Ryan Clark

Friday-Saturday Race Night Tandem Provides Spark to Sexton’s Southern SportMod Rookie Quest

By Bill Martin BURLESON, Texas (Oct. 25, 2026) – Racing Saturdays at the track he’d grown up going to as a fan were special for Brady Sexton. Adding a regular Friday night track to his schedule helped make him rookie of the year in IMCA’s Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod division. Sexton counted two feature wins and 16 top five finishes in his 32 starts in topping point standings for first-year drivers in the division. A Saturday regular at Kennedale Speedway Park, just 10 minutes from his Burleson, Texas, home, he’d begun making more frequent 45-60 minute Friday trips to Heart O’ Texas Speedway after realizing he was leading rookie points. “I had tossed around the idea of going for national rookie of the year, but to be entirely honest, I never thought it was entirely feasible,” said Sexton, who’d watched from the stands with grandfather Billy Campbell before getting on the track himself. “Midway through the season, when I noticed I was actually leading rookie standings, is when I started to race more and get [Read More]

Luinenburg Makes More Memories for Facebook in Northern SportMod National Rookie Season

By Bill Martin READING, Minn. (Oct. 28, 2026) – A Facebook memory popped up back on June 6 to tell Blake Luinenburg he’d won his first Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature six years ago to that date. He won his career first Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature that evening at Worthington Speedway, one of many memories Facebook will have to remind him of from his national rookie of the year season in the open wheeled division. The Reading, Minn., racer would total nine victories and win the Murray County Speedway track title, ending the season 12th in the national points race. “It was pretty cool to see that Facebook memory pop up and that I’d gotten my first win in a Hobby Stock six years to that day. And it was cool to have my first SportMod win at my home track,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to expect moving up this season. I had some really successful seasons in a Hobby Stock and for being a rookie, this was a really good year, too.” [Read More]

Californian Bannister Strikes Gold with Top National Modified and DeVilbiss Western Region Rookie Prizes

By Bill Martin BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Oct. 21, 2026) – On the track or in the record book, Tyler Bannister found himself in some pretty good company in 2026. A 12-time feature winner, the Bakersfield speed merchant raced to Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified national and DeVilbiss Racing Western Region rookie of the year honors. He’s just the fourth IMCA driver to earn both SportMod and then Modified national rookie awards in their respective careers, and the third California driver to accomplish the national and regional ROY feat in as many years. Equally as impressive, Bannister returned to Boone Speedway and the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, qualifying for the main event as well as the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational and Rage Chassis Race of Champions, before wrapping up the track championship at hometown Bakersfield Speedway at Kern Raceway. “Running for national rookie wasn’t our initial goal. It was like when we won the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod rookie award in 2021, we just started out the season racing and trying to squeak out a [Read More]

No Question About It as Wyoming’s Donmyer Tops Sport Compact Rookie Points Race

By Bill Martin GILLETTE, Wy. (Oct. 30, 2026) – Robert Donmyer asked a lot of questions about how to make his car faster this season. He got to answer a lot of questions about the number on his Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact, too. The first Wyoming driver to win national rookie of the year honors in any IMCA division, Donmyer was a 25-time winner, reigning as track champion at hometown Gillette Thunder Speedway, Casper Speedway and Sheridan Speedway as well. “It means a lot to me. This was a family thing and I was able to show my son that when you set goals, you can accomplish them if you’re willing to put in the work and the time and the effort,” said Donmyer, fifth in national point standings and also the Wyoming State champ. “The reason I run the 2% number on my car is what it represents,” he explained. “I’m a recovering drug addict and I have built a beautiful life for myself and my family. That 2% stands for the two percent of [Read More]

Keen on Consistency, Highway 10 Traveler Taves Tops Rookie Points for Sprint Cars

By Bill Martin DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (Oct. 29, 2026) – When the race season started, Matthew Taves might have seemed like a longshot in the running for national IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car rookie of the year. His incredible on-track consistency, however, would make him a lock for the award. The 15-year-old from Detroit Lakes, Minn., won two features and finished in the top five in all but one of just 17 starts, while earning the track championship at Buffalo River Speedway. “It was pretty exciting to run up front, finish so consistently almost every night and to win a couple features,” said the Detroit Lakes High School sophomore. “We’d raced lightning sprints for four years before. RaceSaver Sprint Cars are a lot bigger, and it was nice going from no power steering to power steering, and we enjoyed racing against different people. There’s a lot of good competition that we got to race with weekly.” After starting the season on Memorial Day at Sheyenne Speedway, Taves started traveling west on Highway 10 to make seven starts [Read More]

Southwestern RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car Series Set to Expand Racing in 2027

