Red River Valley Speedway
Seckerson tops Weiss for first NLRA victory
By Chris Stepan
DirtonDirt.com correspondentWEST FARGO, N.D. (Aug. 17) — Second-year Late Model driver Corey Seckerson of Jamestown, N.D., raced to his first victory in the division Wednesday, winning in dramatic fashion on the Northern LateModel Racing Association tour at Red River Valley Speedway.
Starting inside the sixth row, Seckerson sliced his way toward the front, taking the top spot from NLRA points leader Ricky Weiss of Winnipeg, Manitoba, with seven laps remaining. Seckerson fought off a last-lap challenge from Weiss for the $1,250 victory as NLRA's Western Tour entered the second half of an eight-race stretch.
Weiss settled for second on the tacked-up oval while Matt Aukland of Fargo finished third. Mitch Johnson of Hickson, N.D., and Chad Wiliamson of Watertown, S.D., rounded out the top five in front of one of the largest NLRA crowds of the season.
Notes: Seckerson also won his first career modified feature at Red River Valley. ... The NLRA action was on the undercard of the Champions Challenge for 410 sprint cars. Donny Schatz won a feature race that also included Sammy Swindell, Stevie Smith, Terry McCarl and NASCAR star Tony Stewart. ... Bill Mooney of Selkirk, Manitoba, rallied from 24th to 11th to earn Performance Auto Hard Charger honors. ... The previous night's winner at Estevan Motor Speedway, Zach Johnson, was an early retiree after having powerplant problems in his heat race. ... NLRA competitors head to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., on Friday.
NLRA @ Red River Valley: (1) Corey Seckerson, (2) Ricky Weiss, (3) Matt Aukland, (4) Mitch Johnson, (5) Chad Williamson, (6) Mike Balcaen, (7) Troy Schill, (8) Tommy Thompson, (9) Cody Skytland, (10) Brad Seng, (11) Bill Mooney, (12) Mike Johnson, (13) Steve Anderson, (14) Jake Bitker, (15) Mike McCaughan, (16) Norm Olson, (17) Josh Johnson, (18) Chris Dunn, (19) Cole Schill, (20) Mike Bruns, (21) Adam Fischer, (22) Howie Schill, (23) Joel Cryderman, (24) Jeremy Keller, (25) Tom Corcoran, (26) Zach Johnson, (27) Bruce Hart. Heat race winners (among 27 cars): Chad Williamson, Ricky Weiss, Mitch Johnson, Harold Schill.
