Strand Doubles Down at Red River Co-op Speedway Prairie Classic Opener

Steven Bradley, Winnipeg, MB (September 30) Red River Co-op Speedway hosted the first night of the 2-day Prairie Classic season finale on Friday night under the lights. Despite cool temps and both the CFL and NHL holding events, the pits were loaded with racers looking to benefit from back-to-back events for national WISSOTA points. Cool fall temps kept moisture in the track surface for the entire night and the track was as smooth as it has been all year.

Dustin Stand doubled-down by winning both the WISSOTA Late Model and Midwest Modified features – passing 7 cars and outracing Brad Seng in the Late Model division. Strand used a pole starting spot to grab the lead and race unchallenged to the Midwest Modified series.

Jamie Vernaus collected his second NSTR feature win of the season after starting sixth. Rene Poluyko beat Dustin Enns for second while Rod Fidler and Dan Klim picked up top 5 placings.

In the WISSOTA Modified event, Gavin Paul benefited from Ward Imrie’s engine expiring and got by Lee McRae on a green-white-checkered finish. Bob Broking got by McRae on the last lap for second while Ryan Kereluk and Scott Greer finished inn the top 5.

Ryan Satter dominated the WISSOTA Street Stock feature after starting in the front row. Brent Olson claimed second position while Art Linert held off Shawn Teunis for third ahead of Adam Burrows who placed fifth.

In WISSOTA Late Model action, Mike Balcaen was quick to take the lead after a front row starting spot.

On lap 2, Ricky Wiess got by Shane Edginton to move into fourth position. Brad Seng took over second position on lap 6 after passing Kevin Sexton in turn 2, then set his eyes on the leader.

Seng knocked Balcaen off the point on the next lap after a pass in turn 2.

On lap 12, Wiess continued his charge to the front after working over and passing Balcaen in turn 4.

The only caution of the race fell on lap 13 after Stewart Hayward looped his car in turn 2 – narrowly avoiding the leaders. Under caution, Wiess took a sharp right hand turn off the top of turn 1 and took his car to the pits for the night – handing second position back to Balcaen.

On the restart, Seng once again took control of the lead while Dustin Strand blasted by 3 cars on the high line to move into second.

With 3 laps remaining, Strand completed a pass on Seng for the lead exiting turn 4 and had nothing but clean air and an open track for the remainder of the race. Strand claimed the checkered flag for the sixth time this year at RRCS and showed why he sits on top of the national WISSOTA point standings. Seng finished second ahead of Bill Mooney, who picked up 10 spots to finish third. Shane Edginton and Steffen Snare finished in the top 5 of a 17 car field.

Brad Seng and Ricky Wiess each picked up heat wins earlier in the night.

Heading into the last race of the season, Shane Edginton sits on top of the standings with a 13 point cushion – looking to collect his first RRCS track championship.

In WISSOTA Modified racing, last week’s winner Lee McRae used a pole starting spot to lead early with Ward Imrie giving chase form second.

The battle for the lead started on lap 3 when Imrie pulled inside McRae low in turn 3. For the entire race, McRae used the top line to pull away from Imrie exiting turn 4 and into turn 1, while Imrie used the low line to sneak under McRae low in turn 1 and beat him low into turn 3.

As McRae and Imrie battled all race long, Gavin Paull sat patiently in third position watching the race play out and ready to make his move if a mistake happened.

The battle for the lead came to an end with just 2 lap remaining after Imrie’s engine expired at the same time Ryan Cousins came to rest high on the back stretch. Under caution, a very noticeable line of oil lay in the middle groove of the track as officials tried their best cleaning the surface off by pacing the cars through the slippery debris.

The attempt to restart the race was interrupted by another quick caution when Johnny Broking took a spin in turn 1 – coughing up fourth position and restarting at the back of the pack. On the single file restart, Gavin Paull inherited second position after Imrie’s dead car was pushed to the pits under caution.

McRae led the pack single file past the starting cone to restart the race. Paull may have got away with one as he pulled up beside the leader crossing the cone which set him up for a pass low in turn 1 as he took over the lead.

Paull stayed on the point for the remaining 2 laps to easily earn the feature win. Bob Broking got by McRae in turn 2 on the last lap to finish second, while Ryan Kereluk and Scott Greer finished in the top 5 of a 20 car field.

