MULLEN EARNS FIRST VICTORY OF 2023 AT RIVER CITIES
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (June 16, 2023) – Brendan Mullen put the Simplot / Bergstrom Electric No. 11M in the win column for the first time in the 2023 campaign last Friday night, winning the Wayne Anderson Cup qualifier with the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Sprint Cars are off at River Cities Speedway tonight so the crew is loaded up and heading to Jackson for night 1 of the Border Battle!
Mullen rolled out late in qualifying, but started the night as the top qualifier of the night, putting down a 11.214 second lap as the 14th car to take time.
From there, Mullen started and finished fourth in his heat race, earning a spot in the feature redraw. Grabbing the fifth starting spot for the 30 lap Wayne Anderson Cup qualifier, Mullen was running fourth when a caution slowed the action on lap 11.
Mullen took two spots on the ensuing restart and kept pace with leader Austin Pierce in a bid for the top spot.
On a lap 17 restart, Mullen and Pierce started trading sliders for the lead, but it was Mullen who eventually won the battle, leading the final 14 trips around the ‘Bullring’ to win his first feature of the season.
“That was a blast of a battle with Austin for the lead,” Mullen said in victory lane post-race. “I think the biggest thing about that race was right there at the end, when he took the lead and I was sitting in second, and he took the outside. Kind of got a good jump around the bottom and got to slide him into (turn) one, and kind of take it from there.”
Mullen and crew returned to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday night, where he started the night fast again, finishing second in qualifying with the 11.178 second lap.
Mullen struggled a bit at the beginning of the 25-lap main event, ending the feature with an 18th place finish.
Thanks to all of our sponsors for their continued support!
Native Nations Cannabis
Home of Economy
Auto Finance Super Center
Royal River Casino & Hotel
605 Lending
Simplot – Grand Forks, ND
State Bank of Fairmont
Valvoline Instant Oil Change
Bergstrom Electric
Northland Custom Woodworking
Bosh Enterprise
2023 Stats:
Races: 20
Wins: 1
Top 5’s: 4
Top 10’s: 5
