By Ben Deatherage
BELLEVUE, Neb. (Oct. 21, 2025) — A season that began with frustration turned into one of redemption and resolve for Zach Zeitner, who capped his 2025 campaign by earning his first-ever IMCA Sunoco Late Model National Championship. Zeitner becomes the fourth driver from Nebraska since 1949 to earn IMCA’s Late Model national crown, joining 1996 winner Kyle Berck, 2000 champion Jason Friesen, and Cory Dumpert, who won the last six titles from 2019 through 2024.
Driving the Zeitner & Sons Refrigerated Transport/Blaha Service/Select Auto no. 76 Infinity Chassis, the Bellevue racer powered to 16 feature victories in 38 starts, collecting track titles at Park Jefferson, Crawford County, and Shelby County Speedways. The Shelby County crown marked his third in four years, adding to championships won there in 2022 and 2024. Entering the season with 10 career IMCA feature wins, Zeitner more than doubled his lifetime total in 2025 — his most successful season yet under Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly sanctioning.
“It’s a pretty big accomplishment,” Zeitner said. “This sport is very humbling. We started the year with a new chassis and shock package, got an early win, then had four straight DNFs. It felt like dark clouds were over us — not from mistakes, just bad luck. I told my dad, ‘We’ve got big goals; maybe this is our rough stretch early.’ From there, we just kept grinding.”
Once the team found its rhythm, Zeitner reeled off wins in bunches, notching multiple victories on five different weekends and finishing inside the top five in nearly every outing through the summer. A blistering mid-season stretch saw him win five times in June alone, while a late-summer surge in August and September — highlighted by five victories in six starts to close the year.
Zach Zeitner earned his first career Sunoco IMCA Late Model National championship in 2025. (Photo by Tom Macht)
“My dad fixed it just in time,” Zeitner recalled. “We started 12th, and I had to pass some great racers for the win. It was one of those nights where everything finally went our way.”
Among those competitors was close friend and six-time national champion Cory Dumpert, whose dominance had defined the division for the past six seasons. The two share mutual respect on and off the track. “Cory and I talk a lot,” Zeitner said. “He’s always been helpful and positive. He told me at some point this year, ‘When it’s your year, it’s your year.’ Coming from him, that meant a lot.”
Zeitner’s season produced 25 podiums, 32 top-five finishes, and 35 top-tens, reflecting the precision and perseverance that defined his title chase. His 16 feature wins came across five different tracks — five at Park Jefferson, four at Shelby County, three at Crawford County, three at U.S. 30, and one at Davenport Speedway.
Feature Wins 16
Total Top Five’s 32
Total Starts 38
His Pit Crew: Dad Al, Travis Meyer, Ryan Dessel, Ron Goeschel, Carl Clark, Chad Simonson, Cousin Justin
His Sponsors: Zeitner & Sons Refrigerated Transport, Blaha Service, Select Auto, SSS Motorsports, Factory CS, Ward Fabrication, Shadow Lake Collision Center, T-Dogg, Capital Signs