Modified car driver Riley Emmel gave local race fans at the Estevan Motor Speedway something to cheer about last Saturday in his first win of the season.
Emmel, 19, won the back-and-forth 25-lap modified feature in the final moments of the race through treading the low line in the last five laps before passing Joey Galloway to take the checked flag. Emmel last held the lead on lap 16 when he and Galloway passed Wayne Johnson on the outside setting up their close race to the finish line.
“I started ninth and just found a spot in the track,” said Emmel, who has been racing since he was 13. “My car was working really good and I just started picking away at cars and (through) a few cautions I just kind of watched everybody’s run and went from there. I found the bottom was working for me and I was reeling in Joey Galloway. It just worked really good for me.”
To start off the regular race date at the Estevan Motor Speedway, Leevi Runge sped out to a lead in the 12th lap of the 20-lap Weatherford hobby stock feature and held it from there. The race showcased a four-way battle between Runge, Carl Hanson, Blake Penna and Colin Hall over the final 18 laps with Hanson eventually finishing a close second in front of Penna.
The stock car main produced a fierce engagement between Lee Schaff and Gregg Mann over the final nine laps of the 20-lap race, but despite the latter’s best efforts he couldn’t pass Schaff who continually held the lead from lap 17.
The late model feature, which closed the race date, highlighted a familiar family skirmish in the class this season with Tyson and Aaron Turnbull battling for the win. Twice out of three times this year, it was Tyson who prevailed.
Aaron “really went on the first lap,” said Tyson. “I was kind of lazy getting through the couple cars we had to get by and I knew it would be him and myself and (Steven) Pfeifer probably up front with, maybe, Wayne Johnson up there too. Those two got out front and I was in third and they were side-by-side for leads. I didn’t know how I was going to get around them, (but) I knew my car was really good.”
Jim Harris started in the pole position for the late model feature with Johnson, Tyson, Pfeifer and Aaron lining up behind him in the eight-car 20-lap race. The first 11 laps were a close battle between Pfeifer and Aaron with the former holding his lead by working the outside of the track.
With Tyson, Aaron and Pfeifer out front after the first five laps Aaron took an inside track to gain the lead on the 13th lap. After engine trouble forced Pfeifer to leave the race with nine laps to go, it became a battle between brothers with Tyson finally taking the lead on the fifth lap by running hard on the outside.
“We were going through the lappers and he was all the way on the tires and I was all the way on the outside rim and so there wasn’t a lot of moves I had to make,” said Tyson. “I just held my line and really stayed on the throttle and hit my marks, which was the biggest thing.”
Emmel said the regular race date at the Estevan Motor Speedway is a way for drivers to gain points and move up in the season’s position standings. However, he said that isn’t the main priority for him.
“It’s just the win,” said Emmel. “Winning a race feels good.”
