November 3, 2026

Lamphere Capitalizes on Late Trouble to Win Billy Ward Memorial with NY-Penn Series

MOD James Lamphere VL PB M&J Photos — James Lamphere celebrates his first career Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series victory on Oct. 30, at Thunder Mountain Speedway. Driving the Gary Lamphere-owned No. 87, Lamphere captured the $1,004 fourth annual Billy Ward Memorial in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified division. (Photo by M&J Photos)

By Michael Benjamin

ISLE, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2026) — James Lamphere took advantage of a late-race incident involving leader Keith Lamphere to capture the $1,004 fourth annual Billy Ward Memorial on Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway during the Monster Bash weekend for the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series.

A field of 24 Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds checked in for the opening night of the season-ending doubleheader.

Lamphere opened the evening by winning the first heat race aboard the Gary Lamphere-owned No. 87. Aaron Benjamin of Forksville, Pa., collected the second heat victory, while Rodney Morgan won the third heat and the Dash 4 Cash.

Morgan and Gaege Higley brought the feature field to the green flag, but James Lamphere quickly moved forward from his fifth starting position to take the lead.

Former series champion Keith Lamphere, who started at the rear of the field, worked his way through traffic and eventually passed James Lamphere for the top spot.

Keith Lamphere continued to lead until contact with a lapped car in turn three late in the race knocked the No. 83 out of contention.

James Lamphere inherited the lead and held on for his first career Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series victory.

Morgan finished second, followed by Matt Roberts, Tom Eiklor, and Jakub Ingham.

Dennis Loucks of Elkland, Pa., earned Hard Charger honors after advancing 11 positions to finish 13th.

The victory also earned James Lamphere eligibility to attempt to qualify for the 2027 Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational at next September’s Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s at Boone Speedway.

The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Dirt Track Digest TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. Don’t miss Season 3 of the Boone docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

Bowser tops NY-Penn finale, Brad Sites is series king

SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. (Sept. 25) – A visitor from Michigan stole the show and captured the King of the Can title as a cool, fall-like night in Northeastern Pennsylvania set the scene for a fantastic finale in the Close Racing Supply NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series. Brody Bowser led every lap in winning the main event and $1,500 while Brad Sites put the final touches on the inaugural series crown despite late mechanical issues that resulted in a DNF Saturday at Penn Can Speedway. Eddie Sites, Ray McClure, Tyler Stoddard and Bobby Maynard completed the top five. After a few tries to get the first handful of laps in, the field got strung out and got some laps under its collective belt and put on some good racing from second on back as Bowser put a good gap between the pack and himself. Randall Paxton followed him in second. Eddie Sites battle Paxton until a caution on lap 14 for fourth place runner J.W. Lamphere who got into the backstretch wall. The 16th starting McClure found himself working [Read More]

Sean Lias Memorial checkers fly for Morgan

By Michael Benjamin SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2023) – The second night of a weekend doubleheader took Close Racing Supply NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series presented by M.R. Graphix drivers to Penn Can Speedway Saturday and it was Rodney Morgan winning the annual Sean Lias Memorial race and $1,637. Also the series winner at Susquehanna in May and The Hill Speedway in July, Morgan’s latest run to the checkers was also good for 2024 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. Dash winner Tyler Stoddard and Bobby Maynard paced the field to the green but Rich Michael Jr. came through the field from his fifth starting position to take the lead. Morgan found himself working his way up into the runner-up spot from sixth before a caution that bunched up the field and put him on the outside of Michael on the restart. The two then put on a spectacular show for the fans as they battled for the top spot. Morgan finally got past Michael for the lead after a lap 10 restart and never looked back. [Read More]

Sites Charges From Seventh to Capture Fireball 25 at Afton

By Michael Benjamin AFTON, N.Y. (Sept. 26, 2026) — Eddie Sites charged from seventh to capture the rescheduled Fireball 25 for the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series Saturday night at Afton Motorsports Park. Twenty-four Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds checked in for the 25-lap, $1,002-to-win feature on the 3/10-mile oval. The event was originally scheduled for Aug. 8 before weather forced its postponement. Three eight-lap heat races opened the program, with Jacob McConnell, Sites, and Jakub Ingham collecting victories. McConnell and Jason Butler shared the front row for the main event, with Gary Roberts and Matt Roberts starting from row two. Sites had work to do from the seventh starting position but steadily moved the No. 15 toward the front. Keith Lamphere was also on the move after rolling off eighth. When the 25 laps were complete, Sites had worked his way to the front to collect the Fireball 25 victory. The triumph was Sites’ fifth Close Racing Supply Eastern Region victory of the 2026 season, with those five wins coming at four different tracks. [Read More]

Modified

Sites Charges From 12th to Win $3,116 Ed and Jan Billings Classic in NY-Penn Series Finale

By Michael Benjamin ISLE, N.Y. (Oct. 31, 2026) — Eddie Sites charged from 12th to capture the $3,116 second annual Ed and Jan Billings Classic on Saturday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway, closing out the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series season during Monster Bash weekend. Nineteen Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds returned for the second night of competition. Gaege Higley of Wyalusing, Pa., collected his first career IMCA heat race victory in the opening heat. Aaron Benjamin won the second heat for his second victory in as many nights, while Matt Roberts of Afton, N.Y., claimed the third heat. David McDaniels of Sanger, Texas, captured the Dash 4 Cash. McDaniels and Roberts started on the front row of the feature, with Roberts taking the early lead. Several early cautions kept the field close, but Roberts maintained the advantage while Sites worked his way forward from the sixth row. Sites eventually caught Roberts, and the two battled for the lead over the next several laps before Sites completed the pass. Once out front, Sites pulled away [Read More]

Divisions

Lamphere Capitalizes on Late Trouble to Win Billy Ward Memorial with NY-Penn Series

By Michael Benjamin ISLE, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2026) — James Lamphere took advantage of a late-race incident involving leader Keith Lamphere to capture the $1,004 fourth annual Billy Ward Memorial on Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway during the Monster Bash weekend for the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series. A field of 24 Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds checked in for the opening night of the season-ending doubleheader. Lamphere opened the evening by winning the first heat race aboard the Gary Lamphere-owned No. 87. Aaron Benjamin of Forksville, Pa., collected the second heat victory, while Rodney Morgan won the third heat and the Dash 4 Cash. Morgan and Gaege Higley brought the feature field to the green flag, but James Lamphere quickly moved forward from his fifth starting position to take the lead. Former series champion Keith Lamphere, who started at the rear of the field, worked his way through traffic and eventually passed James Lamphere for the top spot. Keith Lamphere continued to lead until contact with a lapped car in turn three late [Read More]

Feature

A First for Canada as Glasser Races to Junior National Championship

By Bill Martin ESTEVAN, Sask. (Oct. 23, 2026) – The road that led Keenan Glasser to the IMCA Junior National Championship started in sunny Florida. Glasser began his 2026 Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod campaign with a fourth-place finish in the IMCA TV Clash on the Coast. He returned home to Estevan, Sask., and The Great White North, and two months later started reeling off feature victories on his way to an became the first Canadian driver to win the Junior National crown. “Junior National Champion was a goal but we didn’t really expect to be competing for it. We didn’t realize until more than three quarters of the season that we were in contention for it. We buckled down those last races and got all the points we could,” said Glasser, after topping point standings for the nearly 600 drivers ages 18 and under at the start of the season competing in IMCA’s nine divisions. Sixth in the national standings, he wheeled a 2020 Rage Chassis to 16 wins and another 16 top five finishes [Read More]

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