Like an oasis in the desert, Estevan Motor Speedway was finally able to give race-starved local fans what they wanted on Friday.
The track's much-belated season opener went ahead after four consecutive race nights were stymied by rain.
The action was worth the wait, as all three classes were full of cars and two of the three features boasted late lead changes.
Spencer Wilson passed Marlyn Seidler on the second-last lap of the modified feature to earn his first career mod victory.
The Minot native said that although he's had success this year, it was nice to get the first feature win out of the way.
"I've had a lot of seconds and thirds and top fives. It's my first win. It feels pretty good," he said.
Seidler, who is from Underwood, N.D., led the 24-car field for virtually the entire race until he was overtaken by Wilson and his 75W car.
Wilson started the feature in ninth position.
"It's a little bit of an advantage to start near the back so you can watch where the track's going and sneak up on those guys," he said.
"At the beginning, I thought it was a long ways to go and I just tried to get started and keep myself out of trouble and start picking them off one at a time."
Hitchcock's Les McLenehan was third in the mod feature, with Tyson Turnbull of Estevan and Joey Galloway of Manor rounding out the top five.
Sixteen drivers finished the race.
Wilson said the track conditions for the feature were conducive to a lot of movement.
"In the heat race, I was a little bit nervous. It was a pretty heavy track. But it was nice to see that the track kind of slicked off a little bit, not a whole lot, but it made it so a guy can move around on the track and do some passing."
Wilson is currently third in the modified point standings at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan, seven points behind leader Shawn Strand, although he has led the pack at times earlier this season.
Joe Flory of Williston was the winner of the stock car feature on Friday after pulling off a late comeback of his own.
Defending points champion Rocky Alexander led for most of the race after starting on the pole.
Alexander and 2011 rival Robby Rosselli were neck-and-neck in the early going, with the former pulling away on lap nine.
Flory then moved into second spot and challenged Alexander on lap 14, only for the Estevan native to pull away again.
Finally, Flory made another move late in the race and this time got past Alexander to take the checkered flag.
Gregg Mann of Estevan was third, followed by Kelly Henderson and Rosselli, both of Minot.
There were no cautions in the race.
In the hobby feature, Michael Dionne grabbed the lead on the fifth lap and never let it go, despite three cautions after that point.
Gary Goudy Sr. led the first four laps before being passed by Dionne.
Blaine Durward of Trenton, N.D., finished second, followed by Leevi Runge of Lampman, Rod Pickering of Weyburn and Ryan Swenson of Midale.
The heat winners in the modified class were Cory Mohr, Riley Emmel, Jim Harris and Mike Hagen.
The stock car heat winners were James Frayn, Gregg Mann and Rocky Alexander, while the hobby heat winners were Dionne, Dustin Byler and Gary Goudy Jr.
Racing at the Speedway resumes this weekend with the McComb Automotive Fast 40 on Saturday, which is the $3,000-to-win mod feature. That will be followed by the Estevan stop on the Dakota Classic Modified Tour on Tuesday.
