Twice as Nice: Strand Sweeps Both Modified and Late Models at River Cities

East Grand Forks, Minn. (August 13, 2024) - Dustin Strand's hot streak continued last week as he won his sixth and seventh Late Model features in-a-row first on Thursday night at Victory Lane Speedway in Winnipeg then on Friday night at River Cities Speedway. Strand, who also won his first Modified feature of the season Friday at RCS, ran out of time Saturday night at Jamestown Speedway, finishing second after another charge through the field, continuing a different streak which has seen Strand finish on the podium in both cars for nearly a month straight.

Strand started his week on Thursday night at Victory Lane Speedway in Winnipeg where he won his heat race and started fourth in the main event. Strand went three-wide coming off of turn four with Shane Holden and Scott Greer, finishing the lap in second.

Following a caution on the second lap, Strand continued to roll the bottom on the restart and passed leader Scott Greer to take the lead. Strand continued to lead following the second caution on the fourth lap and held the point through the final caution with eight to go.

Strand continued on to victory by over a straightaway at the 4/10ths mile oval, his sixth Late Model win in-a-row.

After winning his heat race in both the modified and late model Friday night at River Cities, Strand was slated to start eighth in both 20-lap main events. Strand searched around the quarter-mile early in the modified main event, working low and then high, but eventually moved into the top five for the first time after a multi-lap battle with Preston Carr at the end of lap seven.

Strand continued his march through the field the following lap, moving around Ward Imrie as he worked the top side of the racetrack. The pair joined the top three in a five-car battle for the top spot which saw Strand move to third at the midway point. He cut in between Josh Beaulieu and Davey Mills, going three-wide for the lead and improving the second on the following circuit and then to the lead with eight laps left.

Strand continued on in the closing laps to win again by nearly a straightaway en route to his first Modified victory of the season.

In the Late Model feature, Strand’s march started early. He was already in the top five at the end of the opening lap and third at the end of lap two. Working the high side of the Bullring, he closed in on Joey Pederson and John Seng to battle for the lead.

Strand went three-wide in the middle of Shane Edginton and John Seng on the fourth lap, finishing the lap in second again.

On lap ten, Strand moved to the inside of Joey Pederson for the first time, going door-to-door with the leader as they worked lapped traffic before the first caution of the race with eight to go.

Strand briefly lost second on the restart to Edginton, but after regaining the spot, began to hound Pederson again for the lead. A caution with two to go set up a green-white-checkered finish. Strand slid Pederson coming off of turn four coming to the white flag. Strand again slid Pederson in turn two and protected the bottom in turns three and four to continue on to win his seventh late model feature in-a-row.

“Joey ran a heck of a good race," Strand said post-race. “We made a change right before the feature. I probably had the car a little too free. [Pederson] was probably the class of the field, and I don't think I could have got him without that yellow. It was a great race. I tell you this car's just been badass. My crew have been doing a heck of a good job and the car is just a dream to drive. It's been going awesome.”

Strand finished second in his heat Saturday night at Jamestown Speedway in the late model and started sixth in the main event.

Strand's first appearance inside the top five came on lap seven when he passed Don Shaw. Strand’s climb through the field continued from there at the midway point of the 25-lap race when Strand worked the bottom of the quarter mile to move past Travis Robertson to move to third.

As the leaders worked traffic with seven to go, Strand improved to second while still working the bottom and clearing Kevin Robertson. With time running out, Strand started to eat into Chad Becker's advantage over the rest of the field but ran out of time after nearly cutting his lead in half and finishing second.

This week, Strand joins the NLRA Late Models at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo for the two-day Howie Schill Memorial on Friday and Saturday. Strand enters the race as the most recent Late Model winner at the one-third mile oval, having won there on June 14th.

Thanks to all of our great sponsors who help get us here!
Walhalla Building Center Inc. 
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Carr's Grain Service
Double Deuce Bar and Grill
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Jason Strand Farms
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2024 Stats (Late Model):
Races: 29
Wins: 13
Top 5’s: 21
Top 10’s: 23

2023 Stats (Modified):
Races: 4
Wins: 1
Top 5’s: 3
Top 10’s: 3