Ricky Weiss in victory lane at Devils Lake Saturday night. Mike Spieker photo.
Ricky Weiss won his first NLRA series feature of the season Saturday night at the Devils Lake Speedway near Doyon, ND. The win is Weiss' 19th career series victory, and his first with the series in nearly two years. Weiss took the lead from early leader Dave Smith, then held off a hard charging Dustin Strand at the line for the victory.
Weiss in the No. 7 Derrick's Sandblasting Bloomquist, and Dave Smith in the No. 06 Polar Industries Capital, lead the field to the green at the start. Smith, Robert Hellebust, driver of the No. 9H S.T.T.S Club 29, and Dustin Strand in the No. 71 Q&Z Plumbing & Heating Millenium went three-wide coming off turn two at the start, but it was Smith who lead the field at the end of the opening round.
Weiss moved into second, then went four-wide with Smith, Strand, and Hellebust coming off of two on the second lap. Weiss finished a slidejob on Smith to take the lead a the completion of lap two, then began to pull away.
Strand moved into second off of two on the third lap, before a caution flew on lap four. Another caution for a melee in turn one brought out a brief red flag on lap six. The wreck ended the nights of both Aaron Turnbull, driver of the No. 21 Mack Auction MB Custom and Brian Strand, and caused some tin damage to the cars of couple other drivers.
On the restart, Bill Mooney, driver of the No. 2 Lithia Toyota MasterSbilt by JMR, replaced Smith as the driver in the three car battle for second, as he Hellebust and Strand briefly tussled for position before Strand re-assumed second for good.
Cole Schill entered the fray a lap later in the No. 44 Mid Ag Dispatch MasterSbilt by JMR, taking fourth from Mooney, then third from Hellebust. Mooney and Hellebust made the final official swap for position inside the top five with five laps remaining.
In the final two circuits, lapped traffic set up a rematch of the pairs close finish in August of 2015 in Devils Lake, when Weiss lead the whole race with the exception of the final 30 feet when Strand stole the win at the line.
Weiss was held up by a lapped car at the bottom of turn four as the pair saw the checkered flag in the air. Strand looked to have the momentum on the highside, but Weiss was able to clear the final lapped car and barely edge out Strand at the line by .076 of a second at the line. Cole Schill, Bill Mooney and Minot's Robert Hellebust rounded out the top five.
Brad Seng finished sixth in the No. 12S S&S Transport MB Custom, with Kevin Robertson seventh in the No. 10R, Nugget Vending MB Custom and Shane Edginton eighth in the No. 4 Schill Construction Victory by Moyer. Tom Corcoran was ninth in the No. T1 D&B Motors MB Custom, and Steve Anderson rounded out the top ten in the No. 9 Big Trucks by Jimco MB Custom.
Corcoran was the hard charger, improving seven spots from his original starting spot outside the eighth row. Dustin Strand, Hellebust, Weiss, and Dave Smith won the heat races. 23 cars entered the event at Devils Lake.
Weiss and Strand, who have won five of the last seven Wissota national championships, are now tied atop the NLRA point standings. Mooney is third, with Brad Seng and Mike Balcaen rounding out the top five. NLRA action continues in the first week of August, as the series will race four times in five days.
Weiss moved into second, then went four-wide with Smith, Strand, and Hellebust coming off of two on the second lap. Weiss finished a slidejob on Smith to take the lead a the completion of lap two, then began to pull away.
Strand moved into second off of two on the third lap, before a caution flew on lap four. Another caution for a melee in turn one brought out a brief red flag on lap six. The wreck ended the nights of both Aaron Turnbull, driver of the No. 21 Mack Auction MB Custom and Brian Strand, and caused some tin damage to the cars of couple other drivers.
On the restart, Bill Mooney, driver of the No. 2 Lithia Toyota MasterSbilt by JMR, replaced Smith as the driver in the three car battle for second, as he Hellebust and Strand briefly tussled for position before Strand re-assumed second for good.
Cole Schill entered the fray a lap later in the No. 44 Mid Ag Dispatch MasterSbilt by JMR, taking fourth from Mooney, then third from Hellebust. Mooney and Hellebust made the final official swap for position inside the top five with five laps remaining.
In the final two circuits, lapped traffic set up a rematch of the pairs close finish in August of 2015 in Devils Lake, when Weiss lead the whole race with the exception of the final 30 feet when Strand stole the win at the line.
Weiss was held up by a lapped car at the bottom of turn four as the pair saw the checkered flag in the air. Strand looked to have the momentum on the highside, but Weiss was able to clear the final lapped car and barely edge out Strand at the line by .076 of a second at the line. Cole Schill, Bill Mooney and Minot's Robert Hellebust rounded out the top five.
Brad Seng finished sixth in the No. 12S S&S Transport MB Custom, with Kevin Robertson seventh in the No. 10R, Nugget Vending MB Custom and Shane Edginton eighth in the No. 4 Schill Construction Victory by Moyer. Tom Corcoran was ninth in the No. T1 D&B Motors MB Custom, and Steve Anderson rounded out the top ten in the No. 9 Big Trucks by Jimco MB Custom.
Corcoran was the hard charger, improving seven spots from his original starting spot outside the eighth row. Dustin Strand, Hellebust, Weiss, and Dave Smith won the heat races. 23 cars entered the event at Devils Lake.
Weiss and Strand, who have won five of the last seven Wissota national championships, are now tied atop the NLRA point standings. Mooney is third, with Brad Seng and Mike Balcaen rounding out the top five. NLRA action continues in the first week of August, as the series will race four times in five days.
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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NLRA Online:
Website: nlra.org
Facebook: facebook.com/NLRAlatemodels
Twitter: twitter.com/NLRAracing (@NLRAracing)
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