In the midst of another big year, Strand aiming for win at Seitz Memorial

When you are a driver who’s won more than 320 feature races, a pair of Wissota national championships and 5 NLRA titles, there aren’t many things left on the list to accomplish.

But there is one race Wissota Late Model driver Dustin Strand of East Grand Forks covets and badly wants to win – and it happens to be at his home track, River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks.  It is the crowned jewel of local late model racing called the John Seitz Memorial held every year in early September.

“My ultimate goal is I’d really win that Seitz race,” Strand said. “If nothing else went right until then, I’d be fine with it if we could pull that off.”

The 42-year-old, amid another big year behind the wheel of his 71 machine, hasn’t had a lot of success at that event. In 14 previous attempts, he’s finished in the top 10 only four times, including a personal-best second place to Cole Searing in 2024.

“It seems like that race is my kryptonite,” Strand said. “You get a lot of good racers at that race. You can screw your heat race up; I’ve started on the front row and had mechanical problems. One year we were leading it and the motor blew up, one year I was leading and the axle tube broke…something dumb always happens.”

Last year was his best finish and signaled he might be close to a breakthrough at the $9,200-to-win main event.

“Last year, I told my guys, I’m going to try and keep my tires under me and cruise around and be there at the end,” Strand said. “We were there; we couldn’t quite make it happen.”

The Seitz race aside, Strand has been a top local runner for more than a decade now. He has 326 career feature wins, he has 5 NLRA Late Model titles and is in position for a sixth this summer.  He won the 2009 Wissota Midwest Modified national title and the 2016 Wissota Late Model national title. And there are countless track championships locally. Since 2016 Strand has 124 feature victories, with a handful coming in the modified but large majority in his late model.

The 71 and the last name Strand have been wheel known for many years in the Grand Forks region. Brian Strand, Dustin’s father, is in the River Cities and Bemidji Speedways Hall of Fame and is a former Wissota Modified national champion.

“I grew up at the racetrack; they said when I was three days old, I was in the back of a van in Winnipeg in the infield,” Strand said. “I just grew up helping and watching and always wanted to get behind the wheel.”

Dustin Strand started in the Pure Stock class, and eventually moved to the Wissota Street Stocks, Wissota Super Stocks, Wissota Midwest Modifieds and Wissota Modifieds before moving into the Wissota Late Model class.

“We’ve raced a little bit of everything,” Strand said.

But for more than a decade, Strand has been a top foe in the late models. He won the 2016 Wissota Late Model national title and has five NLRA Late Model titles. His 41 NLRA Late Model wins are second only to Brad Seng’s 45.

“I really enjoy the NLRA deal. It’s a great group of guys to race with,” Strand said. “It’s fun we can race each other hard and hang out afterwards. It’s nice that all the tracks are within 2 or 2 ½ of home for me. I’ve had a lot of success with the local racing. It’s been good.”

The 2025 season has continued that success. As of Aug. 14, in 18 Wissota Late Model starts, Strand had 10 wins – and 18 top five finishes.  He won the $5,000 to win Golden Hammer race at Devils Lake in June and leads the NLRA points  in a close race with Tyler Peterson. At River Cities, Strand has six wins in nine starts, with Peterson the only other late model driver to win a feature there.

“It’s an unreal year, to tell you the truth,” Strand said. “Sometimes if the luck is on your side you’ve got to ride the wave. I’ve been on the other end of the spectrum a lot, too. Hopefully luck will stay on our side during invitational season.”

Brian Strand is the crew chief on the 71 late model and is a big part of the race team.

“He’s a huge part of everything,”: Strand said. “He doesn’t miss too many nights.”

Not only is racing Strand’s hobby, it’s also his livelihood.  He is the owner of Millenium Chassis/SRT Specialties in East Grand Forks, building chassis for several local Wissota Midwest Modified drivers.

“B mods are our main business,” Strand said. “It’s been pretty good. I’ve got a good group of guys who keep me busy. We’re not a huge chassis builder by any means, we’ve got a small group, so maybe quality over quantity.”

While the Seitz Memorial is his biggest goal, he’s looking to continue to be towards the front as invitational season approaches. His racing career is approaching 25 years.

“There’s a lot of things I like about (racing). It’s a lot of work.  You commit a lot of your time at the track and during the week to make sure things are right,” Strand said. “ I enjoy it. The really good nights are 10 times better than the bad nights. Sometimes you have a bad night or a bad weekend and you are hanging your head, but one good night will get you through another month of racing.”

Driver Profile

Dustin Strand

Wissota/NLRA Late Model #71

Residence: East Grand Forks, Minn.

Age: 42

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