By Bob Coney
JEFFERSON, S.D. (April 23) – Five divisions of action kicked off the 2017 IMCA racing season at Raceway Park on Sunday night.
The first feature of the evening saw defending champion Ramsey Meyer surge to the front in the early laps and go on to the win in the Z98 IMCA Sport Compact division. Action was wild behind Meyer, as positions were swapped lap by lap by the top six cars. Following Meyer under the checkered flag were Jake Newsome, Luke Jackson and Tyler Thompson.
The CarQuest IMCA Hobby Stocks also saw a great battle for the opening night win. The driver on top at the end was David Miller, followed by defending champion Aaron Shearn, Tony Fetterman and Steven Pierce.
The KCAU9 News IMCA Northern SportMods saw a first time winner on opening night. Arie Schouten drew the pole position for the evening’s feature with former champions surrounding him in the first two rows. Schouten got the jump at the green flag and drove a flawless race, never sliding out of the groove. At the checkered flag, it was Schouten scoring his first career win followed by defending champion Karl Brewer and former champions Todd Boulware and Rusty Montange.
Bo Lundquist was flying from the drop of the green flag in the Casey’s General Store IMCA Stock Car feature. While various drivers posted challenges during the feature, Lundquist never looked back en route to the win. Front row starter Casey Jones held on for second, followed by Ryan Harris and Greg Taylor.
The Total Motors IMCA Modified feature wrapped up the evening with Chris Abelson taking the lead in the early laps and extending it to a full straightaway by the checkered flag. Defending champion Ricky Stephan was the best of the rest, followed by Bob Moore and Jim Thies.