Countdown: N. Dakota

Formerly part of the Dakota territory, the Peace Garden State achieved statehood in 1889. From the Red River Valley to the Badlands, wheatfields and cattle ranches dominate the landscape.

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The state's population is roughly the same as it was in 1920 -- perhaps since North Dakota has some of the wildest weather in the country. The biggest city -- Fargo -- has less than 100,000 residents.

Actresses Angie Dickinson and Ann Sothern are from North Dakota, as are cowboy novelist Louis L'Amour and bandleader Lawrence Welk.

NASCAR is still awaiting a future driving ace from North Dakota.

Best behind the wheel

In our research, we failed to find a NASCAR driver who hailed from North Dakota.

However, Michael Waltrip was quoted in the Arizona Republic in November as saying, "What gets me is going to North Dakota and having 400 people show up just to see me. I didn't even know there were 400 people in North Dakota who cared about NASCAR."

We wish ...

Home run king Roger Maris had become a NASCAR driver.

Fargo's most famous athlete is responsible for the most famous asterisk in baseball history. When he broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record with his 61st round-tripper in 1961, Commissioner Ford Frick added the notation to show Maris accomplished the feat in 162 games.

Keeping it on track

NASCAR's premier series has never visited North Dakota. There are currently no paved ovals in operation in the state. However, more than a dozen dirt ovals are listed, including tracks in Minot, West Fargo and Grand Forks.

A word from our sponsor

• MDU Resources Group, Bismarck

MDU Resources provides value-added natural resource products and related services that are essential to energy and transportation infrastructure, including natural gas and oil production, construction materials and mining, domestic and international independent power production, electric and natural gas utilities, natural gas pipelines and energy services, and utility services.