It took fewer than five laps for Aaron Turnbull to grab the lead, and he made sure he didn't give it up.
Turnbull earned his second straight modified feature win at Estevan Motor Speedway on Friday on the first night of the Can-Am Shootout event.
After overtaking early leader Chris Hortness, Turnbull held off a variety of challengers, including Riley Emmel, who finished second.
"My car was just working awesome. I got a good start on the initial start and got by a few guys right away, so I think I got up to third or fourth on the first lap. So I just had a couple of guys to pick off. We had that one restart when I was in second, and I got a good restart and got up beside Chris," Turnbull said.
"Once I got to the lead, I tried to drive as hard as I could and build a good lead, because I knew there were good guys starting from further behind that would be coming eventually."
Tyler Wagner and Travis Hagen, who finished third and fourth, respectively, were also in the hunt to the end.
"I didn't know how close they were behind me, but I didn't want to chance it. I just wanted to drive as hard as I could and build up a lead if I could. Once I got into lapped traffic, there were a couple that were hard to get around."
With the Estevan stop on the Dakota Classic Modified Tour coming up on Monday, Turnbull said he hopes he can translate his momentum into some success on the tour.
"I'd really like to win a race on the tour and try and contend for the tour championship, hopefully. I've been close before."
In the stock car feature, Lindsey Wagner of Weyburn earned her first career victory in about seven years of racing against her brothers, Brendon and Sterling LaBatte.
"The one couldn't make it tonight, I was hoping to beat him too, but I'll take (beating Sterling) for tonight," Wagner said.
The veteran driver led from start to finish, fending off three-time defending champion Rocky Alexander to take the checkered flag.
"I led every lap. I was a little worried coming into those cautions, and then near the end I was getting a little loose coming into (turns) three and four going high. But it seemed to work out in the end. I just took my time. My flap came up, and I had a little two inches or so to see, but I managed to get 'er done," said Wagner.
It was the first top-five finish of the season for Alexander, who has struggled out of the gate with a new car. He was still there near the end, but Wagner managed to keep her distance.
"I saw him in corner two once, and then I didn't see him again. I figured he was a lot closer, but they said near the end I was getting a little bit of a lead," she said.
In the hobby feature on Friday, the Beeter brothers' reign of dominance finally ended, but the mantle stayed in their garage as Brad King won the race.
King, who is originally from Fairbanks, Alaska, is currently working in the oil field in Parshall, N.D., and races out of the same operation as the Beeters.
The two brothers had a monopoly on the hobby circuit at EMS until Friday, having won all five features this season -three for Brandon, two for Brock.
"It's really great. The Beeters are so tough this year," said King. "They kinda took me under their wing, and they've made this possible for me to be up front. I've really enjoyed their company and I couldn't have run across any better guys than those two. It means a lot to me to be up front and win one, because I didn't think it was ever going to come, up against those guys."
King overtook Brandon midway through the race and hung on for the victory. Brandon finished fourth and Brock was eighth.
"It's an awesome feeling. Even though they may have had a little car trouble, hey, the fastest car doesn't always win. You gotta stay in there, you gotta drive smartly and be smart. You must first finish to finish first."
It's the second full year of racing for King, who said his nickname is the Alaskan Squirrel.
Turnbull, Wagner and King all went on to win their respective classes in the Can-Am Shootout, a two-night event involving the Estevan and Williston tracks, with the winners being the cumulative point leaders in each class from the two features.
