​On July 10 in Grand Forks, Brad Seng began his River Cities Speedway feature from the outside of the front row after taking his heat win the previous week. The veteran late model ace from Grand Forks felt the track favored the outside line at the start, which allowed him to surge into the lead and seem poised for his first late model feature victory since August 5, 2023, and his first in Grand Forks since the John Seitz Memorial weekend in 2022. Seng later reflected that the car had clean air for much of the early laps, which helped him stay in front.
However, about halfway through the race, a crash brought out the red flag and momentarily halted the flow. Seng noticed air leaving his tires as the car sat on the track. “I’ve done this long enough now to know when you’re driving on a flat tire,” he explained. He initially suspected a flat and, when fellow driver Tyler Peterson rolled up beside him and calmly said, “Brad, you’ve got a flat,” Seng realized the issue. He acknowledged that Peterson hadn’t meant any harm, just trying to help.
That moment marked the end of Seng’s bid for another checkered flag. Looking back, Seng was philosophical about the setback. “In all honesty, 15 years ago, I would have been distraught,” he said. “But I’ve done this long enough now where I went into the pit area and said, ‘You know what? This is part of it.’ It’s a humbling sport. It really is.” Peterson went on to win the race but expressed sympathy for Seng’s misfortune, noting, “Too bad Brad got a flat tire. I think we would have had a pretty good race.”
Seng, who sits atop the Northern Late Model Racing Association (NLRA) all-time wins list, remains competitive this season. He is currently third in River Cities Speedway points, with three top-five finishes to his name. “For me, as one of the older drivers now, consistency is what I look for,” Seng explained. “Do I want to win? Absolutely. No doubt. If I didn’t feel like I could win, I wouldn’t be out here. But I also know there are some talented competitors in that field. If I can run with them, I feel good about where I am.”
Looking ahead, Seng hopes to carry the momentum from last weekend into the midseason track championship hosted by River Cities Speedway at 7 p.m. Friday night. Heat races will be set based on season points, and those heats will determine the lineup for the feature. “The people who support us every week deserve to start where their points are,” Seng said. “I’m not saying they’ll finish there, but they deserve to start there.”
Among the championship contenders, the current late model point leaders are Shane Edginton, Brody Troftgruben, Seng, Dustin Strand, and Nick Corbett. In the sprint cars, Mark Dobmeier leads the way, followed by Jade Hastings, Nick Omdahl, Colton Young, and Alex Truscinski. The Midwest mods are led by Austin Hunter, Jory Berg, Kenna Breidenbach, Brennan Schmidt, and Dylan McCaughan. In street stocks, Cole Greseth, Greg Jose, John Halvorson, Josh Barker, and Blaine Barnes hold the top positions. The modifieds standings are led by Dustin Wahl, Bryce Borgen, Aaron H, and others rounding out the top tier of the class, with the field preparing for another fast Friday night of racing.