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By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – Red River Valley Speedway’s 48th season of weekly racing came to a close Friday night. The pit area was packed with 90 race teams checked in for action.

Tyler Peterson of Hickson, N.D. came from 11th to win his fourth IMCA Modified feature of the season at the speedway. Entering the night, Peterson sat third in points, 10 markers out of the lead. With the win, Peterson edged out both Rich Pavlicek and Darren Pfau by one point to claim the Modified title.

Peterson had to go toe-to-toe with perennial powerhouse drivers, Rob VanMil and Casey Arneson. The lead changed five times between the three drivers with Peterson making the pass for the win on lap 11 over VanMil.

A stout field of 23 IMCA SportMods made up the field for their 18 lap main event. Brandon Tendeland grabbed the early lead, but a restart on lap three shook up the running order. A three wide battle for the top spot ensued between Tendeland, Charlie Jensen, and Reile Sailer. Jensen grabbed the lead as Sailer slid into second.

Matt Talley of Sabin, Minn. moved into the second spot with eight laps remaining and set his sights on Jensen. Talley, who started eighth on the grid, quickly reeled in Jensen and took the lead on the following lap. Once out front, Talley checked out and picked up his second win of the season at the speedway. Eleventh starter, Luke Johnson, finished second as 20th-place starter, Paul Colvin, rounded out the podium.

Johnson was awarded the SportMod track championship.

The NLSA Lightning Sprints made their first-ever appearance to Red River Valley Speedway. The series travels to tracks across North Dakota and Minnesota and races weekly at Greenbush (Minn.) Race Park and Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, Minn. Alex Truscinski of Greenbush led every trip around the high-banked three-eighths-mile dirt oval. He had an early challenge from Zak Kwiatkoski, but eventually pulled away to score a convincing win.

The IMCA Stock Cars, which are relatively new to the region, had one of their largest fields of the season to close out 2018. Just as he did the night before at Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn., Rob VanMil of Barnesville won both the track championship and the feature.

After being sent to the tail of the field for causing a caution on lap two, VanMil charged his way through the field. VanMil fought his way back into contention in the closing laps. A caution with three to go was the difference maker.

VanMil went three wide with Brandon Schmidt and Rick Schulz on the restart. VanMil grabbed second from Schulz before moving by Schmidt for the lead with two to go. VanMil collected his division-tying fifth win of the season at the speedway and won the championship by a mere seven points over Schmidt.

For the past two seasons, Fargo’s Tim Estenson has been unstoppable in the INEX legend division. That trend continued on Friday as Estenson raced to his 26th win of the season, 52nd career win overall, and the Red River Valley Speedway track championship. Estenson had to fight with Kaitlyn Skalicky in the early going. The two drivers swapped the lead throughout the first half of the race before Estenson claimed the spot for good with six circuits remaining.

IMCA Hobby Stock rookie, Alyssa White grabbed the lead on the opening lap of the feature. Maranda Borg led lap two, but she was surpassed by Adam Goff of Minot, N.D. on lap three. Goff went on to claim his fourth win of the season. Tim Shiek finished second and secured the hobby stock track championship.

RESULTS:

IMCA Modifieds:
Feature – 1. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.; 2. 10-Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.; 3. 40-Rob VanMil, Barnesville, N.D.; 4. 7-Dale Kraling, Mayville, N.D.; 5. 174-Rich Pavlicek, Casselton, N.D.

IMCA SportMods:
Feature – 1. 5T-Matt Talley, Sabin, Minn.Sabin, Minn.; 2. 8J-Luke Johnson, Moorhead, Minn.Moorhead, Minn. ; 3. 33-Brennan Urbach, Englevale, N.D. Englevale, N.D. ; 4. 13C-Paul Colvin, Horace, N.D.Horace, N.D.; 5. 5-Scott Jacobson, Fargo, N.D. Fargo, N.D.

IMCA Stock Cars:
Feature – 1. 40 – Rob VanMil, Barnesville, Minn.; 2. 4S – Rick Schulz, Horace, N.D.; 3. 18 – Mike Anderson, Walcott, N.D.; 4. Brandon Schmidt, Hillsboro, N.D.; 5. 21 – Tim Church, Glyndon, Minn.

