A pair of Southeast Saskatchewan drivers have taken home championship titles following wins during the Tougher Than Dirt Tour over six nights of racing. The tour takes place on five different American tracks and another race here at the Estevan Motor Speedway.
This year's winners are Leevi Runge and Diezel Raynard, both of whom hail from Lampman. The two winning the title make it the first time in the tour's 10-year history that both winners hail from Saskatchewan.
Runge claimed the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod championship after some impressive driving over the tour. Following a 10th-place finish at McLean County Speedway, he won his first tour race at Southwest Speedway in Dickinson, North Dakota.
He followed up his win with a pair of back-to-back runner-up finishes, with standout performances at Williston Basin Speedway and Estevan Motor Speedway. He closed the week with a big victory in the Robbie Conway Memorial at Thunder Mountain Speedway, winning $2,000 in the process.
Raynard, who's raced for eight years, claimed the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks championship, though his initial results put him a bit behind the podium. His first races saw a third-place finish at McLean County Speedway, before placing fourth at both Dickinson and Williston.
As Raynard made his return to Saskatchewan, he turned his fortunes around with a first-place finish at the Estevan Motor Speedway. Not content with just that, he sealed his victory with another win in Bottineau shortly after.
Winning the championship was a very special moment after a close win last year, says Raynard.
"It feels really good because last year I almost had it, but came up short, so yeah, I've been thinking about it ever since last year."
For the rest of the racing season, he'll be looking to earn points on tracks in Minot and Estevan.