By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Pixel Boss Productions)
Casa Grande, Arizona (January 11, 2025)—A packed crowd at Central Arizona Speedway was thrilled by an incredible Friesen Performance IMCA SportMod feature where Jake Smith fended off fierce competitors to claim victory during the fourth round of the 2025 IMCA TV Winter Nationals presented by Pitt Stop Motorsports. This win marked Smith’s first triumph during the Winter Nationals, and he faced a challenging path to victory lane.
The twenty-lap finale began with North Dakota’s Gabe Deschamp surging to the front from the initial start. Deschamp set a steady pace, but as the race continued, the top three competitors began to cluster together around the midway point. Smith and Taylor Kuehl were the two contenders trying to catch the leader.
On lap fourteen, the man from St. Joseph, Minnesota, Smith, executed a brilliant double overtake, diving under Kuehl and Deschamp to take control of the top position. Kuehl managed to pass Deschamp and entered second place, putting pressure on Smith from the high side.
The two drivers battled through heavy lapped traffic, but he held on every time, even though it seemed that Smith would lose the coveted position.
Despite two late-race stoppages, Smith, starting from third, mastered the restarts and crossed the finish line first.
Kuehl finished in second place, while Iowa’s Cole Suckow secured third.
Also in attendance were competitors in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Ricky Alvarado, Braden Richards, Dillon Richards, and Billy Foultz emerged victorious in those four main events.
The IMCA Modified feature was a non-stop affair. Ricky Alvarado from Hotchkiss, Colorado, dominated the race, launching ahead of the competition from the very start.
Maintaining a fast pace, Alvarado encountered lapped traffic ten laps in. He faced challenges while navigating slower cars but made several key critical decisions while navigating the slower cars, remaining determined to stay in front and cross the line first.
This victory was particularly emotional for Alvarado as it marked his first career Winter Nationals main event win. Defending champion Chaz Baca Jr. finished second. Dylan Thorton, the 2024 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals winner, battled for third and ultimately secured the position with less than ten laps to go.
Braden Richards returned to winning form in the IMCA Stock Cars. Starting strong, the driver from Madrid, Iowa, faced heavy traffic that nearly caused him to crash into the outside retaining wall.
Fortunately for Richards, a couple of late cautions cleared the track ahead of him. On the final restart, he maintained a quick pace and earned the win, marking his second victory of the week and his career at the Winter Nationals.
Justin Luinenburg from Minnesota executed a great restart to finish second, while Mike Albertsen from Iowa completed the podium in third.
The IMCA Hobby Stock main event was again the “Dillon & Dillon Show.” Beatrice, Nebraska’s Dillon Richards, took off quickly but eventually attracted an ultra-competitive Dillon Thompson.
The two drivers raced at full speed and nearly bumper to bumper along the high side of the 3/8-mile clay oval, but despite Thompson’s best efforts, Richards maintained his lead.
With the victory, Dillon Richards has three wins at the 2025 Winter Nationals and six in his career with the series.
Thompson finished a respectable second, followed by Nathan DeRagon, the defending B&B Racing Chassis Southern Region, Arizona State, and Central Arizona Raceway champion, who secured third.
Lastly, the IMCA Sport Compacts raced for the championship in their final event of the winter series. Chris Boulware led initially, but Billy Foultz surpassed him following a restart a few laps later.
Foultz lost the lead on lap six during another restart, allowing Gilbert Aldape to take over. However, Foultz regrouped, caught up to Aldape, and regained the lead on lap eight.
Foultz, from Descanso, California, clinched his third win of the week, marking his fifth career Winter Nationals feature victory— making him the all-time win leader in this event.
Aldape and Jaxon Sanchez finished second and third, respectively. Aldape, hailing from Sioux City, Iowa, was crowned the 2025 Winter Nationals champion when all was said and done.
The entire event was broadcast live on IMCA TV.
