Contact: World Racing Group

Kevin Kovac, World of Outlaws Late Model Series P.R. Director

ESTEVAN, SK – July 9, 2008 – Are you a dirt Late Model fan who’s unfamiliar with

Estevan Motor Speedway?

Well, you’re probably not alone – the track has, after all, never run the full-fender

division as a regular attraction in its nine-year existence.

But this Saturday night (July 12) the three-eighths-mile oval in the Canadian province of

Saskatchewan will burst onto the dirt Late Model scene full force by hosting the

nationally-renowned World of Outlaws Late Model Series, which makes its fourth and

final appearance of 2008 north of the border.

“It’s going to be the biggest race we’ve ever had at Estevan – by far,” said Pat Boyle, a

member of the Estevan Auto Racing Association that operates the speedway. “The whole

town is buzzing about it.”

Saturday’s WoO LMS ‘Energy City 50’ – named for the town of Estevan’s links to the

energy industry – will pay $10,000 to win from a purse of nearly $50,000. It’s the richest

payoff ever offered by the management at Estevan, a modern facility with a distinctly

down-home atmosphere.

The track, which sits just 10 miles north of the western North Dakota border and

headlines open-wheel Modifieds for most of its Saturday programs, is an “all-volunteer

deal,” said Boyle. “There’s one paid person on the staff – the accountant.”

Led by promoter Dave Mack, members of the Estevan Auto Racing Association tend to

all the duties at the track. The club owns the concessions, but a different local community

group – the Boy Scouts, Rotary Club, high-school sports teams, etc. – mans the stands at

each event as a fundraising project. A local church group, meanwhile, handles security.

The track was born in 2000 after the town of Estevan went 13 years without a speedway.

The second of three tracks that have operated in the town closed in 1987 and had its land

mined by a local coal company, which obtained the property in a unique deal with the

Estevan Auto Racing Association.

“They said, ‘We’ll take the land – and if you ever need land back to build another track,

we’ll accommodate you,’” said Boyle. “We finally put together a deal to build a new

track, and the coal company came through with new land for us in a better location.”

Situated on nearly 100 acres of bald southern Saskatchewan prairie, the track was built by

a local contractor. “It’s a phenomenal facility,” said Boyle.

The most talented field ever to assemble at Estevan Motor Speedway will compete in the

Energy City 50, which will be the northern-most event on the nine-race WoO LMS ‘Wild

West Tour’ that visits six states and one Canadian province from July 9-21.

Defending WoO LMS champion Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., will lead the tour’s

charge across the border. Francis, of course, won the first-ever WoO LMS event held in

Canada, on June 23, 2007, at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que. – a track

that’s roughly 2,000 miles from Estevan.

Other members of the traveling WoO LMS pack headed for Estevan include Darrell

Lanigan of Union, Ky., who entered the Wild West Tour as the WoO LMS points leader;

20-year-old Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., who captured the last WoO LMS event

in Canada (on June 22 at Ontario’s Cornwall Motor Speedway); Rick Eckert of York,

Pa., who won at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond on June 21; Chub Frank of Bear Lake,

Pa.; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, Ga.; Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill.; Clint Smith

of Senoia, Ga.; 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y.; and John

Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va. Smith also has plans to field his backup car for

Coffeyville, Kan., veteran Al Purkey, who is accompanying Smith on the ‘Wild West

Tour.’

A talented group of drivers from across the region also have plans to compete, including

Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., Kelly Boen of

Henderson, Col., Gary Webb of Bluegrass, Iowa, Mike Balcaen of Winnipeg, Manitoba,

19-year-old Ricky Wright of St. Francois Xavier, Manitoba, and 25-year-old Dustin

Hapka of Grand Forks, N.D.

Gates will open at 4 p.m. on Saturday night, with racing set to begin at 7 p.m.

General admission is $35 in Canadian funds for the WoO LMS Energy City 50.

For more information on Estevan Motor Speedway’s milestone WoO LMS event, visit

Additional info on the WoO LMS is available by logging on to