Matson Breaks Through in WaKeeney Hobby Stock Feature

McCook, Nebraska’s Trent Matson celebrates in victory lane after capturing the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature on May 15 at WaKeeney Speedway. The victory was Matson’s first B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region win of the 2026 season and his first triumph with the Getaway Motorsports team. (Photo by Carl Larson/Photos by Red)

By Sheldon Wickwar

WaKeeney, Kan. (May 15, 2026) — The Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks capped off the racing program Friday night at WaKeeney Speedway, and it was McCook, Nebraska driver Trent Matson racing to his first B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the season.

Three heat races kicked off the evening with Dillon Thompson, Matson, and James Phelps each picking up victories. Mitchell Fischer claimed the B Main to lock himself into the feature lineup.

James Love and Dillon Thompson led the field to green in the main event, with Thompson quickly taking command while heavy hitter Morgan Olmstead settled into third. Matson, the newest member of Getaway Motorsports, climbed into second and engaged Thompson in a fierce duel for the lead.

A caution for a Bret Conness spin after contact involving James Phelps, which also collected Ethan Fabrizius, briefly slowed the pace. Once racing resumed, Thompson and Matson continued their battle before Matson finally worked his way around Thompson as the laps wound down.

Matson drove on to score his fifth career victory and first with the Getaway Motorsports team.

Olmstead finished second while Wade Kolbo completed the podium in third. Fischer charged from the B Main to fourth and earned hard charger honors by gaining nine spots. Thompson slipped back late to round out the top five.

Hager Victorious in Stock Car Season Debut

The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars opened the night with heat race wins going to Troy Burkhart and Garrett Hager.

Kyle Pfeifer and John Foley brought the field to green for the 20-lap feature, which was slowed several times by cautions and a couple of pileups that resulted mostly in sheet metal damage.

Through the chaos, Hays driver Garrett Hager methodically worked his way to the front from the eighth starting spot and held off late charges from Pfeifer and Burkhart to collect his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season in his 2026 debut.

Pfeifer finished second ahead of Burkhart, while Jayce Reimer and Foley rounded out the top five. Reimer earned hard charger honors after advancing eight positions.

Richardson Tames URSS Main Event

The United Rebel Sprint Series appeared second on the evening program and saw Jordan Knight, Tyler Knight, and Zach Blurton score heat race victories.

Jordan Knight and Steven Richardson shared the front row for the feature, but Liberal driver Richardson quickly seized the lead following an early battle with Knight.

As the leaders pulled away, Zach Blurton and Jeremy Huish carved through the field. Huish spun earlier in the race but rallied back into the top five while battling side-by-side with Blurton for several laps.

Ryan Rader and Jack Hall also made major gains through the field, with both drivers advancing 12 spots. Rader climbed from 19th to seventh while Hall charged from 24th to 12th.

Out front, Richardson remained untouchable and raced to his first victory of the season.

Jordan Knight finished second, Jeremy Huish was third, Zach Blurton fourth, and Taylor Velasquez fifth.

Sproul Continues Hot Start in Modified Action

The Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds were third on the program with heat race wins going to WaKeeney’s Kyle Rohleder and Hays driver Dakota Sproul.

Dewain Coleman and Troy Douglas started on the front row of the 20-lap feature, but Daniel Gottschalk and Dylan Sherfick quickly stormed to the front from third and fifth starting positions.

Sherfick led the opening half of the race while Sproul steadily worked his way into contention from eighth on the grid. As the laps wound down, Sproul applied heavy pressure before eventually taking over the lead.

The Hays driver raced away for his fourth Jet Racing Central Region victory of the season, with three of those wins coming at WaKeeney Speedway.

Sherfick finished second ahead of Gottschalk, while Clay Money and Eddie Belec completed the top five. Danny Keller earned hard charger honors after gaining eight positions.

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.