Brody Troftgruben at Speed at Devils Lake. Speedway Shots photo.
The three race NLRA weekend swing concluded at the Devils Lake Sepedway last Saturday night, and it was Brody Troftgruben parking the No. 14 Gateway Auto Tech Rocket in victory lane, becoming the first driver to win their first NLRA main event since 2016, and the 52nd winner in series history.
| Don Shaw and Casey Meyer led the field to the initial green flag of the feature, with Shaw taking the point as he exited turn two on the opening lap. Shaw built a half straightaway lead in his No. 42S Shaw Trucking Victory, as Meyer and Dustin Strand battled for the runner-up spot. It took Shaw less than five circuits to reach the tail of the field, as he began navigating through lapped traffic on the fifth round. That also allowed Meyer to take second in his No. 03 Smith Motors Victory, as he used the high line to take the spot, while Strand ran the No. 71 Generations Salon & Spa Millenium SRT around the bottom of the third-mile oval. The top four in traffic were spaced by no more than a car length as the race neared the ten lap mark. The traffic allowed fourth running Bryce Sward to close in on the podium, as he moved the No. 1-2 Klinder Processing MB Custom within striking distance of the top three. A caution on the ninth circuit re-stacked the field, and on the ensuing restart, it was Shaw remaining at the point, as Strand moved to second. A battle between Sward, Ryan Corbett, and Dave Mass started, as they made their way past Meyer, and went into turns three and four three-wide, with Sward briefly taking the final spot on the podium. Strand peeked to Shaw's in side on lap ten, and remained in a torrid battle for the lead. In turn three on lap ten, the lead duo made contact, with Shaw getting sideways and crashing with Mass. |  Brody Troftgruben does a roof dance after his first feature win. Robbin Anderson photo. Related |
Shaw remained the leader on the ensuing restart, with Strand restarting at the rear of the field, as Mass had to take the Structural Buildings No. 2M pit side.
Sward took the lead from Shaw, utilizing the bottom of the track to take the point as Meyer and Corbett set their sights on Shaw for second.
The third caution of the race saved the lead for Shaw, as the veteran also moved to the bottom, not allowing Sward to make the same move twice.
Shaw and Sward remained the lead duo as a pair of No. 14's moved in on Corbett's No. C4 Hefty Seed MasterSbilt for third.
Eric Edwards, in the M&C Plumbing & Heating entry, and Brody Troftgruben completed the top five near the half way point. But it was Edwards who made the first move onto the podium, as he moved into third with nine laps left.
The trio battled hard for the following handful of circuits, but it was Troftgruben, who spent most of the first three-quarters of the race between eighth and tenth, taking third with five rounds remaining.
A caution with four laps remaining, and two with two laps left on the scoreboard, not only left for plenty of debate amongst the leaders as who the winner would be, but also gave Strand, who restarted nineteenth on lap ten, another shot at the victory.
Troftgruben took second from Strand, and the lead from Shaw as the field took the white flag, and continued on to his first career victory over Strand, Sward, Shaw, and Shawn Meyer.
Casey Meyer, Naastad, and Shaw were the heat winners. 26 cars were in attendance at Devils Lake.
Sward took the lead from Shaw, utilizing the bottom of the track to take the point as Meyer and Corbett set their sights on Shaw for second.
The third caution of the race saved the lead for Shaw, as the veteran also moved to the bottom, not allowing Sward to make the same move twice.
Shaw and Sward remained the lead duo as a pair of No. 14's moved in on Corbett's No. C4 Hefty Seed MasterSbilt for third.
Eric Edwards, in the M&C Plumbing & Heating entry, and Brody Troftgruben completed the top five near the half way point. But it was Edwards who made the first move onto the podium, as he moved into third with nine laps left.
The trio battled hard for the following handful of circuits, but it was Troftgruben, who spent most of the first three-quarters of the race between eighth and tenth, taking third with five rounds remaining.
A caution with four laps remaining, and two with two laps left on the scoreboard, not only left for plenty of debate amongst the leaders as who the winner would be, but also gave Strand, who restarted nineteenth on lap ten, another shot at the victory.
Troftgruben took second from Strand, and the lead from Shaw as the field took the white flag, and continued on to his first career victory over Strand, Sward, Shaw, and Shawn Meyer.
Casey Meyer, Naastad, and Shaw were the heat winners. 26 cars were in attendance at Devils Lake.
The NLRA would like to thank Tour Sponsors: Wes’ Plumbing, S & S Transport, Performance Auto, Adams Automotive and Machine, White Water Truck Wash, DayDreams Specialties, Grand Forks Subaru/Kia, Boss Signs, Storbakken & Sons Construction, Millar Engines, Gateway Cenex, Fastlane Racing Equipment, Q & Z Plumbing, Fargo Forum, On The Edge Graphics, Hugo’s Family Marketplace, EGF American Legion Post 157, EZ Open Garage Door, Schill Construction, and Greg’s Lawn Care, and Contingency Sponsors: CMD Shocks, Hoosier Tire North, Mars Race Cars, Performance Auto, Speedway International Fuel, Schaeffer's Oil & Lubricants, for their continued support.
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