A pair of canadian drivers were winners of the two NLRA series races contested last week, as Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, MB won at the Red River Co-Op Speedway on Thursday night, and Bill Mooney of Selkirk, MB won at the River Cities Speedway on Friday night.
Mike Balcaen, the NLRA series point leader and driver of the No. 10 Northstar Canada Black Diamond, lead flag-to-flag for his first NLRA series victory of the season, and 22nd of his NLRA career, third best on the series' all-time wins list.
Mike Balcaen, the NLRA series point leader and driver of the No. 10 Northstar Canada Black Diamond, lead flag-to-flag for his first NLRA series victory of the season, and 22nd of his NLRA career, third best on the series' all-time wins list.
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Mike Balcaen and Cole Schill, in the No. 44 Rivinius Ranch MasterSbilt by JMR, shared the front row at the start, with Mike Balcaen gaining the advantage as the pair hit turn one for the first time. The first 19 laps went caution free, and as Balcaen had pulled away from the rest of the field, Cole Schill, Dustin Strand, in the No. 71 Q&Z Plumbing Moyer Longhorn, Ricky Weiss, driving the No. 7 Derrick's Sandblasting Bloomquist, and Bill Mooney, in the No. 2 OMG Candy MasterSbilt by JMR, began a four car battle for second. Schill took second, leaving Weiss to begin harassing Strand for third. As Balcaen began dissecting the lapped traffic, Weiss took third from Strand, and second from Schill, as the trio navigated through heavy lapped traffic, leading track announcer Darren Pallen to exclaim, "this is cool stuff!" Strand took third from Schill with eight to go, and began to chase down Weiss again for second. A caution for Matt Smith with six to go re-stacked the field, but Balcaen was too strong on the restart, reclaiming the lead as Strand took second from Weiss, with Brad Seng moving the No. 12S S&S Transport MB Custom into the top five. Another caution with three to go for Steffen Snare, driving the No. 71S Todd's Electric Bloomquist, who got caught up on the wall in turn four, was followed by another caution for rookie Kevin Giesbrecht, who spun to avoid a stack up in front of him. |
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Mike Balcaen races in front of a packed house last Thursday night in Winnipeg. Photo credit: Tim Johnson, tsjphoto.smugmug.com
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Balcaen again remained unchallenged for the lead, as Strand and Weiss continued their duel for second. As the field was coming for the white flag, Bill Mooney fell off the edge of the track, but no caution was called, and the race was called complete with 24 of the 25 laps run. Balcaen stated in victory lane that he and his crew had been working hard on the new car "We worked all year on this thing, we just got a new frame, and we put all the pieces we built at home on it." Balcaen continued, " We've been tweaking on it, and last week we went to far, so we went back a little bit, but we're happy with our home-built stuff." Balcaen thanked his sponsors, including Speedway International Fuels, the same fuel he has used throughout his 32 year career. Ricky Weiss finished second, with Dustin Strand, Cole Schill, and Brad Seng rounding out the top five. Balcaen, Strand, and Schill won the heat races, while 21 cars entered the event.
Bill Mooney (2) and Dustin Strand (71) race for the lead at River Cities. Photo cortesy of Mike Spieker, speedway-shots.com
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On Friday night at the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND, Bill Mooney lead flag-to-flag, winning his third career NLRA series feature.
Bill Mooney and Mike Balcaen shared the front row at the start, with Mooney winning the drag race to turn one. As Mooney built a healthy lead, Dustin Strand and Ricky Weiss fought for second from the time Weiss took second from Mike Balcaen on lap six, until Strand had a tire start to go flat with two to go, in a battle that was reminiscent of the pairs battle at the Red River Co-Op Speedway just one night prior. As this was going on, Donny Schatz, who would go on to win the sprint car portion of the event, started a charge in his No. 15 K3 Farms Rocket, that started from his eleventh starting spot. |
Schatz moved from seventh to fourth on lap ten, and spent the remainder of the event fighting with the previous nights' winner Mike Balcaen, and June winner at River Cities, Joey Pederson, driver of the No. 7P Dahlstrom Motors MB Custom, for the final spots inside the top five. Cautions on laps five, nine, 13, 15, and 21 kept Mooney from ever having to navigate through heavy traffic, except when he split George Balcaen and Adam Fischer coming off of turn four with four to go. Mooney's biggest tests came after those cautions, as Dustin Strand would pull even with Mooney in turn one at the drop of the green, but Mooney was stronger on exit of the corners. When asked about the number of restarts, Mooney explained in victory lane that, "I looked up and saw there was ten to go, so I treated it like it was heat race." also claiming to be a "tired man" at the conclusion of the 25 lapper. Mooney was also quick to thank crew member Jamie Beatty, and said of the River Cities crowd, "These are the best fans in all of dirt track racing."
