River Cities Speedway
Pederson grabs hometown NLRA victory
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (June 21) — Hometown driver Joey Pederson overtook polesitter and race-long leader Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, on the 14th lap and raced to a Northern LateModel Racing Association victory at River Cities Speedway. The fourth-starting Pederson earned $1,100.
Fellow hometowner Dustin Strand, who started on the second row with Pederson, finished second with Chris Olson of Hibbing, Minn., advancing four positions to finish third. Tom Corcoran and Balcaen rounded out the top five finishers.
Pederson notched his sixth career NLRA victory and first on the tour since last August. NLRA’s event was on the undercard of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event won by Cody Darrah. Five-time WoO sprint champ Donny Schatz competed in the NLRA event, finishing seventh.
Strand’s second-place finish moves him into the points lead over Zach Johnson of Kensington, Minn., a two-time series winner who didn’t enter at River Cities.
Notes: Pederson’s Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Dahlstrom Motors, Shawn Horn Realty, Big Jim’s East Side Tire, Dynamic Drywall & Painting, Farmers Elevator, John Votava Trucking and Phil Thompson and Associates. ... Three of Pedersen’s six NLRA touring victories came at River Cities Speedway. ... Pederson won a regular-season feature at Grand Forks on May 17. ... Eighteen starters were running at the finish. ... Next up for NLRA action is a June 27 event at Red River Co-op Speedway in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
NLRA @ River Cities: (1) Joey Pederson, (2) Dustin Strand, (3) Chris Olson, (4) Tom Corcoran, (5) Mike Balcaen, (6) Steve Anderson, (7) Donny Schatz, (8) Brad Seng, (9) Bill Mooney, (10) Zach Naastad, (11) Troy Schill, (12) Jason Storbakken, (13) James San Grait, (14) Cole Schill, (15) Bill Michaelsohn, (16) Norm Olson, (17) Josh Johnson, (18) Jeff Hapala, (19) Dewayne Rector, (20) Shane Edginton, (21) Steffen Snare. Heat race winners (among 22 cars): Strand, T. Schill, Balcaen.
