Brad Seng in victory lane at the Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday night. Mike Spieker photo.
Brad Seng, driver of the No. 12S Anderson Brothers Body Shop MB Custom, scored his first NLRA series win of the season last Saturday night at the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND. The win is Seng's 36th career series triumph, which furthers his lead atop the all-time wins list.
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Donny Schatz, driver of the No. 15 Schatz Crossroads Rocket, and Dave Smith, driver of the No. 06 Polar Intustries Capital, lead the field to the green.
Schatz jumped out to the early lead, as Smith, Seng, and Scott Ward, driver of the No. 37 Boldt Construction Rocket, briefly went three-wide in turns one and two. Seng and Smith would pull away from Ward, and go head-to-head for second. Seng had the spot at the end of the first circuit. Defending Wissota national champion Don Shaw moved the No. 42S Shaw Trucking Victory to the inside of Smith on the second round, as Seng reeled in Schatz for the lead. Shaw moved past Smith as Seng nosed ahead of Schatz on the fourth lap. Seng used the bottom to open up a few car lengths on Schatz with five laps in the books. The top three broke away from the remainder of the field, as the lead duo already had a straightaway on fourth place towards the ten lap mark. |
Brad Seng rounds turn three in Winnipeg last Thursday.
Speedway Shots photo. Related |
Schatz regained the lead on lap 13, as he and Seng remained door-to-door as they had been since lap three.
Schatz slammed the door on Seng on the entrance of turn one with ten to go, stealing the bottom from the three-time series champion, and current series co-point leader.
Seng was able to get back to Schatz's inside in the ensuing rounds, as Schatz moved up top, as the pair approached the back of the field for the first time with eight to go.
Shaw, meanwhile, reeled the lead duo in at this point, making it a three car, seven lap shoot-out for the win.
Schatz slammed the door on Seng on the entrance of turn one with ten to go, stealing the bottom from the three-time series champion, and current series co-point leader.
Seng was able to get back to Schatz's inside in the ensuing rounds, as Schatz moved up top, as the pair approached the back of the field for the first time with eight to go.
Shaw, meanwhile, reeled the lead duo in at this point, making it a three car, seven lap shoot-out for the win.
Seng got to the traffic first, and using the middle and diamonding off the corner, he was able to use the traffic as a pick to build the biggest lead of the event.
Shaw beat Schatz off of turn for, taking the second spot with two laps remaining. Seng continued on for the victory over Shaw and Schatz. Scott Ward, and Dustin Strand, driver of the No. 71 Keewatin Truck Service Millenium SRT, rounded out the top five.
Bill Mooney, driver of the No. 2 Emerson Duty Free MasterSbilt, finished sixth, and was followed to the line by Ryan Corbett, driver of the No. C4 Jess Rice Crary Realty MasterSbilt, and Shane Edginton, driver of the No. 4 Performance Auto Victory, who finished seventh and eighth respectively.
Cole Schill, 2016 Red River Valley Speedway winner, guided the No. 44 Mid Ag Dispatch MasterSbilt by JMR home ninth, with Casey Meyer, rounding out the top ten in the No. 03 Smith Motors MB Custom.
Brody Troftgruben was the hard charger in the No. 14 Gateway Auto Tech Rocket. He finished 14th after starting 23rd.
Scott Ward, Bill Mooney, Donny Schatz, and Dave Smith were the heat winners. Kevin Robertson, driver of the No. 10R MLGC MB Custom, won the B Main. 29 cars were in attendance at the Red River Valley Speedway.
When asked about the battle for the lead with Schatz after the race, Seng said, "that's why he [Schatz] is one of the best in the world of Sprint Car racing, because he doesn't follow, he searches. And he found something, and moved up a little bit and got a little better, but he was still out there, and we ran door-to-door for I don't know how many laps. But that's what the beauty of it is, the competition."
After the rain out at the Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon, ND, the three race stretch shook up the point battle heading into the final four races of the season. Brad Seng and Dustin Strand are tied for the point lead, setting up another battle between the duo for the series championship.
This is setting up to be the fourth time in six seasons that Strand and Seng are looking to go head-to-head for the series title. They finished the season separated by 24 points in 2013, 32 in 2015, and just eight markers in 2016. Strand won in 2013 and 2015.
Current Wissota national point leader Mike Balcaen, driver of the No, 10 Sylmak, Inc. Black Diamond, is third, with Shane Edginton and Troy Schill, driver of the No. 11 Todd's Electric MasterSbilt, rounding out the top five.
Brody Troftgruben is sixth, with Jesse Teunis, driver of the No. 70 Imrie Demolition MasterSbilt seventh, and Ryan Corbett in eighth. Bill Mooney and Joey Pederson, driver of the No. 7P B&E Meats Victory, round out the top ten.
NLRA series action continues this Saturday night at the Greenbush Race Park in Greenbush, MN.
The NLRA would like to thank Tour Sponsors: Wes' Plumbing, S&S Transport, Performance Auto, Adams Automotive & Machine, White Water Truck Wash, Day Dreams, Grand Forks Subaru/Kia, BOSS Signs & Graphics, Storbakken & Sons Construction, Cartunz, Generous Jerry's/Gold Silver Exchange, A&L Siding, Millar Engines, Todd's Electric, Gateway Cenex, Fastlane Racing Equipment, Q&Z Plumbing, On The Edge, Fargo Forum, Hugo's, Eagles, and Contingency Sponsors: Speedway International Fuel, Hi-Per Flex, Schaeffer's Oil & Lubricants, Hoosier Tire North, and FYE Motorsports Promotion, for their support.
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