Ryan Clark

Manternach follows adjusted schedule to IMCA Late Model rookie of the year honors

DYERSVILLE, Iowa – Mitch Manternach had winning the IMCA Sunoco Late Model national rookie of the year award in mind from the time he unloaded his newly purchased car in January. After 25 starts at seven different tracks and five top-five finishes, the Dyersville, Iowa driver was thinking about where to display the trophy that came with those honors. “We had to adjust our schedule because of Covid but really started coming on about mid-season,” said Manternach, one point better than Jacob Waterman in the race for the top rookie prize and sixth in point standings at both Dubuque County Fairgrounds Speedway and 300 Raceway. “While there were a couple nights we came close to winning but I couldn’t get the job done, I was very happy with the way things worked out,” he continued, “With the caliber of drivers we ran with, we were very happy to be as competitive as we were.” Most of his pre-Late Model seat time had come in a Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod. “We had a deal pop up [Read More]

Sproul streaks to IMCA Modified national, Jet Racing Central Region rookie honors

HAYS, Kan. – He might not like racing for points but IMCA Modified rookie Dakota Sproul proved he was pretty good at it. From Hays, Kan., Sproul won 16 features in earning national and Jet Racing Central Region rookie of the year honors. The Dodge City Raceway Park and KMJ Performance Kansas State champion finished seventh nationally and third regionally. “I’ve never liked to race for points because it seemed like I got too involved in it and wasn’t able to travel to more bigger shows,” admitted Sproul, who had totaled 43 wins in five Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod seasons. “We had like three or four races in (the region) and were turning in consistent finishes when we actually decided to run for rookie of the year.” His first two wins came back-to-back, on June 6 and 7 at Sherman County Speedway. Sproul later put an “insane” streak of seven straight W’s together, starting with a Kansas Thunder Series sweep at Osborne Speedway. “The next night was at Dodge City, where my car is always [Read More]

Seven January dates for IMCA.TV Winter Nationals at Cocopah

SOMERTON, Ariz. – Cocopah Speedway gets the 2021 race season off to a fast start with seven IMCA.TV Winter Nationals dates in January. IMCA Modifieds run for $1,000 to win in Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying features Wednesday, Jan. 6; Thursday, Jan. 7; Friday, Jan. 8; and Saturday, Jan. 9; and again at Thursday, Jan. 14; Friday, Jan. 15; and Saturday, Jan. 16 shows. Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods race for $750 to win, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars for $500 to win and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $350 to win each night. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional and KMJ Performance State points will be awarded each night. Drivers who pre-register via My Race Pass by opening night pay no entry fee; entry fee for the tour after that date is $100. An open practice runs from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 5 at Somerton. Another open practice, as well as the $500 to win Mach-1 Sport Compact main event and the $1,000 to win Gene Freeman pit crew challenge is slated for Jan. 13. [Read More]

Changes minimal in IMCA rules for 2021

VINTON, Iowa – As expected, changes in IMCA rules for the 2021 race season were minimal. “Making no changes in rules is always the most cost effective for our racers. Changing rules costs money,” IMCA President Brett Root said. “Of course we can’t foresee the future. Making rules is what we do by definition as a sanctioning body. We try to keep changes to a minimum and the vast majority of what we do falls under the category of necessary corrections.” “A number of the changes or clarifications for 2021 were being made in multiple divisions,” added Root. “Shocks, springs and front and rear suspensions, for example, are going in a direction we didn’t believe was good for drivers in the long term.” A maximum seven inch stroke will be in effect on front shocks and maximum nine inch stroke on rear shocks for Modifieds, Stock Cars and Northern SportMods. And no Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern or Southern SportMod shock can pre-load or pin any spring. 2021 rules for those five divisions have [Read More]

2nd place feature finish is season highlight for Big Daddy Southern Region champ Duggins

FARMINGTON, N.M. – The highlight of Jason Duggins’ season wasn’t either of his championships or even a race he won. Duggins, repeat champion in the Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region for IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and at Fairgrounds Speedway, had the best view in the house when son Kyler won his career-first feature on July 17 at Fairgrounds Speedway in Cortez, Colo. He was right behind him in second. “Kyler’s accomplishments mean more to me than mine do for sure. His first win came at my expense,” said Duggins, who saw his son, the eventual national and regional rookie of the year, drive by on the last lap. “I was probably more happy about that win than I was for any of my own.” From Farmington, N.M., Duggins had 11 feature wins this season and a 10th place finish in national point standings to be happy about. He towed more than 19,000 miles, winning at four of the six tracks he raced at in four states. Another highlight came when Jason and Kyler ran 1-2 [Read More]