Gavin Paull swept the Modified division by collecting a win in heat 2. Lee McRae and Danny Staff also picked up heat wins.

Despite Imrie’s misfortune, he remains on top of the point standings by 23 points over Kevin Sexton with just 1 race left in the 2016 season.

In the WISSOTA Midwest Modified division, 33 cars checked in to do battle. After 4 heats and a B-main, Austin Hunter, Darren Boychuk, Brandon Rehill and Dylan Sabatini all earned berths in the 24 car feature race.

Dustin Strand, who was pulling double duty in both Late Model and Midwest Modified classes, led the field to green from the pole.

The first of 4 cautions flew on lap 2 after Gavin Paull spun in turn 2 – collecting Brandon Weiler and doing damage to both cars. Another quick caution fell on the next lap after Jason Somack spun in turn 1 and collected a large number of cars in the back half of the field – with Tony Caissie having to be towed off the track.

Strand led the field back to green with Jamie Davis and Grant Hall trying their best to catch him.

Nothing up front changed until 5 laps remaining when the race’s third caution reset the field when Brandon Rehill’s car came to rest high over turn 2. A second attempt was needed to go green after Darren Boychuk spun in turn 1 which caused a half dozen cars behind him to spin out of control trying to avoid contact. Under caution, fourth place Cody Wall surrendered his top 5 placing after coming to rest and needing a tow to the pits.

On the single file restart, Strand once again opened up a convincing lead and maintained the point for the remaining 5 laps to pick up the feature win. Jaimie Davis held off Grant Hall for second, while Paul Veert outraced Christopher Leek for fourth position – surpassing Austin Hunter for the points lead.

Dustin Strand swept the class by collecting a win in heat 2. David Delaine and Grant Hall also earned heat wins earlier in the night.

Heading into the last race of the season, Paul Veert now holds a narrow 5 point lead over Austin Hunter.

In The WISSOTA Street Stock series, Ryan Satter used a front row starting spot to take early control of the lead with Brent Olson and Art Linert setting chase.

The feature ran a clean race until the only caution of the race fell with 3 laps remaining after Steve Boone was ticketed for spinning Adam Burrows exiting turn 4.

Despite Satter’s giant lead being erased, he was able to maintain position for the remaining 3 laps and easily collect the feature win on his first visit to RRCS this season. Brent Olson held off pressure form Art Linert to finish inthe runner-up position while home town RRCS points leader Shawn Teunis finished fourth ahead of Adam Burrows.

Ryan Satter swept the Street Stock series by collecting a win in heat 2. Steve Boone also picked up a heat win.

With just 1 race remaining, Shawn Teunis holds a 54 point lead over second place Peter Letkeman and can clinch another consecutive championship simply by taking the green flag on Saturday night.

In the Northern Super Truck class, Jamie Vernaus picked up 5 spots on the opening lap to take the lead with Rick Lowey and Rene Polyko forming the top 3.

On lap 2, Dustin Enns passed 4 trucks to move into the top 5 after getting by Dan Klim in turn 2.

On lap 4, Enns flew by both Rod Fidler and Rick Lowey to secure third position while Rene Poyuko grabbed the runner-up spot.

On lap 8, Dan Klim knocked Lowey out of the top 5 when he completed a pass in turn 3 and 4.

Despite his best efforts, Poyuko was not able to narrow the gap the leader had built, as Vernaus easily collected his second RRCS feature win of the year. Poluyko finished in second while Dustin Enns, Rod Fidler and Dan Klim finished in the top 5 of an 11 truck field.

Rene Poluyko and Rod Fidler each collected heat wins earlier in the night.

With just 1 race remaining, Jamie Vernaus holds a 10 point lead for the championship over second place Dustin Enns.

The 2016 race schedule at Red River Co-op Speedway wraps up on Saturday, October 1 with all 7 classes competing to crown the track champions. An open pit party at 3:00 is taking place to get up close and personal with the drivers with racing starting at 5:00. For more information on events, visit www.redrivercoopspeedway.com.

