By Susan Allen
ARLINGTON, Minn. (Aug. 22, 2026) — Three different drivers took turns out front before Daniel Eckblad emerged from a wild 20-lap Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature Saturday night at Arlington Raceway.
Matt Speckman led the opening circuits as Ryan Bjerkeset and A.J. Zimmerman joined him in three-wide racing near the front. Bjerkeset moved into the lead on lap three before Speckman regained the advantage two laps later.
A caution gave Speckman another opportunity out front, with Bjerkeset and Tim Pessek joining him in side-by-side racing around the track.
The race was stopped near halfway when Brent Uecker’s car experienced a small fire. Bjerkeset took advantage of the ensuing restart to regain the lead, but Eckblad was making his way forward from the 11th starting position.
The St. Peter driver hugged the bottom of the track to work his way into the top spot, then held off the competition over the final six laps to take the checkered flag.
It was Eckblad’s second EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season, with both coming at Arlington.
Pessek finished second, Speckman was third, Matt Looft charged from 18th to fourth, and Dan Mackenthun completed the top five.
Luebke Breaks Through for First Career SportMod Victory
Matthew Luebke made his first career trip to victory lane following the 15-lap Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature.
Jeff Carter led the opening six laps before Luebke, from Norwood Young America, found extra grip on the backstretch and raced past him for the top spot.
Once in command, Luebke checked out on the field and built an advantage of nearly a quarter of a track before taking the checkered flag for his first career feature victory.
The battle continued behind him, with Eric Larson working to get around Carter for second. Larson completed the pass coming to the checkered flag after starting 10th.
Carter settled for third, Joey Reimers finished fourth, and Cole Hesse rounded out the top five.
Probst Charges From 11th to Arlington Hobby Stock Win
A caution-filled Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature gave Cory Probst plenty to overcome before the Brewster driver made his way from 11th starting to victory lane.
The early stages were slowed repeatedly by incidents, including one that involved Probst and Jonathan Schroeder and sent Probst to the back of the field.
Ted Goettl led as the race settled down, but Probst steadily worked his way back through the pack and into contention.
Another caution on lap nine put Probst in position to challenge for the lead. He took advantage, moved past Goettl and led the final three circuits to earn his 11th B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of the season. Eight of those wins have come at Arlington.
Goettl finished second, Schroeder was third, Brad Becker took fourth, and Austin Jahnz completed the top five.
Looft Uses Restart to Race From Eighth to Modified Victory
Matt Looft took advantage of an early restart and raced from eighth starting to victory in the IMCA Modified feature.
A first-lap caution reset the field and allowed Dan Menk to advance three positions and take over the lead. Another caution soon followed, giving Looft an opportunity from the outside of the Delaware-style restart.
Menk and Looft both went to the high side, with Looft emerging with the lead. The Swea City, Iowa, driver remained there the rest of the way to secure his sixth Razor Chassis North Central Region victory of 2026, with all but one coming at Arlington.
Menk finished second, Chad Porter was third, Jason Schroeder took fourth, and J.J. Reimers rounded out the top five.
Geldner Goes Flag-to-Flag in Sprint Cars
St. Peter veteran Brett Geldner was untouchable in the 15-lap RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car feature.
Geldner started from the pole, jumped into the lead immediately and never looked back, building an advantage of approximately a quarter of a track on his way to victory.
Matt Johnson ran second for the entire distance, with Brett Allen finishing third. Andrew Allen was fourth, and Bill Johnson completed the top five.
Lahr Takes Third Arlington Sport Compact Win
Mason Berger led the opening circuits of the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature before Alan Lahr made his move toward the front.
Lahr, from Nicollet, raced side-by-side with Berger before nosing ahead and taking command. Once in front, Lahr stayed there through the checkered flag for his third victory of the 2026 season, with all three coming at Arlington.
Emily Christenson finished second, Gavin Allen was third, Gary Schumacher took fourth, and 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.
