One of the biggest sporting events of the year for Estevan will be rolling into the city on July 8, when the IMCA Dakota Classic Modified Tour visits the Estevan Motor Speedway.
This year marks the 30th edition of the tour, and it’s happening in the 20th season for the speedway. The tour runs for six nights in six different tracks from July 6-11, with five programs in North Dakota and Estevan the lone stop in Saskatchewan.
Track president Byron Fichter said there will be top-notch drivers from throughout North America coming to Estevan.
Fichter cited drivers like Ricky Thornton Jr., who has competed at the Dream Late Model Series in Texas.
Hunter Marriott has won the tour the past three years, and could tie the all-time record if he finishes in top spot again.
“Those guys are professional race drivers,” said Fichter. “They’re driving around the country full-time. That’s what they do for a career, so it’s awesome when those guys come to town and they showcase their talents against our local guys.
“The cool thing is a lot of our local guys are competitive with them, so it’s always a lot of fun and it’s always exciting.”
There will be drivers from as far away as Texas competing.
Local drivers will not only be competing in Estevan, but some of them will be racing on all of the stops on the tour.
“Our local guys have been really good this year, really on fire. It will be awesome to watch them trying to win some races from these professional race car drivers,” said Fichter.
Also racing on July 8 will be the IMCA street stocks, which have a tour of their own going at the same time as the modified tour.
The speedway expects to have nearly 100 cars entered that night. It creates a lot of work for the track, so they will have just the two classes racing that night.
Some of the modifieds and stock cars have had to pit in the speedway’s main parking lot, because the pit area isn’t large enough to handle all of the vehicles.
The modified tour is the biggest program of the year at the speedway. Fichter noted that it’s billed as a crown jewel event within IMCA, which means it’s one of the biggest tours of the year.
He is hoping for good weather that night as well. The 2016 program was cancelled due to a powerful thunderstorm that struck Estevan the day before the race, and the 2017 and 2018 events were delayed due to rain.
