EAST MOLINE, Ill. (Feb. 1, 2023) – Last season, Chuck Hanna wanted to take a trophy home from his Sunday night race at East Moline Speedway.
This season, he’ll be helping hand them out.
Hanna, a long-time IMCA Sunoco Late Model driver, takes over as promoter of the 1/4 -mile dirt oval, where five sanctioned divisions return to Speedway Motors Weekly Racing programs in 2023.
“Ultimately, we want to improve this facility and work closely with the fair board to make the changes to keep it successful in the future,” Hanna said.
“We’re going to add dirt to the racing surface, do terrace work outside turns one and two, and change some of the existing fencing around to help race car traffic flow in the pits,” he continued. “We will do some painting, update the signage and concessions, and are also looking at an earlier start time.”
The upcoming point season at East Moline runs from April 23 to Aug. 27 and weekly shows feature the IMCA Late Models for a 20th consecutive season.
Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and IMCA STARS Mod Lites complete the sanctioned slate of classes.
“IMCA fits the needs of all our racers. They have a good rules package and point funds,” said Hanna, IMCA’s national Late Model rookie of the year in 2012. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel here writing rules because IMCA’s are consistent and they keep racing affordable.
East Moline Speedway has three memorial events on its upcoming schedule, the June 18 Mike Mix Memorial, the July 2 Ron Gustaf Memorial and the July 30 Greg Durbin Memorial.
The county fair show is July 18.
Modified points earned at East Moline figure in IMCA’s Razor Chassis North Central Region, Hobby Stock points in the Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region.
