By Ben Deatherage
VINTON, Iowa (Apr. 10, 2026) — The Southern Touring IMCA Modified Series enters a new era in 2026, rebranded as STIMS and presented by On Demand Shirts, with a 16-race schedule, a boosted points fund, and every feature paying at least $1,000 to win.
The series, formerly known as the South Texas IMCA Modified Series, continues to spotlight Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds and has already completed its first two races of the season at Texana Raceway Park in March, where strong car counts and a pair of different winners helped set the tone for the year ahead.
Each race serves as a qualifier for the Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational to be held during September’s Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. All races from March through September also award National, GRT Race Cars South Central Region, and Texas State points.
James Cole now steps into the spotlight as series director after working behind the scenes last season, helping shape the direction of the tour as it continues to grow.
“I love racing and the community that’s built around it. My Dad got me started 30 years ago when I was 14, starting on dirt tracks, then to asphalt tracks across the country, and back to short track dirt racing. I’ve had to spend a lot of time working as the company has grown a lot over the last 25 years, so I didn’t get back into racing until the last several years,” Cole said.
“As I started coming back around, I had quite a few friends and fellow drivers asked, ‘Didn’t you used to print shirts?’ and the same story would come out of how long it would take to get artwork, much less finished product in their hands from anywhere. Well, long story short, On Demand Shirts was born to not only solve those problems but be able to give back to racing in many forms as well.”
“When the Hortch family started the series a few years ago, there was nothing around here for the Modifieds. They had some traction but needed to move on with some personal things after year one, at the same time wanting the series to thrive. They kept asking me for three months, and I kept saying no, I couldn’t do it because I was overloaded with both my businesses. I eventually gave in when I was presented with a series director promising to run all of it while I stayed behind the scenes handling the marketing side and expenses, that it would be okay.”
“Although I feel we had a good season last year, I told myself I only wanted to get involved if we can give the drivers and fans a great experience. So, I knew the approach needed to be treated just like a business where you must have the right leadership and people in place to do anything truly special. I was lucky and able to put a great leadership team together last October that has true passion in everything they do for racing. Nick Robbins, Rachel Stewart, and I have been working non-stop over the offseason to do our best in taking this series to another level making all our drivers heroes for our fans!”
Cole said the long-term vision is to strengthen IMCA Modified racing in general while also increasing the value of each event for teams and fans alike. He added they’ve also added some huge assets on race day with Kody Hardage and Cody Beddoe, which bring a lot of experience to STIMS as well.
“There’s currently a lot more interest from different tracks, which is exciting. We hope as the season continues with this extremely tight competition, the extra touches of giveaways with driver and fan interactions will all bring more interested marketing partners. We are doing our best to put more money into the series, whether it’s more start money, win money, or doing more things to bring entertainment value.”
The 2026 STIMS points fund will award $3,000 to the champion, along with a champion’s jacket, a Rush Race Gear by Austin Witt 10×20 canopy, free On Demand Shirts custom shirt design, and a STIMS driver bag.
The runner-up receives $2,000, a second place jacket, 24 custom ODS racer hats, Rush Race Gear by Austin Witt custom gloves, and a driver’s bag.
Third place pays $1,000 and includes a third-place jacket, 12 custom ODS racer hats, and a driver’s bag.
Fourth place in points earns $750 plus 12 custom ODS racer hats and a STIMS driver bag, while fifth receives $600, free ODS custom shirt design, and a driver bag.
Sixth through tenth in points will pay $500, $400, $350, $300, and $250, respectively.
Rookie of the Year will receive a Rush Race Gear by Austin Witt custom platinum firesuit and a STIMS driver bag.
The 2026 STIMS schedule opened March 13-14 with the Texana Two-Step at Texana Raceway Park.
The tour continues April 10 at Heart O’ Texas Speedway and April 11 at Cotton Bowl Speedway, then heads to 105 Motor Speedway on April 25 and I-37 Speedway on May 16.
Heart O’ Texas and Cotton Bowl again host back-to-back races June 12-13, followed by Cotton Bowl on July 25 and Texana Raceway Park on August 8.
Rocket Raceway Park hosts the Bryan Mize Memorial with an increased purse on September 4-5, before I-37 Speedway closes the championship points season September 25-26.
The final two races of the year are set for October 9-10 at Cotton Bowl Speedway, for the season finale.
For more information and updates, follow STIMS on Facebook.
