Estevan’s Dylan Gonas claimed his first Estevan Motor Speedway (EMS) Enduro race in his first ever race.
After an hour and a half of yellow and green flag racing on a chilly, cloudy Saturday afternoon, after all the laps were counted, Gonas had run one more lap than second place finisher Jason Knutsen.
The race is open to none of the normal stock car or modified car drivers, leading to a lot of green drivers making rookie mistakes. But once the checkered flag flew, Gonas’ name was the top.
“I was nervous to begin with but as soon as I was out there it was like riding a bike,” said Gonas, whose brother Devon is a stock car driver during the regular EMS season. “It felt natural out there and I tried my best not to wreck anybody.”
There were a ton of wrecked vehicles out on the track with a lot of bumping and grinding through the hour and a half of driving. Several vehicles overheated and were smoking everywhere, with the nearly 40 vehicles down to under 20 by the end.
And it was Gonas who survived without getting involved in the big wrecks and by keeping the engine clean of mud.
“I got tagged a few times and old Ursela over there has gotten a few war wounds but I just hung on and stayed out there. I had no idea,” Gonas said. “I thought I’d be top 10 for sure.”
The affable Gonas has had an interest in racing but hadn’t done it before Saturday.
“I play video games and I race on video games,” he laughed. “They say video games don’t teach you anything (but) they’re lying.”
Devon Gonas helped, as did the pit crew that got the car going for the race.
“They gave me some pointers and helped out with what to do for sure,” Dylan Gonas said. “There were a couple hits out there where my car died and she fired up and it was thanks to them.”
The win and experience at the Enduro may help fuel a further interest in more serious driving at the speedway in the future.
“Absolutely, every time I’m in here and my brother’s out there just killing it, it kills me inside,” he said. “Life isn’t cheap. My time will come when the time’s right.”
The next EMS-related event will be their annual awards night Nov. 3.