NLSA Lightning Sprints:
Feature – 1. 10-Alex Truscinski, Greenbush, Minn.; 2. 17K-Zachary Kwiatkoski, Grand Forks, N.D.; 3. 16-Josh Abrahamson, Moorhead, Minn.; 4. 93-Kelsi Pederson, East Grand Forks, Minn.; 5. 11-Dexter Dvergsten, Greenbush, Minn.

INEX Legends:
Feature – 1. 14T-Tim Estenson, Fargo, N.D.; 2. 8JR-Kaitlyn Skalicky, Fargo, N.D.; 3. 72-Tye Wilke, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; 4. 58-Sean Johnson, Kindred, N.D.; 5. 5-Dean Julsrud, Barnesville, Minn.

IMCA Hobby Stocks:
Feature – 1. 30A-Adam Goff, Minot, N.D.; 2. 31X-Tim Shiek, Fargo, N.D.; 3. 14-Alyssa White, West Fargo, N.D.; 4. 106-Eric Novacek, West Fargo, N.D.; 5. 73-Maranda Borg, Harwood, N.D.

By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – A crowd of nearly 6,000 race fans packed the stands Saturday night at Red River Valley Speedway for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series’ only appearance of the 2018 season.

The crowd was cheering on Fargo driver and current World of Outlaws point leader, Donny Schatz, and he did not disappoint.

Schatz took the lead with just seven laps remaining to pick up his first World of Outlaws win at his home track since 2006.

“This is what you live for,” said an elated Schatz in victory lane. “When you race close to home, you hope for the opportunity to put on a good show, finish well and win some races. I’m so fortunate for my team, they are the reason I’m standing here. We’ve been together for a long time and we have a lot of fun doing this. It’s awesome to be here, it’s awesome to see this crowd tonight.”

Schatz began the night by setting the fastest lap in time trials with a lap of 13.230 seconds around the three-eighths-mile oval, averaging 102mph. From there, Schatz won his heat race and finished third in the Sears/Craftsman dash, which earned him the third starting position for the 30-lap, $10,000-to-win feature.

Watertown, Connecticut’s David Gravel jumped out to the early lead over Jacob Allen of Hanover, Pa. Gravel and Allen battled for the top spot for the first half of the race until Schatz reeled both of them amidst lapped traffic.

Local competitor, Thomas Kennedy of Winnipeg, Man., had started 12th on the grid but was running sixth when he spun on lap 18 to bring out the caution.

On the restart, Schatz moved by Allen for second before taking advantage of the next restart on lap 23. The Fargo driver dove to the inside of turn three and slid across the track to take the lead away from Gravel exiting turn four. Two laps later, Gravel’s strong run came to an end after he suffered a flat right rear tire.

Allen, who inherited second following Gravel’s misfortune, remained within striking distance of Schatz in the closing laps, but Schatz held a steady line around the high side of the speedway to collect his fifth career World of Outlaws win at Red River Valley Speedway.

The win made it a clean sweep for Schatz on the weekend in World of Outlaws competition. He also scored the win Friday night at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks.

The NLRA Late Models were also on the card for Saturday’s program. Three-time NLRA champion, Brad Seng, of Grand Forks, claimed the win. Seng had to best Schatz, who was pulling double duty, in a thrilling battle in the final stages. The two drivers traded the lead several times through lapped traffic, but Seng held on for the win.

RESULTS:

World of Outlaws:
Feature – 1. 15 – Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D.; 2. 1A – Jacob Allen, Hanover, Pa.; 3. 2 – Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Au.; 4. W20 – Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, Ohio; 5. 1S – Logan Schuchart, Hanover, Pa.

NLRA Late Models:
Feature – 1. 12S – Brad Seng, Grand Forks, N.D.; 2. 42S – Don Shaw, Ham Lake, Minn.; 3. 15 – Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D.; 4. 37 – Scott Ward, Watertown, S.D.; 5. Dustin Strand, Grand Forks, N.D.

By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – The IMCA Modifieds had extra bragging rights up for grabs Friday night at Red River Valley Speedway as they raced 48-laps for a $1,000 top prize.

The 48-lap special event, originally scheduled for Rusty Wallace night which was rained out on July 20th, boasted a stout 19 car field.

Casey Arneson of Fargo led every lap as he cruised to his second win of the season at Red River Valley Speedway. Dylan Goplen ran in the second spot early on after starting third. Behind him, Tyler Peterson was running third on lap seven when Rob VanMil made contact with him causing Peterson to spin. VanMil was charged for the caution and had to restart at the tail of the field. Peterson joined in back after going to the pit area to change a tire.

