Wade Nygaard Scores 5th Win of 2017 at Devils Lake!
CRARY, N.D. (July 24, 2017) – Last weekend Wade Nygaard and the Auto Finance Super Center team had two races on their schedule, beginning with River Cities Speedway on Friday night. However, torrential rain in the mid-afternoon in Grand Forks forced the cancellation of the evening’s program.
On Saturday, the Nygaard Motorsports team made the 75 mile trip west on HWY 2 to Devils Lake Speedway in Crary, N.D., where Nygaard made his first appearance of the season.
The driver of the C&M Ford/Valley Oral No. 9N wheeled his way from sixth to third in the third and final heat race, which placed him fourth on the 22-car starting grid for the main event.
At the drop of the green flag, Nygaard began moving forward. On lap three, the nine-time and defending NOSA champion moved by Sioux Fall’s Brant O’Banion to secure the second position. From there, he set his sights on Blake Egeland for the lead.
As Egeland entered lapped traffic on lap seven, he held a five car length advantage over Nygaard. Meanwhile, Casey Mack and Austin Pierce advanced their way into the top five as they ran third and fourth, respectively.
At the halfway point, both Mack and Pierce were able to move by Nygaard down the back straightaway, but fortunately for Nygaard the caution flew for a two-car spin in turn four.
“We got lucky there with that yellow flag,” said Nygaard after the race. “I was trying to figure out how to get by (Blake) Egeland. He was running really well tonight. Then Casey and Austin both got by me at the same time. Right after that, the yellow came out, which really saved us.”
On the restart, Egeland, who was in search of his first career NOSA win, led Nygaard, Mack and Pierce.
Both Mack and Nygaard got by the No. 26 of Egeland on the restart as they used the extreme low and high grooves to distance themselves from the pack down the frontstretch as a thrilling race for the lead ensued.
“Casey was running really well on the bottom. I just had to calm down and not spin the tires,” Nygaard continued. “I think it worked because I lost him out of my peripheral vision. Then I just told myself not to drive in the corner too hard and screw up.”
After four laps of side by side racing, Nygaard prevailed on the top side to take the lead. Once out front, Nygaard cruised to the win; his fifth of the season overall and 13th career triumph at Devils Lake.
Upcoming Events:
July 29th: River Cities Speedway – Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprint Cars
Aug. 3rd-5th: Knoxville Raceway – Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals
2017 Stats:
Races: 23
Wins: 5
Top Fives: 19
Top Tens: 20
Heat Wins: 6
