Kelsi Pederson becomes first female to win late model feature at River Cities Speedway

Aug. 15—GRAND FORKS — A week ago, Julie (Osowski) Pederson was inducted into the River Cities Speedway Hall of Fame. On Friday night, her daughter made history at the track, too. Kelsi Pederson became the first female driver to ever win a late model feature at River Cities Speedway. Driving with the same No. 93 her late mother used in the 1990s, Kelsi beat out a field of 25 drivers to the checkered flag. "To be honest, I don't know if it's completely sunk in yet," Kelsi said. "It's kind of unbelievable, especially having it be the week after my mom was inducted into the Hall of Fame and all the hype that came with that, all the talk about females in racing this week. This was the perfect way to cap it off." Kelsi's brother, Tucker, finished second. Shane Edginton finished third, Mike Greseth fourth, Dustin Strand fifth and her father, Joey, sixth. A week earlier, Julie's family and friends celebrated her pioneering racing career at The Bullring. Julie, one of the few regular female drivers in the 1990s, passed away at age 49 two years ago after a battle with cancer. She served as a crew chief for Kelsi and Tucker. "To me, it feels extra special after last weekend with my mom getting inducted into the Hall of Fame," Tucker said. "I know she's smiling down on her. I think Kelsi is doing really good by the No. 93 and making mom proud, for sure. She's doing a great job carrying on that legacy." Kelsi and Tucker started on the front row, but Tucker quickly sped to the lead on the high side of the track. Kelsi passed Tucker in Turn 4 about halfway through the 20-lap feature. "I was running the high side, thinking all was well, then I saw her poke her nose beneath me," Tucker said. "Then, she was by me." Kelsi, who is from East Grand Forks, navigated lapped traffic in the green-to-checkered feature. "It's obviously really cool to make history," Kelsi said. "At the same time, I'm proud just as a driver to win a late model feature here. Very few are able to do that in their careers. Checking off that box, gaining confidence going forward, getting a couple more would be awesome." Tucker didn't mind taking second to his sister. "It's probably one of the happiest times I've had at a racetrack," Tucker said. "Honestly, it's so cool. I'm just so proud of her and proud to be her brother." Kelsi was a successful lightning sprint driver, but switched to a late model last summer to join her brother and father in the division. Her brother made the move from a street stock a year earlier. Kelsi's best finish as a rookie was third. That came at Devils Lake Speedway in June 2025. She earned another third-place finish this summer on May 15 at River Cities Speedway. "It was definitely a challenge at first," Kelsi said of switching from a lightning sprint to a late model. "It still is. It feels like a learning curve. The cars are entirely different. But as far as reading a track and being adaptable as a driver, I think that skill set carries over from any class to the late models. It's been a challenge but extremely rewarding." The Pederson family used to have a goal of winning three features in one night — Joey in late models, Tucker in streets and Kelsi in lightning sprints. That's no longer possible with all three racing in the same division. The dream now is to finish 1-2-3. That hasn't happened yet, but Friday night might be hard to top. "Tonight is the closest we've gotten," Kelsi said, "which is extremely exciting."