Jason Strand – Mid-Season Review!

 

PORTLAND, N.D. (July 5, 2017) – As the calendar flips from June to July it marks the unofficial halfway point of the 2017 racing season. To this point, Jason Strand and the E85 Racing team have been contenders since they rolled out their Black Widow Racing machine at North Central Speedway back in late April.

Over Strand’s first 10 events of the season, he has tallied five top five finishes, while finishing outside of the top 10 just once.

To date, Strand’s best finish came on opening night at the Brainerd, Minn dirt oval, where he wheeled his North Dakota Corn Council / American Ethanol machine to a runner-up finish. Strand also picked up a second place finish at his season debut at Norman County Raceway (NCR), where he charged from the ninth starting position.

Last weekend, Strand was back in action at NCR and Red River Valley Speedway (RRVS), where his speed didn’t necessarily reflect his results.

After racing from fifth to third in his heat race on Thursday, Strand started seventh on the 14-car grid. Strand methodically worked his way to the front before finding himself in the second spot behind Tyler Peterson in the closing stages.

“I definitely had a shot at it. On the last restart with five or six to go, I made an adjustment in the car and I thought I was going to be okay,” Strand said. “I went into turn one and the car got tight on me and I pushed up the track. I tried to make a little bit of an adjustment to make the car better on corner exit, but it worked against me. But that’s what happens when you’re going for the win.”

After sliding back on the final restart, Strand was able to hang on for a solid sixth place finish.

The following night, the E85 Racing crew unloaded at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo.

Strand was buried in the starting lineup in the heat once again, starting in the eighth position, but rallied to finish fifth.

As the feature went green, things got off to a rocky start for Strand in the first corner.

“A car slid up in front of me right at the beginning and I had nowhere to go. Cars were passing to the left and right of me and by the time I got by him, I think five or six had gotten by me.”

Still, Strand was able to recover and move forward.

“The car was great, you just can’t afford to lose five spots right off the start like that. There are too many guys that are too fast, that you just can’t catch them.”

Jason and the entire E85 Racing team would like to thank all their sponsors for their continued support!

North Dakota Corn – North Dakota Corn Council, American Ethanol, Bergstrom Ranch, Sower Power Racing Engines, The Pit Stop, Finley Motors, Inc.-Finley, ND, Butler Machinery Company, Central Plains Ag & Agronomy, Precision Plumbing, Electric, Heating & Cooling, and Blasey Farms.

2017 Stats:

Races: 10

Wins: 0

Top Fives: 5

Top Tens: 9

Heat Wins: 1

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