretty big win for me," said Pulkrabek. "It's my home track." He credited the track conditions for keeping the race competitive, noting that the bottom lane held up well until the final restart. Dobmeier was gracious in defeat, admitting, "The car was really good. I just drove it a little too hard into the corner."

Defending NOSA champion Jade Hastings finished second, followed by Jack Croaker, Nick Omdahl, and Colton Young. Friday's windy conditions forced officials to delay the sprint car action until after all other divisions had completed their heat races and features.

Pulkrabek, who plans to rejoin the High Limit series next week in Pennsylvania, reflected on his growth as a driver. "You just have to find a way to push yourself through," he said. "You can't just stick behind people and wait for them to mess up. You've got to find a way to force yourself through." He added that he still hopes to race at River Cities Speedway again this season.

In other action, Shane Edginton of Winnipeg won the 20-lap late model feature, passing pole-sitter Kelsi Pederson for the lead with eight laps to go. "I knew we were pretty good," Edginton said. "I just had to bide my time." Dustin Strand charged from seventh to take second, while Pederson finished third ahead of her father, Joey, and John Seng. "It was kind of surreal watching her lead all those laps," Joey said of his daughter. The late model field also featured East Grand Forks veteran Tom Corcoran, who began his 57th season of racing Friday night.

Eric Guyot dominated the wingless sprint feature, leading all 20 laps, while Nick Shirek finished second. Winnipeg's Frank Vreet took the win in the Midwest mods class.