Strand Scores Third Of The Season With Greenbush Triumph

Dustin Strand, driver of the No. 71 Q&Z Plumbing & Heating Millenium SRT, won the second and final appearance for the NLRA of the 2019 season at the Greenbush Race Park in Greenbush, MN. The win is Strand's third of the season with the series, which ties him with Donny Schatz for most victories on tour this season. The win is also Strand's twenty-first NLRA win, which is fifth on the all-time list.

Strand had the pole at the start, as fellow heat winner Bill Mooney lined the No. 2 Lithia Toyota of Grand Forks MasterSbilt by JMR to the outside of the front row.

Strand took the lead at the drop of the green as Shane Edginton moved the No. 4 Performance Auto victory in on Mooney for second.

On the second circuit, Edginton made the pass on Mooney for the runner up spot as Strand set a blistering pace up front. 

In the remaining laps of the first half of the race, the best battle on the track was for the fourth through seventh spots, as July Greenbush winner Joey Pederson, who didn't have the best of starts in the No. 7P Dahlstrom Motors Victory, started sixth, and had slid back to seventh.
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He mounted a comeback, however, as he joined that four car battle which included Mike Balcaen, and his No. 10 Mission Transport Black Diamond, Brody Troftgruben, and his No. 14 Applegren Construction Rocket, and Tom Corcoran, and his No. T1 Greg's Lawn Care MB Custom.

​Corcoran was the first to climb to fourth, moving past Troftgruben for the spot. But it was Pederson, who was still seventh on lap five, that climbed all the way to fourth two laps later.

Balcaen fired the last shot in that battle as he moved past Corcoran to move back into the top five on lap nine.

Back up front, Strand continued to lead Edginton, as the pair pulled away from the rest of the field after each driver had set what would be their best laps of the race on the fifth round.

Pederson continued his charge, as he made one last pass on Bill Mooney to move into third just before the half way point.

Strand and Edginton remained one two as they worked traffic in the latter stages of the race, as Strand came past the flag stand, taking the checkered over a second ahead of Edginton. Strand lapped up to eighth in the green-white-checkered affair, that lasted just over six minutes.

Edginton was second, with Pederson third, Mooney fourth, and Mike Balcaen rounding out the top five.

Brad Seng finished sixth in the No. 12S S&S Transport MB Custom, with Tom Corcoran seventh, and Ryan Corbett eighth in the No. C4 Corbett Trucking MasterSbilt.

Matt Smith in the No. 86 Polar Industries Capital, and Brody Troftgruben rounded out the top ten.

Strand and Mooney were the heat winners, while Pederson won the Performance Auto hard charger award, improving from sixth to collect the final spot on the podium. 15 cars were in attendance in Greenbush.

​Strand's win puts him right back in the title picture, as he will head into the final three races just twenty points back of point leader Shane Edginton, and twelve markers behind Brad Seng, who is currently second in the standings.

Mike Balcaen is fourth, while Brody Troftgruben rounds out the top five.

Jesse Teunis is sixth with the No. 70 Grand Prix Amusements MasterSbilt, with Ryan Kereluk seventh with the No. 29K Edison Electrical Services Victory, and Ryan Corbett eighth.

Tom Corcoran and Cole Babcock, driver of the No. 2* Casselton Lumber Pierce, round out the current top ten.

NLRA series action continues on Saturday night, August the 31st, and Sunday night, September the 1st, at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, MN, for the traditional Labor Day double header.

NLRA series report.