VINTON, Iowa (Aug. 13, 2026) — RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car racing continues to gain momentum in the West, and that growth will accelerate in 2027 with the formation of the new Southwestern RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car Series. The new series will feature a 15-race schedule from March through November at three tracks: Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif., Barona Speedway in Lakeside, Calif., and Mohave Valley Raceway in Mohave Valley, Ariz. The Southwestern series adds another exciting chapter to the continued expansion of RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car racing in the region. It follows the announcement of the California RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car Series, which will compete at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Kings Speedway in Hanford, Merced Speedway, Santa Maria Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare and Watsonville Speedway. Together, the two series will bring RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car competition to nine tracks, creating additional opportunities for drivers and strengthening the future of affordable Sprint Car racing throughout California and the Southwest. The idea for the Southwestern series developed following the enthusiastic response to the [Read More]

RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars announce new safety and age requirements for 2027

ELKHORN, Neb. — Driver safety will take center stage in 2027 as RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars introduce new safety equipment requirements and age restrictions designed to provide additional protection for younger competitors. Effective Jan. 1, 2027, all drivers under the age of 18 competing in the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car division will be required to wear an SFI-approved head and neck restraint system. The new requirement strengthens the division’s commitment to driver safety and ensures that younger competitors have an additional level of protection whenever they take to the track. Along with the new safety equipment requirement, RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars will implement an additional age restriction based on track size. While drivers must be at least 14 years old to purchase a RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car license and compete in sanctioned events, beginning in 2027, drivers must be at least 16 years old to compete on tracks measuring one-half mile or larger. The new age restriction is the result of insurance requirements affecting younger drivers competing on larger racing surfaces. The change was necessary to [Read More]

Sites Charges From 12th to Win $3,116 Ed and Jan Billings Classic in NY-Penn Series Finale

By Michael Benjamin ISLE, N.Y. (Oct. 31, 2026) — Eddie Sites charged from 12th to capture the $3,116 second annual Ed and Jan Billings Classic on Saturday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway, closing out the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series season during Monster Bash weekend. Nineteen Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds returned for the second night of competition. Gaege Higley of Wyalusing, Pa., collected his first career IMCA heat race victory in the opening heat. Aaron Benjamin won the second heat for his second victory in as many nights, while Matt Roberts of Afton, N.Y., claimed the third heat. David McDaniels of Sanger, Texas, captured the Dash 4 Cash. McDaniels and Roberts started on the front row of the feature, with Roberts taking the early lead. Several early cautions kept the field close, but Roberts maintained the advantage while Sites worked his way forward from the sixth row. Sites eventually caught Roberts, and the two battled for the lead over the next several laps before Sites completed the pass. Once out front, Sites pulled away [Read More]

Lamphere Capitalizes on Late Trouble to Win Billy Ward Memorial with NY-Penn Series

By Michael Benjamin ISLE, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2026) — James Lamphere took advantage of a late-race incident involving leader Keith Lamphere to capture the $1,004 fourth annual Billy Ward Memorial on Friday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway during the Monster Bash weekend for the Close Racing Supply NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series. A field of 24 Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds checked in for the opening night of the season-ending doubleheader. Lamphere opened the evening by winning the first heat race aboard the Gary Lamphere-owned No. 87. Aaron Benjamin of Forksville, Pa., collected the second heat victory, while Rodney Morgan won the third heat and the Dash 4 Cash. Morgan and Gaege Higley brought the feature field to the green flag, but James Lamphere quickly moved forward from his fifth starting position to take the lead. Former series champion Keith Lamphere, who started at the rear of the field, worked his way through traffic and eventually passed James Lamphere for the top spot. Keith Lamphere continued to lead until contact with a lapped car in turn three late [Read More]

A First for Canada as Glasser Races to Junior National Championship

By Bill Martin ESTEVAN, Sask. (Oct. 23, 2026) – The road that led Keenan Glasser to the IMCA Junior National Championship started in sunny Florida. Glasser began his 2026 Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod campaign with a fourth-place finish in the IMCA TV Clash on the Coast. He returned home to Estevan, Sask., and The Great White North, and two months later started reeling off feature victories on his way to an became the first Canadian driver to win the Junior National crown. “Junior National Champion was a goal but we didn’t really expect to be competing for it. We didn’t realize until more than three quarters of the season that we were in contention for it. We buckled down those last races and got all the points we could,” said Glasser, after topping point standings for the nearly 600 drivers ages 18 and under at the start of the season competing in IMCA’s nine divisions. Sixth in the national standings, he wheeled a 2020 Rage Chassis to 16 wins and another 16 top five finishes [Read More]