There was no question of the top drivers at Estevan Motor Speedway last Wednesday.
Joe Galloway (modified), Justin Medler (hobby) and Gregg Mann (street) all won the Triple Crown in their respective divisions, claiming the feature, heat and trophy dash.
It was the second straight hobby win for Medler to start the year, while Galloway and Mann both rebounded from not finishing the feature in the season opener.
Galloway had been running neck-and-neck with week one mod winner Devin Raynard when a rock went through his radiator.
This time, Galloway held on for the win with Raynard sliding into second late in the feature.
"I've just been having tough luck this year and the end of last year, so it's great to get this win to boost our confidence again and keep everything going," said Galloway, who is from Manor.
Both Galloway and Raynard are driving new Shaw by Galloway mods this year.
Galloway and fellow EMS racers Derrick and Mason Big Eagle have opened a dealership in Manor, the first for modifieds in Canada.
"I get the frames from Kevin and Larry (Shaw)," based in Arkansas, "and then I build everything myself," he said.
"There's no modified dealers in Canada and I've always been into racing, so I figured we'd do something and get a few cars sold up here."
Galloway was at or near the front of the pack for the entire mod feature, despite several wrecks and cautions.
Only nine of 22 drivers were able to finish the race.
One spectacular crash on the front stretch ended Tyson Turnbull's night and caused a lengthy caution.
"The biggest thing is trying to avoid them ruts. They're the biggest thing. They upset the car so much and if you hit them, you can lose so much ground," Galloway said. "Other than that, it was a good race, a fun race."
Joren Boyce challenged Galloway near the end of the feature, but fell back to fourth after another caution. Tyler Wagner gained ground throughout the race and finished third.
Raynard leads the mod standings with 79 points, five ahead of Aaron Turnbull and seven ahead of Wagner.
The street feature saw some entertaining battles, with challengers trying to overtake Mann for the lead.
He and week one champion Rocky Alexander went nose to nose for several laps before Alexander had a problem on Turn 1 that knocked him back to an eventual fifth-place finish.
After the ensuing caution, Joe Flory crept up to Mann and they battled for a while before another caution. Mann increased his lead after that and hung on for the win.
"It does feel good to come back and win all three like that," said the Estevan native.
"It's nerve-wracking when you see a couple of noses come up beside you. All you see is what colour it is, but there's a few black ones so you're not really sure who it is.
"You just wish you could put your foot a little bit farther down the pedal," he laughed.
Flory leads Alexander by one point in the street standings, with Mann sitting in a tie for eighth.
Mike Wilson led most of the hobby feature. Not long after Medler caught up to him though, his car exploded with smoke and he withdrew from the race with a suspected crankshaft issue.
Medler took the lead and cruised to his second victory of the season.
The Minot native leads Carl Hanson by two points atop the hobby standings.
Drivers will be back at it tonight with another race card at the Speedway, beginning at 7:30.
