Northern Plains Brainerd results 2006-09-02

Lund Strikes in ASCS Northern Plains Mighty Axe Nationals Opener

BRAINERD, Minn. (September 2, 2006) -- Curt Lund landed his second American Sprint Car Series Northern Plains Region feature win of the year by outlasting Jerry Richert, Jr., in a spirited duel for top honors in Saturday night's 25-lap Mighty Axe Nationals opening night feature at North Central Speedway.

After a pair of early cautions that eliminated current series point leader Chuck Swenson and second-ranked Lee Grosz, Lund gunned into the early lead and paced the opening rounds in front of 12th-starter Richert and John Nelson.

It was after a lap ten caution that Richert turned the heat up on Lund in a bid for the lead. Lund wheeled the Jackpot Junction No. 87 machine around the top side while Richert challenged in the low groove.

The pair raced in side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel fashion until lapped traffic with just four circuits remaining allowed Lund to edge into the lead and secure the gold-plated Mighty Axe winner's trophy.

Richert settled for second in front of Nelson and Brett Geldner, with Dave Sobczak rebounding from an early tangle to round out the top five.JAlan Gilbertson claimed sixth, with Mike Sitzmann, Jr., Leigh Thomas, Ryan Wilson and Eric Lutz completing the top ten.

Lund, Grosz and Sitzmann each scored heat race wins.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Results:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 87-Curt Lund, 2. 18-Ryan Wilson, 3. 33B-Scott Broty, 4. 6-Tom Kamrath, 5. 1B-Brett Geldner, 6. 85-Johnny Parsons III, 7. 7. 55-Joe Kouba.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 4-Lee Grosz, 2. 17-Dave Sobczak, 3. 74-Joseph Kouba, 4. 63-Jerry Richert, Jr., 5. 18H-Tony Hargrave, 6. 56-Billy Johnson. DNS: 37-Sye Anderson.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 2. X-Chuck Swenson, 3. 14-John Nelson, 4. K9-Eric Lutz, 5. 29-Leigh Thomas, 6. 25-Ken Melanson, 7. 97-Alan Gilbertson.

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 87-Curt Lund, 2. 63-Jerry Richert, Jr., 3. 14-John Nelson, 4. 1B-Brett Geldner, 5. 17-Dave Sobczak, 6. 97-Alan Gilbertson, 7. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 8. 29-Leigh Thomas, 9. 18-Ryan Wilson, 10. K9-Eric Lutz, 11. 55-Joe Kouba, 12. 6-Tom Kamrath, 13. 56-Billy Johnson, 14. 74-Joseph Kouba, 15. 85-Johnny Parsons III, 16. 33B-Scott Broty, 17. X-Chuck Swenson, 18. 18H-Tony Hargrave, 19. 4-Lee Grosz, 20. 25-Ken Melanson. DNS: 37-Sye Anderson.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Chuck Swenson 2,372, 2. Lee Grosz 2,035, 3. Eric Lutz 2,015, 4. Curt Lund 1,989, 5. Jake Peters 1,619, 6. Brett Geldner 1,604, 7. Dusty Ballenger 1,531, 8. Dustin Lindquist 1,529, 9. Mike Sitzmann, Jr. 1,405, 10. Gregg Bakker 1,396.

-credit: ascs