Arneson stretched out his lead by a straightway before the mandatory fuel stop with 30 to go. Arneson took over another commanding lead as they went green again. With 15 remaining, Peterson had made his way back up to third place behind Arneson and his brother, Cale, who ran second from the 12th starting spot. Casey worked through lap traffic patiently, as cruised to the win unchallenged.

The Fargo Force Super Stock Series made their second and final appearance of the season. Colfax, North Dakota’s Brian Bernotas picked up a dominating win in the 12 lap feature. Bernotas took the lead from Jonathon Miller on lap two and never looked back. Bernotas’ margin of victory at the checkers was a whopping 4.3 seconds. In victory lane, an emotional Bernotas announced his retirement from the sport, bringing a very successful and storied career to an end.

Luke Johnson of Moorhead, Minn. backed up his win Thursday night at Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn. with another IMCA SportMod win Friday at Red River Valley Speedway. Taylor Grove led the opening laps of the feature until Matt Talley took the top spot. Johnson moved into second with 11 of 18 laps remaining.

Johnson quickly set his sights on Talley for the lead and made the winning pass with eight to go. From there, Johnson set sail and collected his fourth win in the last two weeks.

Rick Schulz showed the way at the drop of the green flag for the IMCA stock car feature. Schulz led Rob VanMil of Barnesville, Minn. until he spun on lap six of 14. VanMil inherited the lead on the ensuing restart, but couldn’t hold off stock car rookie, Brandon Schmidt. Schmidt took the lead with five circuits remaining, but VanMil would rally for one last bid for the lead.

VanMil executed some last lap heroics as he pulled even with Schmidt as the white flag flew and took the lead. VanMil won the race back to the checkers to collect his fourth stock car win of the season at the speedway.

Tim Estenson, who scored three feature wins last Sunday evening at Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, Minn., achieved a milestone win in the INEX legend division. Estenson led all 16 laps of the feature en route to his 50th career win. Sean Johnson remained within striking distance of Estenson early, but the Fargo driver eventually stretched his advantage to over a full straightaway around the high-banked three-eighths-mile clay oval. The win was Estenson’s 24th of the season.

After getting passed by Adam Goff around the halfway point of the IMCA hobby stock feature, Nick Nelson of Georgetown, Minn. made the high lane work following a restart with four to go to regain the point. Nelson went on to win his second race of the season.

The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returned to Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday.

SUMMARY

IMCA Modifieds:
Feature – 1. 2-Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.; 2. 99-Cale Arneson, Fargo, N.D.; 3. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson, Hickson, N.D.; 4. 88B-Brady Petermann, Hawley, Minn.; 5. 6D-Dylan Goplen, Fargo, N.D.

WISSOTA Super Stocks:
Feature – 1. 43-Brian Bernotas, Colfax, N.D.; 2. 40-Shawn Schnabel, Aberdeen, S.D.; 3. 76-Jonathon Miller, Enderlin, N.D.; 4. 49-Tim Compson, Valley City, N.D.; 5. 11-William Wadeson, Alice, N.D.

IMCA SportMods:
Feature – 1. 8J-Luke Johnson, Moorhead, Minn.; 2. 5-Scott Jacobson, Fargo, N.D.; 3. 51-Kelly Jacobson, Fargo, N.D.; 4. 3W-Aaron Wetterlin, Moorhead, Minn.; 5. 1RM-Taylor Grove, Shelly, Minn.

IMCA Stock Cars:
Feature – 1. 40-Rob VanMil, Barnesville, Minn.; 2. 219-Brandon Schmidt, Hillsboro, N.D.; 3. 4-Rick Schulz, Horace, N.D.; 4. 38-Todd Heinrich, Fargo, N.D; 5. 18-Mike Anderson, Walcott, N.D.

INEX Legends:
Feature – 1. 14T-Tim Estenson, Fargo, N.D.; 2. 58-Sean Johnson, Kindred, N.D.; 3. 8JR-Kaitlyn Skalicky, Fargo, N.D.; 4. 5-Dean Julsrud, Barnesville, Minn.; 5. 69T-Joshua Julsrud, Barnesville, Minn.

