HURON — Mother Nature had been the lone winner this season on the RepairableVehichle.com Tri-State Late Model Series.

All three of the events, which were scheduled to be held in May were rained out.

“We are 0 for 3, so hopefully we get Mother Nature to cooperate,” said Tri-State Late Model Series director Mike Gross.

Hopes are high that the series will be able to get its 2025 campaign under way Thursday, when it rolls into Dakota State Fair Speedway for Wheel Jam — Wild Race Car Night at 7 p.m.

“The drivers are anxious to get things rolling,” Gross said. “We’ve had some drivers who have been trying to get in some test-n-tunes. A couple of the speedways were we have races have given drivers an opportunite to hot lap, when they show up for a local show.”

The Tri-State Late Models will be joined Thursday by the WISSOTA street stocks, Midwest modifieds and super stocks.

Gross is expecting a good turn out of drives for what has developed into the season opener for the series.

“There’s gonna be a lot of cars. I mean, we had we had 32 or 33 cars at Rock Rapids when we rained out a week ago,” he said. “Then you know, that, along with all of those cars, you know you’re going to get the ones that are running up in Brown County weekly. We should have a strong field with some of the best late models in the tri-state area.“

Blair Nothdurft of Renner is the reigning Tri-State Late Model Series champion. He will be looking to start the defense of his title with a victory at the Huron track.

Corey Zeitner of Omaha, Neb., was second last year, while Watertown drivers Scott Ward and Trevor Anderson were third and fourth, respectively. Rounding out the top five in the final standings was Cody Martin of Mitchell.

The late model drivers will be running for a top prize of $3,000 to win Thursday night. The series heads to Aberdeen for a $3,000-to-win show on Friday at Brown County Speedway and then returns to Dakota State Fair Speedway on Saturday for Wheel Jam — Challenge Cup XXIII, which pays $5,000 to win.

“The good payouts will definitely be appealing to the drivers,” Gross said. “Plus having Wheel Jam going on at the fairgrounds is a big favorite, as well.

“We’re just excited to get to the race tracks, where they work hard to give us great track,” he said. “It’s always enjoyable coming up that way, because you know they get good crowds and people always enjoy racing in front of good crowds.”

The WISSOTA Midwest modifieds will join the late models for Saturday’s show, which is slated to begin at 7 p.m.