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Mike Orness
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (November 4) - Another year is in the books, and another NLRA Champion will be crowed November 15th. Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba is now a 4 time NLRA Champion, adding this to his impressive list of achievements he's accomplished in the last twenty-five years. This veteran driver secured his 32nd overall championship by winning two of the tour races late in the season. One at Red River Coop Speedway and the other at Greenbush Racepark.
Midway through the season, Balcaen had yet to claim a feature win for 2008, which left some people wondering, but that didn't bother the 25 year veteran, he says, "We have finished second 9 times in the last few months, so sooner or later the wins will come." Balcaen uses Millar Racing Engines and also is the "Wissota land" authorized Victory Circle Chassis dealer.
"This year when we switched midseason to the new Victory Circle Chassis, we started to win features, along with our consistent top 5 finishes. Our team has learned a lot about this chassis and have received tremendous support from the manufacturer, now I can supply a complete roller with the vast knowledge we learned this year on the NLRA Tour."
Balcaen's Millar Racing Engines powered Victory Circle Chassis also receives sponsorship from Terraco Lubricants, Mobil1, Atek Parts.com, Electra Sign, North Star Spraying Systems, R.R.Dobel, Hogfoss Trucking, Bert Transmission, Port City Racing, Integra Shocks, BRT rack & pinion, Champ Pans, Speedbear, Kirkey Fabrication, Speedway International Pro Comp Racing Fuels, Hoosier Tire North, Wilwood Brakes, Arizona Sport Shirts, Exide Batteries, Teltac and Orness Creations.com
Residing from Canada, Balcaen finds himself geographically challenged and drives many miles up and down the interstate week in and week out along with his wife Kimberly and daughter Amber. Balcaen is extremely proud of his very supportive team led by a sharp veteran crew chief Steve Boulanger, along with help from Harry Klaus, Lance Burton and Rob Kanne.
There were a total of fifty different drivers that competed during the tour, and of that number, fourteen different drivers entered victory lane in sixteen NLRA events. Mike Balcaen entered Victory Lane twice as did Zach Johnson, the 2007 and 2008 WISSOTA Champion.
The NLRA is an organization for the betterment of Late Model Racing. The group tours in a limited area, while organizing a purse structure beneficial to the drivers, along with bringing a solid car count to each tour race. More information about the NLRA can be found at www.nlra.org.
Final 2008 Point Standings
1 10 Mike Balcaen 1,621
2 7 Ricky Weiss 1,553
3 9 Steve Anderson 1,288
4 4* Howie Schill 1,217
5 20 Mark Halverson 1,174
6 11s Troy Schill 1,088
7 21 Chad Corbett 977
8 12s Brad Seng 920
9 73 Zach Johnson 781
10 11m Paul Mueller 777
11 T1 Tom Corcoran 754
12 1c Ryan Corbett 723
13 11k Jeremy Keller 687
14 84 Mike Johnson 642
15 12a Matt Aukland 599
16 46 Blaine Doppler 518
17 0 Mitch Johnson 500
18 55 Scott Johnson 484
19 7p Joey Pederson 469
20 F9 Brandon Fuller 459
21 1j Jeff Pritchard 458
22 1p Les Pritchard 428
23 50 Jeff Wildung 419
24 4f Jeff Hinkemeyer 409
25 10k Shawn Kirwin 408
26 3m Greg Meyer 377
27 30 Adam Fischer 374
28 U1 Dave Tyrchniewicz 372
29 75 Cody Skytland 371
30 32 Shaun Peterson 367
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