​Another John Seitz Memorial is in the books as the tenth running of the event took place at the River Cities Speedway last week. Thursday night was marred by rain delays, but produced a new track record holder in Wissota national point leader Dustin Strand, and a new three-time NLRA series champion in Brad Seng. Friday saw the original Seitz memorial pole sitter, Steve Laursen, earn the pole once again. Saturday saw Elk Mound, Wisconsin native AJ Diemel join Brad Seng as the only two-time champions in the events' history.

Dustin Strand, driver of the No. 71 Q&Z Plumbing & Heating Millenium, continued his hot streak last week going undefeated in both heats and both features first on Thursday night in Winnipeg at the Red River Co-Op Speedway and at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks.

​The wins are his fifth and sixth of the season in NLRA action, and his tenth and eleventh with the series overall, as he now sits tied for seventh on the all-time wins list.

He will head into the final four races of the season with the opportunity to tie and or break the record for wins in a single season, currently held by the late John Seitz, at seven victories. Strand has also won six of the last eight NLRA events, five of them have been sweeps, including four in a row.

Two-time and defending NLRA series champion Dustin Strand, driver of the No. 71 Q&Z Plumbing & Heating Millenium, picked up his first series win of the season Sunday evening at the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND.

​The win was Strand's sixth career series triumph, which puts him in a tie for eleventh on the NLRA series all-time wins list, as he joins Dale Skytland, Kevin Sexton, and Pat Doar. Strand also became the first driver to win multiple NLRA features at the speedway.

Two-time and defending NLRA series champion Dustin Strand picked up his first series win of the season Sunday evening at the Red River Valley Speedway. The win was Strand's sixth career series triumph, while also becoming the first driver to win multiple NLRA features at the speedway. Strand started second, and lead all 25 laps of the main event. Fellow two-time champ and current NLRA series point leader Brad Seng finished second, with Mike Balcaen third, two-time series winner this season Cole Schill in fourth, and Minnesota Iron Ranger Jeffrey Massingill rounding out the top five. Bill Mooney was the hard charger, backing up his B-Main win with a charge from the 17th spot to finish ninth. Seng will carry a 40 point lead over Shane Edginton into this Saturday nights' event at the Devils Lake Speedway.
Full Results.
​Current Points.
Mike Spieker photo.

The NLRA is coming off a four race stretch, which started last Wednesday night at the Norman County Raceway in Ada, MN, helping kick off the 121st Norman County Fair.
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​The stretch kicked off last Wednesday night, as heat winners Kevin Robertson, driver of the No. 10R Nugget Vending MasterSbilt and Adam Fischer, and his No. 30 Northwest Auto Body Rocket, lead the field to the green flag in the feature. Iron Ranger Jeffrey Massingill, driver of the No. 6M Tesar Racing Engines Club 29, got off to a great start on the bottom of the track, and lead the field into turn one from the third starting spot.

Brad Seng took the lead from Jeffrey Massingill on lap four, and went on to victory during night one of the NLRA double header at the Norman County Raceway in Ada, MN. The wins is Seng's 32nd victory with the series, the most all time. The two-time series champion also closed his gap in the season long points race, as he'll head into night two at Norman County just two markers behind new point leaded Shane Edginton. Edginton is the third different point leader in four nights of action thus far this season, as former point leader Steffen Snare is just four points back in third. Winner at Norman County last July, Don Shaw, finished second, with Massingill, Mike Balcaen, and Jeff Wildung rounding out the top five. The races started just after seven pm, and were done at ten after nine. That fact coupled with the addition of Donny Schatz to what was already a stellar field, makes Thursday night at Norman County a can't miss. Remember you can by tickets online at ncraceway.com.
Full Results.
​Current Points.
Mike Spieker photo.

Thursday: Diemel Wins The Race; Strand Wins Second Series Title

Defending Seitz Memorial champion AJ Diemel of Elk Mound, WI kicked off his title defense in style with a win Thursday night at the 'Prelude to the Johnny' at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND. 

Diemel and Joey Pederson, driver of the No. 7P Dahlstrom Motors MB Custom, shared the front row at the start, in a rematch of last years' finale at the Seitz Memorial, as the pair was separated by just .114 seconds last September. 

Jeffrey Massingill in the Razor Edge No. 6M at River Cities last June. Massingill picked up his first NLRA series win in 2013 at the Hibbing Raceway in Hibbing, MN during the running of the Mike Baumgardner Memorial. The NLRA returns to Hibbing on August 8th. The NLRA Season starts at the Viking Speedway on Saturday May 23rd and Sunday May 24th. Photo courtesy of Traci Palya.

Jeffrey Massingill picked up his first NLRA feature victory during the Mike Baumgardner Memorial race at the Hibbing Speedway on Saturday night. Above is a picture of Massingill in action during the John Seitz Memorial race last September at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND. Photo courtesy of Traci Palya