Tyler Mecl scored the win in Saturday’s IMCA Modified feature at Central Arizona Speedway.
By Jeff McSpadden
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (May 12) – Persistent Tyler Mecl and a very fast Jason George were IMCA winners Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway.
Mecl used the outside of the speedway to surprise Jeremy Thornton and take over the lead coming to the stripe to complete the ninth lap of the IMCA Modified main.
From there, Mecl weathered one last caution on lap 12 to take the checkered flag by more than two seconds over Thornton and Trevor Mille.
Jason George shot from fifth to first, somehow going lower on the speedway than the three-wide trio of Gerry Glenn, Mark Farnes and Chris Tipton on the first lap of the Karl Chevrolet Northern Sport Mod feature.
George pulled away to a full straightaway lead by the halfway mark and simply checked out over the last 10 laps of the race. George crossed the finish line almost nine seconds ahead of Glenn.
By Jackson Braun CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 10) – While day racing at the Central Arizona Speedway brought a completely different dynamic to the plate, the driver in victory lane following Sunday’s Arizona Mod Tour main event was celebrating a second straight victory. A familiar face returned to the winner’s circle as Ricky Thornton Jr. grabbed his fourth career tour win, tying him with Hunter Marriott for the most overall wins in the third running of the tour. Also the $1,500 winner Saturday at Arizona Speedway and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier six times over, Thornton used his outside starting spot to grab the lead early. Clint Reichenbach, who had faced struggles at Queen Creek, used his fourth place spot on the starting grid to catapult himself into 2nd early on. Jake O’Neil worked his way past Reichenbach and set his sights on Thornton. Thornton had a comfortable cushion once he reached lapped traffic and once again was able to maneuver very efficiently. For the second night in a row, the Modified feature [Read More]
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 22) – Cody Thompson got his first win of 2022 while continuing his IMCA Modified education Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway. The 2021 national and North Central Region rookie of the year motored from ninth starting to the lead just before midway, then outran Friday winner Zachary Madrid and hard charger Matt Aukland to the $1,000 checkers. “I just kind of worked my way up there and made my passes in (turns) three and four,” said the Sioux City, Iowa, speedster, already eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “I restarted behind Zach – he’s pretty good – after a caution and did a slide job on him for the lead.” Thompson made nine early-season starts in Arizona last year and had six IMCA.TV Winter Nationals outings under his belt before journeying to Case Grande this January. “Central Arizona remind me of Park Jefferson Speedway,” said Thompson, broadening his horizons by helping at a friend’s horse ranch between his Arizona starts. “It takes the same gear and has tighter [Read More]
By Lonnie Wheatley CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Nov. 22) – Ricky Thornton, Jr., finished off a sweep of Central Arizona Speedway’s seventh annual Desert Thunder Nationals, thundering to victory lane in Sunday afternoon’s 25-lap IMCA Modified feature event atop the 3/8-mile clay oval. Thornton, already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, had topped $1,000 to win features on Friday and Saturday leading up to Sunday’s $3,000 checkers and denying brother Jeremy the win in the process. Ricky Thornton Jr. spent the first half of the race chasing Jeremy Thornton before working his way into the lead on the 14th round. He led the field the rest of the way with Jeremy Thornton fending off Jake O’Neill for runner-up honors and Jeff Larson and Austin Kuehl rounding out the top five. “It’s pretty awesome to run one-two,” Thornton, Jr. said of sibling sweep of the top two positions. While Thornton completed the trifecta, Bo Partain foiled a second consecutive Cody Thompson sweep attempt in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod ranks. Bo Partain gunned into the lead at the [Read More]