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Sep. 13—GRAND FORKS — On a fast race track that made passing difficult, Andy Pake knew he had to take advantage of any opportunity he had as the laps counted down.
And that's what he did, passing Jack Croaker for the lead with seven laps to go Friday night during the NOSA 30-lap sprint feature at River Cities Speedway.
It was Pake's second win of the season at RCS, and third overall. His latest win came on an extremely fast racing surface as roughly a half-inch of rain earlier in the day made for a demanding and quick track.
"The track was really fast," said Pake. "If this race had gone 30 laps straight, it would have been a pretty physical race, that's for sure."
There were three red flags in the feature as Weston Olson, Travis Strandell and Brendan Mullen all flipped.
The final red came with eight laps to go. Croaker, who started second, had led all but one of the first 22 laps.
One lap after the restart, however, Pake managed to slip by Croaker and went on to beat Jade Hastings by 1.274 seconds. Croaker finished third, followed by Mark Dobmeier and Colton Young.
"I knew if I stayed low and came off the corner right, I'd have a chance," said Pake. "Jack slipped up a little bit and I had a decent line. The last couple of laps I kind of struggled but I had enough to finish it off."
The win was rewarding considering Pake was close to winning a couple of other features this season at RCS.
"I really had to work for this one," said Pake. "I gave away a couple of races earlier this season while leading so it felt good to get the lead and keep it this time."
The demanding track produced fast racing but it also was tough on cars. Of the 18 cars that signed in for the night, only 10 finished. And there were 10 drivers who posted sub-11 second laps during the feature. Pake had the fastest lap time of 10.577 seconds.
While Pake won the feature, Hastings wrapped up his third-straight NOSA season points title and fourth overall. He also won another RCS season points title.
"By far, this was the best season I've had," said Hastings. "Our team keeps getting better and better. Finances, we keep growing. We have more power, better cars. And we're chipping away at it."
Hastings has seven wins on the season, one more than a goal he set for himself at the beginning of the season.
"If we have another good offseason, I think the only person that can beat us next season in a championship battle is ourselves. This is the hardest place to win at on our schedule. This is the place I've always wanted to master. I haven't mastered it yet, but we're getting close."
It was an all sprint night at RCS, with Red River IMCA RaceSaver sprints, lightning sprints and the Western Renegade Wingless Sprints complementing the NOSA 410 sprints.
Chris Lewis of Grand Rapids, Minn., won the Western Renegade feature, edging Jeremy Lizakowski of Veseleyville, N.D., by 1.391 seconds.
Dexter Dvergsten of Greenbush, Minn., dominated the lightning sprints as he won by 7.936 seconds over Emmitt Isane.
And Dylan Waxdahl of Hartford, S.D., captured the IMCA RaceSaver feature as he edged Ty Hanten of West Fargo by 2.433 seconds.
The 2025 RCS season wraps up next Friday.with lightning sprints, Western Renegade Wingless Sprints, Wissota modifieds and IMCA RaceSaver Sprint cars.
Continue reading...
And that's what he did, passing Jack Croaker for the lead with seven laps to go Friday night during the NOSA 30-lap sprint feature at River Cities Speedway.
It was Pake's second win of the season at RCS, and third overall. His latest win came on an extremely fast racing surface as roughly a half-inch of rain earlier in the day made for a demanding and quick track.
"The track was really fast," said Pake. "If this race had gone 30 laps straight, it would have been a pretty physical race, that's for sure."
There were three red flags in the feature as Weston Olson, Travis Strandell and Brendan Mullen all flipped.
The final red came with eight laps to go. Croaker, who started second, had led all but one of the first 22 laps.
One lap after the restart, however, Pake managed to slip by Croaker and went on to beat Jade Hastings by 1.274 seconds. Croaker finished third, followed by Mark Dobmeier and Colton Young.
"I knew if I stayed low and came off the corner right, I'd have a chance," said Pake. "Jack slipped up a little bit and I had a decent line. The last couple of laps I kind of struggled but I had enough to finish it off."
The win was rewarding considering Pake was close to winning a couple of other features this season at RCS.
"I really had to work for this one," said Pake. "I gave away a couple of races earlier this season while leading so it felt good to get the lead and keep it this time."
The demanding track produced fast racing but it also was tough on cars. Of the 18 cars that signed in for the night, only 10 finished. And there were 10 drivers who posted sub-11 second laps during the feature. Pake had the fastest lap time of 10.577 seconds.
While Pake won the feature, Hastings wrapped up his third-straight NOSA season points title and fourth overall. He also won another RCS season points title.
"By far, this was the best season I've had," said Hastings. "Our team keeps getting better and better. Finances, we keep growing. We have more power, better cars. And we're chipping away at it."
Hastings has seven wins on the season, one more than a goal he set for himself at the beginning of the season.
"If we have another good offseason, I think the only person that can beat us next season in a championship battle is ourselves. This is the hardest place to win at on our schedule. This is the place I've always wanted to master. I haven't mastered it yet, but we're getting close."
It was an all sprint night at RCS, with Red River IMCA RaceSaver sprints, lightning sprints and the Western Renegade Wingless Sprints complementing the NOSA 410 sprints.
Chris Lewis of Grand Rapids, Minn., won the Western Renegade feature, edging Jeremy Lizakowski of Veseleyville, N.D., by 1.391 seconds.
Dexter Dvergsten of Greenbush, Minn., dominated the lightning sprints as he won by 7.936 seconds over Emmitt Isane.
And Dylan Waxdahl of Hartford, S.D., captured the IMCA RaceSaver feature as he edged Ty Hanten of West Fargo by 2.433 seconds.
The 2025 RCS season wraps up next Friday.with lightning sprints, Western Renegade Wingless Sprints, Wissota modifieds and IMCA RaceSaver Sprint cars.
Continue reading...
