Sanction is new for IMCA Mod Lites at Missouri’s Benton Speedway

BENTON, Mo. (March 20, 2024) – The slogan at Benton Speedway is You Name It, We Race It.

Beginning this season, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites will race at the Missouri track, located two hours from St. Louis on Interstate 55, in the southeast tip of the Show-Me State.

The sanctioned class will run two Saturdays a month from April 13 to Sept. 28.

“We had Mod Lites here six nights last year, averaged about 15 cars a night and had 28 of them for our special event at the end of the season,” said promoter Justin Johnson. “We want to build this class more in Southeast Missouri and felt that sanctioning was the best way to do that. Collaborating with Friday night tracks means drivers in the area will be able to race twice a week.”

“There are a good chunk of drivers in east Central Missouri,” he added. “We’ll definitely pull drivers from Arkansas and there’s another good group in Southern Illinois.”

The Johnson family farmed nearby and donated the gumbo for the 3/8-mile oval when the track was built in the early 1990s.

Owner Rob Russell originally purchased the land in 2020 with the idea of building a subdivision and realized the potential of the 90-acre property that now includes an infield go kart track, 1/8-mile dragstrip, motocross track and lake to accommodate jet ski racing.

Johnson’s father was a track champion at Benton Speedway in the 1990s. One of the richest events of the season for STARS Mod Lite drivers will be the $5,057 to win Terry Johnson Memorial Mid America Mod Lite Nationals on Aug. 10.

“The whole IMCA package was an attraction, the points, the sanction and the rules,” Johnson said. “We feel there is a good umbrella package for everyone.”