By Ben Deatherage
HAMBURG, Minn. (Aug. 11, 2026) — Two hundred victories don’t happen overnight.
They aren’t the product of one dominant season or one magical race car.
They’re built one night at a time, one feature at a time, one year after another.
When Dan Mackenthun earned the 200th Sunoco IMCA Stock Car victory of his career, the Hamburg, Minn., driver joined one of the most exclusive clubs in IMCA history, becoming just the eighth driver to reach the milestone.
“It was something we were looking forward to,” Mackenthun said. “The Stock Car class is pretty tough competition anywhere, so to pick up just one win is a feat, let alone to do it 200 times. It’s been a pretty solid year so far.”
His first IMCA Stock Car victory came in 2002 at Arlington Raceway. The following night he backed it up with another triumph at Redwood Speedway, unknowingly beginning one of the sport’s most accomplished careers.
Mackenthun’s milestone also earned him membership in IMCA Stock Car racing’s exclusive Double Century Club. Only seven other drivers have reached 200 career victories: Mike Nichols, Damon Murty, Brian Blessington, Rod Snellenberger, Duain Pritchett, Jeff Anderson and David Smith.
“I’ve been fortunate to race against some of those great drivers,” Mackenthun said.
Dan Mackenthun (center) celebrates his 200th career Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature victory on Aug. 1 at Arlington Raceway with family and supporters. The milestone made the Hamburg, Minn., driver just the eighth member of IMCA Stock Car racing’s exclusive Double Century Club. (Photo by Sarah Moriarty)
Built Around Racing
Long before he became one of IMCA’s winningest Stock Car drivers, Mackenthun was a kid climbing into race cars at his family’s home.
His father, Larry, operated a repair shop where race cars were almost always parked outside.
“When I was a kid, it wasn’t unrealistic to have five or six race cars around,” Mackenthun recalled. “I’d sit in them and pretend I was racing.”
After spending several years in go-karts, he climbed into a full-sized race car at just 15 years old in 1997, beginning in the Hobby Stock division before achieving his ultimate goal four years later.
“Stock Cars were always the goal,” he said. “They were always the class that appealed to me, and once we were successful at it, we didn’t want to get out of it.”
Although he later spent time in Modifieds, including full seasons in 2011 and 2012, he always found himself returning to the division he loved most.
Even the familiar No. 92 dates back to childhood.
“When I was a little kid, one of the neighborhood kids had a go-kart,” Mackenthun said. “He let me race it one night at Arlington, and it had the number 92 on it. I just kept it.”
A Career Built on Consistency
If one track has defined Mackenthun’s career, it’s Arlington Raceway.
Located just 15 minutes from his hometown of Hamburg, it’s where he grew up watching races before eventually becoming one of the facility’s greatest drivers.
“I grew up around that place,” he said. “I remember watching from the grandstands as a little kid. I’ve watched a million races there, and I’ve probably turned a million laps there in a bunch of different classes.”
The statistics tell the story.
Mackenthun owns 14 Minnesota State Stock Car championships, 14 Arlington Raceway Stock Car championships , five Redwood Speedway Stock Car titles, two Princeton Speedway Stock Car championships, plus additional championships at Murray County Speedway, North Central Speedway, Hancock County Speedway, and in the North Star Series.
His résumé also includes four Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Stock Car feature starts, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the Big Dance in 2012.
Among his biggest victories are two Sibley County Stock Car Shootout triumphs at Arlington Raceway, two Mighty Axe Nationals wins at North Central Speedway and this season’s Brent Koch Memorial victory at Redwood Speedway.
“Every win is memorable,” Mackenthun said. “They’re hard to get.”
This season has added another memorable chapter.
Driving a Terminator chassis purchased by friend Jared Fasching during last year’s IMCA Super Nationals auction, Mackenthun immediately found speed.
“The last few years we’d had a few different cars and had to make some adjustments,” he said. “Jared bought that car at the auction in Boone, put it together and wanted me to drive it. We got into that thing, and it was quick right out of the gate, so we’ve stayed in it.”
Small Town, Big Legacy
For someone with 200 victories, Mackenthun remains remarkably grounded.
Home has always been Hamburg, a small Carver County community of a little more than 500 residents that was founded in the late 1800s and named after Hamburg, Germany.
When asked about his hometown, Mackenthun summed it up with a laugh.
“There’s not much here,” he said. “There’s a bank and a bar.”
Away from racing, he works as a maintenance technician at Manus Products in nearby Waconia, manufacturing caulks, silicones and adhesives.
During the offseason, there isn’t much downtime.
“With how much it costs and the dedication it takes, there’s not much stuff to do outside of racing,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of fall racing the last few years and even went down to Texas. By the time you’re done racing, you’ve spent all your time rebuilding, getting ready for next year, cleaning up the mess you made in the shop, and then you start all over.”
That work ethic has carried him through nearly three decades behind the wheel.
He credits Larry for introducing him to racing before his father’s passing, while also thanking his mother, Patty, sister Amy Wentzlaff, Grant and Loni Schroeder, Jared Fasching, Bob Kranz, Rod Manthe, and the late Scotty Schottnick for helping him throughout his career. Mackenthun also expressed his appreciation to the many chassis builders who contributed to his success over the years, including Paul Burger and everyone at B&B Racing Chassis as well as John Courchaine at Sniper Speed for their support during the seasons he raced their chassis.
Many of his sponsors have been with him since the very beginning, including Larry’s Pit Stop, Advanced Electrical, Engelmann Brothers Farms, Tesch Industries, Bill’s Repair, A&A Farms, Club New Yorker, Rob Palmer Trucking, Nine-Two Customs, Neon Ink, Jonny Rocks Body Shop, 7 Systems Construction, Zeuli’s Race Engines & Machine Shop, Geib Well and Water Services, Arlington NAPA, JT Floor Cover, Wolter Seeds, Protective Coating Systems, Penske Racing Shocks, Cabin Bar, Dirt Defender, Quality Refinishers Supply, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Dynamic Drivelines, Manus Products, Larsen Automotive and Floral Defined.
Two hundred wins place Mackenthun among the greatest drivers in IMCA Stock Car history.
Yet if you ask him what made it possible, the answer isn’t trophies or statistics.
It’s family, loyal friends, longtime sponsors and the willingness to come back every week, year after year, chasing one more checkered flag.
