By Bill Martin
BERNARD, Iowa (Oct. 26, 2026) – Overcome by the emotions of the occasion, Jordan Miles had to search for the right words after his career-first Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature victory.
He’s had plenty of opportunities to hone his interview skills since, following a season that saw him earn national and EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region honors, as well as the Maquoketa Speedway track championship.
The 20-year-old from Bernard, Iowa, was also seventh in national points and 10th in regional standings, racing out of the family shop with father Jerry and brothers Jared, Kodey and Karter.
“I wanted a challenge, I wanted to try something different and that’s what led us to our new adventures in a Stock Car,” said Miles, who moved up following two very different campaigns running a Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock. “The stars kind of aligned, I picked up some wins early in the season and I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish this year.”
“In my opinion, Stock Cars are the toughest division in IMCA. There’s stout competition in every class, but Stock Cars are the top tier of IMCA,” he’d continue. “I told my parents, I wanted to get back to having fun. I’d gotten kind of down on myself going from18 Hobby Stock wins (in 2024) to 10 the next year, but in reality, everyone was figuring new stuff out and getting faster.”
“A track championship is always going to be a goal and we talked about rookie of the year, too, this season. I went in with the intention of winning that, but wasn’t going to be disappointed if I didn’t, because the competition is just so good.”
A four-time feature winner, Miles was second by a point to brother Kodey at Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, where his dad rounded out the top three, and third (Kodey was second) at Davenport Speedway. Jared topped Hobby Stock points at Maquoketa while Karter, top Northern Region rookie of the year in 2024, led the family drivers with 11 Hobby Stock checkers despite a tough second half of the season.
There are seven cars in all in their stable, one used sparingly as a backup ride and the other cannibalized for parts when needed.
“My car is homebuilt, essentially. We bought it as a wrecked Johnny Spaw Chassis, we used Stealth Chassis’ jig to set everything, brought it home and welded everything up in our shop. It’s kind of like a Frankenstein,” said Miles, also runner-up to national king John Oliver Jr. in the Iowa State points race.
“We’ve got five open trailers and five trucks, the most unofficial way we could have done it. For the most part, everyone worked on their own car and dad helped everybody out. This was his 42nd year racing and with his experience and knowledge, he’d be able to help any of us,” he said. “There were a couple times we thought if we all worked on one car at a time it would work better, but I have a routine to get my car ready. I know how everything is done, I know how my stuff is done and I know it’s done the way I want it to be.”
Jared worked on Friday nights but otherwise all of Team Miles were weekly regulars at Davenport, Maquoketa and at Dubuque. Jordan logged another 22 of his 51 starts at 10 different tracks in Iowa and Wisconsin, ending with 32 top five finishes.
“It can be tough to race against family. Stuff happens on the track and feelings get a little hurt but at the end of the day, it’s one of the best things to happen to us. It’s so much more fun racing with people you know and who are going to respect your equipment, people you can race hard,” Miles said. “It can be hard to race with people you love but at the end of the night, it’s the best thing that can happen.”
Former car owner Lee Kinsella rode along to Columbus Junction and got to watch Miles get his first Stock Car win on May 22 at CJ Speedway.
“I’d never raced at or even seen that track before we went there two weeks earlier. I finished second that night and up to that point, that was my best finish in a Stock Car,” he said. “I was sitting in my car, getting ready to head to staging for my heat race, and Lee leaned in the window and said, ‘No pressure, but two years ago today, I won my first race in this car.’”
“I went out there and won my first heat race in a Stock Car. Then we went out for the feature and I had an awesome race with (eventual track champion) Nathan Wood. We ran door-to-door the last six laps and I ended up winning,” continued Miles. “I got out of the car, they came up to interview me and I could hardly put anything to words. To not only be able to compete but to win was overwhelming. Seeing what my dad and I had built was awesome.”
He’s an HVAC apprentice at Freiburger Heating and Cooling in Dubuque and gets to talk racing with another guy who knows a thing or two about winning, boss Jed Freiburger, the Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified track champ at Dubuque and Lafayette County Speedway.
Wins – 4
Top Five Finishes – 32
Starts – 51
HIS CREW: Parents Jerry and Kristen, brothers Jared, Kodey and Karter, grandparents Ted and Deb Mausser, grandmother Bonnie Voseberg, aunt Monica Voseberg, girlfriend Brynn Murphy, Phil Gehl, Colby Veach, Shawn Stoffel, Ernie Driscoll and Kevin Schaffer.
HIS SPONSORS: Nelson Tire Recycling of Farley; Delaney’s Auto and Ag of Farley and Cascade; Kinsella Concrete Construction, Freiburger Heating and Cooling, A.B. Transfer, No Preference Towing, Link Coatings, Midwest Maintenance, Flanagan Construction & Commercial Roofing and Leslein Trucking all of Dubuque; Davis Door and Construction and Hillside Sports Bar and Grill, both of Monticello; County Line Concrete of Preston; Thunderbolt Trucking of Peosta; TCE of Bernard; CPR Repair of Cascade, Hartbecke Cattle Company of Epworth; Eichman’s Bar and Grill of Sageville; DTR Enterprises of Keystone; NXT Build of Zwingle; Midstate Machine of Des Moines; Stealth Racecars of Centralia; Johnny Spaw Racecars of Cedar Rapids; T & T Iron and Metals, East Dubuque, Ill., Savanna, Ill. and Monticello; Hangry Hobo’s Pub and Grill of East Dubuque, Ill.; Bader Construction of Freeport, Ill.; SubZero Spray Foam & Floor Coatings of Dickeyville, Wis.; Damien Miller Construction of Hazel Green, Wis.; Nick, Lexi and Riley Cutsforth; Deb and Mark McDonough; and Biggest Little Fans Kaylor, Alaina, Kynlee and Airiana