On the front of Joren Boyce’s IMCA street stock car, above where the windshield would be, is the phrase ‘Fear the mullet’.
Boyce and his mullet have now won two feature races this year at the Estevan Motor Speedway after Saturday’s tilt at the track where the veteran driver outdueled the field by sticking close to the bottom.
“The other class had been running high and … you needed to go somewhere else to go forward,” said Boyce. “It felt pretty good around the tires earlier on and I just kind of jumped down there.”
Robby Rosselli won his fifth race in the sport modifieds, Leevi Runge won the hobby stocks and Ed Turnbull won the A Mods race.
The track had been through a few days of hot, dry weather before Saturday’s races, and no matter what the track crew could have done to prepare it, the track seemed to want to become a single file racing scheme that didn’t allow for much deviation or passing.
“It seems like the top is usually pretty prominent with a two barrel car like we have,” he said. “We watched the sport mod and I saw the 889 (Kyle Keller) working on Robbie (Rosselli) down below and he was able to catch him and I thought I better have that in my mind (for) when we get out there. I was surprised how good it actually was.”
Boyle had a good battle with Jeremy Swanson to take the lead with a few laps to go and Swanson fell back a few spots trying to find a spot on the outside to pass.
“I kind of felt I was a tick more consistent on corner exits and I was able to not let Austin (Daae) by late in and so it was pretty exciting,” Boyce said.
The track’s conditions made it all the more difficult to find more than one line.
“I know it was above 100 degrees (Fahrenheit) and that’s living hell for the track crew to try and make it a duration track,” Boyce said. “They’re good at it. They’ve got watering equipment and digging equipment and … they know what racers need to advance and move around a little bit. It is August racing, but this group delivers,” Boyce said.
Only six cars made it to the start of the sports mods race, and Rosselli had little difficulty getting the lead.
“There’s a disadvantage to starting on the front row and I don’t like starting on the front row,” said Rosselli. “If you’re in the back you can see where everybody else is running as well as search the track.”
Runge, meanwhile, extended his lead in the points standings in the hobby stocks. The lead in the feature race had gone back and forth between Riese Dignan and Zach Lutz until Lutz spun out with a few laps to go and then Runge passed Dignan a lap after the re-start.
“I was just waiting, and playing the waiting game,” said Runge. “I knew I wasn’t going to get him (Lutz) coming around the top… so I had to try something else I guess. I made the bottom work.”
The team of Jake Nelson, Ed Turnbull and Runge won the Calcutta race at the end of the evening, with eight cars from all the classes racing against each other.
The last race of the season will be championship night Aug. 25.
