The highlight of the racing season at Estevan Motor Speedway is less than a week away.
The Estevan stop on the Dakota Classic Modified Tour will run Monday night, along with the regular program.
Monday will be the second leg of the six-night tour, which begins Sunday in Mandan, N.D.
It was originally slated for Nodak Speedway in Minot, but had to be moved due to flooding in the city.
That could create problems for the car count Monday, but EMS president James Gustafson said it's too early to tell.
With the Auto Value Fast 40 $3,000-to-win event running Saturday at EMS, it would have been ideal for drivers to come to Estevan Saturday, go to Minot Sunday and back to the Energy City on Monday.
Now they have to go all the way to Mandan in order to hit all three races.
"Last year I asked some guys and they said (travel) doesn't bother them in the least, that it's all part of racing," said Gustafson.
He said some drivers are planning to stay in Estevan the whole time and miss out on the first night of the mod tour.
The possible car count for Monday had been estimated as high as 60, but that was before flooding hit the region again.
"This flood thing has affected a lot of people and it's not something we take lightly," said Gustafson.
"We really feel for Minot and all the racing fans and drivers down there that are affected by it."
Veteran EMS driver Aaron Turnbull said he expects the competition Monday to match past years.
"There's always good competition for the tour," he said. "I would think probably at least as good as last year, with all the same guys and maybe they'll bring a few of their buddies too."
Both race cards begin at 7:30 p.m.
As for the EMS season to date, four race nights are in the books and Gustafson said he has mixed feelings about how it's gone so far.
On one hand, all four races have been able to go ahead despite the deluge of rain hitting the region this spring. The track has also gotten kudos for running each program so quickly, allowing kids to attend on school nights.
On the other hand, crowds are down in the track's first year of mid-week racing. Gustafson said he's not sure why that is, but everything will be evaluated after the season.
"It's too early (to give a verdict on Wednesday races). We can't really pinpoint it, but our crowd count is down and we didn't want that to happen."
