River Cities Speedway WISSOTA Late Model Recap, presented by RydellCars.com

Joey Pederson steals the Late Model win away from Mike Balcaen in the closing laps.

Joey Pederson in RydellCars.com Victory Lane. Photo by Mike Spieker.

By Mike Spieker

GRAND FORKS, ND (May 15) - In a field that consisted of the top three Late Model drivers in last year's 2014 WISSOTA national points, it was the local River Cities Speedway talent that led the way around the high-banked 3/10th mile dirt track.

The 20 lap, 20 car WISSOTA Late Model feature saw Mike Balcaen and Jeff Hapala on the front row. Balcaen jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green flag and was followed by Joey Pederson and Ricky Weiss at the completion of the first lap. Pederson quickly reeled in the Northstar Equipment #10 of Balcaen, but the veteran Canadian driver held off Pederson in dense lapped traffic. 

On the 14th circuit, Balcaen drove into turn one behind a handful of lapped cars and had to jump on the binders to avoid contact. That allowed Pederson to freight train Balcaen on the high side of turn two and establish a healthy lead. 

Once clear of traffic, Balcaen began closing in on the 2013 RCS Late Model track champion, but he simply ran out of laps as Pederson cruised to his 31st career Late Model win at the Bullring.

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River Cities Speedway WISSOTA Late Model results: May 15, 2015