It was a cool and blustery night at the Estevan Motor Speedway on Friday, but there was still lots of action for the fans, thanks to the racing offered in five different classes.
For the second straight program, Travis Hagen won the modified feature. For Friday night’s program, he accepted the Darn TV $500 back row challenge, offered to those who win their heat races.
He took a spot at the back of the field, and worked his way to top spot, edging out Kody Scholpp of Estevan. Marcus Tomlinson from Turtle Lake, N.D., was third.
“I was trying to go where they weren’t, and I found the top of (turns) 1 and 2,” said Hagen. “It was pretty rough, but I could floor it all the way around there. I was happy. That was pretty insane out there.”
The bottom of the track was the quicker lane in turns 3 and 4, so he opted for that line.
He doubts he’ll ever be able to pull off a win like that that again.
Hagen has 80 points in the overall standings, three points clear of Scholpp. Tyson Turnbull of Estevan sits third with 77 points.
In the sport mod class, Robby Rosselli was the feature winner, finishing ahead of Kelly Henderson and Brock Beeter. The top three drivers were from Minot.
Rylan Raynard of Lampman was the top Saskatchewan driver in sixth place.
Rosselli now leads in the points standings with 79 points. Darren Medler of Minot is second with 77 and Raynard is third with 71.
In the street stocks, Chris Hortness of Estevan finished first, with another Estevan racer, Austin Daae, coming in second and Minot’s Joren Boyce finishing third.
“It was really quick out there, and really great. Second race out in it (the stock car), and to have this kind of luck is really good,” said Hortness.
An experienced racer in several different classes at the speedway, Hortness said he has enjoyed the street stock class in the past.
Hortness is also the leader in the points standings, sitting one point ahead of Boyce and four points ahead of Minot’s Michael Swallers.
Lampman’s Leevi Runge won the feature in the hobby stock class, finishing ahead of Zach Lutz of Burlington, N.D., and Brad King of Minot.
Runge used the high line of the track to get into the lead, and held on to the lead the rest of the way.
“I saw Lutz in the last couple of laps there, but I saw too many guys roll off regular tires this year, so I wasn’t doing that today.”
He narrowly lost the opening race of the season, but pulled out the win this time.
The win moved Runge into top spot in the overall standings with 79 points. Beeter is second with 77 and Landon Runge, also of Lampman, is third with 71.
Ryder Raynard, an 11-year-old driver of Lampman, won the sling shot race for the second consecutive program and now leads the overall standings with 78 points.
Jenna Emmel was second and Keenan Glasser came in third. Both are from Estevan.
Glasser now sits second in the points standing with 75 points, while Emmel is third with 71.
The next program at the speedway will be May 25, when the Tougher than Dirt Tour will make its way to Estevan. Hobby stocks and sport mods will be featured that night.