Carey concludes ‘uneventful’ season with 11 wins, first EQ Southern Region crown

BLOOMFIELD, N.M. – Steffan Carey accomplished a lot in a season he described as “pretty uneventful.” Carey won 11 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car features, earning his career first EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region crown and runner-up honors in the division nationally. “We didn’t plan to race for points. By the end of the season, we weren’t racing that much and had to watch everybody else catch up but the last six or seven races (all top four finishes) went really good,” said Carey, also track champion at Desert Thunder Raceway and Fairgrounds Speedway. “Everything just aligned for us.” From Bloomfield, Carey became just the second New Mexico driver to win a regional Stock Car prize. The first was his father-in-law, Rex Higgins, in 2009, the same season Carey scored regional rookie of the year honors in the class. He finished second or third in all but one on nine early-season starts in Arizona this year, topping Winter Series point standings at Cocopah in a brand new Terminator. “The car was good right out of the [Read More]

After racing with the big boys, Baca is best in IMCA’s Shaw Race Cars Western Region

MESA, Ariz. – Chaz Baca started 2020 racing with the big boys. He ended it hoisting the big trophy. The IMCA Modified driver from Mesa, Ariz., recorded a single-season career-best 16 feature wins to earn the first Shaw Race Cars Western Region championship of his career. Sixth nationally, his awards haul also included Battle Mountain Raceway and Cocopah Speedway track and KMJ Performance Arizona State crowns. “Winning the region is really a big thing for us. We’ve been trying to do it for years,” he said. “When you look at how many states are in this region, it’s definitely exciting to have accomplished this.” Baca got off to a fast pre-pandemic start, winning seven of his first 22 starts. Two of those checkers came in Arizona Dirt Track Tour battles with home state hero Ricky Thornton Jr. “I got to race with the big boys in the tour and beat Ricky twice. He’s fast everywhere but he grew up here and he knows these tracks,” Baca said. “Being able to race with, and beat [Read More]

Different approach guides Guillaume to 2nd Razor Chassis South Central crown

HASLET, Texas – Matt Guillaume’s goals for a low-key season were to have fun, make some charges to the front and win some IMCA Modified races. He did all that and won a regional championship, too. Guillaume topped the Razor Chassis South Central Region for the second time in his career, earning Boyd Raceway and Southern Oklahoma Speedway track titles and the KMJ Performance Oklahoma State crown as well. “I hadn’t even looked at points until there were about three weeks left in the season. I wasn’t trying to win track championships. I wanted to get feature wins,” said the Haslet, Texas, charger. “I didn’t set out to do anything points wise. I would love to have had more wins but all the top four finishes certainly helped.” Guillaume saw mixed results in four early season starts. He was the king of consistency once racing resumed, complementing four feature wins with 17 top five finishes. “We ran well and had good performances but DNFs for silly reasons early. After tracks closed (for the pandemic) we [Read More]

Grabouski catches stride, then captures career fifth Jet Racing Central Region title

BEATRICE, Neb. – First he caught his breath. Then Jordan Grabouski caught his stride. The defending champion in both IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car divisions, Grabouski pared his starts in both classes while racing to a career fifth Jet Racing Central Region crown and finishing sixth in rookie standings for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars. “While we missed 10-20 starts and all the early-season specials, it gave us a chance to catch our breath. Never in a million years did I think we’d be able to win the region,” he said. “It was definitely a challenge but I felt like we were able to catch our stride as we got closer to the end of the season.” Grabouski totaled 11 wins and won track championships at hometown Beatrice Speedway, Eagle Raceway and U.S. 30 Raceway. He swept Salina Speedway’s Mid-America Clash on the final weekend of the point season before winning Oktoberfest at Beatrice. “We took Sundays off for family (Grabouski and wife Whitney look forward to the arrival of second daughter) during the [Read More]

Hunt checks Dirt Works Eastern Region title quest off IMCA Modified bucket list

KENT CITY, Mich. – There was never any question that Mitchell Hunt was going to race an IMCA Modified. With the book closed on his sixth season in the division, the only question left is where to display his Dirt Works Eastern Region championship trophy and Thunderbird Raceway and Winston Speedway track championship plaques. Just 21, the Kent City, Mich., chauffeur had seven feature wins and another 11 top five finishes in his 28 regional starts. He was 14th in national point standings. “The regional championship was a big surprise. After tracks in Michigan opened in June, we were pretty much racing for fun,” he explained. “We got rolling with the July 11 win at Thunderbird and started chasing it from there. The wins and top five’s started to roll off more.” “We looked at the points a couple weeks before we left for Super Nationals and realized we just had to win those two track championships and get the bonus points,” he continued. “Everything just fell into place. I’m glad I was able to check [Read More]