October 7, 2025

Ritchie records first Shawano IMCA Modified win

By Scott Owen

SHAWANO, Wis. (Aug. 18) – Justin Ritchie has won a number of features at Shawano Speedway, but the former late model track champion scored his first IMCA Modified feature Saturday night.

Cautions plagued the start of the event, but once the race got going Tim Rothe took the lead. Ritchie pursued Rothe until lap three when he made an inside pass to take the lead.

As Ritchie led, the action was hot and heavy behind him as Jason Czarapata, Lance Arneson and Wyatt Block all came from deep in the field to battle for second and third. In the end it was Ritchie making his way to victory lane followed by Czarapata, Block, Arneson and Konnor Wilinski.

Mitch Stankowski returned to victory lane after some time away from the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car division. Lucas Lamberies raced to his seventh local Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod victory of the year ahead of Tyler Sobiesczyk, who finished a career-best second.

shawanospeedway

Shawano pays Saturday night tribute to Weisnicht

By Brandon Reichenberger SHAWANO, Wis. (Aug. 5, 2023) – Mother Nature provided a beautiful night for racing at the legendary half mile Shawano Speedway on Saturday. Opening ceremonies kicked off the action honoring long-time track worker and former racer Scott Weisnicht with “One Final Lap” as he carried the checkered flag in is no. 53 Camaro. Scott was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and to honor him and his contributions, Spectator Eliminators returned to compete in “One Lap for Weisnicht.” Travis Welch and Trent Nolan led the field to the green flag for the 20-lap IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature. Nolan quickly took the lead with Shawn Wagner following Nolan through to second. Jeremy Christians made the pass on Welch to maintain third place. Behind them a fantastic three-car battle between Dylan Stedjee, Dan Michonski and Travis Van Straten was taking place. Lap after lap, they raced three-wide at both ends of the speedway, trading spots back and forth and putting on a show. A mid-race caution stacked the field up and set up [Read More]

Familiar faces in familiar places at Shawano

By Don Rouse SHAWANO, Wis. (May 20, 2023) – On a gorgeous Saturday evening the newly redesigned victory lane at Shawano Speedway powered by Auto Select saw many familiar faces return for week two. Unfortunately, one familiar face we won’t see but will always be here is Donna Dorn who lost her battle to cancer. Her presence and compassion for her favorite drivers and track will forever be with us. In the early laps of the feature for the class called Too Tough To Tame, several IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers found out how tough it was. A nasty crash on the backstretch found Anthony Kotula, Kyle Fredrick, Dan Michonski, Brad Nelson, Jordan Barkholtz, Mitch Stankowski, Tyler Welch all tangled in a wreck. As the caution came out and safety crews attended to the drivers involved with no reported injuries to the drivers there sure was a lot of twisted up sheet metal on the cars involved in the crash. As racing resumed, Vern Stedjee held off the hard-charging Tyler Wendt followed by Trent Nolan, Jeremy Christians and [Read More]

Muenster checks out at Shawano

By Dave Buss SHAWANO, Wis. (May 8) – An IMCA Modified driver who’s been around the track a time or two led the way to the checkers Saturday at Shawano Speedway. Eddie Muenster simply checked out and dominated to the win while Konnor and Jerry Wilinski battled with Jordan Bartz and Kevin Feck for the runner-up spot with positions changing hands lap after lap. Marcus Yarie, fighting mechanical issues all night, had been regulated to the 21st starting position in the feature. Yarie and his crew made the right decisions to get the car right as he drove to the top five. When everything settled out it would be Muenster victorious with Jerry Wilinski grabbing second from his son Konnor. Yarie was fourth with Bartz fifth. The IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars again set the bar for great feature action. Jeremy Christians found himself back in the pack to start the feature with a host of heavy hitters in front of him. At the front of the pack would be an announcer’s nightmare as Mitch Stankowski, Josh Mroczkowski, and [Read More]

Feature

Shawn Natenstedt: A Century of Wins Forged in the Nevada Desert

By Ben Deatherage FERNLEY, Nev. (Oct. 6, 2025) — The desert around Fernley stretches wide and golden, framed by the distant Sierra Nevadas and stitched with the old irrigation canals that turned sagebrush into farmland more than a century ago. Freight trains roll past the cement plant, the hum of Highway 80 in the distance, and every so often, the bark of a race engine echoes from a nearby shop. For Shawn Natenstedt, that sound is home — the rhythm of long nights, late drives, and the relentless pursuit of one more win. That pursuit reached a milestone this summer, when he captured his 100th IMCA-sanctioned victory on August 2 at Lovelock Speedway, earning his place among the prestigious Century Club. “It was a hard feat, but we finally made it happen,” he said. “It didn’t come as soon as I wanted, but when it did, it meant a lot.” Over his career, he’s posted four 10-plus win seasons, including a breakout 17-win campaign in 2010. Since his first sanctioned victory in 2006, he’s collected at [Read More]

Feature

Ashton Thompson: Turning Laps for a Cause

By Ben Deatherage SALEM, Ind. (Oct. 3, 2025) — In the rolling hills of southern Indiana, where small towns dot the countryside and history runs deep, sits Salem. It has become a crossroads town with a courthouse square at its heart and strengthened by generations who rebuilt after every setback. Today, its brick streets and quiet neighborhoods still reflect that heritage of resilience. From this backdrop rises Ashton Thompson’s story — a third-generation racer who has carried her family’s tradition further than ever, chasing speed across the Midwest and now carving her path in the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car division with the Huntley’s Hoosier Winged Sprint Series. A Family Affair “I’m a third-generation racer,” Thompson said with a grin. “My dad told me I had to play a sport when I was six, and I chose racing. We kept it in the family.” Her father, Tyson, and grandfather, Gerald, both ran Mini Sprints on the local scene. Ashton went further, climbing from quarter midgets into Micro Sprints, Midgets, and even developmental series on pavement and road [Read More]

Hobby Stock

Braxton Yeager Wins Modified Thriller and Claims Clash Crown at Desert Thunder

By Ben Deatherage PRICE, Utah (Sept. 27, 2025) — The Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds closed out the Castle County Clash at Desert Thunder Raceway with a barnburner. Waylon Hale led the opening lap before a lap-two caution reset the field. On the restart, Kade Dimick — a two-time Utah State and Desert Thunder Raceway Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod champion — powered into the lead. Dimick controlled the race through another caution on lap seven, setting the pace as Hale kept close. With only a handful of laps left, the leaders entered lapped traffic, and Hale slipped underneath to challenge. Just as the duel heated up, Braxton Yeager joined the mix. Running the high line to perfection, Yeager beat both Dimick and Hale back to the stripe for the dramatic win. Yeager, the 2022 Sweetwater Speedway track champion from Green River, Wyoming, was driving for the Hislop family and clinched the overall Clash crown with the victory. Dimick held on for second, Hale ran third, while Yeager’s father Justen, 2009 Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion, [Read More]

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