By Don Hawkins
HARLAN, Iowa (May 9, 2026) — A strong field of 25 Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars checked in, and the feature produced one of the closest finishes of the night at Shelby County Speedway.
Madrid’s Braden Richards emerged victorious in nearly a photo finish after charging from the 12th starting position. Austin Meiners also sliced through the field from 13th and appeared poised for victory exiting turn four, but Richards surged alongside and edged ahead at the checkers.
The win was Richards’ fourth of the campaign in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region, with half of those triumphs coming at Shelby County Speedway.
Meiners settled for second while Michiah Hidlebaugh advanced from 11th to finish third. Dusty Van Horn turned in an impressive run from 18th to fourth, while Larry Robinson Jr. completed the top five.
Nineteen Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks signed in, and fans witnessed another thrilling finish.
It looked as though Kael Koch was headed for victory until Zach Hemmingsen of Marne charged through the field from 10th starting position. Hemmingsen made the winning move coming to the checkered flag in dramatic fashion to score his first B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the season.
Koch crossed the line second with Briar Kriegel taking third. “Wild” Willy Ransom and Gage Neese rounded out the top five.
Sixteen Sunoco IMCA Late Models were on hand for another entertaining feature event.
Aiden Mohr and Allan Hopp battled fiercely for the lead during much of the race, and it appeared Hopp had gained the advantage before defending track champion Zach Zeitner came alive on a late restart.
The Bellevue driver stormed from 10th starting position and made a sensational move to steal the win at the checkers for his second victory of the season and first at Shelby County Speedway in 2026. Mohr finished second ahead of Hopp, while Sterling Perkins and Cooper Tilley completed the top five.
Another huge turnout of 29 Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts filled the pits, and once again the division delivered outstanding racing.
The feature went green-to-checkered without a single caution flag. Dalton Woodle of Pierson drove from eighth to the front after an exciting side-by-side battle with Camden Nehring.
Woodle claimed his first victory of the season with Nehring taking second and Justin Reed finishing third. David Coenen advanced from 14th to fourth, while Levi Volkert worked his way from 10th to fifth.
Nineteen Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods took to the track for their feature event.
Jake Newsom of Sioux City raced from fourth to the front and held off a determined Cody Olsen, who charged from 10th to second. The victory was Newsom’s first of the 2026 campaign.
Corey Madden finished third in his first appearance of the season, while defending track champion Hayden Hillgartner and Tyler Remmereid completed the top five.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
