By Ben Deatherage
JEFFERSON, S.D. (Jun. 7, 2025) — A new era begins at Park Jefferson International Speedway as the RTI Nationals shifts its spotlight to the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, which headline this year’s program with a lucrative $5,000-to-win and $250-to-start main event on Sunday, June 15.
“The RTI Nationals has historically been a SportMod show, and they’re still a big part of the program going for good money,” said Park Jefferson promoter Wayne Becker. “But this year we wanted to try something different and give the Stock Cars a major spotlight. We’ve never had a big Stock Car show since I’ve owned the place, and we want to make it great.”
Other divisions also enjoy strong payouts, with Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Late Models, and SportMods each racing for $1,000 to win. The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts will also be in action, competing for a $500 winner’s share.
All divisions except Stock Cars will use the draw/redraw format. The Stock Car class will feature a single set of heat races with lineups determined by passing points.
Sunday’s event will also showcase a significantly reconfigured Park Jefferson layout. The speedway was reduced from a 3/8-mile to a 1/4-mile after the conclusion of last summer’s points season and just ahead of the track’s fall special events.
Additional refinements were made this spring.
“We found a few flaws with our new layout and made some adjustments,” Becker said. “We added banking coming out of turn two, GPS-graded the whole track using dozers and graders, and used a LiDAR drone to engineer the surface.”
Additional upgrades include a 30-foot-wide flat safety zone around all corners, new escape routes for exiting, and regraded slopes to eliminate reverse banking issues. Drainage improvements were installed to prevent standing water, and 500 new bleacher seats were added to the backstretch.
Pits will open at 3 on race day, with grandstands opening at 4:3. Hot laps are scheduled for 5:30, and racing begins at 6.
The event is presented by Riverside Technologies Inc., a longtime supporter of the RTI Nationals. Entry fees are $155 for Stock Cars, $55 for Modifieds, Late Models, and SportMods, $35 for Hobby Stocks, and $25 for Compacts. Pit passes are $35.
Every lap of the RTI Nationals will be broadcast live on IMCA.TV. For more event information, visit ParkJeff.com or follow the Park Jefferson Speedway Facebook page.
