Avila Snatches SportMod Victory in Late Restart at Marshalltown

Feature, Hobby Stock, Mod Lite, Modified, News, Northern SportMod, Sport Compact, Stock Car

Matt Avila of Boone, Iowa, stands in victory lane at Marshalltown Speedway after scoring the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature win on May 8, making a late-race pass to secure his second victory of the season. (Photo by Jordan Hanisch)

By Kaden Krebs

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (May 8, 2026) — It was another exciting night at Marshalltown Speedway, and the most intense finish came in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods. Will Wolf, who started 11th, appeared poised to score the victory after leading much of the race, but a late caution reset the field. On the restart, eighth starting Matt Avila of Boone surged forward and made the winning move in the closing laps to steal the victory—his second win of the season at two different tracks. Wolf settled for second, with Chris Burke third. Colton Livezey finished fourth, followed by Kyle Olson in fifth.

The Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks also delivered a late-race thriller as Boone’s Braden Gifford charged from 11th to the front. Gifford made a decisive pass in the closing laps to secure his second B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region win of the season and his first at Marshalltown in 2026. Briar Kriegel finished second ahead of Kale Hemsley. Tom Killen Jr. made an impressive run from 16th to fourth, while Corey Van Derwilt completed the top five.

A total of 36 IMCA Hobby Stocks signed in for competition.

In the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Kellogg’s Michael Jaennette worked his way forward from seventh to capture a hard-fought victory—his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region win of the year. Jimmy Gustin finished second, with Maguire DeJong third. Bradly Graham and Garrett Corn rounded out the top five, while Braden Richards advanced from 19th to sixth.

A strong field of 26 IMCA Stock Cars filled the pits.

The Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature saw Norwalk’s Todd Shute continue his hot streak. Starting fifth, Shute quickly moved to the front and never looked back, earning his fourth Razor Chassis North Central Region victory of the season—half of those coming at Marshalltown. Chaz Baca Jr. charged from eighth to finish second, while Tom Berry Jr. advanced from 11th to third. Tripp Gaylord climbed from ninth to fourth, and Jake McBirnie rounded out the top five after starting 10th.

A total of 25 IMCA Modifieds were on hand.

In the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites, Adel’s Colby Oberembt put together a breakthrough performance. Starting fifth, Oberembt led wire-to-wire to earn his first win of the 2026 campaign. Tracen Glick finished second, while Riley Clem raced from ninth to third. Colin Anderson and Josh May completed the top five.

The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts capped off the evening with Tama traveler Kinzer Jaennette scoring her first win of the season. Jaennette held off a late charge to secure the victory. Michael Gardner finished second, with Paige Sanders third. David Kimmel advanced from 10th to fourth, and Jeremy Williams completed the top five.

Related Articles

Results

$250 Sunoco bonus for Late Model winners in Iowa this weekend

VINTON, Iowa – Extra money is on the line for the winner of a pair of main events for IMCA Sunoco Late Models this weekend. The next two installments of the $250 Sunoco Race Fuels bonus will be paid to the July 30 Late Model winner at Marshalltown Speedway and the July 31 Late Model winner at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Sunoco bonuses will be presented at IMCA Late Model sanctioned tracks in 2021. Drivers are eligible for one bonus during the racing season. Winners so far this year have been Matt Ryan at 300 Raceway in Farley, followed by Sean Johnson at Independence Motor Speedway, Andy Eckrich at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Ron Klein at Dubuque Speedway, and most recently in Nebraska to Kyle Prauner at U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus, Chase Osborne at Boone County Raceway in Albion, and to Brock Carlson at Off Road Speedway in Norfolk.  IMCA will announce mid-week before the dates bonuses are to be awarded at each track. 

Results

Gray, Kuehl get Marshalltown wins

By Joyce Eisele  MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (June 11) – Racing action continued at the Marshalltown Speedway on Friday night where it was Casey’s Salute to Marshalltown Firefighters, EMTs and First Responders/Chad Witte VIP Night. The IMCA STARS Mod Lites kicked off the feature racing with their 15-lap main event. Austin Gray led this one from start to finish to capture his first-ever win at the High Banks. Mike Kennedy chased Gray for the majority of the race but had to be content with a second place finish. Ben George was third, Kaden Cochrun took fourth and rounding out the top five was Rodney Brown. The Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature went to summer visitor Taylor Kuehl, who hails from Cave Creek, Ariz. The 20-year-old young lady started on the outside front row, and immediately grabbed the top spot. Eighth place starter Brayton Carter wasted no time moving into the runner up spot on lap three. It was a real contest between Kuehl and Carter, lap after lap running neck and neck. With five laps to go, [Read More]

Feature

Corn Belt Clash Returns for Memorial Day Weekend Tripleheader

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (Apr. 28, 2026) — The Corn Belt Clash returns for three straight nights of Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite action over Memorial Day weekend, with stops at three of Iowa’s premier facilities. The tripleheader kicks off Friday, May 22 at Marshalltown Speedway, continues Saturday, May 23 at Boone Speedway, and wraps up Sunday, May 24 at Stuart Speedway. Drivers will compete for $500 to win each night with $100 to start, as the series again offers strong payouts across all three events. An additional $3,000 has been committed by anonymous donors and will be distributed among the top 20 drivers in overall Corn Belt Clash points, with $150 awarded to each qualifier. Event officials note that additional contributions are being pursued, and any increase in funding will go directly toward boosting payouts for those top 20 positions. Peak Decals will once again provide the winner’s checks each night, while Weekend Performance awards $30 cash to every heat race winner. Stealth Racing will also hand out $50 certificates for hard charger [Read More]