It was an emotional finish for Estevan's Kyle Fedyk over the long weekend. Competing in the Tyler Fedyk Memorial Sprint Car Race at the Nodak Speedway in Minot, North Dakota, taking the checkered flag had special significance.

"The meaning is everything. Tyler was my lifelong best friend and he was with me through every step of the way in my racing career, until we lost him in 2010. Racing hasn't been the same since. To get the win for him at this event...it was a big deal for myself and my family," he said, noting that he'd come close a couple of times in it's four year run.

Normally it's been a rough draw for Fedyk, however, this time he got lucky and got to start from the front. Quickly taking the lead, he stayed well ahead of the pack to take the checkered flag for his cousin.

"We just made the right set up calls for the car for the feature. Brandon Beeter and the Nodak Speedway people put us out for the feature very early in the night, when the track was still really good and had a cushion to lean on. I didn't really venture to the bottom, but when I did in lap traffic, it was easy as well. I just put it on the cushion and drove it as hard and as straight as I could, it was good enough to drive to the win," he shared.

Fedyk added that he also kept his guard up until the final lap was over, despite having a comfortable lead over second. He learned the hard way earlier in the summer in Estevan to race all the way through the checkers.

"You never really want to get your emotions tied into the cockpit of the car, because that's when things start to happen. You'll miss your marks, you could drive it off the track or just lose focus and do something to get yourself in trouble. You've got to do your best, as a racecar driver, to keep your emotions in check. Then, when the race is all done, whether it goes your way or not, you can sit back and think about it then."

For the Estevan native, that meant that the pent up emotion of the special victory poured out in the winner's circle. 

"One of the best things was that there were so many important people to me in victory lane. We were missing a few people that we really wish would have been there, but overall, my immediate family, Tyler's immediate family, and everybody was there. It was a great time."

Now, he looks forward to savoring the win during the off season, before trying to make it two in a row next year.