Shaw Wins At Norman County; Strand Breaks Through In Jamestown

A pair of drivers broke winless streaks last week as Don Shaw won at the Norman County Raceway in Ada, MN, and Dustin Strand won at the Jamestown Speedway in Jamestown, ND. Shaw, driving his Shaw Trucking No. 42S, won is his second NLRA series feature, his first since June 17, 1999 at the River Cities Speedway. A pair of Bloomquist chassis shared the front row at the start, as Steffen Snare, in the High Mark Snowmobile Rentals No. 71S, and Ricky Weiss in the Derrick's Sandblasting No. 7, lead the field to the green, with Weiss taking the point as the green flag flew. Snare completed a slide job on Cody Skytland for second at the end of the first lap, allowing Weiss to pull away, and Shaw to take second from both of Snare and Skytland's No. 75 Langdon Implement MasterSbuilt by JMR.

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Shaw stalked Weiss for the next nine laps, eventually taking the lead from Weiss on Lap 10, in a race that was reminiscent of the battle the pair put on in the first half of the feature at the NLRA's debut at the I-94 speedway in June. The races' only caution flew with five to go when a lapped car and Skytland made contact, with the latter spinning to a stop. Skytland got his spot back, and restarted third on the restart. Skytland then proceeded to take second from Weiss as the green came back out. Weiss and Donny Schatz, driving the No. 15 K3 Farms Rocket, then began to battle it out for third as Mike Balcaen, driver of the No. 10 Northstar Canada Black Diamond, and Cole Schill, driver of the No. 44 Rivinius Ranch MasterSbuilt by JMR, fought for the final spot inside the top five. 

Don Shaw (42S) and Ricky Weiss (7) battle for the lead in Ada. Mike Spieker photo.

Cody Skytland finished second, with Ricky Weiss in third, Donny Schatz in fourth, and Mike Balcaen rounding out the top five. Cole Schill finished sixth, with Brad Seng, driver of the No. 12S S&S Transport MB Custom, in seventh. Dustin Strand, driver of the Q&Z Plumbing & Heating No. 71, finished eighth after starting 20th, earning the hard charger award. Tom Corcoran, driver of the No. T1 D&B Motors Rocket, and Steffen Snare rounded out the top ten. Snare, Shaw, and Weiss won the heats, 20 cars were in attendance.

Dustin Strand (71) and Scott Bintz (1S) in Jamestown Saturday night. Cody R. Papke photo.

On Saturday night at the Jamestown Speedway in Jamestown, ND, 2013 NLRA series champion Dustin Strand lead all 25 laps, winning his fourth career NLRA series feature, and first since a win at the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND in August 25, 2012.

Dustin Strand and Tom Corcoran shared the front row on the start, with Strand taking the point. Steffen Snare moved past Ricky Weiss for second on lap four, with Cole Schill and Brad Seng completing the top five, as the running order remained basically the same for the next dozen laps, as the track began to take rubber around the bottom. 

The feature went caution free for the first 18 laps, until Rob Odegard spun his No. R30 machine in turn one. During that caution, Steffen Snare, who was running second, encountered problems and headed pit side. On the ensuing restart, there was a stack up in turn one involving Chad Becker, Josh Skorczewski, and the drivers following them, with Becker heading pit side. On the next restart, Brad Seng and Cole Schill made there way past Ricky Weiss, with the latter falling back to fourth. Shane Edginton, driving the No. 5E Avonlea Group Victory Circle, Mike Balcaen, and Tom Corcoran fought it out for the final spot inside the top five in the final six laps, with Edginton taking fifth as the white flag flew. Hard charger Bill Mooney, driver of the No. 2 OMG Candy MasterSbuilt by JMR, moved into the top ten on lap 23, and finished eighth, collecting his fourth hard charger award of the season.

Brad Seng finished second, with Cole Schill third, Ricky Weiss fourth, and Shane Edginton completing the top five. Mike Balcaen finished sixth, with Tom Corcoran in seventh, Bill Mooney eighth, Aberdeen's Josh Skorczewski ninth, and Matt Aukland, driving the No. 30 Northwest Auto Body Rocket, rounding out the top ten. Weiss, Corcoran, and Strand won the heats, 23 cars were in attendance. NLRA Series action continues this Saturday night, August the 8th, at the Hibbing Raceway, in Hibbing, MN.

Heading into Hibbing, Mike Balcaen leads the NLRA point standings with an eight point advantage over Dustin Strand. Brad Seng sits in the third spot, just 22 markers back of Balcaen, while Ricky Weiss and Steffen Snare round out the top five. Steve Anderson, driver of the No. 9 Hi-Per-Flex Panel Systems Pierce, is in the sixth spot, with Cole Schill in seventh, Jeff Hapala, driver of the No. 16S Auto Solutions Rocket eighth, Bill Mooney ninth, and Norm Olson, driver of the No. 29 Disabled American Veterans MasterSbuilt, rounding out the top ten.

Don Shaw (left) and Dustin Strand (right) in victory lane at Norman County and Jamestown respectively. Shaw photo by Mike Spieker. speedway-shots.com. Strand photo by Cody R. Papke. crpphotos.smugmug.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.