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Kevin Kovac
ESTEVAN, Sk. (July 9) - Are you a dirt Late Model fan who's unfamiliar with Estevan Motor Speedway?
Well, you're probably not alone - the track has, after all, never run the full-fender division as a regular attraction in its nine-year existence.
But this Saturday night (July 12) the three-eighths-mile oval in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan will burst onto the dirt Late Model scene full force by hosting the nationally-renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series, which makes its fourth and final appearance of 2008 north of the border.
"It's going to be the biggest race we've ever had at Estevan - by far," said Pat Boyle, a member of the Estevan Auto Racing Association that operates the speedway. "The whole town is buzzing about it."
Saturday's WoO LMS 'Energy City 50' - named for the town of Estevan's links to the energy industry - will pay $10,000 to win from a purse of nearly $50,000. It's the richest payoff ever offered by the management at Estevan, a modern facility with a distinctly down-home atmosphere.
The track, which sits just 10 miles north of the western North Dakota border and headlines open-wheel Modifieds for most of its Saturday programs, is an "all-volunteer deal," said Boyle. "There's one paid person on the staff - the accountant."
Led by promoter Dave Mack, members of the Estevan Auto Racing Association tend to all the duties at the track. The club owns the concessions, but a different local community group - the Boy Scouts, Rotary Club, high-school sports teams, etc. - mans the stands at each event as a fundraising project. A local church group, meanwhile, handles security.
The track was born in 2000 after the town of Estevan went 13 years without a speedway. The second of three tracks that have operated in the town closed in 1987 and had its land mined by a local coal company, which obtained the property in a unique deal with the Estevan Auto Racing Association.
"They said, 'We'll take the land - and if you ever need land back to build another track, we'll accommodate you,'" said Boyle. "We finally put together a deal to build a new track, and the coal company came through with new land for us in a better location."
Situated on nearly 100 acres of bald southern Saskatchewan prairie, the track was built by a local contractor. "It's a phenomenal facility," said Boyle.
The most talented field ever to assemble at Estevan Motor Speedway will compete in the Energy City 50, which will be the northern-most event on the nine-race WoO LMS 'Wild West Tour' that visits six states and one Canadian province from July 9-21.
Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., will lead the tour's charge across the border. Francis, of course, won the first-ever WoO LMS event held in Canada, on June 23, 2007, at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que. - a track that's roughly 2,000 miles from Estevan.
Other members of the traveling WoO LMS pack headed for Estevan include Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., who entered the Wild West Tour as the WoO LMS points leader; 20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who captured the last WoO LMS event in Canada (on June 22 at Ontario's Cornwall Motor Speedway); Rick Eckert of York, Pa., who won at Quebec's Autodrome Drummond on June 21; Chub Frank of Bear Lake, Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Clint Smith of Senoia, Ga.; 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va. Smith also has plans to field his backup car for Coffeyville, Kan., veteran Al Purkey, who is accompanying Smith on the 'Wild West Tour.'
A talented group of drivers from across the region also have plans to compete, including Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., Kelly Boen of Henderson, Col., Gary Webb of Bluegrass, Iowa, Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba, 19-year-old Ricky Wright of St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba, and 25-year-old Dustin Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. on Saturday night, with racing set to begin at 7 p.m.
General admission is $35 in Canadian funds for the WoO LMS Energy City 50.
For more information on Estevan Motor Speedway's milestone WoO LMS event, visit www.estevanmotorspeedway.com or call 306-636-7500.
Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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