It may have been a rough night for local modified drivers, but that didn't take the shine off what was an exceptional night of racing at Estevan Motor Speedway on Monday.
Drivers flocked north of the border from Arkansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arizona, Colorado, California, Texas, Nevada and Wyoming.
The fans who packed the stands probably came from just about as many locations to follow their family members behind the wheel.
It was a grand old night of racing, featuring 36 stock cars and a ridiculous 76 modified cars, setting a new record for the Speedway.
If you wanted to get to that modified feature, you had to work for it. Only the winners from each of the eight heats advanced, and only four drivers came out of each B-main, which featured up to 17 cars each.
Only about one-third of the drivers who came got to race under the lights in the feature, with their names announced during the pre-race ceremony.
And when the announcer uttered the three magic words, start your engines, the sound was deafening, as 26 drivers geared up to chase the checkered flag.
The night marked a second straight victory for Jeff "The Animal" Taylor, a veteran mod tour contender who has never won it. He was dominant on this evening, winning his heat and never giving up the lead in the feature, despite being trailed by one of the best in Steven Pfeifer.
Another moment to remember came when the stock car drivers were announced, and Lampman's Kody Scholpp received the loudest cheers of the night when his name was called.
Scholpp has been on an incredible journey the last few months after suffering life-threatening injuries in an accident in January. He was riddled with various wounds from head to toe and is still dealing with pain in his recovery.
During an interview for a story in the Mercury's Race Tracker edition in May, Scholpp told me he would try to get back behind the wheel earlier than the 18 months he was told by his doctor.
He sure got back fast, lining up for the first night of the mod tour in Minot on Sunday, where he finished second. In his return to his home track on Monday, he took fourth place.
Not only is he back, he's got a chance to win the whole thing.
In the modified races, it was not a great night for local drivers, with a smorgasbord of Americans to compete with.
The highest-finishing local driver was Ed Turnbull, who was 23rd in the feature and was the only Estevan native in the race.
Locals who didn't make it out of the B-mains included reigning mod tour champion Aaron Turnbull, Chris Hortness, Tyler Wagner, Richie Mann, Ryan Harris, Jim Harris and Stu Veroba.
There is still time for some of those drivers to make a run, with the tour wrapping up Friday in Jamestown, but they need to ramp up their game quickly.
At this point, however, it certainly looks like Jeff Taylor's championship to win.
Contact Josh Lewis at 306-634-2654 or sports@estevanmercury.ca. He tried to resist the temptation to bring up the Argos' shellacking of the Riders, with no luck.
