ELDRED, Pa. (May 31, 2023) – The not infrequent chats Close Racing Supply owner Joel Smith had with customer Jake Maynard frequently covered the topics of IMCA and Modifieds in general and IMCA Modifieds in particular.
Those conversations ultimately led Close to taking on the title sponsor role for the then-new NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series three years ago. The Eldred, Pa., suspension component manufacturer and high performance parts retailer provides a portion of the point fund and helps Maynard, now the tour director, keep connected with other NY-Penn sponsors.
“We have serviced the dirt track industry for more than 25 years and have always been in Modifieds. We’ve had some very good IMCA drivers come out of this area over the years,” Smith said. “We do a lot of traveling and get to Iowa for Super Nationals every year.”
“I like everything about IMCA, especially the rules,” he continued. “Everything is done right.”
Doing everything right was Maynard’s goal when he took over at the helm of the tour, and as director of the Eastern Region for Modifieds in 2021.
A Friesen Performance IMCA Modified driver since 2012, Maynard has been a proponent for competitive and economical racing since his Day One in the division.
The Close Racing Supply NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series presented by M.R. Grafix has a dozen dates at nine different tracks in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Every tour feature, including the recently added show at Clinton County Speedway featuring Ken Schrader, pays a minimum of $1,000 to win.
“Jake is a customer of mine with a passion for Modified racing, and I feel he’s done a good job,” Smith said. “When he tossed the idea of being the title sponsor around, I jumped at it. I wanted to be a part of it and help out.”
Close recently moved into a 10,000 square foot building and maintains an extensive inventory of parts for IMCA Modified, Late Model and Stock Car customers.
More information about those parts is available at closeracingsupply.com, on Facebook or by calling 814 225-3250.
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