The momentum for the 2019 season actually started during the final weeks of 2018 for Wissota Late Model driver Shane Edginton.
He debuted a new Victory Circle car in September and finished third at the Wissota 100 and third at the Jamestown Stampede. He finished sixth in the Wissota national points.
“We had a pretty good year last year,” said Edginton, who lives in Winnipeg. “We raced a lot and learned a lot. We brought a new car out at the end of the year and we had some real good finishes at big shows. Don Shaw helped us build this car and he had it dialed in from the get-go.”
The 2019 season has seen more success for the 30-year-old. Edginton is second in the Wissota national points, trailing only Chad Becker of Aberdeen in the standings. He currently leads the NLRA Late Model series point standings by 14 over defending champion Dustin Strand heading into a pivotal four-night swing for the series, which starts Thursday at Norman County Raceway in Ada. He has six wins overall, including an NLRA win at Devils Lake in early June, and leads the point standings at Red River Co-op Speedway, where he has five wins this season.
“It was nice going into the offseason knowing we had a good car,” Edginton said.
The NLRA will compete at NCR, River Cities Speedway, Red River Valley Speedway and Sheyenne Speedway this week. A lot of points are on the line.
Edginton has raced go-karts, street stocks and modifieds in his career and is in his fifth season in a late model. Hockey, ironically, served as a catalyst for his racing career.
“We were big into hockey, and my hockey coach was Scott Greer, the modified driver,” Edginton said. “His dad built me my first street stock, one thing led to another and here we are today.”
Living in Winnipeg, where Edginton works for Winnipeg Elevator, requires some travel to race the NLRA events in North Dakota and Minnesota.
“If there’s a race nearby, we’re going to be at it,” Edginton said. “Some people go to the lake; we go to race.”
Edginton is just one point out of first behind Brad Seng in the points at his regular Friday night track, River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. He has never won a late model feature at the track; this year he has finished second five times at the 3/10-mile oval.
“We’re still trying to get that one here. I think I’ve run second about 10 times,” Edginton said.
HIs racing career has spanned more than 12 years, and the people he’s met are what has been rewarding.
“The racing part is awesome, but the amount of people you get to meet and the travel part — it’s a great group of people,” Edginton said. “You meet some interesting people and it’s a fun time. It’s like a big family.”
Driver Profile
Shane Edginton
Wissota/NLRA Late Model #4
Age: 30
Residence: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sponsors: Performance Auto, Schill Construction, Forks Mobile Wash, Kennedy Flooring, Connelly Signs and Service, Noble Locksmith, Red River Messenger Courier
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