The Estevan Motor Speedway held the first regular race program of its 22nd season on Sunday night, providing an evening of entertainment for the fans who were present.
Due to restrictions that have kept the Canada-U.S. border and the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border closed, the five classes offered – the slingshots, and the IMCA hobby stock, sport mod, stock car and modified classes – were almost entirely made up of Saskatchewan drivers.
Fifty-nine drivers entered between the five classes.
Ryder Raynard, who has won the slingshot entry level class the past three seasons, began his quest for a fourth straight championship by winning the feature on Sunday night. Eli Turnbull finished second despite starting in the seventh spot on the grid, and Ty Blackburn was third. All three drivers are listed as being from Estevan.
Lampman’s Landon Runge won the hobby stock race, working his way up from fifth on the starting grid. Connor Hansen of Torquay, who won the track championship last year, was second in the feature. Manor’s Michael Wilson came in third.
Another defending track champion, Lampman’s Leevi Runge, continued his mastery of the sport mod class by winning that feature race. He started ninth in the 11-car field. Two other Lampman drivers, Kyle Scholpp and Rylan Raynard, finished second and third, respectively.
Estevan drivers swept the top three spots in the stock car class. Jeremy Swanson started from the pole and took the checkered flag. Gregg Mann was second and Chase Davidson was third.
Long-time driver Ed Turnbull of Estevan was the victor in the IMCA modifieds, finishing ahead of a couple of other Estevan favourites, Kody Scholpp, who was second, and Les McLenehan in third.
The next program is a doubleheader slated for June 11 and 12. Races begin at 7 p.m. each night.
All of the scheduled regular programs for the rest of the season are Friday and Saturday night double-headers.
