November 2, 2025

Fettinger is fastest at Southern Oregon

Zach Fettinger bounced back from an early crash to win Saturday’s IMCA Modified feature at Southern Oregon Speedway. (Photo by Carole Bryan, Shadows of Light Photography)

By Don Martin II

WHITE CITY, Ore. (June 16) – Making a nice comeback from an early race crash, Zach Fettinger scored the 25-lap IMCA Modified main event victory Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.

Fettinger held off C.J. Putnam down the stretch for what would be his first win of the season despite restarting at the back of the field following the lap eight fracas.

The frontrunners had come up on a slower car and while Andy Freeman got by, Mark Wauge and Fettinger both got caught up. Wauge suffered enough damage to end his race while Fettinger made a pit stop and was able to rejoin the back of the pack for the restart.

Fettinger quickly found the fastest line and charged to the lead, and eventual win ahead of Putnam and Albert Gill.

Braxton Possinger was flawless in leading start to finish of the 20-lap feature for Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods.

southernoregonspeedway

Bigfoot finale checkers fly for Sanders

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (June 29, 2024) – Always consistent at Southern Oregon Speedway, Matt Sanders sped to his first Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature win at White City this season on night two of the Bigfoot Weekend presented by Toyota. The Brookings hotshoe brought three top five’s and had finished no worse than sixth in four previous Southern Oregon starts during the current campaign, drew the ninth starting spot on Saturday and got the win ahead of Jorddon Braaten. Jeffrey Hudson led on the first trip past the finish line before a caution came out with two laps complete. On the restart, Andy Freeman moved up to third just before the yellow flag returned for the second stoppage of the main event. When things got underway again, Braaten took over third while Ethan Killingsworth was all over Freeman for fourth. Shields and Braaten battled for the runner-up position before Shields had to bow out early due to mechanical issues on lap seven. Sanders continued an impressive run, obtaining third on lap [Read More]

Wild West Shootout takes IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods to Oregon, Washington venues

WHITE CITY, Ore. (June 10, 2022) – Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds return to the top of the marquee for the June 17-25 Wild West Shootout. One thousand dollar top checks and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility go to Modified feature winners June 17 at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City; June 18 and June 21 at Cottage Grove Speedway; June 19 and 20 at Coos Bay Speedway; June 23 at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon; and June 24 at Sunset Speedway in Banks. The June 25 finale doubles as the Modified Clash at Grays Harbor Raceway and pays $2,000 to win. Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods run for $400 to win each of those dates while IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars run for $400 each night June 17-23 and for $1,000 to win and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star qualifying eligibility in their finale at Sunset. All eight race programs will be broadcast by IMCA.TV and information about the Wild West Shootout will be updated on Facebook. Pit gates open at 1 p.m. with hot [Read More]

Patterson prevails in photo finish at Southern Oregon

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (Sept. 21, 2024) – The 2024 season championship at Southern Oregon Speedway came down to the last lap in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds. Carter Patterson beat title contender Ray Kniffen Jr. to the checkered flag by 0.043 seconds. The 17-year-old Lebanon driver now has two wins this season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Albert Gill started the main event off as the leader. Setting a quick pace, he unfortunately experienced issues that forced him to pull in the infield on lap eight. That transformed a three-car race for second into a contest for the lead, with Patterson picking up the position. The race for the runner-up spot ended up being a battle for the championship between Kniffen and Kenny Boardman Jr. Kniffen would secure second with six to go and reeled in the leader with a couple of circuits left to cover. Patterson and Kniffen would go side-by-side in the final two laps, with neither driver letting the other gain the upper hand. The defending [Read More]

Feature

Lagroon Has All The Right Answers to Modified Questions in IMCA Central Region Rookie Quest

By Bill Martin SALINA, Kan. (Oct. 31, 2025) — There was never a question that Cale Lagroon would race a Friesen Performance IMCA Modified. The 16-year-old from Salina, son of long-time hotshoe Corey Lagroon, needed just a single season to prove his own skills in the sanctioning body’s premier division, motoring to both Rookie of the Year and runner-up honors in the Jet Racing Central Region. The Kansas State champion was second in the points race at hometown track Salina Speedway, where he made half of his 30 2025 starts. Lagroon had one win and another 15 top five finishes to show for those outings. “I always looked up to dad, watching him race while I was growing up,” he said. “Racing a Modified has pretty much been the plan my whole life.” “We didn’t plan to run the Modified that much this year, because I also race a micro sprint and we were going to split it up more,” added Lagroon, who turns most of his laps in that class in Oklahoma, Missouri and [Read More]

Feature

Michigan’s Kay Merits Rookie Honors in IMCA’s Eastern Region for Modifieds

By Bill Martin MERRITT, Mich. (Oct. 31, 2025) — Tylor Kay started his first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified season with two goals. First, win rookie of the year in the Devilbiss Racing Eastern Region. Second, run against the big names to do it. The Merritt, Mich., speedster made good on both objectives, edging Fred Dow Jr. by just five points, the smallest margin to decide any regional rookie race in 2025. “Winning rookie of the year was our goal from before the season even started. We wanted to try to go after it,” said Kay, who counted seven top five finishes in 33 starts. “We’re proud that we were able to achieve that, and that we were able to do it running against a lot of really tough guys every week.” Runner-up to Cody Goodwin at Mt. Pleasant Speedway, he was sixth in points at home track Merritt Speedway and in Michigan State standings, and eighth in the regional title chase. An occasional visitor to Crystal Motor Speedway, Kay had all of three partial seasons [Read More]

Feature

Plans Made in 2024 Become Reality in 2025 as Gaston Rules Southern SportMod Rookie Race

By Bill Martin WEATHERFORD, Texas (Oct. 31, 2025) — The planning for Christian Gaston’s 2025 rookie of the year run started early the season before. Younger brother Cameron topped point standings for first-year Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod drivers in 2024. As was their goal, Christian made it two straight rookie crowns for Team Gaston this season, besting fellow Texan Colton Birmingham in a title chase that went all the way into September. “It would have been hard, my brother and I both racing for rookie the same season,” said Gaston, 23 years old and from Weatherford. “We had been just racing and having fun. Our grandfather Langston Layne is from the dirt track racing world and knew how this rookie of the year thing worked. He helped us set it in motion. Camo would run for it in 2024 and I’d run for it this year, it all worked out and we won back-to-back titles.” The Oklahoma State champion and eighth nationally, Gaston was runner-up to his brother at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. He [Read More]

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