IMCA Hobby Stocks:
Feature – 1. 31X-Tim Shiek, Fargo, N.D.; 2. 73-Maranda Borg, Harwood, N.D.; 3. 3XL-Brad Orvedal, Fargo, N.D.; 4. 14-Alyssa White, West Fargo, N.D.; 5. 106-Eric Novacek, West Fargo, N.D.

By Mike Spieker

WEST FARGO – On Saturday, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returns to Red River Valley Speedway. The event will mark the second consecutive year and the 32nd time overall the World of Outlaws have visited the high-banked three-eighths-mile dirt oval on the Red River Valley Fairgrounds.

Leading the way will be nine-time and defending World of Outlaws champion and Fargo’s own, Donny Schatz. The grueling World of Outlaws tour takes the best sprint car teams in the world all across the country to nearly 100 events from February to November.

For Schatz, returning to his hometown, home track, and home fans, can be a breath of fresh air.

“When you run across the country all year, to get back to Fargo and the Red River Valley Speedway, where I started racing sprint cars back in the day, it’s pretty cool,” said Schatz. “We’ve only had the opportunity to run there one time since the track has been changed. We wanted to win it. We didn’t. Hopefully, we can change that this weekend and have a great showing.”

In the World of Outlaws’ highly-anticipated return to the speedway last August, Schatz started seventh and finished fifth in the $10,000-to-win, 30-lap feature. The late Jason Johnson of Eunice, Louisana scored the win in what was his only World of Outlaws victory in the state of North Dakota.

Schatz leads all active World of Outlaws drivers with four career wins at Red River Valley Speedway, albeit on the former half-mile configuration. Schatz’s first win came in 2002, but he hasn’t won at his home track since 2006.

“It would mean everything to get back to victory lane on Saturday,” he explained. “You want to win every race you’re in, but there’s just something about coming home to the people who have been watching you for 20-plus years, the familiar faces and the new group of kids that are becoming fans. It’s pretty rewarding to just be there participating, let alone have an opportunity to compete or win, but that’s what we all strive for. It’s pretty competitive out there with the World of Outlaws right now and there’s a lot of drivers running really well. We’ll have to be on our game if we are going to have a chance at winning this weekend.”

Knoxville

This weekend’s World of Outlaws events at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks on Friday and Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday come off the heels of the biggest event in sprint car racing, the Knoxville Nationals in Knoxville, Iowa.

Schatz was eyeing his 11th career Knoxville Nationals title last weekend. After a torrid battle with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup star, Kyle Larson, and Brad Sweet, who drives for another NASCAR star, Kasey Kahne, Schatz took the checkers in the runner-up spot to Sweet in what was the second closest finish in Knoxville Nationals history.

Still, with the second place finish, Schatz extended his streak of finishing either first or second at the Knoxville Nationals to 14 consecutive years – a feat that is unrivaled.

“Every other race is just hot laps for the Nationals,” said Schatz. “That’s our biggest race of the year. Whether you win it or not, you focus on the next race. I’m looking forward to getting back to racing with the World of Outlaws like we do every other week of the year.”

Ruling River Cities

Schatz will be looking for the season sweep at River Cities Speedway on Friday. Schatz won the first race of the season at the high-banked three-tenths mile oval on June 15, which was his series-leading 10th career win at the track. In the 22 World of Outlaws events held at River Cities Speedway, Schatz has never finished worse than seventh.

While it takes an extremely talented driver to achieve those consistent numbers, Schatz credits his Tony Stewart Racing crew for giving him a good, reliable car night in and night out.

“My race team is incredible at giving me a good baseline that I like. I’m able to adapt as the track changes, but a lot of it comes down to the race team,” he said. “They can see what goes on while I’m out there on the track and make the necessary adjustments. Ever since my very first laps at River Cities, I’ve always raced well there.”

Double Duty

Along with running his No. 15 sprint car on Friday and Saturday, Schatz will also be running his NLRA Late Model. The 800 horsepower machines will serve as the support class for the World of Outlaws both Friday and Saturday night. Schatz got into late model racing nearly five years ago and has taken a liking to the full-fendered race cars.

“I enjoy the time I get to race the late model,” said Schatz, who runs about 20-25 late model races a year. “It’s tough when you try to run both the sprint car and late model on the same night. It takes a lot away from the sprint car team and it doesn’t allow me to focus as hard as I need to on the late model to make the adjustments needed. There’s been a lot of fans who have shown their excitement for me to run both cars so that’s what it’s really all about.”

