Former champion Ward gets first IMCA Dakota Tour Modified win

Feature, Modified, Stock Car

2021 tour champion Tim Ward became a first-time IMCA.TV Dakota Classic Tour winner Saturday night, leading start to finish in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event at Jamestown Speedway. (Photo by Byron Fichter)

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (July 8, 2023) – Tim Ward has already won an IMCA.TV Dakota Classic Modified Tour championship.

Now he’s won an IMCA.TV Dakota Classic Modified Tour feature.

Ward drew the pole and led all 30 laps of the 34th annual tour opener for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds Saturday at Jamestown Speedway, outrunning 10th starting Travis Hagen to the $2,000 checkers.

“We finally got a win,” said Ward, twice a runner-up while en route to the 2021 tour title. ”It’s so tough to win on this tour. There are a lot of good cars here, a lot of good drivers, and it all worked out for me.”

Drew Janssen, Jason Wolla and Kollin Hibdon were next across the stripe. Hibdon won his ‘B’ feature and completed the top five from 16th starting.

Ward ran ahead of Cody Laney and Kyle Strickler while Wolla lurked close behind in the early going. Two-time and defending champion Tom Berry Jr. was up to fourth before he saw his string of six straight tour wins come to an end, pulling into the infield with mechanical issues on lap 13.

Ward and Laney ran three-wide with a lapped car before the lap 20 caution that led to upsetting the top five applecart.

Laney and Strickler got together on the ensuing restart, Laney falling back to fifth and Strickler falling out of the race altogether. Hagen, Janssen and Wolla all moved up, with Hibdon motoring into fifth with four laps to go.

No one, however, had anything for Ward as he took the checkers 1.2 seconds ahead of Hagen. The win was his Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying 15th since Jan. 4.

Rob VanMil earned $1,000 and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star qualifying eligibility, leading the last 17 of 25 laps in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main.

He’d passed 2022 tour champion Trent Grager following a lap eight restart. The race stayed green from that point and VanMil led Grager, Angel Munoz, 2021 tour champ Zachary Madrid and Austin Daae into and through lapped traffic as the race wound down.

A long green flag run ended with Rob VanMil taking the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers in the Saturday night IMCA.TV Dakota Tour opener at Jamestown Speedway. (Photo by Byron Fichter)

“This win means a lot to me,” VanMil said following his first Dakota Tour triumph. “We’ve put a lot of work into this for the last year. We have worked really hard for this.”

More than 100 cars from 15 states and Canada saw action Saturday at Jamestown.

Round two of the Dakota Classic Tour is Sunday, July 9 at Nodak Speedway in Minot. All six race programs are broadcast by SPEED SPORT.TV affiliate IMCA.TV.

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