Ryan Clark

Good program, good competition make Newlin Pennsylvania Sprint Series king

MILLERSTOWN, Pa. – Seven runner-up finishes paved the way for Zach Newlin’s first Pennsylvania Sprint Series championship in 2015. An IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car career-best seven feature wins did the trick for him this year. From Millerstown, Pa., Newlin registered 19 top five finishes in 26 PASS starts. He recorded three win at BAPS Motor Speedway and two each at Port Royal Speedway and Path Valley Speedway. Third in the national point standings, he also collected another Pennsylvania State crown. “I like all the tracks we run at. You can run a big half mile one night, then run a bullring the next,” Newlin said. “I’ve always been consistent at BAPS. We won twice this season at Port Royal, where I’d never won before, so that was special.” “We’ve got a real good program going. We’re using both our experience and time in the shop to our advantage,” added the six-year veteran of the division. “We’ve got really good car counts in this series (better than 28 cars a night). We had the most wins [Read More]

Shouse three-peats in Sprint Series of Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – A fast start and consistency throughout the season combined to make Andy Shouse champion of the Sprint Series of Oklahoma for the third consecutive year. Shouse collected top four finishes in the first four IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car tour events before winning at Red Dirt Raceway on April 27. His second series win came July 14 at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. “We’ve been at this a long time and usually have the car right,” said Shouse, from Oklahoma City, Okla., and IMCA’s national champion in 2016. “We have a lot of new drivers coming up – the Oklahoma area is one of the tougher RaceSaver areas – so any win is a good one.” “The third (series) championship is just as good as the first one,” he added. “Winning a point championship isn’t just being at every race. It’s a reward for consistency and we had a lot of good runs.” Squaring off with familiar competition that included eventual race winner and 2018 national champion Kevin Ramey, Shouse duked it out with [Read More]

Spectator-turned-driver Harris is Virginia Sprint Series champion

ROCKINGHAM, Va. – Tony Harris attended his first Sprint Car race as a spectator. Now he’s attending banquets as a champion. Harris topped point standings for the Virginia Sprint Series this season, getting one win and eight top five finishes in 10 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car starts. “I came close to winning it last year but came up a bit short,” said Harris, from Rockingham and also the Virginia State champion. “It’s a great feeling to have finally won this series. It kind of takes the load off. When you race you always have this concern that you could lose a race or a championship because of something that happens in a split second. It’s a neat feeling to win a series like this.” Harris and his brother Jerald – a three-time Virginia Sprint Series champion – were fans when they ran into French Grimes at a Sprint Car event some 20 years ago. “We talked to French and decided to give Sprint Cars a try,” said Harris, who earned his sanctioned career 10th victory along [Read More]

Zevenbergen excels during record-setting Dakota Tour IMCA Stock Car championship

OCHEYEDAN, Iowa – Elijah Zevenbergen added another trophy to his collection after his latest racing vacation to North Dakota and Canada. Zevenbergen won the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars for a record fourth straight time. His fifth career crown was also a record for the division. “Those tracks just fit my driving style,” said Zevenbergen, from Ocheyedan, Iowa, and the winner this year of tour features at Nodak Speedway and Southwest Speedway. “They’re smooth and perfectly dry from top to bottom. It seems like those are the tracks where we excel.” A record 56 drivers from the U.S. and Canada competed in the Stock Car half of the Dakota Tour. Zevenbergen owns 17 tour victories during his career. He won 10 of 39 starts in all this year, taking the checkers at a number of the division’s top-paying events, among them Hometown Heroes at Kossuth County Speedway, Hancock County Speedway’s Hobo 100 and Arlington Raceway’s Schoknecht Shootout. “We had a really good year last year,” said Zevenbergen, behind the wheel [Read More]

Howes knows how to find podium in race for IMCA Arizona Tour Northern SportMod crown

MEMPHIS, Mo. – Austin Howes admitted to having some concerns about finding the tracks during his travels on the Karl Performance Arizona IMCA Tour. He didn’t have any problem finding the fastest way around them once he got there. Howes chalked up a win and six top five finishes in topping point standings for the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod half of the February tour. The Memphis, Mo., driver wrapped up the title with a convincing run to the checkers in the finale at Cocopah Speedway. “It was a lot of fun to go out there without knowing anything about the tracks, run with the guys who race at them weekly and beat them,” he said. “This definitely has been the highlight of my career so far.” Working his way up from mid-pack or deeper starts most nights, Howes made up for a DNF in the Canyon Speedway Park show to win the tour crown. Second- and third-place finishes at Somerton preceded his victory on championship night. Closer to home, he’d race at nine different tracks [Read More]

