Chase Wark Announces Northstar Gravel Series with 4 Races & $10,000 Prize Purse: Details

Josh Rizzo
11 minutes ago
2 min read

The Northstar Gravel Series is a new season-long points series from Wark’s Cycle Services (Chase Wark) that ties together four of Minnesota’s most beloved grassroots gravel events: Granny’s Gravel Grinder, The Hotdish, The Day Across Minnesota (The DAMN), and Filthy 50. Riders will race their category across all four events, earning points toward overall series standings and end-of-season prizes, including a $5,000 men’s and women’s open purse. With approachable categories, classic courses, and a clear scoring system, it gives gravel riders a fresh way to structure their season and chase results on familiar Midwestern roads.

To learn more and get registered, visit the Northstar Gravel Series.

Four of Minnesota’s best-known grassroots gravel events are now part of a single season-long competition: The Northstar Gravel Series. Created and owned by Wark’s Cycle Services (Chase Wark), the series links together Granny’s Gravel Grinder, The Hotdish, The Day Across Minnesota (The DAMN), and Filthy 50 into one points-based gravel season.

What to Watch for in the Northstar Gravel Series

Several of these races are already among the region’s most-loved gravel events, and they’re all in the hands of someone who knows what good racing feels like, Chase Wark, who’s lined up against the best in the Life Time Grand Prix and has a strong track record of running gravel events.

It’ll be fun to watch how the first year of the Northstar Gravel Series takes shape, how storylines build across four races, and how the commitment to doing the full series might shift riders’ calendars and choices around other events in the region. However it plays out, it’s going to add a fresh layer of excitement to Minnesota gravel.

How the series works:

Anyone can participate. You can register for the full series and save on entry fees, or sign up for each event individually.

The four races that count toward the series are:

Granny’s Gravel Grinder - 100 miles
The Hotdish Overall - 100 miles Saturday & 60 miles Sunday
The DAMN - 240 miles
Filthy 50 - 50 miles

Points from all four events count toward the overall standings—there are no drop races. You’ll also need to start Filthy 50 to be eligible for end-of-season awards.

Scoring & categories

Series points go toward the category you register for and your placing in that category at each event.

Each race, your score is 100 – (your category placing) + 1 point for starting the event. So if you finish 8th in your category, you earn 92 points, plus 1 point for starting, for a total of 93 series points.