August 22, 2025

$10,000-to-Win Survive The 55 Returns to Skagit Speedway

By Ben Deatherage

ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 21, 2025) — One of the biggest Friesen Performance IMCA Modified shows in the Pacific Northwest returns this fall as Skagit Speedway hosts Survive The 55, presented by Mel Decker Racing, on Friday and Saturday, September 26–27.

IMCA Modifieds headline the weekend with a $10,000-to-win main event. The feature also pays $500 to start, with additional $500 awards for longest tow, hard charger, top local car, and best appearing car/crew. A special Fuel Cell Giveaway courtesy of Superior Fuel Cells will also be part of the program.

A complimentary private invitation lunch will be served at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday for drivers, crews, and families as a thank-you to the competitors who make the journey. The meal also serves as a recognition of Mel Decker, the first IMCA Modified track champion at Skagit in 1997, who has been instrumental in the growth of this event and in supporting countless drivers over the years. While Decker is scaling back the level of his sponsorship, he will remain a key part of Survive The 55 and the Skagit Speedway racing community.

Since its inception, Survive The 55 has been dominated by Oregon talent. Past winners include Jon DeBenedetti (2022), Grey Ferrando (2023), and Tom Berry Jr. (2024). Although Berry now calls Iowa home, he originally hails from the southern part of that state. An additional $1,000 bonus has been posted for any driver able to break that streak in 2025.

Drivers from across the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and several neighboring states are expected to converge on Skagit for this prestigious event.

Product sponsors include Triple X Race Co., Speedmart Inc., Superior Fuel Cells, and Joe’s Racing Products.

More details, including format, contingencies, and further event information, will be released soon.

SkagitSpeedway

Berry survives, thrives at Skagit IMCA special

ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 28, 2024) – He was in racing a borrowed car at a track he’d never been to before, but his Saturday night results were familiar to Tom Berry Jr. Berry returned to his Pacific Northwest roots, topping the $10,000 to win Skagit Aggregates Survive the 55 main event for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Skagit Speedway. “It was nice to get back and see a lot of people I haven’t seen for a while,” said the Oregon native, who raced out of North Dakota before moving his dirt track operation to Central Iowa eight year ago. “The facility is very nice and I got to race against a lot of different cars.” “This is the third time I’ve won a race that paid $10,000,” continued Berry, who took home the same amount for winning the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s in 2022, “so this has to rank right up there. There were a lot of tough cars here.” Berry fell back to fourth early in the 55-lapper before starting [Read More]

Westergard scores IMCA Modified checkers at Skagit

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 3, 2024) – Skagit Speedway witnessed the return of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and the return of Jeff Westergard to the top step of the podium Saturday night. Greg Hibma took control at the start before car owner Ben Gunderson swept pass to collect the lead at the end of the second circuit. Brandon Nutter worked his way up to second, dispatching Hibma the fourth time around the flag stand. After a restart from a lap four caution, the battle for the runner-up spot became a three-car affair between Nutter, Hibma and Rick Smith. That tussle was put on ice, however, by a multi-car get-together on the backstretch. Things got spicy when racing returned to green as Nutter had to deal with the likes of Smith and Westergard. With neither party having a distinct advantage, Smith went to work the upper portion of the track and performed a brilliant double overtake to obtain second on lap six, with Westergard following him a short time later. Eventually, a [Read More]

DeBenedetti makes rare Skagit visit pay with $10,000 IMCA Survive the 55 victory

ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 24, 2022) – After picking his way through lapped traffic, Jon DeBenedetti picked up a $10,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified paycheck. The Rogue River, Ore., driver made a rare visit to Skagit Speedway pay off big time on Saturday night, leading the last half of the Survive the 55 special at Alger. “At this point in my career, to be at the top of my game pushing 25 years and win this race is really special,” said DeBenedetti, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “To come up here and be able to go against the best of the Pacific Northwest means a lot.” SDMF Chassis teammate Jesse Williamson was next to the checkers in the 55-lapper. Eston Whisler, Bricen James and Ian Whisler rounded out the top five. DeBenedetti was making just his second career start at Skagit after a runner-up finish in a weekly show there eight years ago and compared the Alger oval to Arkansas’ Batesville Motor Speedway. “It’s a very racy place,” he said. “I [Read More]

2025 Super Nationals

Kristi Dorn: From the Bighorn to Boone’s Super Nationals

By Ben Deatherage HARDIN, Mont. (Aug. 22, 2025) — The wide plains of Montana stretch endlessly toward the horizon, where the Bighorn River winds past fields of wheat and the ghosts of history linger at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. It’s a land where distances are measured in hours, where weather can change in a heartbeat, and where determination is the price of survival. It’s here, in the small town of Hardin along I-90, that Kristi Dorn is finally chasing a dream she’s carried since childhood. At 8 years old in Louisiana, watching her father rumble around a local short track, she knew she wanted to race. For decades that dream waited — through family, loss, work, and raising children. This summer, at 46, she strapped into a Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact, the no. 34DD, for the very first time. Her story is one of persistence and survival. From Louisiana roots to Montana resilience, from heartbreak to triumph, Kristi Dorn is proof that it’s never too late to climb into the driver’s seat. Love and Loss Steel [Read More]

Events

$10,000-to-Win Survive The 55 Returns to Skagit Speedway

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 21, 2025) — One of the biggest Friesen Performance IMCA Modified shows in the Pacific Northwest returns this fall as Skagit Speedway hosts Survive The 55, presented by Mel Decker Racing, on Friday and Saturday, September 26–27. IMCA Modifieds headline the weekend with a $10,000-to-win main event. The feature also pays $500 to start, with additional $500 awards for longest tow, hard charger, top local car, and best appearing car/crew. A special Fuel Cell Giveaway courtesy of Superior Fuel Cells will also be part of the program. A complimentary private invitation lunch will be served at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday for drivers, crews, and families as a thank-you to the competitors who make the journey. The meal also serves as a recognition of Mel Decker, the first IMCA Modified track champion at Skagit in 1997, who has been instrumental in the growth of this event and in supporting countless drivers over the years. While Decker is scaling back the level of his sponsorship, he will remain a key part of [Read More]

Mod Lite

Beast of the East Showdown Delivers Full Slate of Mod Lite Action in 2025

By Ben Deatherage BREWERTON, N.Y. (Aug. 21, 2025) — For the first time in its young history, the Beast of the East Showdown for the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites was completed in full, with all scheduled race nights run and 36 drivers from six states and two Canadian provinces taking part. After rain claimed two of the three scheduled races in the inaugural 2024 edition, the 2025 Showdown bounced back with a three-race points-paying slate. The addition of Weedsport Speedway helped fill out the weekend, and the expanded schedule drew a deep and competitive field that kept fans on their feet all weekend long. The New York contingent defended their home turf in the opener on Friday, August 15, at Brewerton Speedway, where Justin Williams scored the victory over fellow Empire State drivers Zack Babcock and Matt Kitts. The following night, Saturday, August 16, Jaedon McDowell of Tennessee broke up the homestate dominance by claiming the win at Fulton Speedway. McDowell bested Joe Isabell and Kyle Demo, who gave New York strong representation on [Read More]

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