By Ben Deatherage
PORTLAND, Mich. (Oct. 21, 2025) — Jeff Reay brought the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified National Championship back to Michigan, steering the Prime Contracting/JBS Coating/Grand Ledge Paving no. 12 Rage Chassis owned by Greg Bower, who he’s driven for the past two seasons, to the 2025 National crown. It’s his first career championship — and the state’s first since Rick Stout in 1995 — earned by just two points.
“At the start of the season I told everyone I wasn’t going to be running for points,” Reay said. “We had a few hiccups at the beginning — broke a couple of parts — but then things started getting better and we had a little luck on our side and found some new speed. We’re working with a car from 2022, so it’s three years old and has 130 nights on it. There were several nights where we didn’t win, but we moved forward after starting at the back and just kept pushing.”
Reay’s on-track consistency soon became the backbone of his championship bid. He made 42 starts and earned 14 feature victories, including seven at I-96 Speedway, five at Crystal Motor Speedway, and two at Mt. Pleasant Speedway. Throughout the summer, he found success in bunches, scoring multiple wins on five different weekends and stringing together long stretches of podium finishes. His mid-season surge featured seven straight victories between late May and mid-July, anchoring a campaign that produced 21 podiums, 29 top-five finishes, and 36 top-tens overall — all but six of his starts ended inside the top ten.
“My crew guy Tyler, in the middle of the season, started mentioning something about points and I told him I didn’t want to even look at them,” Reay said with a laugh. “He’s been a big part of keeping everything going and keeping me going. We started to bop around to different tracks like Mount Pleasant Speedway and I-96 Speedway. We were really good at I-96 — historically I’ve never done the greatest there, but it fit me this year. At Crystal we struggled a little bit, but that’s because the competition has gotten so good in the last three years.”
En route to the national title, Reay also secured the DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Eastern Region crown, the Michigan State championship, and track titles at Crystal and I-96 Speedways. All were first-time achievements for him except Crystal, where he successfully defended his 2024 track championship. He later added a trip east to compete in the NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series event at Woodhull Raceway in New York toward the end of the season.
Jeff Reay earned the 2025 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified National Championship — the first for a Michigan driver in three decades. (Photo by Tom Macht)
“It was awesome to win most of the bigger events between Crystal, I-96, and Mt. Pleasant Speedway this year. We are fortunate for sure — it’s crazy it’s been 30 years since a National champion has come from Michigan.”
“I want to thank I-96 Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway and all of their staff for keeping the tracks running smooth. I wouldn’t have made this possible without the help from my crew — Tyler Henry, Lee Parkouse, Mike Geister, and Tom Heniser — along with my wife Allyson and our boys Kruz and Paxton.”
Feature Wins 14
Total Top Five’s 29
Total Starts 42
His Pit Crew: Tyler Henry, Lee Parkouse, Mike Geister, Tom Heniser, wife Allyson, sons Kruz and Paxton
Sponsors: Bower Racing, Prime Contracting, Grand Ledge Paving, Farm Bureau Insurance, Tommie’s Family Catering, Northern Michigan Forestry, Shine Martin Builders, JBS Coating, Anything With Engines, Forest Restoration, Country Kids Daycare, Michigan Green Leaf Forestry, J & J Motorsports.