By Ben Deatherage
MINOT, N.D. (Aug 18, 2024) – In a race that will be remembered for years to come, Aaron Turnbull emerged victorious in the inaugural Monte Lundy Memorial at Nodak Speedway.
His masterful maneuver around the halfway point, allowing him to take the lead, was a sight to behold. Fending off a challenge after the final restart, Turnbull, the maestro from Estevan, Sask., scored an impressive Friesen Performance $3,014 payday at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds.
His win holds a special significance as it was a racer from Estevan who won the first Lundy Memorial, just as Lundy had won the first IMCA Modified track title at Estevan Motor Speedway in 2000.
“This means a lot to me. Monte raced against my dad. It’s awesome to win the first event,” said Turnbull. “All of Monte’s family was there. Hopefully this race becomes a long standing tradition.”
The race was off to an intense start as Drew Christianson beat Shawn Strand into the first corner. However, Strand quickly gained momentum, swinging the lead in his favor as they powered out of turn two. Christianson found himself in a battle with Turnbull. Turnbull procured the position on lap two and was determined to chase down Strand from the high side.
Things slowed down for the first occasion on lap eight just as Steven Pfeifer was trying to capture third from Christianson. Pfeifer did get into third when things returned to full speed, while Turnbull also submitted a bid for the lead. Strand successfully kept Turnbull behind him as the top three spread out on the green flag run. However, a plot twist was coming when the field slowed down again on the 14th circuit.
There would be action everywhere in the top five as Turnbull threatened the inside of Strand and Travis Hagen successfully obtained third from Pfeifer. Turnbull’s persistence on the bottom of the track paid off when he beat Strand to the line on lap 16.
The new trailblazer began to desert the rest of the pack and built a big lead, only for the final yellow to wave with eight to go. Hagen rose to the challenge to try and get around Turnbull for the lead, but his efforts were unsuccessful as Turnbull comfortably cruised to the win after beginning the feature sixth.
Hagen was second, while former national champion Jason Wolla moved into third with a few laps to go.
Turnbull had won the Governor’s Cup at Dacotah Speedway and was already Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible. The win was his fourth of the season and third in his last six starts.
“We’ve been on a bit of a roll lately,” acknowledged Turnbull, tipping his hat to the crew at Rage Chassis and Andy Eckrich at Precision Performance. “We went through the car with a fine tooth comb and started trying some different stuff about a month ago.”
The event was broadcast on IMCA TV affiliate DARN TV.
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