By Ben Deatherage
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Sept. 21, 2024) – In sheer dominance, defending Friesen Performance IMCA Modified national champion Chaz Baca put together a fantastic drive Saturday at Central Arizona Raceway.
He seized the race lead from the very start of the feature and built a nearly six second advantage over the second-place finisher, securing his 26th open-wheeled victory of the season.
Marvin Mueller and Bill Miller were second and third, respectively.
Five other Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing divisions attended the Pinal County Fairgrounds 3/8-mile clay oval. They included the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts.
Winners were Bo Partain, Eric Winemiller, Nathan DeRagon, A.J. Whisler and Steve Carter.
Partain made the high side work in his favor in the Stock Car main as he grabbed the torch and ran away from the rest of the field. Frustratingly, he did have to deal with three stoppages, which didn’t allow him to get too far ahead, but it also eliminated the chance of thick-lapped traffic coming into the mix. The Casa Grande chauffeur had a comfortable margin of victory on his way to the checkers.
Ryan Roath and Jacob Pace had an intense battle for second place on the final restart, but Roath eventually secured the advantage.
Winemiller put on a clinic in the IMCA Northern SportMod finale. Despite a trio of stoppages and occasional challenges, the hometown driver had no issues as he cruised to the triumph, his first of the year, which just happened to help him secure the track championship.
The race for second came down to the last lap, with Dylan Jones holding on to the position. From the 21st, Andy Clower charged hard to earn a respectable third.
DeRagon’s victory in the Hobby Stock feature was a testament to his perseverance. Despite having to deal with three yellow flag periods, he, like all the other racers, had no issues on the restarts. The green-white-checkered finale put all the marbles on the line, but the Peoria pilot mastered it, showcasing his determination and skill on the track.
Darrin Biggs successfully held back Mark Farnes to finish second.
Michael Phay got off to a great start in the Mod Lite main event and started to walk away. A lap seven red flag incident would bunch everyone up and set up a shootout for the lead. Coming from 10th, Whisler ran down Phay to get under him on lap nine at the flag stand to become the new leader.
Whisler had a motivated Brendon Priest trying to track him down, but the challenger ran out of time.
Priest was a close second, followed by third-finishing Brandi Bender.
Lastly, Carter took care of business in the Sport Compacts. However, it was not without its challenges, as Mike Giorgianni came to call, and the two battled hard. Carter eventually secured the trailblazing position.
Curtis Harms placed second, with third going to Savannah Rice.
IMCA.TV broadcast the event.
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