White is good as gold in title race for Red River Southern SportMod Tour

ECTOR, Texas – Two firsts and a third made for a pretty good season for Rodney White. White won championships in both the inaugural IMCA Red River Tour and at Grayson County Speedway before ending the year third in the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod national points race. From Ector, Texas, White made a career-high 44 starts at nine different tracks. He’d never been to four of the six venues on the Red River Tour slate before 2018. While White never got to the podium during the tour, he had a couple top five finishes and earned the title by racing his way from ‘B’ features to the main events on four nights. “There were a couple nights I didn’t even expect to do that good. Grayson County and Heart O’ Texas Speedway were the only tracks where I didn’t have to run a ‘B,’” said White, who’d seen his motor expire early in his heat race on opening night at Kennedale Speedway Park. “It’s always good to go to that many tracks where you’ve [Read More]

Camaro nose pieces approved for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars in 2019

VINTON, Iowa – Camaro nose pieces have been approved for use by IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers beginning next season. Rules for 2019 have been clarified to include the Camaro nose as well as the Mustang nose. Nose pieces must have a maximum installed width of 73 inches, noted IMCA President Brett Root. “This is another update that stems from our attendance at the PRI show earlier this month in Indianapolis, where Performance Bodies and Dominator Race Products debuted Camaro nose pieces,” Root said. “Our rules will specify that if used, Camaro nose piece must be used with the GM body and the Mustang nose piece with the Ford body.” Performance Bodies part numbers are 45X040 for the Camaro nose piece, 46X040 for the Mustang nose piece and 45X100 for the tail piece, which can be used with either nose. The Dominator Camaro nose piece is part number DOM330. 2019 rules have been updated on the IMCA website to reflect the clarification.

Dates announced for 30th IMCA Dakota Classic Tour

MANDAN, N.D. – They’ll celebrate a milestone each night of the 2019 Kupper Chevrolet IMCA Dakota Classic Tour. IMCA Modifieds race for $2,400 to win along with berths on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot each night of the 30th annual tour, scheduled July 6-11. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars are also on the card at Saturday through Thursday shows, running for $800 to win. The North Dakota and Saskatchewan-based tour starts at Jamestown Speedway on Saturday, July 6. This will be the 11th time Jamestown has hosted the series. Round two is Sunday, July 7, at Nodak Speedway. The Minot track was one of the three original tour venues and has hosted a date each year of the long-running series. Estevan Motor Speedway in Saskatchewan is next up on Monday, July 8. Estevan has been a tour track every year since it opened in 2000. On Tuesday, July 9, Williston Basin Speedway hosts the series for the 27th time. Southwest Speedway in Dickinson is next up on Wednesday, July 10, also for the 27th time. And [Read More]

Elliott reigns in inaugural Red River Tour, adds Dirt Dominator win in IMCA Modified series final

ABILENE, Texas – His win at the track he called “a cool little place” highlighted Chris Elliott’s run to the championship of the inaugural Red River Tour. Elliott got the best of a stellar field at Grayson County Speedway, then raced his way out of a ‘B’ feature to ninth place in the IMCA Modified tour finale the next night to edge Jeffrey Abbey for the title. “Winning this tour meant a lot to me. There are a lot of guys in Texas who are very good race car drivers and may not get the time in the spotlight they deserve,” said Elliott, from Abilene. “To not only make each of the six races but to be consistent and have a car that could have won half of them meant a lot.” Elliott had a pair of fourth place finishes in the first three races, then got caught up in an early wreck in the show at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Undeterred and with the help of Cory Davis and his crew, Elliott soldiered on and [Read More]

$43,500 in Chevrolet Performance bonuses paid to IMCA crate engine track champions

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – As part of one of the most lucrative programs for IMCA competitors, Chevrolet Performance has paid $43,500 in bonuses to drivers who won track championships while competing exclusively with crate engines in 2018. In all, 174 drivers in the IMCA Modified, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod and Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod divisions received $250 checks, mailed this month from the IMCA home office. Both the number of drivers receiving bonuses, and the total bonus amount, were the most ever in the history of the program. This was the second season in the current three-year bonus agreement with Chevrolet Performance, which has now awarded more than $280,000 to eligible drivers over the course of the crate engine track championship program. “Chevrolet Performance has recognized IMCA racers for well over a decade and their support continues to grow each season,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder noted. “We are proud to work with such an outstanding company and be able to give weekly dirt track racing recognition at the highest [Read More]