By Ben Deatherage
SURPRISE, Ariz. (Oct. 29, 2025) — The road to an IMCA championship was a long one for Casey Murdoch, both literally and figuratively. The Surprise racer earned the EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region Rookie of the Year award in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car division, finished third in Southern Region championship points, and capped the season with a track championship at Cortez Fairgrounds Speedway in Colorado — an impressive feat in a field stacked with veterans across multiple states.
Behind the wheel of the Modern Aerification/Methods LLC/Jason Babyak–Schaeffer’s Racing Oil no. 7X Terminator Chassis, Murdoch tackled 32 sanctioned starts across Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Colorado. The year included two feature wins, 13 podium finishes, and 17 top-five performances, with the Cortez oval becoming a home away from home nearly 400 miles from his driveway.
“We started our year off down at Winter Nationals in Casa Grande and only got to run the first week because I had to go to a wedding in Mexico,” Murdoch said. “We didn’t have the strongest showing, but we made the main event every night.”
“After that we just raced and raced. My buddy talked me into going up to Cortez and checking that place out — he’s been trying to get me to go there a couple of years now. We went up there and had a couple of good nights and ended up racing for the championship during the summer. Pretty much anytime we could race that didn’t interfere with work, we were racing.”
That decision proved pivotal. Murdoch collected both of his victories at Central Arizona Raceway and Cortez Fairgrounds, scoring his first win of the season in early May at Casa Grande before returning to win again at Cortez on July 25, part of a two-night stretch where he also finished fourth the following evening.
From mid-May through early June, Murdoch enjoyed one of the most consistent stretches of his campaign — six consecutive top-five finishes between Cortez, Show Low’s Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway, and Casa Grande. That streak included back-to-back podiums at Deuce of Clubs on May 23–24 and another runner-up finish at Cortez on June 7.
“Cortez is an eight-hour drive for us, so we made that drive all summer,” Murdoch added. “It was fun — everyone we raced with were good people to race with, and they treated us nice.”
Murdoch began his Speedway Motors IMCA career in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod division in 2020, after a few seasons dabbling in local classes, and the move to Stock Cars proved a natural step forward. The Cortez championship marked his first IMCA title since making the transition.
He credited his longtime friend and travel partner for keeping him motivated through the demanding schedule.
“I have to thank Joey Jock — he was my road dog,” Murdoch said. “He keeps me motivated and tells me when to go racing, even during the times when I’m a little too tired to race.”
Murdoch closed out his year with a pair of top-10 finishes at Central Arizona Raceway in September, securing the Southern Region rookie honors on the strength of consistent runs and dedication that spanned hundreds of miles each weekend.
Feature Wins: 2
Total Top Fives: 17
Total Starts: 32
His Pit Crew: Joey Jock, wife Shaunacey, son Jaxon
His Sponsors: Modern Aerification, Methods LLC, Jason Babyak-Schaeffer’s Racing Oil, Lisa Lanham with West USA Reality, Wheat Plumbing Inc., Integrity Drilling, Atkinson Motorsports, B-Ham Signs & Designs, Slick Stick Shocks