Rookie National Points

October 30, 2025

IMCA Southern SportMod

(points through 9/27)

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Christian Gaston	714
2	Colton Birmingham	698
3	Cooper Tiller	619
4	Brook Mueller	585
5	Wyatt Sexton	570
6	John Miller	465
7	Mason Bryant	407
8	Randy Tarwater	327
9	Randy Choate	187
10	Bret South	176
11	Kolby Kelley	166
12	Chris Brown	165
13	Billy Seth Sadler	146
14	Noah Riddle	143
15	Wesley Logan Stinnett	134
16	Weston Ingram	121
17	Kason Capps	112
18	Jacob Anderson	111
19	Melvin Whitworth	92
20	Joseph Pontin	90
21	Cathy Wemken	70
22	Cory Bassinger	62
23	Jeff Bauser Jr.	51
24	Cary Cook	49
25	Nicholas Vandiver	48
26	Patrick Daley	42
27	Brian McConnell	36
28	Rick Ellis	35
29	Justin Randol	27
30	Trayton Kaufhold	24
30	Chad Pardue	24
32	Korbin Stanton	23
33	Milt David	22
34	Justin Osborn	21
35	Mark Williams	17

Past National Rookies of the Year
2025 – Christian Gaston, Weatherford, TX
2024 – Camo Gaston, Weatherford, TX
2023 – Cutter Spalding, Andrews, TX
2022 – Trevor Cogburn, Robinson, TX
2021 – Kaleb Emerson, Millsap, TX
2020 – Matthew Day, Farmersville, TX
2019 – Larry Underwood, Temple, TX
2018 – Kyle Wilkins, Italy, TX
2017 – Nathan Buchanan, Kemp, TX
2016 – Kamera McDonald, Keller, TX
2015 – Taylor Florio, Copperas Cove, TX
2014 – Garett Rawls, China Spring, TX
2013 – Alexander Hickham, Conroe, TX
2012 – Kyle Lovejoy, Burleson, TX
2011 – Cory Williams, Slaton, TX
2010 – Jared Rady, Bertram, TX
2009 – Steven Abbey, Comanche, TX
2008 – Kris Rye, Corpus Christi, TX
2007 – Zach Hamilton, Farmington, NM

Feature

Murdoch Motors to EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region Rookie Honors

By Ben Deatherage SURPRISE, Ariz. (Oct. 29, 2025) — The road to an IMCA championship was a long one for Casey Murdoch, both literally and figuratively. The Surprise racer earned the EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region Rookie of the Year award in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car division, finished third in Southern Region championship points, and capped the season with a track championship at Cortez Fairgrounds Speedway in Colorado — an impressive feat in a field stacked with veterans across multiple states. Behind the wheel of the Modern Aerification/Methods LLC/Jason Babyak–Schaeffer’s Racing Oil no. 7X Terminator Chassis, Murdoch tackled 32 sanctioned starts across Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Colorado. The year included two feature wins, 13 podium finishes, and 17 top-five performances, with the Cortez oval becoming a home away from home nearly 400 miles from his driveway. “We started our year off down at Winter Nationals in Casa Grande and only got to run the first week because I had to go to a wedding in Mexico,” Murdoch said. “We didn’t have the strongest showing, [Read More]

Feature

Anderson’s Rookie Surge Nets Razor Chassis North Central Region Crown

By Ben Deatherage EDDYVILLE, Iowa (Oct. 29, 2025) — Logan Anderson’s rookie campaign in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds was one to remember. The Eddyville racer captured the Razor Chassis North Central Region Rookie of the Year title and finished second in National Rookie of the Year standings — one year after winning the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s crown in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods. Driving the Midstate Machine/Performer Chassis/Middlekoop Seed Corn Inc. no. 53 Modified, Anderson wasted no time proving his speed at the Modified level. He became the 22nd different driver from Iowa to win the Razor Chassis North Central Region Rookie of the Year award since the title’s inception in 1993, and the first Iowan to do so since Dyllan Ricks in 2023. Anderson also finished eighth in the final North Central Region standings, a strong showing in one of IMCA’s most competitive divisions. “We had a good year and were winning pretty much out of the gate,” Anderson said. “We won six out of my first 12 [Read More]

Feature

Werner Keeps Nebraska’s Sport Compact Rookie Streak Alive with Six-Win Season

By Ben Deatherage PIERCE, Neb. (Oct. 29, 2025) — Fourteen-year-old Kiegan Werner wasted no time making a name for himself in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts in his Tom’s Service/Meyer Family/TC Agronomy no. 1K entry. The first-generation racer from Pierce turned his rookie season into a breakthrough year, winning six times, capturing both the South Dakota State championship and Park Jefferson Speedway track title, finishing seventh in the national points, and showing the poise of a veteran. He also became the sixth driver since 2008 from Nebraska to win the National Rookie of the Year award, and the second straight Nebraskan to achieve that honor. “We decided to go down to the Beatrice Spring Nationals,” Werner said. “The first night went well, but the second night I got taken out on the first lap in the main event and it junked the race car. After that, we decided to make another go at it at Redwood in Minnesota and ended up winning up there. We then made the decision in June to try and go for [Read More]