ESTEVAN — Drivers from southeast Saskatchewan swept the championships in this year's edition of the Tougher than Dirt Tour.
Eli Turnbull (junior slingshots), Leevi Runge (IMCA sport modifieds) and Diezel Raynard (IMCA hobby stocks) won the six-night motorsports competition.
The tour, which is patterned after the Dakota Classic Modified Tour, was slated to have races each night from June 3-8, with five programs in North Dakota and one in Saskatchewan on June 6 at the Estevan Motor Speedway. But the program in Minot slated for June 8 was cancelled due to rain, ending the tour early.
A driver's top four finishes between the five races were counted towards their overall point total.
Turnbull, who hails from Estevan, finished first in his division with 159 points, thanks to three first-place results and a second. He wound up eight points clear of Gunner Raynard's total of 150. Kolby Fichter was third with 143 and Jaeger Mahlen was fourth at 130. The top three drivers in the slingshots were from the southeast.
Runge, who is from Lampman, also had 158 points to take top spot, six ahead of Chad Strachan, who had 152. Gabriel Deschamps had 150 to wind up in third and Cole Hanshow's 147 left him in fourth.
Much like Turnbull, Runge had two first and two second place finishes among his four counting results. Deschamps won the other three features.
Raynard, also from Lampman, took top spot in the hobby stock division with 155 points, thanks to two firsts, including the program in Estevan, a third and a fourth among his four best finishes. He was six points ahead of another local driver, Ty Saxon, who won the third night of the tour. Trever Haaswas third with 146 and Kyler Satran was fourth at 145.
Another southeast driver, Cash Saxon, won the opening hobby stock race of this year's tour.
