DW-Speedway
Rosselli wins 2 Strong race at the speedway
The 2 Strong sport mod tour made its way to the Estevan Motor Speedway on Saturday night, and Robby Rosselli of Minot, N.D. was the winner, although not in the fashion he likely expected.
Brady Bjella of Williston, N.D., crossed the finish line first in the feature, but he was disqualified after the race because his vehicle was underweight. That pushed Minot’s Rosselli into top spot.
Erik Laudenschlager of Minot was moved up to second and Chase Conway of Westhope, N.D., was listed in third.
Rosselli noted in the post-race interviews that he appeared to take the lead a couple of times in the feature, only to have those passes dashed by a caution.
“The track was pretty awesome, pretty racy,” said Rosselli. “Turns 1 and 2 were pretty tricky when you’re running the top off, but you had to just hit it right, and if not, there were a few times where I thought I was going over into the crows’ nest.”
Blake Penna of Estevan was the top local driver, as he finished 11th.
The tour brought 19 drivers to the track, which is more than what is usually seen for the sport mod class.
Since the race was part of the 2 Strong tour, the sport mod drivers weren’t racing for points. Racing was also offered in the speedway’s other four classes Saturday night. Kody Scholpp of Estevan won the feature race in the modifieds for the second time this season. Travis Hagen from Williston was second and Tyson Turnbull of Estevan was third.
Scholpp, who was not leading for much of the race, said he wanted to take the low groove during the feature.
“I tried up on top, and touched the top there the one time, and I knew my car was not going to work there,” said Scholpp. “I went back to the bottom and I was 100 per cent OK with being the third place car. I just got lucky, I guess.”
Hagen and Schopp are now tied atop the driver standings with 157 points each. Tyson Turnbull is third with 151 points.
In the slingshots, Ryder Raynard of Estevan won the feature race for the fourth time in five races this season. Jace Emmel and Dexter Saxon, both of Estevan, were second and third, respectively.
Raynard leads the standings with 155 points, which gives him a 13-point cushion over Emmel and a 15-point lead on Saxon.
Chris Hortness won the stock car race for the fourth time this year. He has won the stock car feature in three of four races for points this season; he was also declared the winner of the stock car special on June 1 after Sterling Labatte was disqualified for having an underweight car.
Joren Boyce, who won the other points race in Estevan this season, was second, and Dalton Flory of Williston was third.
Hortness said the car drove well on Saturday night, and attributed the win to the moisture in the track, stemming from light rain that fell earlier in the night.
“Hopefully it stays a little damp out here the rest of the year,” said Hortness.
Hortness has 159 points to lead the overall standings. Boyce is second with 151 and Mattox is third with 141.
Adam Goff of Minot won the hobby stock feature, followed by Brad King of Minot and Scott Curtis of Estevan.
Goff said it was important to hold his line throughout the race.
Leevi Runge of Lampman leads the overall standings with 115 points. Brad King of Minot is second with 109 and Landon Runge, also of Lampman, sits third with 106.
The next program at the speedway will be Estevan’s stop on the Dakota Classic Modified Tour on July 8.
