April 24, 2026

Yarie, Raddant return to Shawano winner’s circle

By Scott Owen

SHAWANO, Wis. (June 9) – Marcus Yarie and Kyle Raddant made return trips to the winner’s circle at Shawano Speedway following IMCA Modified and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod main events, respectively.

Chucky Forstner and Jerry Muenster battled for the lead on the opening lap of the Modified main. Forstner held the lead until lap 10 when rookie Brekken Kleinschmidt took to the outside of the track and grabbed the front spot.

Yarie followed Kleinschmidt around Forstner into second, then powered his way past Kleinschmidt for the lead on the following lap. Wyatt Block soon passed Kleinschmidt to grab second. In the end it was Yarie for the win, chased by Block, Kleinschmidt, Lance Arneson, and Jerry Wilinski.

Kaden Besaw led the opening lap of the Northern SportMod feature before giving way to Raddant, who then took to the high line of the track and looked to ride off into the sunset.

Behind Raddant, Bryce Clements, Cole Magnin and Lucas Lamberies jockeyed for position. Magnin’s night ended though after getting into the outside wall. Lamberies raced to second but was never able to offer a serious challenge for the lead; 17^th starting Jason Jach finished third, Kevin Bethke fourth and Jordan Bartz fifth.

Travis Van Straten scored his second straight and third overall IMCA Sunoco Stock Car win.

shawanospeedway

Whitman cashes in at Shawano

SHAWANO, Wis. (May 22) – A picture perfect night for racing brought a large crowd to the Legendary Half Mile Shawano Speedway and with added money in the IMCA Modified division it wassure to be a big night of racing. Thanks to Line x Extreme Coating there were 1,000 reasons to win the IMCA Modified feature. Normally a driver leading green to checkered for the win makes the recap a mundane thing to write but not on this night. Johnny Whitman took the lead on the opening lap after starting third. Whitman began to power away from the field. With multiple feature wins this season, Mike Mullen was doing his best to entertain as he sliced his way to the front. By lap six, Mullen made his way to second from 10th. Mullen began to cut into the lead lap after lap and it looked like he would get by the Whitman machine on multiple occasions. Whitman was up to every challenge, however. A late-race caution gave Mullen one more shot but Whitman was up to [Read More]

First IMCA checkers for Van Straten fly at Shawano

SHAWANO, Wis. (Aug. 12, 2023) – On a beautiful August evening Saturday, Mother Nature allowed Shawano Speedway to host the first annual Retro Night. Several teams put together a few throwback schemes from yesteryear and oh did it bring back a lot of emotional memories of the cars and stars that once raced at the legendary half mile. In the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature, pole sitter and former limited late model champion Dave Lytie and Andrew Engels, who had his dad’s no. 33 on the side of his usual no. 29 machine, set the pace for what would become a caution-plagued feature. Taylor Sorenson used his fourth place starting spot to jump out to an early lead. Michael Springborn was on the move to contest for a bid for the win as well. The hot shoes of Tyler Sobiesczyk and Jeffery Teske found their way to the front. As Sobiesczyk grabbed the lead the top four of Sobiesczyk, Teske, J.J. Vanderloop and Bryce Clements started to break away from field. As the laps ticked away, [Read More]

Common foe was childhood cancer as Shawano raced for a reason Saturday

SHAWANO, Wis. (Aug. 1) – On a Saturday night when drivers and fans united at the track to battle a common enemy, childhood cancer, Racing for a Reason again delivered a victory at Shawano Speedway. With donation baskets and silent auction items galore, more than $16,000 was raised while on the track, the action in one word … incredible! A caution on the initial start of the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car Feature was the only time the yellow flew as the action-packed class lived up to its Too Tough To Tame reputation. While Gary Kasparek took the early lead the racing behind him was what everyone comes to see. Chucky Forstner took the top spot with Jeremy Christians moving to second on lap seven. The two fought side-by-side for the next five laps until Christians grabbed the lead for good on lap 11. Christians drove away and picked up his 99th IMCA career win in the division. Forstner settled in second with Travis Van Straten third. The Karl Kustoms Northern Sport Mods hit the track with [Read More]

Feature

Oliver Wins Thrilling Stock Car Race at Independence

By Christine Rublack INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (Apr. 21, 2026) — A Tuesday night full of exciting racing at Independence Motor Speedway saw John Oliver Jr. take home the victory by the smallest margin of the night in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, edging Kodey Miles by just 0.051 seconds. Kodey Miles took the lead early, with Tanner Allen and Tom Schmitt in pursuit. Oliver began working the low groove as the duo in front of him battled for second. Schmitt moved into second while Oliver continued to work underneath him. With a couple laps to go, Oliver closed in on Miles for the top position and, as the checkers waved, took the win. It was the first win of 2026 for the West Burlington veteran in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region after starting fourth. Miles and Schmitt finished second and third, while Gage Neal and Tanner Allen completed the top five. Kolin Hibdon dominated the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds. Hibdon quickly pulled away as Joel Rust moved into second, and the pair began to distance themselves [Read More]

Feature

Christina and Matt Ratzlaff: From Separate Paths to the Same Track

By Ben Deatherage MONTE VISTA, Colo. (Apr. 21, 2026) — Out in southern Colorado, where the land stretches wide beneath towering mountain ranges and the air sits thin at more than 7,500 feet above sea level, racing isn’t just something you do—it’s something you carry with you. The San Luis Valley is one of the most unique places in the country—an expansive, high-altitude basin carved by the Rio Grande and surrounded by peaks. Agriculture drives life here, from cattle to potatoes to barley fields, and the distances between towns are measured in miles, not minutes. Monte Vista sits at the heart of it all, a town established in 1884 along the railroad, its Spanish name meaning simply “mountain view.” It’s here where Christina and Matt Ratzlaff have built both a life—and a race team. Two Drivers, One Team On any given night, the Ratzlaffs roll into the pit area as a two-car operation in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds with Christina in the No. 15 and Matt in the No. 16. Their journeys to this point [Read More]

Feature

Jim ‘Cowboy’ Kennedy: A Life Remembered

By Ben Deatherage EVERETT, Pa. (Apr. 21, 2026) — RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car racer Jim “Cowboy” Kennedy never needed much to go racing — just a car, a wrench, and a reason to keep going. For nearly seven decades, the Pennsylvania native carved out a place in sprint car racing that few could ever match, continuing to compete well into his 90s before his passing on April 2 at the age of 91. But long before the tributes, the Hall of Famer had already told his story — in conversations with reporters, at racetracks, and in the quiet, in-between moments that defined a life spent chasing the next green flag. A Life That Spanned Generations Kennedy was born on August 7, 1934, into a world far different than the one he would come to know behind the wheel of a Sprint Car. The United States was deep in the Great Depression, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early years of his first term, working to steady a nation searching for its footing as parts of [Read More]

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