Balcaen Wins Championship! Holden Moves up Four Spots to Finish Second

Winnipeg, Manitoba (Aug 23) – The Northern Super Stock Touring Series made the last stop at Red River Co-op Speedway last week during the 3rd Annual Gerald Balcaen Memorial. A total of twenty-nine cars attended the $1,750 to win, including all the cars that had entered both of the previous two NSSTS events at Greenbush in June and Emo in July.

Heading into the race, George Balcaen had a tight lead over second place driver Mike McCaughan by four points. Since it was obvious a full field was going to start the A-main feature, both drivers would have to finish well, in order to stay in contention. The heats saw Balcaen extend the points lead by a bit more.

The WISSOTA Super Stock feature saw every driver in the top ten in points start. The excitement was extended when George Balcaen, who was holding strong onto second place, got a flat tire and had to move to the back when he replaced the tire. Rod Peterson and Gary Nelson Jr. were both able to maintain placement in the top ten, with Peterson finishing sixth and Nelson tenth. Mike McCaughan the driver in second place in points, was having a rough time. No one seemed too sure what was wrong with his car, and after many attempts to try to move up from the back, McCaughan was unable to finish the race. This was a devastating blow to his points position which saw him drop to sixth place.

At the same time, good luck and perfect conditions seemed to be in store for sixth place driver Shawn Holden. Moving up the field by taking the outside line from mid-pack, Holden was able to gain a substantial amount of points during the feature. His total earnings of seventy-two points catapulted him to earn a respectful second place, only two points out of Balcaen’s lead. Balcaen, who had finished second in Greenbush and third at Emo, had to settle with twelfth. Rod Peterson moved up one spot in the standings, narrowly beating out Gary Nelson Jr. by one point.