Foul forecast washes out Batesville

By Mike Spieker BATESVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 27) – Kyle Strickler backed up his overall quick time qualifying run on Tuesday with a dominating performance in Wednesday night’s Race For Hope 74 IMCA Modified preliminary feature. The Mooresville, N.C., driver started in the middle of the front row for the three-wide start, which ran 10 rows deep. Strickler jumped out to the lead on the opening lap as Wendell Wallace and Steven Bowers Jr. settled into second and third, respectively. Strickler quickly opened up a full straightaway lead by lap five, while Wallace and Bowers fought for the runner-up position. As Strickler approached lapped traffic at the midway point of the 25-lap event, he didn’t waste any time getting around slower cars. The two-time IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s champion made a three-wide pass around two lapped cars that were battling for position as he continued to stretch out his lead over Wallace. Strickler was still battling heavy lapped traffic as the race advanced to the closing stage but he held a steady [Read More]

BENTON, Ark. (Aug. 10, 2024) – The smile in victory lane belonged to Dustin Stuart. The smile the next morning belonged to his daughter Scarlette. Stuart won Saturday’s IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Batesville Motor Speedway, his first sanctioned checkers since 2021. After a two-hour tow home to Benton, the trophy went straight to the bedroom of six-year-old Scarlette, who woke up to find it early … too early … the next morning. “She came in our bedroom, jumped on top of me and said ‘You got me a trophy!’ She was ecstatic,” said Stuart. “We’d gotten home about three in the morning and this was at 8 a.m. I wasn’t ready to get woken up quite that early.” A five-time feature winner and the first-ever Stock Car state champion crowned in Arkansas in 2020, Stuart dialed up GRT and inquired about getting a new car after realizing he’d be eligible to qualify for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Race of Champions. He picked up that ride, the first one [Read More]

By Mike Spieker BATESVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 29) – IMCA Modified entries topped the 130 mark and traveled from more than 20 states and Canada for Mark Martin’s second annual Race For Hope 74 at Batesville Mo­tor Speedway Troutman, N.C.s Kyle Strickler, already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, led the dis­tance en route to Saturday’s $20,000 payday. Defending race winner Ricky Thornton Jr. and Jor­dan Grabouski completed the top three. A purse of more than $150,000 was paid to the 28 main event qualifiers Qualifying feature winners Thornton, Strickler and Grabouski, made up the front row for the three-wide start. Thornton placed his bid for the lead on an early restart but Strickler had the momen­tum down the back straightaway to hold the point. Behind the leaders, Grabouski and Chase Allen swapped the third spot on lap four, with Grabouski holding onto the position. The bottom became the preferred groove for the entire field as the race approached the lap 40 fuel stop. Thornton slipped from second to fourth following the lap 35 restart [Read More]