Wright wins battle, Lindeman wins war at Marysville

By Ben Deatherage MARYSVILLE, Calif. (April 2, 2022) – IMCA Northern SportMods were back on track at Marysville Raceway and Yuba City speedster Jimmy Ford made his way to victory lane following the Saturday night 20-lapper. Shaun Merritt captured the top spot when the green flag dropped. The race saw eight total stoppages taking place and five in the first five laps. Merritt was heavily challenged by Scott Savell on several restarts, going as far as taking the lead only for the pass to be negated due to yellow flags.   After Merritt spun on a restart, Savell inherited the lead on lap five. Savell himself, unfortunately, would get sideways on a lap 12 restart, relinquishing first place to Ford, piloting the Scott Kaams-owned entry, who then had to hold off a quick Damian Merritt.   Ford kept Merritt in check to pick up the victory while Shaun Merritt recovered to third. Hunter Merritt placed fourth over Savell. 

By Ben Deatherage MARYSVILLE, Calif. (June 1, 2024) – Mark Garner’s second win of the season at Marysville Raceway came following his pass for the front of the final lap of Saturday’s Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event. The feature kicked off with Shaun Merritt taking an early lead and setting a blistering pace with Garner hot on his heels. Merritt’s strategic use of the middle portion of the racing surface proved to be formidable and as Garner’s efforts were thwarted, it opened a window for Ray Lindeman to challenge for the runner-up position.   The first stoppage, on the ninth circuit, bunched the field up and give Merritt an open track to work with. When the green flag returned, Garner got a brilliant run down the back stretch on lap 13, getting beside Merritt but just unable to complete the pass. A pair of yellows occurred with a few laps left, setting up a thrilling shootout. Garner tried again to get the necessary run on Merritt, but the leader was just a little bit better [Read More]

By Ben Deatherage MARYSVILLE, Calif. (Aug. 3, 2024) – Marysville Raceway welcomed the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods to the historic 1/4-mile clay oval Saturday night. Shannon Barton took the marshal’s baton early in the main event. Despite a number of cautions in the first five laps, Barton was good on the restarts. After a stoppage on the fourth circuit, Scott Savell battled hard with Mike Ficklin Jr. Misfortune struck on lap eight when Savell came to a halt, bringing an early end to his evening. When the green flag reappeared, the race was back on. Ficklin overtook Barton for the lead and flew around the track while Barton was put on the defense as he tried to stay ahead of Mark Garner.   Garner got around Barton, but the pass was negated due to the race’s last caution with four to go.  Garner managed to get around Barton again on the restart, but no one had anything for Ficklin as he went on to win his first race in 2024. Garner was a strong [Read More]