Pedersons nearly complete three-peat in memorable night at River Cities

EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. (June 23, 2022) - It was another banner week for Pederson racing, as the trio of racers continued to chase that elusive triple victory lane visit, with two out of the three members of the Pederson Racing crew parking in victory lane at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks last Friday night.

Kelsi Pederson started the night in the No. 93 Shawn Horn Crary Realtor Henchcraft in the fourth starting spot, but improved to a runner-up spot on the initial start.

While running third with three laps remaining, Kelsi reeled in and chased the pair of Olson Underground Lightning Sprints, passing Dylan Langevin for the runner-up spot with three laps remaining in lapped traffic on the outside of the quarter mile bullring.

While chasing Weston Olson for the lead on the final circuit, a caution flag allowed Kelsi one last chance at stealing the win. Kelsi chose the outside of the ensuing double file restart, motoring around the outside of Olson off of the exit of turn two to pick up her second win of the season.

“I figured even if I can start on the outside, I can maybe maybe beat him to the first corner and then in three and four, I went a little higher than the other guys were, and it worked out perfect,” said Kelsi about the final restart.

Tucker was next up to keep the streak alive, as he also started in the second row in the third starting spot. Tucker improved to the runner-up spot, on the initial start of the Steffes Street Stock Tour Main Event.

Tucker then ducked to the inside of Justin Vogel for the lead. Tucker took the point on the third lap from Vogel, while Vogel continued to stalk Tucker for the lead in the following laps.

Tucker led the field back to green after a caution on lap five, and continued to lead over Vogel and Kyle Anderson. Tucker continued to lead the feature past the halfway point, but while continuing to hold the point with seven laps to go, mechanical woes slowed the North Dakota Eye Clinic No. 27 in turn three, ending his bid for the victory.

Joey was the final Pederson to take to the track on Friday night, starting in the sixth position. Joey started making up ground in his Dahlstrom Motors No. 7P in the first couple laps when he moved to the bottom of the track, improving to the fourth position

Near the halfway point, Joey improved to a podium spot when Jeff Hapala, who he was fighting with for position, slid off the top side of the racetrack. On the ensuing restart, Joey went three wide with Ryan Kereluk and race long leader Greg Friestad for the top spot.

Joey grabbed the runner-up spot with 10 to go when another caution flag flew. Joey had briefly taken the lead coming out of turn two when one final caution with seven to go slowed the race down once again.

Joey went door-to-door with Friestad for the next three laps, until one final slide job in turns three and four coming to three to go gave Joey the top spot. Joey went on from there to win his first feature of the 2022 season.

“You know, I really didn't know where to run,” Joey said in victory lane post race. “I knew there was a little bit on the top, and a little bit on the bottom. It was really tricky getting in on the bottom in one and two, just a little strip down there. But if I could catch it right, I'd gain on the leader some, and it was really close racing.

“That was the hell of a race,” Joey continued. “Lots of side-by-side for the lead. We had a blast, a lot of fun. It seemed like at the end, once I cleared [Friestad for the lead,] I could kind of run wherever. It actually got faster for me to run up through the middle of three and four into the slick. We made some changes to the car tonight, and it seems to steer a lot better now, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come here as well.

Tucker was the only Pederson in action over the weekend as the Steffes tour continued on to Devils Lake Speedway near Crary, ND on Saturday night. Tucker ended the evening as the Hard Charger, improving 11 spots, finishing seventh.

The entire Joey Pederson Racing team would like to thank all of their great sponsors for their continued support!
​
Shawn Horn Realtor
​Amy Dallum Photography
Dahlstrom Motors
Markit County Grain LLC
Northdale Oil
Invision Ag
Channel Seed and Red River Bean Co
​Northland Sheds
R&R Farms
Ad Monkeys
B&E Meats
Big Jim’s Tires
Olson Underground
Votova Trucking
Dynamic Welding & Machine
Advantage Lawn Care
Northern Valley Fertilizer
Phil Thompson and Associates
Custom Stripes Inc.
Lind Electric
Energy Release
Sky-Vu Drive In
Moen Farms
Southline Farms
Marcus Steien Agency - American Family Insurance
 
SEASON STATS:
Joey Pederson:
Races: 5
Wins: 1
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 4
 
Kelsi Pederson:
Races: 5
Wins: 2
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 4
 
Tucker Pederson:
Races: 5
Wins: 2
Top Fives: 3
Top Tens: 4