Larson rolls out banner for 100th IMCA Modified win

Feature, Modified

Jeff Larson became the first driver from Illinois with 100 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified career wins when he took the Sunday night checkers at East Moline Speedway. (Courtesy Photo)

FREEPORT, Ill. (Aug. 13, 2023) – Jeff Larson was beginning to wonder if they’d ever get to roll out that Friesen Performance IMCA Modified 100 Wins banner.

The answer became a resounding yes on Sunday night.

From Freeport, Larson became the 69th driver in division history, and the first from Illinois, to reach the 100 career win mark Sunday night at East Moline Speedway.

“We weren’t running for points at the start of the season. I knew we were getting close but didn’t know how close we were until IMCA called me,” Larson said following his 14th checkers of 2023 in a TCE Team car. “Once we found out it became a goal we wanted to get to.”

“Getting 100 IMCA wins was not ever a goal back when we started,” noted Larson, who’d become a first-time IMCA Modified winner in 2016. “We never kept track of all our wins when we started racing. Now I wish we would have.”

The wins started to accumulate with 15 in 2019. He followed with 22 checkers and the national runner-up finish in 2020.

Larson then totaled 35 W’s in earning the national championship in 2021, becoming just the 18th Modified driver with national crowns and 100 or more career wins on their IMCA resume.

“That’s special. I look at the list of names of drivers who have done it and there’s definitely a good feeling to be one of them,” he said.

Larson’s wins this season have come at Maquoketa Speedway, Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway and Lafayette County Speedway in addition to East Moline. The Razor Chassis North Central Region title contender has another 13 top five finishes in his 37 starts thus far.

“I’m glad to get this win out of the way. We had a tough couple nights (finishing fourth and the 12th) before we got it,” he said. “We weren’t looking at national or regional points at the beginning of the season so we’ll see how the rest of the year goes. We may have to do some traveling to get up there.”

Larson is the sixth IMCA driver, and the third Modified driver, to reach the 100 career win mark this season.

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