By Ben Deatherage
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Jun. 19, 2025) — Eston Whisler wasted no time establishing control of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event at Cottage Grove Speedway on Thursday night during IMCA Wild West Speedweek. The 20-year-old racer from Otis, took the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back.
A caution on lap two bunched the field early, but Whisler mastered the lone restart and quickly rebuilt his advantage. As the race stayed green, he encountered lapped traffic by lap 13 and spent the remainder of the 35-lap contest slicing through slower cars.
Behind him, a spirited battle for second unfolded between Kevin Williamson, piloting the Superior Fuel Cell-owned No. 42, and Bricen James in the Schram Motorsports No. 13. James finally cleared Williamson on lap 26, but the 2019 Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion and 2022 Speedweek king was too far back to mount a charge.
Whisler went unchallenged to score his first career Speedweek victory, and his third Shaw Race Cars Western Region triumph of 2025 — all in different states.
James and Williamson completed the podium.
Hidalgo Holds On for Stock Car Score
Mesa, Arizona’s Trevor Hidalgo took the lead on lap two of the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature and never gave it up, despite a number of restarts and heavy pressure from Sid Schott.
Hidalgo, driving the Mike Shea-owned No. 7M, initially took command from Schott early and handled every restart with poise. On a lap 13 restart, Schott threw everything he had at Hidalgo, but the Arizonan found another gear and pulled away once again.
A few more cautions kept the field close, but Hidalgo hit his marks and led the rest of the way for his first-ever IMCA Wild West Speedweek win. The victory was also his first of the 2025 campaign in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region.
Washington’s B.J. Wild, in the Dwayne Klein-owned No. 22K, finished second over his brother-in-law and three-time defending Speedweek champion Chase Berkeley.
Trevor Hidalgo (left) earned his first-ever Speedweek win in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars at Cottage Grove Speedway on June 19. He was joined on the podium by runner-up B.J. Wild (center) and third-place finisher Chase Berkeley (right). (Photo by Jeremy Means)
Sanders Snags 10th Career Speedweek Win
Brookings’ Matt Sanders proved why he’s a past Speedweek and Oregon State champion, adding to his trophy case in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod division.
Sanders worked his way to the front by lap four after early leader Garrett Craig set the pace. He hit lapped traffic by lap 11 but got a break with a lap 14 caution, giving him a clean track the rest of the way.
Despite three late-race restarts, Sanders held strong for his tenth career IMCA Wild West Speedweek victory. It was his seventh win of the 2025 season and second at Cottage Grove Speedway this year.
2023 Oregon State champion Trevor Points crossed the line second, followed by Aaron Bloom in the Schram Motorsports-backed No. 333.
Matt Sanders picked up his tenth career Speedweek victory and second of the 2025 campaign at Cottage Grove Speedway on June 19 in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods. (Photo by Jeremy Means)
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
