Many came out to the first race of the season at the Estevan Motor Speedway which saw some exciting photo finishes to kick off the race season.
All four classes were in action, with the Weatherford hobby stock and stock car division features coming right down to the wire.
Tyson Turnbull won the Wissota late model feature, which ran with eight cars in the division.
“I was lucky to just get out front, and I can just lay out on the throttle,” he said.
It took a while for the race to get fully started with a caution on the first lap, but after that restart Turnbull jumped into first and never looked back.
“Honestly, I was lucky to start out front there, especially the way the track was, it was still slimy there.”
This is the second year the Wissota division is racing at the speedway and it was Turnbull's first feature win in that division in Estevan.
Aaron Turnbull finished second and Steven Pfeifer came in third.
In the modified class, Joey Galloway took first in the 25-lap feature that consisted of 26 cars.
After a caution four laps into the race, Galloway raced into the front of the pack and led to the end of the race and was happy about the win.
“It feels pretty good, like I said earlier … I took a year and a half off from racing, so to come back and to win the first night out with this brand new motor, it feels really good," he said.
Galloway noted the track was slick, but once he found the right spot he was able to maintain his lead.
“I just had to keep the car real straight … and then just pick a line around the ruts, not to bounce through them and upset the car."
Ed Turnbull finished second, as he started mid-pack and then made it to the front. After the halfway point, he was battling Travis Hagen for second and passed him with five laps remaining.
Hagen finished third and Mason Big Eagle was fourth.
In the stock car division, the race came right down to the wire as Brendon Labatte and Dalton Flory were wheel-to-wheel coming out of turn four, and Labatte edged out Flory for the win.
“That point it was just hold it to the pin and go over the bumps. I mean it’s checkers or wreckers at that point when you're racing for first and going for the finish line,” he said.
Labatte started the race up front, and by the midway point, he was in second. Toward the end of the race he was really contesting Flory and saw an opportunity and the end to past him.
Cody Dignan finished first in the hobby stock class for his first feature win in the division.
“It's been a long time coming, we've been running here a long time … and it was finally good just to get into the one spot and get a win," he said.
Even though he was in first from start to finish, the win didn't come easy.
Toward the end of the race, Destiny Klym was right behind him vying for that top spot. On the last lap coming out of turn four they were side-by-side and Dignan just held on for the win.
“I saw her driving in real hard into (turn) three … and I just kept my foot (on the pedal) and hopefully, the lap cars stayed out of the way and just kept in it,” he said.
The next race at the speedway is May 16 at 3 p.m.
