Devils Lake Speedway
Weiss caps NLRA's Western Tour with fourth victory
By Chris Stepan
DirtonDirt.com correspondentDOYON, N.D. (Aug. 20) — Ricky Weiss of Winnipeg, Manitoba, outdueled polesitter Brad Seng of Grand Forks, N.D., in the final laps Saturday at Devil's Lake Speedway to wrap up the Northern LateModel Racing Association Western Tour with his fourth victory in seven races.
Weiss, who also on North Dakota events in Dickinson, Williston and Grand Forks, earned $1,250 while extending his overall NLRA points lead and wrapping up the Western Tour title by 75 points.
Outside front-row starter John Kaanta of Elk Mound, Wis., took the early lead on the well-prepared surface at the Nolan and Eugene Olmstead-promoted oval, but Seng went by on the fifth lap as the duo ran door-to-door several laps before Seng edged away.
After a lap-13 caution bunched the field, Seng stayed in control while the eighth-starting Weiss headed for the front and eventually challenged the leader. Weiss swept around Seng on the high side to lead lap 23, but when he hit traffic, Seng pulled even as the frontrunners took the white flag.
The lead duo drag-raced down the backstretch and Weiss edged ahead by inches at the checkers. Seng settled for second with 12th-starting Steve Laursen of Cumberland, Wis., nipping Kaanta at the line for third. Joel Cryderman of Thunder Bay, Ontario, rounded out the top five.
Notes: Weiss drives a Victory Circle Chassis with sponsorship from Derrick's Sandblasting, Spectrum Coatings and Allied Roofing. ... NLRA's seven-race Western Tour drew 62 competitors from four states and four Canadian provinces. ... Devil's Lake drew a track-record 28 Late Models, marking the third time in a week NLRA set a car-count record at a racetrack. ... Mike McCaughan of Winnipeg, the 2005 super stock champion at Devil's Lake, earned hard charger honors with his 25th-to-14th run. ... Eighteen of 26 starters were running at the finish of the feature. ... Bill Mooney and Shawn Holden tangled in a heat race and scratched for the night; the track decided to skip a consolation race and start 26 cars in the main event. ... NLRA has added a Sept. 8 event at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., has a Thursday tuneup event for the John Seitz Memorial. ... Next up for NLRA competitors is the Aug. 27-28 weekend at Greenbush (Minn.) Race Park and ALH Motor Speedway in Morden, Manitoba.
NLRA @ Devil's Lake: (1) Ricky Weiss, (2) Brad Seng, (3) Steve Laursen, (4) John Kaanta, (5) Joel Cryderman, (6) Mike Balcaen, (7) Troy Schill, (8) Tom Corcoran, (9) Corey Seckerson, (10) Michael Johnson, (11) Scott Greer, (12) Steffen Snare, (13) Norm Olson, (14) Mike McCaughan, (15) Wayne Johnson, (16) Mick Halverson, (17) Chris Dunn, (18) Justin Osowski, (19) Harold Schill, (20) Cole Schill, (21) Jake Bitker, (22) Paul Mueller, (23) Bruce Hart, (24) Cody Skytland, (25) Adam Fischer, (26) Josh Johnson. Heat race winners (among 28 cars): Snare, Cyderman, Kaanta, Seng.
