The Estevan Motor Speedway opened its 2017 season on Saturday night with racing in its four championship classes.
Travis Hagen was the winner in the modified feature, Gregg Mann took the checkered flag in the stock car race, Zack Lutz finished first in the hobby stock division, and Keenan Glasser took top spot in the slingshots class.
Kody Scholpp, who won the track championship in the modified division last year, established himself as the driver to beat early on in the modified race. He led the first eight laps, but a trio of early cautions kept the field bunched together.
The final 16 laps were contested under green flag racing. Travis Hagen passed Scholpp for the lead midway through the feature, but Scholpp took the lead back with eight laps remaining.
Hagen regained the lead with four laps to go, and then gradually pulled away from Scholpp. It was ultimately Joey Galloway, not Scholpp, who mounted the biggest challenge on Hagen, and Galloway wound up in second.
Aaron Turnbull and Justin Medler were third and fourth, respectively.
"We're going to try to run a full year here, so it's a good way to start," said Hagen.
Hagen said he knew Scholpp was going to stick to the outside line, so Hagen was looking for a way to lake the inside lanes. Early in the race, Hagen was trying to pack down the low line, because it wasn't in the best racing condition.
"I figured that if I could get it going and get it worked in, it would be the best," said Hagen. "I just tried to stick with it down there the whole way, and by the end, it was worked in pretty good."
Scholpp was also entered in the stock car feature, and for the vast majority of the race, it appeared he would cruise to victory. The stock car feature was marred by six yellow flags, but there was a 12-lap stretch of green flag racing, when Scholpp dominated, and took a lead of several seconds.
But he couldn't pull away after the final caution with a few laps remaining, and on the final lap, Gregg Mann passed Scholpp in the back straightaway. Mann then held off a challenge by Scholpp coming out of the final turn.
"I waited for my opportunity to happen a few times, and then thought it's not going to happen, so I have to make something happen coming out of Turns 1 and 2," said Mann.
He had a good run coming out of Turn 2 to take the lead, and had to hold Scholpp off by taking the inside lane.
"Those last lap victories are always a fun race," said Mann. "I didn't even know it was the checkered flag. I couldn't see the flag man."
Once he realized he had won, Mann knew he made the pass at the right time.
Mann encountered problems with a header during the heat race, and make a couple of adjustments prior to the future.
Jeremy Swanson, who won the track championship last year, finished third, and Jordan Boyce came in fourth.
In the hobby stock feature, Devon Gonas and Carl Hanson had the lead for much of the race, but Lutz took the lead with eight laps to go. Hanson dropped out moments later.
The final eight laps were contested under green flag racing, and Lutz managed to pull away. The closest battle was for second, as Rese Dignan edged out defending track champion Leevi Runge and Tyler Lucy for the runner-up position.
The slingshots division in a developmental series for young drivers. Competitors drove cars that resemble smaller sprint cars. They raced a short, makeshift track in the infield.
Glasser emerged as the winner in the short race. Ty Saxon was second and Dexter Saxon finished third.
The next program at the speedway will be a regular program on May 20, with a special start time of 5 p.m. Modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks and slingshots will be competing once again.