Schatz finished fifth with the NLRA Late Models at River Cities Speedway in June but picked up a win with the series on August 4 at Nodak Speedway in Minot. He has six career NLRA wins, including last August at Red River Valley Speedway.

Chasing No. 10

Entering the weekend, Schatz holds a 198 point lead over Brad Sweet atop the World of Outlaws point standings as he chases his 10th series title. The Fargo driver took the point lead on the second race of the season at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida on February 10th and hasn’t looked back.

While Sweet will close the gap from time to time, he hasn’t been able to keep pace with Schatz’s series-leading 15 wins, 35 top fives and 44 top tens through the first 46 events.

Tickets for Saturday’s World of Outlaws event at Red River Valley Speedway can be found at slspromotions.ticketforce.com.

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Who: World of Outlaws Sprint Cars

Where: Red River Valley Speedway – West Fargo, N.D.

When: 6:30pm – Saturday, August 18

WEST FARGO, N.D. — August 16, 2018 — The size and configuration of the track at Red River Valley Speedway may have changed over the years, but the end result has remained the same for Kraig Kinser. And that is putting together consistent runs and solid finishes. The native of Bloomington, Ind., has always been strong at the fairground ovals, dating back to the early days of his career and time on the road with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.

Kinser and his fellow World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series competitors hit the track at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D., this weekend on Saturday, August 18 for the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas.

Last season, Kinser finished fourth in the 30-lap main event at Red River Valley Speedway. He opened the night as the fourth-fastest driver in time trials and followed that up with a win in the first heat race, which put him in the dash. Kinser was victorious in the dash to earn the pole position for the main event. The 2005 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year is quick to point out how important being fast early in the night is.

“You have to time trial well and then go from there,” said Kinser. “We have a pretty good notebook for Fargo, so we’ll look back at our notes and make adjustments as needed. We were pretty quick right out of the box last year and hopefully will be the same this year.”

This year’s event will mark the second consecutive race for the Outlaws on the re-configured three-eighths-mile at Red River Valley Speedway. Earlier in his career, Kinser made several starts on the original, sprawling half-mile. Kinser finished a career-best third in Fargo in 2005. He finished fourth last year on the three-eighths-mile, which marked his second straight top-five run on that configuration. In his career, Kinser has nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Red River Valley Speedway.

“It’s two totally different tracks,” he noted. “There are a few similarities, but the old track was so big and you carried a lot of speed. With the new track, you are dealing with tighter turns and a smaller configuration. It’s a little more rounded coming off (turn) two than it used to be. I always enjoyed racing on the half-mile and like the new track a well.”

Kinser who entered this season with 17 career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series feature wins, is still chasing his first victory of the 2018 campaign. He finished a season-best fourth at Ransomville Speedway in New York on July 30. Kinser led 20 laps in the opener of the Ironman 55 Weekend at I-55 Raceway in Missouri on August 3. He is currently 10th in the series standings.

“We are obviously still looking for wins,” shared Kinser. “The goal is to get the consistency up and get in the winner’s circle. That’s what the goal is every year. This year is no different.”

The 2018 season for the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series has been plagued by inclement weather. That trend began on the West Coast early in the season and continued into the spring in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Being a veteran of the series, Kinser has dealt with similar seasons in the past.

“For someone who has been around a while, like me, it’s a little easier,” he said of the rainouts. “We’ve been through different stretches in my career, where we’ve had a bunch of rainouts like this year. The guys who haven’t run much with the Outlaws, it definitely is tougher for them to deal with. ‘Do you want to be watching it rain all the time? No.’ We want to be at the race track every day, but we can’t control what the weather does.”

Oftentimes drivers point to the stretch after the Knoxville Nationals as being a more relaxed time of the season as they head to the West Coast. Kinser looks at every race the same way, with each holding the utmost importance and the one they are trying their hardest to win.

“Once Knoxville is over, yes it’s not the high-stress it was the week before, but there are still races to run and wins to try to get,” said Kinser. “We treat every race the same and all of them are important, so nothing gets easier, no matter what time of the season it is.”

Tickets for the Gerdau Recycling Duel in the Dakotas, featuring the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and NLRA Late Models at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D., on Saturday, August 18 can be purchased in advance online https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com or by calling 815-344-2023 and at the track on race day.

Twitter: @SLS_Promotions

Facebook: SLS Promotions LLC