Ricky Weiss finished second, with Mike Balcaen, Donny Schatz, and Joey Pederson rounding out the top five. Dustin Strand fell back to seventh after the tire failure. Jeff Hapala won the opening heat in his No. 16S Auto Solutions Rocket, with Balcaen, Mooney, and Strand winning the three remaining heat races. John Halvorson won the B-Main in his Taco Johns backed No. 35. An incredible 31 car field appeared at River Cities Friday night, falling one car short of the season high that was set at the I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls on June 26.
Saturday nights' event at the Devils Lake Speedway near Doyon, ND, was postponed due to rain, but the series will use a previously scheduled rain-date to race again at Devils Lake this Saturday night, August the 29th.
After last weekends' events, Mike Balcaen remains atop the NLRA point standings with a 22 point advantage over Dustin Strand. Brad Seng sits in the third spot, while Ricky Weiss and Steffen Snare round out the top five. Steve Anderson, has his No. 9 Hi-Per-Flex Panel Systems Pierce in the sixth spot, with Bill Mooney in seventh, Jeff Hapala eighth, Cole Schill ninth, and Norm Olson, in the No. 29 Disabled American Veterans MasterSbilt rounding out the top ten.
Ricky Weiss finished second, with Mike Balcaen, Donny Schatz, and Joey Pederson rounding out the top five. Dustin Strand fell back to seventh after the tire failure. Jeff Hapala won the opening heat in his No. 16S Auto Solutions Rocket, with Balcaen, Mooney, and Strand winning the three remaining heat races. John Halvorson won the B-Main in his Taco Johns backed No. 35. An incredible 31 car field appeared at River Cities Friday night, falling one car short of the season high that was set at the I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls on June 26.
Saturday nights' event at the Devils Lake Speedway near Doyon, ND, was postponed due to rain, but the series will use a previously scheduled rain-date to race again at Devils Lake this Saturday night, August the 29th.
After last weekends' events, Mike Balcaen remains atop the NLRA point standings with a 22 point advantage over Dustin Strand. Brad Seng sits in the third spot, while Ricky Weiss and Steffen Snare round out the top five. Steve Anderson, has his No. 9 Hi-Per-Flex Panel Systems Pierce in the sixth spot, with Bill Mooney in seventh, Jeff Hapala eighth, Cole Schill ninth, and Norm Olson, in the No. 29 Disabled American Veterans MasterSbilt rounding out the top ten.
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Mike Balcaen and crew at Red River Co-Op (left), and Bill Mooney at River Cities (right) in victory lane. Photo credits: Tim Johnson (left photo) tsjphoto.smugmug.com and Mike Spieker (right photo). speedway-shots.com
The NLRA would like to thank Tour Sponsors: Adams Automotive, S & S Transport, Wes' Plumbing, Initials Custom Embroidery (ICE), BOSS Signs & Graphics, Millar Race Engines, Todd's Electric, Gateway Cenex, White Water Truck Wash, ADrenaLize Graphics, Generous Jerry's/Gold-Silver Exchange, Gateway Sports, Grand Forks Subaru Kia, Forum Printing, On The Edge Graphics, Fastlane Racing Equipment, Victory Diesel, Forks Mobile Wash, Q&Z Plumbing, A&L Siding, The Ho Bar And Grill, AG Spray, and Cartunz, and Contingency Sponsors: Speedway International Fuel, Hi-Per Flex, Schaeffer's Oil & Lubricants, Mars Race Cars, Hoosier Tire North, FYE Motorsports Promotion, and CMD Shocks, for their support.
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