8/27/2023
Lake of the Woods Speedway
Patrick Davis Claims First Ever Feature, Pederson Takes Nailbiter, Alcock Wins by a Bumper
Kenora, ON - Racing was back at Lake of the Woods Speedway for the season championship event to crown the top points getters of 2023 in the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, WISSOTA Pure Stocks, and Henley Enterprises & HD Contracting Ent. 4-Cylinders.
First up were two heats of WISSOTA Pure Stocks. Morgan McDonald made the middle of the track work for him as splitting the lead two cars allowed him to take the checkered flag. Barkley almost took it away with a lap car making things get really close at the line. In the second heat, Michael Copp drove it from the fifth starting position to get by Derek Pollock with just a couple laps to go. Brodie Mcgowan rounded out the top three.
The feature event put Jesse Pederson on the pole. He looked good during the Dinner Jacket Classic Series but engine problems plagued the weekend. He was not going to go down without a fight this time. As they took the green flag, drivers wanted to see if four wide was possible. This occurred coming into turn one as well as coming out of turn two.
Everyone kept pointing in the right direction, and the battle was on. Pollock and Copp had made their way from seventh and eighth respectively to the second and third spot. All three cars had now moved to the top, except for Copp. Copp was able to snag the lead but a caution forced him back behind Pederson. On the ensuing restart, Pederson maintained the lead. However, Pollock and Copp ran side by side lap after lap.
At one point Pollock snagged the lead but couldn’t stay in front. The three fought it out throughout but in the end, Pederson would come out victorious.
In the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, Keelan Hall would dominate the heat race with Patrick Davis going from third to second and Edward Bell rounding out the top three.
The feature race put Patrick Davis on the pole. Hall was scheduled to start on the outside, but a broken brake rotor forced him to retire. Coming to the green flag, Davis gunned it to the high side and started to pull away from the remaining cars. Meanwhile, it was a four-car battle almost the entire race for second place. Leek, Bell, Audette, and Ossachuk swapped positions repeatedly. Eventually, Bell would move into second spot after falling back to fifth at one point in the race, cementing his second-place finish in track points over Leek.
It was all good news for Davis who claimed his FIRST EVER feature race in the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.
The Henley Ent. & HD Contracting Ent. 4-Cylinders had Dustin Alcock on the pole and claim the win in the heat race while Kamea Mulholland and Madoc Mulholland rounded out the top three.
The feature placed Alcock in third while Bruce Berringer and Madoc Mulholland started on the pole. It was a three wide battle as the green flag waved with Alcock taking the lead coming out two. It looked like clear sailing for the young driver as he established a fifteen-car lead. Back in the pack, Kamea Mulholland had made her way into the second position after starting fourth. A rare caution in the class occurred as Dustin Wowk and Berringer rubbed each other coming out of four.
Now with an opportunity to take the lead, K. Mulholland was now on the back bumper of the leader coming to the green. Waiting for Alcock to make a mistake, Mulholland go underneath and was coming to the frontstretch in the lead. Unfortunately, Taylor Audette’s car stalled in the middle of turn three/four, causing another caution. This forced Mulholland to restart behind the flying Alcock.
With less than five laps to go, Mulholland reeled in the leader once again. Coming to the white flag, momentum helped her get right behind him. On the last lap, Mulholland was able to get speed on the bottom and raced to the checkered. In the end it was Alcock by a BUMPER to claim his second win in 2023.
Congratulations to #20 Nick Audette in the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and #46 Michael Copp in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks and #14 Logan McDonald in the Henley Ent. & HD Contracting Ent. 4-Cylinders for their 2023 Track Championships!
Thank you to everyone who make racing happen at Lake of the Woods Speedway. Racing resumes one last time on Sunday, September 10 with Hot Laps at 4pm and Racing at 4:30pm.
Article Credit: Val Catellier Photography