Ankrum Fends Off Malasek in Wild Hobby Stock Finish at Park Jefferson

Hobby Stock, Modified, News, Northern SportMod, Results, Sport Compact, Stock Car

Zach Ankrum celebrates in victory lane after scoring a hard-fought Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock win at Park Jefferson Speedway on May 1. The Sioux City driver earned his second B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the 2026 season. (Photo by Purdy Photography)

By Chance Riley

JEFFERSON, S.D. (May 1, 2026) — It was a chilly one Friday, but the racing action was hot at Park Jefferson Speedway, where the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks put on a show in their 16-lap A main.

Ninth-starting Zach Ankrum of Sioux City charged to his second win of the year at the track and in the B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region, but not without a fight. Birthday boy Cody Malasek, who turned 15, stormed back from the rear after an early incident and threw a last-lap slide job in a bid for the win, coming up just short. Wyatt Johnson charged from 14th to finish third, while Ben Schneiders and Steven Taylor rounded out the top five.

Sioux City’s Tyler Thompson made it back-to-back wins in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Starting eighth, Thompson grabbed the lead on lap four and never looked back. Levi Volkert finished second, followed by Gilbert Aldape, Auston Honeycutt, and Mike Vogt.

Jason Schneiders led most of the 20-lap Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature with Bob Moore applying pressure late. However, R.J. Merchant made a decisive late-race pass to capture his second win of the year at Park Jefferson and in the Razor Chassis North Central Region. The South Sioux City, Nebraska driver was followed by Izac Mallicoat, who charged from 10th to second, Ricky “The Racer” Stephan, Schneiders, and Colby Fett.

In the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Sioux City’s Greg Peck also charged forward from the fifth row to score his second consecutive win in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Peck made a late pass on Wyatt Luke, who finished second. Ryan Harris, Travis Barker, and Todd Gereau completed the top five.

Kirk Beatty crossed the line first in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods after leading every lap of the A main, but a post-race inspection revealed a wheelbase infraction, dropping him two positions. That handed the win to Geoff Olson. Matt Morrow finished second, followed by Beatty, Willy Kirk, and Jake Newsom.

The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

Related Articles

Results

Rain, rain, stay away from PJ!

By Mark Adkins Park Jefferson Media Relations Director JEFFERSON, S.D. (April 28, 2022) – Despite a less than ideal weekend forecast, Park Jefferson International Speedway is still planning on forging ahead with the 2022 Iron Cup on South Dakota’s fastest quarter-mile dirt tracks from Thursday, April 28, through Saturday, April 30. The weekend schedule includes a practice night tonight (Thursday) with qualifying for the J&J Fitting Iron Cup in Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact divisions on Friday. The Iron Cup Championship Night in all divisions is Saturday. Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps at 6 p.m. each evening. Postponement information if necessary will be released through local media and the PJIS website. Tickets for the 2022 Iron Cup event can be purchased through the Park Jefferson International Speedway website at parkjeff.com. Fans can also find their favorite PJIS merchandise to be outfitted for the season opener through the track website. 

Events

Park Jefferson’s IMCA Modified Clash pays $1,500

JEFFERSON, S.D. – The $1,500 to win Artworks Graphics IMCA Modified Clash co-headlines holiday weekend racing at Park Jefferson Speedway. The Saturday, May 26 event boasts a purse of $7,500 and is the first in the five-race mini series for the IMCA Modifieds that sees drivers battling in a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier paying a minimum of $150 to start. In addition, drivers position themselves to take home the $25,000 bonus for sweeping the five events that make up the Sjogrensen Winery Super Bonus. Drivers and fans across the Midwest will be eagerly watching this one to see who will put their name in the hat to get the bonus. There is a $10 draw fee for all IMCA Modifieds. The draw/redraw show awards IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Side Biter Chassis North Central Region, South Dakota State and track points. The IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, J&J Fitting IMCA Stock Cars, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Mach-1 Sport Compacts also run. The Z98 IMCA Hobby Stocks are off this weekend. Tickets for [Read More]

Events

IMCA Midwest Madness Tour primed for June 27-July 1 run

JEFFERSON, S.D. – IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars headline each night of the upcoming Midwest Madness Tour presented by Western Iowa Racing Results. Both divisions race for $1,000 to win, with Modified features being qualifiers for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot and Stock Car features for the B & B chassis All-Star event, on Sunday, June 27 at Raceway Park in Jefferson, S.D; Monday, June 28 at Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, S.D.; Tuesday, June 29 at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa; Wednesday, June 30 at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa; and Thursday, July 1 at Stuart, Iowa, Speedway. Minimum start money is $150 for the Modifieds and $125 for the Stocks. Modified and Stock Car drivers must compete in at least four of the five events to be eligible for point funds to be paid to top five in points. IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods also race each night with point fund shares to be paid to the top four drivers in standings for [Read More]