Race Summaries

WISSOTA Late Models
Feature – Dustin Strand, Brad Seng, Bill Mooney, Shane Edginton, Steffen Snare, Kevin Sexton, Mike Martin, Walt Morris, Paul Veert, Mike Balcaen, Rick Fawcett, Stewart Hayward, Steve Anderson, Kevin Geisbrecht, Shane Holden, Rick Weiss (DNF), Kary Rogers (DNF).
Heat 1 – Brad Seng, Mike Balcaen, Kevin Sexton, Shane Edginton, Kevin Geisbrecht, Shane Holden, Kary Rogers (DNF), Steve Anderson (DNF), Bill Mooney (DNF).
Heat 2 – Ricky Wiess, Dustin Strand, Rick Fawcett, Steffen Snare, Walt Morris, Paul Veert, Mike Martin, Stewart Hayward.

WISSOTA Modifieds
Feature – Gavin Paull, Bob Broking, Lee McRae, Ryan Kereluk, Scott Greer, Johnny Broking, Kevin Sexton, Jerome Guyot, Jordan Duray, James Wall, Jeff Davis, Ian Rousseau, Greg Ferris, Garrett Gamsby, Brody Strachan, Danny Staff (DNF), Ward Imrie (DNF), Rick Delaine (DNF), Ryan Cousins (DNF), Jeff Pritchard (DNF).
Heat 1 – Lee McRae, Rick Delaine, James Wall, Garrett Gamsby, Jeff Davis (DNF), Ryan Cousins (DNF), Greg Ferris (DNF).
Heat 2 – Gavin Paull, Bob Broking, Jordan Duray, Scott Greer, Brody Strachan, Johnny Broking (DNF), Jerome Guyot (DNF).
Heat 3 – Danny Staff, Ward Imrie, Ryan Kereluk, Ian Rousseau, Jeff Pritchard, Kevin Sexton (DNF).

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds
Feature – Dustin Strand, Jamie Davis, Grant Hall, Paul Veert, Christopher Leek, Hunter Hougard, Austin Hunter, Nick Audette, John Hettinga, David Delaine, Dylan Sabatini, Cody Ossachuk, Jason Somack, Tom Morriseau, Darren Boychuk, Patrick Sobolik, Edward Bell, Cody Wall (DNF), Jason Williamson (DNF), Brandon Rehill (DNF), Gavin Paull (DNF), Ted Doell (DNF), Tony Caissie (DNF), Brandon Wieler (DNF).
B-Main – Austin Hunter, Darren Boychuk, Brandon Rehill, Dylan Sabatini, Victoria Stutsky, Brendan Luschinski, Murray Kozie, Steve Redman, Curtis Giesbrecht, Devon Gordon, Alex Kellar, Rob Stutsky, Channing Sproule (DNF).
Heat 1 – David Delaine, Tony Caissie, Paul Veert, Patrick Sobolik, Nick Audette, Brendan Luschinski, Victoria Stutsky, Murray Kozie, Channing Sproule (DNS).
Heat 2 – Dustin Strand, Gavin Paull, Jason Williamson, Cody Wall, Hunter Hougard, Austin Hunter, Brandon Rehill, Curtis Giesbrecht.
Heat 3 – Grant Hall, Ted Doell, Christopher Leek, Cody Ossachuck, Tom Morriseau, Dyan Sabatini, Darren Boychuk, Rob Stutsky.
Heat 4 -Jason Somack, Jamie Davis, John Hettinga, Brandon Wieler, Edward Bell, Steve Redman, Devon Gordon, Alex Kellar.

WISSOTA Street Stocks
Feature – Ryan Satter, Brent Olson, Art Linert, Shawn Teunis, Adam Burrows, Jesse Teunis, Brad Wall, Peter Letkeman, Steve Boone, Doug Perrier, Darryl Desserre (DNF), Derek Pollock (DNF).
Heat 1 – Steve Boone, Shawn Teunis, Art Linert, Brent Olson, Brad Wall, Adam Burrows.
Heat 2 – Ryan Satter, Darryl Desserre, Doug Perrier, Derek Pollock, Peter Letkeman, Jesse Teunis (DNF).

Northern Super Trucks
Feature – Jamie Vernaus, Rene Poluyko, Dustin Enns, Rod Fidler, Dam Klim, Rick Lowey, Wayne Grosky, Marc Zondag, Phil Taylor, Trevor Krause, Darren Lane (DNF).
Heat 1 – Rene Poluyko, Jamie Vernaus, Rick Lowey, Wayne Grosky, Dustin Enns, Trevor Krause.
Heat 2 – Rod Fidler, Dan Klim, Marc Zondag, Phil Taylor, Darren Lane (DNF).