By Grant Schroeder
ARLINGTON, Minn. (July 4, 2026) — Matthew Looft enjoyed a successful Independence Day at Arlington Raceway, charging from 12th to win the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature before rallying from fourth to capture the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified main event.
The Swea City, Iowa, driver earned his second EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season in the Stock Cars and later added his second Razor Chassis North Central Region triumph of 2026 in the Modifieds. All four of those wins have come at Arlington Raceway.
Josh Larsen paced the opening laps of the Stock Car feature with A.J. Zimmerman in tow. As Larsen and Zimmerman battled up front, Dan Mackenthun and Looft steadily worked the bottom groove from mid-pack. Mackenthun grabbed the lead on lap 11, but three laps later Looft completed his charge from 12th to the front and never looked back.
Daniel Eckblad advanced nine positions from 11th to finish second, while Trent Loverude charged from 13th to third. Mackenthun settled for fourth, and Larsen completed the top five.
J.J. Reimers led the early laps of the Modified feature before Jason Schroeder worked his way to the point.
Looft again found speed on the low side and methodically reeled in the leaders. Starting fourth, he took command on lap 11 and drove away.
Schroeder finished second ahead of Chad Porter, Todd Stinehart, and Reimers.
Bergerson Breaks Through in SportMods
Chris Neisen controlled the opening 10 circuits of the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature before Tim Bergerson carved through the field from seventh.
The Eagle Lake driver made the winning move on lap 11 and survived a pair of late cautions to score his fourth victory of the season and first at Arlington.
Cole Hesse finished second, followed by Ben Reierson, Eric Larson, and Neisen.
Becker Scores First Hobby Stock Win of Season
Tyler Kerkhoff led the early laps of the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature before Brad Becker mounted a charge from fifth.
Becker took the lead on lap eight and held off a late rally from Cory Probst to earn his first B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the season.
Probst charged from 10th to second, Taylor Manderfield finished third after starting fourth, Chad Volk climbed from 16th to fourth, and Dan Scharpe rounded out the top five.
Johnson Dominates RaceSaver Sprint Cars
Matt Johnson wasted little time reaching the front in the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car feature.
Starting fourth, the St. Peter driver took the lead on the opening lap and steadily pulled away from the field, winning by more than eight seconds for his fourth victory of the season, all at Arlington.
Brett Allen finished second, Bill Johnson was third, and Andrew Allen completed the top four.
Gatton Wins Sport Compact Feature
Dale Gatton put together another strong run in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature.
After Gary Schumacher led the opening laps, Gatton charged from fifth and grabbed the lead on lap three before driving away for his second win of the season, with both victories coming at Arlington.
Schumacher finished second, Brandon Backstrom was third, rookie Gavin Allen came home fourth, and Mason Berger rounded out the top five.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Dirt Race Central. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. Don’t miss Season 2 of The Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
