The old pros show they've still got it at River Cities Speedway
Aug. 4—GRAND FORKS — Combined, the top five drivers in Friday's late model feature at River Cities Speedway have won features hundreds of times.
Still, they realize how hard it is to win at The Bullring.
Joey Pederson, one of the more experienced drivers at RCS, captured the 20-lap main event, holding off Dustin Strand — a win that carried extra meaning for the East Grand Forks driver.
"Of all the years I've raced late models, I would say this year's competition is the hardest I've seen," said Pederson. "There are always good cars here but this year the good cars run deeper in the field. You can go back seven, eight spots in the feature and any one of those guys can win."
Pederson said wins are getting harder to come by. And he appreciates them perhaps more than in the past.
"The older you get, you just never know when it's going to be your last one," said Pederson. "I cherish them now."
Pederson took the lead with 13 laps to go, overtaking Brandon Fuller on the back straight away.
He had a fairly comfortable margin until Dustin Strand, who started eighth, began his charge to the front.
On the final corner of the final lap, Pederson's familiar 7P bobbled a bit, allowing Strand to make a final surge.
But Pederson hung on, winning by 0.286 seconds. Veteran drivers Brad Seng, Mike Balcaen and Tom Corcoran rounded out the top five. Combined the five have hundreds of feature wins during their careers.
Pederson knew Strand was charging in the final laps. The last corner was a little hair-raising.
"Through Turns 3 and 4, there was about a 10-inch strip that you had to hit from entering 3 to exiting 4," said Pederson. "If you weren't on that, the car tailed and you were terribly loose. I missed that strip on the last lap and I was thinking, 'I can't give it up on the last lap.' I knew I lost a lot of ground there but I had enough to hang on anyway,"
It nearly was a double feature win night for the Pederson family.
Pederson's son, Tucker, was second in the streets feature. Braden Brauer, from Eyota, Minn., used a late caution to slip past Pederson. The Minnesota driver won by 0.310 seconds.
Brauer and Pederson rank 1-2 in national Wissota street points. It was Brauer's second visit to RCS. Wes Ramsrud, John Halvorson and Seth Klostreich rounded out the top five.
Brauer's car gained speed late. He posted the fastest lap time of 14.691 seconds on Lap 17.
Tyler Peterson won the modified feature, working his way to the front from the eighth starting spot.
He held off Strand, who started seventh, by 0.467 seconds. Peterson grabbed the lead with nine laps to go.
Matt Schow captured the Midwest modified feature. It was his third win of the season.
He was in control much of the 20-lap event, beating second-place Jory Berg to the flagstand by 4.711 seconds.
River Cities Speedway
Friday results
Streets
First heat — 1. Cole Greseth, 2. Tucker Pederson, 3. Wes Ramsrud
Second heat — Trey Hess, 2. Braden Brauer, 3. Greg Jose
Feature — 1. Brauer, 2. Pederson, 3. Ramsrud, 4. John Halvorson, 5. Seth Klostreich
Midwest modifieds
First heat — 1. Chris Edmonds, 2. Jamie Dietzler, 3. Jason Halverson
Second heat — 1. Phil Christlieb, 2. Austin Hunter, 3. Jory Berg
Feature — 1. Matt Schow, 2. Berg, 3. Hunter, 4. Dietzler, 5. Reise Stenberg
Modifieds
First heat — 1. Joe Thomas, 2 Aaron Holtan, 3. Dustin Wahl
Second heat — 1. Dustin Strand, 2. Tyler Peterson, 3, Ward Imrie
Feature — 1. Peterson, 2. Strand, 3. Holtan, 4. Tanner Williamson, 5. Imrie
Late models
First heat — 1. Tyler Peterson, 2. Greg Moore, 3. Tom Corcoran
Second heat — 1. Dustin Strand, 2. Brody Troftgruben, 3, Joey Pederson
Third heat — 1. Brad Seng, 2. Brandon Fuller, 3. Mitch Johnson
Feature — 1. Pederson, 2. Strand, 3. Seng, 4. Mike Balcaen, 5. Tom Corcoran
