By Sheldon Wickwar
STOCKTON, Kan. (Aug. 7, 2026) — Eddie Belec used the high side to perfection and his veteran experience in the closing laps to earn the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature victory Friday night at Rooks County Speedway.
After Corey Lagroon paced the early laps, Ayden Steffens found momentum around the cushion and charged from deep in the field to take command. Belec followed him to the front before making the decisive pass late in the race.
The victory was Belec’s third of the season and earned him eligibility to attempt to qualify for the 2026 Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s.
Tanner Black finished second, Clay Money was third, Steffens settled for fourth, and Brandon Clough completed the top five. Daniel Gottschalk earned hard charger honors after advancing 14 positions.
Watts Leads Wire to Wire in Stock Cars
Friday’s Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature served as a B&B Racing Chassis All-Star Stock Car Invitational qualifier and belonged to Tim Watts.
Following several early cautions, Watts controlled every restart and never relinquished the lead despite repeated pressure from Kyle Pfeifer and Eric Cross.
The Beloit driver earned his second EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season and secured eligibility to attempt to qualify for the 2026 B&B Racing Chassis All-Star Stock Car Invitational.
Pfeifer rallied seven spots to finish second, followed by Cross, Troy Burkhart, and Dylan Bell, who advanced 12 positions for hard charger honors.
Watts’ victory, combined with son Tyler’s SportMod triumph later in the evening, completed a memorable father-son sweep for the Beloit family.
Tyler Watts Charges Late for SportMod Victory
Tyler Watts looked like a non-factor early after spending the opening half of the race outside the top five before a late caution completely changed the complexion of the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods feature.
Watts surged from fifth to third on the restart, quickly grabbed second, then raced side-by-side with Tracy Holloway before completing the winning move coming to the white flag.
The victory was Watts’ fifth of the season.
Holloway finished second ahead of Cody Williams, Chad Dolan, and Dylan Cherry. Watts earned hard charger honors after advancing eight positions.
Olmstead Sweeps Hobby Stock Fair Weekend
The sixth annual Terry Goscha Memorial for Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks went to Zach Olmstead, who completed a sweep of both Rooks County Free Fair features after also winning Thursday night.
Trent Matson led early before Olmstead capitalized when Matson repeatedly missed the bottom groove.
Olmstead drove away for his 11th and 12th victories of the season while collecting the memorial win.
Dane Headrick finished second, Matson was third, Nick Sherfick fourth, and Andrew Burg fifth. Justin Meserve gained seven spots for hard charger honors.
Porter Completes Fair Sweep in Sport Compacts
Gage Porter also swept both nights of fair racing by winning Friday’s Sport Compact feature after taking the Thursday opener.
Porter took the lead from Kiowa Higdon on lap six and was never challenged over the final third of the race.
The victory was Porter’s second of the season.
Kyle Mortensen finished second ahead of Dan Kruse, Higdon, and Madison Reed. Porter and Mortensen each advanced three positions.
The events were 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.