WEST FARGO, N.D. — Jac Haudenschild was in the right place at the right time to win Saturday night’s World of Outlaws feature at Red River Valley Speedway.
Brooke Tatnell appeared en route to winning the final round of the Duel in the Dakotas when he cut down a left-rear tire with four laps remaining. Haudenschild inherited the lead and beat Jason Sides by nearly two seconds for his first victory of 2007.
“The car felt good all night,” Haudenschild said. “I have been quicker here the last few races and have been qualifying better. The guys have been working hard on the car.”
Haudenschild was presented a special trophy as he was the overall champion of the Duel in the Dakotas.
“We have been better the last few races, and we have a better motor in there right now,” Haudenschild said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going like this for the rest of the year.”
Sides led the first 10 laps from the pole, but Tatnell took control on lap 11 and fought off Haudenschild until the flat tire on lap 26.
It was Sides’s second runner-up finish of the year.
“Second is better than hitting the wall while leading like we did at Granite City (Tri-City Speedway in Illinois),” Sides said. “All in all, it was a good night for us. We have been struggling for the last six or eight nights, and to run good and lead laps and start up front is good for us. We just need to be able to keep this going.”
Joey Saldana started fifth and finished third. Randy Hannagan and Danny Lasoski rounded out the top five, with point-leader Donny Schatz sixth at his home track.
Haudenschild’s victory was the 45th of his World of Outlaws career.