February 6, 2025

Shipley scores in photo finish at Sheyenne

IMCA.com-#72-Shipley-Celebration---Sheyenne-Speedway-Lisbon-ND — Dave Shipley was the IMCA Modified winner during the 45th anniversary race program at Sheyenne Speedway.

By Tom Berg

LISBON, N.D. (July 1) – Dave Shipley was the photo finish winner when IMCA Modifieds returned to Sheyenne Speedway as part of the track’s 45^th anniversary night.

John Nord led early but was soon overtaken by rookie Jesse Skalicky.

Skalicky was fast on the high side and built a nice lead, but the car on the move was the ninth starting Shipley’s.

He used an effective low line, steadily moved through the field and took over second, then started closing the gap on Skalicky.

As the laps wound down, Shipley got closer and closer and eventually got beside Skalicky as the two ran side-by-side the final few laps. The two raced to the line, where Shipley won a thriller by just .049 of a second in a true photo finish.

Nord had a nice run to finish third, followed by Randy Klein and Tyler Peterson.

sheyennespeedway

Northstar IMCA Mod Tour set for Aug. 10-12

PRINCETON, Minn. – IMCA Modifieds race for $1,000 to win and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berths each night of the Aug. 10-12 Northstar IMCA Mod Tour. Both the Modifieds and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods are at Princeton Speedway on Friday, Aug. 10 and at North Central Speedway in Brainerd on Saturday, Aug. 11. On Saturday, Aug. 12, Modifieds are at Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon, N.D. while the Northern SportMods are at Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon. Modified features pay a minimum of $100 to start. Top prize for the Northern SportMods each night is $600 with $70 paid to start. Point funds are in place for both divisions with $1,000 going to the top drivers in the standings. Out-Pace Racing Products gives $100 hard charger awards each night. There are no entry fees and all events are draw/redraw. Pre-registration is encouraged. More information is available on the Northstar IMCA Mod Tour page on Facebook, or by emailing northstarracepromo@gmail.com. Racing starts at 7 p.m. Friday, at 6:45 p.m. Saturday and at 6 p.m. on [Read More]

Kendall brings broom to Sheyenne Speedway, completes Northstar IMCA Mod Tour sweep

LISBON, N.D. (Aug. 12) – After running third in his Northstar IMCA Modified Tour heat race at Sheyenne Speedway, Billy Kendall didn’t think Sunday would be his night. That wasn’t the case. Kendall drew another front row start, chased and got the lead back from Jarrett Carter, then stayed in front to the end of the 30-lapper at Lisbon. The $1,000 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying victory was his third in as many nights and was complemented by a $1,000 share of the tour point fund. “It was kind of hard to believe,” admitted Kendall, 19 years old and headed back to the University of North Dakota later this week to start his sophomore year as a mechanical engineering major. “I wasn’t good in my heat race and didn’t think it would be our night, but we turned it around in the feature.” Kendall had won tour features Friday at Princeton Speedway and Saturday at North Central Speedway, both familiar venues. He made the 3-1/2 hour tow on Sunday to race for the first [Read More]

Four Sunday dates for IMCA Modifieds at Sheyenne

LISBON, N.D. – Four Sunday dates for IMCA Modifieds are on the schedule for Sheyenne Speedway’s 45th anniversary season. The sanctioned division is on the opening night program June 10, as well as July 1, Aug. 12 and Sept. 30 cards. “We’re excited about this. We’ve got a lot of good drivers in the area who have been going to the IMCA Modified,” said promoter Benjie Froemke. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from drivers and other tracks.” The quarter-mile dirt oval at Lisbon, located in the southeast corner of North Dakota, will share drivers with the Friday-Saturday tandem of Red River Valley Speedway at West Fargo and Jamestown Speedway, and worked with Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, Minn., for these four dates. All four venues are part of IMCA’s Side Biter Chassis North Central Region. “There was such a good response from our original schedule with a single IMCA Modified date that we added three more,” Froemke said. “This is a real racing town and the IMCA Modifieds are a popular class [Read More]

Feature

Babbit Redeems Himself With Ocala Mod Lite Victory

By Ben Deatherage OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 5, 2025) — Corey Babbit got his shot at redemption in race three of the 2025 Florida Winter Nationals at Ocala Speedway, claiming victory in the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite main event. After being overtaken late in lapped traffic the night before, the New Caney, Texas polesitter dominated the 25-lap finale to secure his first win of the season. The event drew an impressive 42 entries from across the United States, as well as the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Despite a red flag incident on the initial start, Babbit rocketed away once the race got underway. 2023 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s winner Ronnie Choate tried to keep pace, but the Tennessee driver soon found himself losing ground as Babbit stretched his lead. Navigating through lapped traffic, the former Texas Mod Lite Nationals winner efficiently maneuvered past slower cars without incident. However, a caution on lap 11 bunched the field back up, setting up a dramatic restart. When racing resumed, Iowa’s Josh May [Read More]

Mod Lite

Clem Makes Late Move to Win Ocala Speedway Mod Lite Thriller

By Ben Deatherage Ocala, Florida (February 4, 2025) — Bakersfield, California transplant Riley Clem brought the crowd to its feet with a thrilling late-race pass to win the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite $1,000-to-win feature at Ocala Speedway. The event, part of the second leg of the 2025 Florida Winter Nationals, drew an impressive field of 48 cars from across the United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Texas racer Corey Babbit jumped out to the early lead from the pole position, setting a quick pace before a lap-one caution halted his momentum. On the restart, Clem wasted no time charging into second, and the two frontrunners began to distance themselves from the rest of the field. A second caution on lap six reset the action, but Babbit and Clem again pulled away on the restart. Clem made his first serious challenge on the eighth circuit, but Babbit held his ground and kept the California driver in check. As the race stayed green, lapped traffic came into play in the final three [Read More]

Feature

Hibdon Scores Saturday Night Victory To Earn Early Thaw Title

By Ben Deatherage(Photo Courtesy of AOM Creative) Casa Grande, Arizona (February 1, 2025) — Kollin Hibdon made a thrilling late-race pass to capture his first IMCA Modified victory of the 2025 season at Central Arizona Raceway. The Pahrump, Nevada racer not only took the checkered flag in the final round of the Ernie Mincy Memorial Early Thaw series but also secured the coveted series championship. The feature began with Troy Morris III, winner of the previous two nights, pacing the field early as he powered around the 3/8-mile clay oval on the high side. However, Morris made hard contact with the wall on lap four and suffered another heavy hit ten laps later, ultimately flattening his right front tire and surrendering the lead to Ian Whisler. Whisler, from the Northern Oregon Coast, did his best to fend off Hibdon, but the Nevada driver executed a flawless slider in turn two on lap fifteen to take control. From there, the eighth-place starter pulled away from the competition, finally breaking through to victory lane and taming the Western [Read More]

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