By Mike McGuire
DAVENPORT, Iowa (July 18, 2025) – Friday night at Davenport Speedway belonged to the first-timers — at least for 2025. Three feature winners parked in victory lane for the first time this season on the banks of the Mississippi, led by Matt Ryan in the Sunoco IMCA Late Models.
The headline event looked more like a game of musical chairs than a race to the checkers. Jesse Bodin paced the opening circuit before Joe Beal charged to the front and appeared strong, only to pull off after five laps. Bodin resumed the lead for a short stint, but was soon overtaken by Bryce Garnhart, who took control until mechanical issues ended his bid on lap 15.
Bodin again inherited the top spot, but Matt Ryan had worked his way into the mix and made his move on lap 22. The Dubuque driver led the final four circuits to claim his first Late Model win of the season at the ¼-mile oval, and 25th career victory at Davenport. The win was also Ryan’s second of the year, coming at his second different track in 2025.
Evan Miller picked off cars one by one and came home second, with early race leader Bodin settling for third.
Werner Goes Wire-to-Wire in Modifieds
In Friesen Performance IMCA Modified action, Matt Werner went the distance from the outside pole to score his first Davenport victory of the season and third win of the year overall in the Razor Chassis North Central Region, with victories now at two different venues.
Logan Veloz, who started seventh, made steady progress through the field and eventually cleared Blaise Lewis for second with just a couple laps to go. Lewis finished third. The Modified main went the full 20 laps caution-free.
Wiersema Breaks Through in SportMods
The Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod feature brought another new face to victory lane, as Keith Wiersema picked up his first win of the entire season. Wiersema had to earn it, holding off a hard-charging Tony Olson in the closing laps. Olson finished second with Kevin Goben completing the podium.
Wauters Delivers Another Davenport Hobby Stock Win
The only repeat winner of the night came in the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, where Daniel Wauters continued his stellar 2025 campaign. Wauters claimed his fourth points win at Davenport and sixth overall in the B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region. Carson Butt chased him across the stripe for second, with Dan Klatt in third.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Done Right TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
