GRAND FORKS, N.D. (September 7, 2018) – Night one of the 2018 John Seitz Memorial kicked off Friday night at River Cities Speedway featuring the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Challenge for the NOSA Sprints.
A lot of money was up for grabs for the Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprints with the fourth running of the back row Blazin’ Challenge. Jade Hastings and Mark Dobmeier finished first and second, respectively, in the dash for the opportunity to start in the 10th and final row for $8,200 to win.
Bob Martin and Ty Hanten brought the field to the green flag with Martin leading the opening lap. The race was quickly red flagged on lap two for Ty Hanten, who biked up on the choppy cushion and flipped off the turn two banking. Hanten made heavy contact with the outside water barrels and catch fence, but was okay.
Row nine starter, Thomas Kennedy, sliced through the field in the opening laps and held the fourth position by lap two. Two laps later, Kennedy was battling with Austin Pierce for second when Pierce caught a rut and slid off the track.
On the restart, Kennedy lined up in second but was called for jumping the start which put him back two rows. That put Martin and Skylar Prochaska, who was making his River Cities Speedway debut, on the front row. Kennedy drove from sixth to regain the lead on lap 13 and brought fellow Blazin’ Challenge qualifier, Mark Dobmeier, with him into second. Jade Hastings also found his way to the front and moved into third on lap 15 of 30.
With nine to go, Kennedy and Dobmeier made contact while racing for the lead. The two drivers got tied up, as Dobmeier drove over the left front of Kennedy, kept his car fired and drove away from the incident to inherit the lead for the ensuing restart. The incident brought Kennedy’s night to an end.
A pair of quick cautions gave Hastings a shot at Dobmeier, but the all-time River Cities Speedway wins leader was too strong. Dobmeier cruised to his second consecutive $8,200 Blazin’ Challenge win.
As Dobmeier climbed from his car in RydellCars.com Victory Lane, a shower of boos and cheers from the crowd rained down as some felt Dobmeier ran up into Kennedy.
“This feels great. I knew it was going to be tough considering how sticky the track was,” said Dobmeier. “It got a little dicey there with Thomas. I don’t know if he was falling out of his seat or losing his head. I took the inside and he almost spun it sideways and came down. It definitely wasn’t an intentional move. I apologize if he’s upset, but at the end of the day we were both racing hard.”
Hard Chargers: Mark Dobmeier & Jade Hastings (+18)
Lap Leaders: Bob Martin (1-12), Thomas Kennedy (13-21), Mark Dobmeier (22-30)
RESULTS:
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 13-Mark Dobmeier, [19]; 2. 2A-Austin Pierce, [6]; 3. 31-Shane Roemeling, [4]; 4. 8H-Jade Hastings, [20]; 5. 10TRB-Bob Martin, [2]; 6. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [17]; 7. 35P-Skylar, Prochaska, [10]; 8. 20A-Jordan Adams, [3]; 9. 14-Tom Egeland, [9]; 10. 26-Blake Egeland, [5]; 11. 99-Jordan Graham, [12]; 12. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, [11]; 13. 12-Brayden Pengilly, [13]; 14. (DNF) 8C-Jack Croaker, [14]; 15. (DNF) 0-Nick Omdahl, [16]; 16. (DNF) 22-Tanner Wisk, [7]; 17. (DNF) 35-Brenden Wilde, [15]; 18. (DNF) 4M-Cale Mack, [8]; 19. (DNF) 13T-Ty Hanten, [1]; (DQ) 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [18]
Dash 1 (8 Laps): 1. 8H-Jade Hastings, [1]; 2. 13-Mark Dobmeier, [3]; 3. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [8]; 4. 13T-Ty Hanten, [2]; 5. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [4]; 6. 0-Nick Omdahl, [5]; 7. 10TRB-Bob Martin, [7]; 8. 20A-Jordan Adams, [6]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Shane Roemeling, [2]; 2. 2A-Austin Pierce, [4]; 3. 4M-Cale Mack, [5]; 4. 35P-Skylar, Prochaska, [6]; 5. 99-Jordan Graham, [3]; 6. 8C-Jack Croaker, [1]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Blake Egeland, [4]; 2. 22-Tanner Wisk, [2]; 3. 14-Tom Egeland, [3]; 4. 1AJ-Trevor Mell, [6]; 5. 12-Brayden Pengilly, [1]; 6. 35-Brenden Wilde, [5]