Central Arizona winners are Mecl, George

By Lonnie Wheatley CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Nov. 24) – Central Arizona Speedway’s sixth annual Desert Thunder Nation­als came down to the final lap with Jeff Taylor denying R.C. Whitwell a sweep of the three-race weekend by winning Sunday afternoon’s 30-lap IMCA Modified main event atop the 3/8-mile clay oval in Case Grande. Taylor jumped into the lead at the outset of the $3,000 to win IMCA Modified feature and led through­out, fending off a late challenge from Whitwell. “We got a little more balance in the car today,” Taylor said afterward.  “We held on, the car was pretty good so we’re happy with that.” While Taylor set the pace ahead of Alex Stanford, Whitwell was working his forward from 16th in his quest to sweep the weekend.  Reaching the fourth position by the time a caution flew after 19 laps, he made quick work of Jason Noll and Stanford on the restart to take command of second and set his sights on Taylor for the lead. A final caution with five laps remaining put Whitwell on Taylor’s rear [Read More]

By Mike Spieker CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 12) – He already has wins at many of IMCA’s biggest events on his resume. Ricky Thornton Jr. added another when he took the $1,500 Karl Performance Arizona IMCA Modified Tour checkers Monday night at Central Arizona Speedway. Thornton started outside of row two and quickly made his way to the front. By lap four of 25 circuits, Thornton had reeled in leader Ryan Gaylord. Thornton executed a perfect slide job in turns three and four to take the lead while Casey Arneson ran within striking distance in third. Once out front, Thornton set sail and checked out from the field throughout the remainder of the caution-free main event. Further back in the top five, Arneson and Hunter Marriott, battled for third. The door opened for Marriott when Arneson pushed up the track in turn two. Marriott took the position and set his sights on Gaylord for the runner-up spot. Marriott quickly erased Gaylord’s advantage but had trouble maneuvering by the no. 7R in lapped traffic. With six to [Read More]

By Jeff McSpadden CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (June 2) – Jason Noll took top IMCA Modified honors on Ernie Mincy Trib­ute Night at Central Arizona Speedway. The 12th starting Noll made his charge on the low side and was up to the runner-up spot by just the fourth lap.  He completed his pass of A.J. Huebner for the lead and opened a sizable ad­vantage on the field by the half way mark. Behind Noll, Tyler Mecl drove around the high side to reach second and was followed by Chaz Baca into the third spot. Noll cruised to a 2.741 second victory over Mecl, with Baca, Trevor Miller and Huebner rounding out the top five.