BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Race programs at Bakersfield Speedway will feature a fourth IMCA division this season.
Half a dozen dates for newly-sanctioned IMCA STARS Mod Lites are on the schedule at Bakersfield, the first California track to add the class and already a weekly home to IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods.
“We’ve run Mod Lites the last five or six years, the last three years with rules very similar to STARS,” promoter Scott Schweitzer explained. “When we got news that the division would be IMCA, we knew it would be a natural fit for us. It’s an affordable and entertaining class.”
Most of the Mod Lite competitors at Bakersfield are hometown drivers, with a variety of experience represented on track.
“We have a good combination of younger drivers and drivers who have raced a while, took a liking to this class and made the switch,” Schweitzer said. “One of the things that’s unique about it here are the numbers of fathers and sons, and husbands and wives who race Mod Lites.”
IMCA STARS Mod Lites are now scheduled to run March 13, April 10, May 8, June 5, July 17 and Aug. 14 on the 1/3-mile clay oval.
The IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season for Modifieds, Stock Cars and Northern SportMods starts March 6 and continues through Sept. 25. Three visits by touring RaceSaver Sprint Cars are on the schedule as well in 2021.
“IMCA Modifieds have run at Bakersfield since 1990, the SportMods since 2012 and Stock Cars since 2014,” noted Jim Stannard, vice president of operations for the sanctioning body. “IMCA STARS Mod Lites are an exceptional addition to race programs there.”