ESTEVAN - Some of the top hobby stock and sport modified drivers from southeast Saskatchewan and the mid-west U.S. were at the Estevan Motor Speedway on Friday night for stop No. 4 in the six-stage Tougher than Dirt Tour.
Both the sport mod and hobby stock features had close finishes, with local drivers in contention for the win. In the sport mod feature, Keenan Glasser of Estevan worked his way up from fifth on the starting grid to take the lead in the 25-lap feature, and held top spot for most of the race.
But Gabriel Deschamps of Bottineau, N.D., passed Glasser for first following a caution flag with a few laps to go, and then held off Derek Medler of Minot to win. Glasser was third, Robby Rosselli, also of Minot, was fourth, and Leevi Runge of Lampman came in fifth.
Deschamps now leads the tour's standings with 155 points, one more than Rosselli and three more than Medler. Glasser is the top local driver and sits fourth with 147 points.
"I was trying to stick with my line. I did not want to see Glasser on the inside of me. I … kept on trying," said Deschamps, who said he had a lot of fun during the race.
Deschamps said it was "an amazing track, an amazing race" and there were amazing competitors.
As for the hobby stock feature, Diezel Raynard of Lampman held the lead over the 20 other drivers in the field for most of the 25-lap feature, holding off Morgan Olmstead of Overton, Neb., and Brennor Grinstead of Stanley, N.D., for top spot.
Olmstead and Grinstead eventually passed Raynard for top spot in the final laps, and engaged in a great duel for the lead over the final laps, but Olmstead made good use of the track's high line to win.
Lampman's Landon Runge was third, Raynard was fourth and Kyler Satran of Minot came in fifth.
After the race, Olmstead said there was a lack of traction for a while, but he was able to take top spot.
"I told myself I could probably drive this car a little harder and pick up the win," said Olmstead. "Going into [Turn] 1 on the restart, I drove it in their a little harder, and it stuck better, and I passed him."
Raynard is first for points on the tour with 150, three more than Olmstead. Satran is third with 146 and Chris Rangeloff of Bismarck, N.D., is fourth at 135.
The three other classes at the speedway also raced.
Austin Daae won the stock car feature for the second straight program in Estevan. He passed JJ Barnstable – who led for most of the feature – with a few laps to go, and then pulled away. Barnstable was second, Joren Boyce was third and Chase Davidson was fourth.
Aaron Turnbull took the checkered flag in the modified feature. He took the lead and never relinquished it, with only a couple of caution flags bringing the field close to him. Steven Pfeifer was second, Kody Scholpp was third and Marcus Tomlinson was fourth.
Brogan Wagner was the winner of the slingshot feature, finishing well ahead of Hudson Mann, Jase Skjerdal and Eli Turnbull. Wagner was well ahead of the field throughout the feature, with only caution flags keeping the race close.
A total of 86 drivers were entered between the five classes.
The next program at the track will be June 22. Racing will start at 7 p.m.
