Ryan Clark

Racing smart, Tucker races to career second IMCA Southern SportMod title

CARBON, Texas – Hard work was the key to Gabe Tucker’s first national championship. Smarts got him his second. Tucker, from Carbon, Texas, topped national point standings for the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMods this season, winning 19 features – including his career 100th in the division – and track championships at Abilene Speedway and Heart O’ Texas Speedway. “We had a pretty good year. We didn’t start out the season running for the national championship. We were shooting to get 100 wins, which is a milestone for any IMCA racer,” he said. “After we did that, we looked at the points and thought we might have a chance at the national championship.” Tucker had won the national SportMod crown and finished third in the national Stock Car standings during a grueling 112-start campaign in 2013. He had just 46 starts in earning the bookend Southern SportMod hardware this year, again driving for team owner Steve Hayes. “In 2013, we worked harder. We followed the Lone Star Series and ran 58 nights in the SportMod [Read More]

Challenges can’t deny Looft third Northern SportMod title

SWEA CITY, Iowa – Challenges on and off the track couldn’t deny Matthew Looft in his quest for a career third Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod national championship. Looft collected 26 feature wins, plus track titles at Arlington Raceway and Kossuth County Speedway. His success came following the May 30 birth of son Brysen, who was later diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease, which is a result of missing nerve cells in the muscles of the baby’s colon. Following an extensive surgery and 17 days in the neonatal intensive care, Brysen went home to Swea City, Iowa, and the Looft Team turned its attention back to racing. “This (national) championship was harder to win than the ones in 2013 and 2014 because there was just so much happening and racing was not our top priority,” Looft said. “Brysen has a long road ahead of him but we are grateful for the thoughts and prayers as well as the nomination into the Shayla Bee Fund family.” The Shayla Bee Fund was established to help responsible, working class families with a child in medical crisis; the organization presented a generous donation to the Loofts during intermission at Fairmont Raceway on Aug. [Read More]

Anderson extends record with 8th Hobby Stock title

NEW VIRGINIA, Iowa – His latest national championship campaign had even Shannon Anderson shaking his head a bit in disbelief. Anderson won 33 of his 39 starts in extending his career record to eight national IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock crowns, then captured a division record fifth IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s crown in his final outing of the year. “We lost a lot of races to rain, especially early in the season, but when we got to race it seemed like everything worked right for us,” said Anderson, now of New Virginia, Iowa. “I only had one flat tire all season and there were nights when the caution came out when I needed it to and put me on the leader’s back bumper.” Along with the Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region title, Anderson earned track championships at Marshalltown Speedway, Sports Park Raceway and Buena Vista Raceway. After opening the season with checkered flag runs at Lee County Speedway and Benton County Speedway, he won 10 of 15 starts at Marshalltown, 11 [Read More]

IMCA Modifieds new in 2019 at Springfield Raceway

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The “something different” Springfield Raceway owner and promoter Jerry Hoffman was looking for is the IMCA Modified division. The sanctioned class will be new to Saturday programs at the quarter-mile, high-banked clay oval in southwest Missouri in 2019. Opening night will be in March with first point races in April. “It was time for a change. Sometimes you have to wait ‘til the time is right to do something different,” Hoffman said. “Tracks in the area are down to single digit car counts and even the nights big money was added car count did not grow like you thought it would.” Hoffman and Doug Bland had purchased the track 12 years ago. “We had been the first track in the area to sanction both USRA Modifieds and ‘B’ mods,” said Hoffman, now the sole owner. “You can really run an IMCA Modified cheaper than you can a USRA ‘B’ mod.” Springfield Raceway will be part of IMCA’s Jet Racing Central Region. After the season-opening March Madness special, the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly [Read More]

500th career win is highlight of Nichols’ 8th championship

HARLAN, Iowa – The two most important numbers to come from Mike Nichols 2018 season were 500 and eight. Nichols won his 500th IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature in extending his record-tying national championship total to eight. He’s just the second IMCA driver to reach the 500 win mark and shares the modern era national championship record with Hobby Stock driver Shannon Anderson. “Our biggest milestone was reaching 500 wins,” said the Harlan, Iowa, speedster, who raced to the landmark checkers on Aug. 26 at Dawson County Raceway. “A third straight national championship was very important and it’s definitely a who’s who of national champions that I’ll be standing on stage with at the IMCA banquet, but the 500th win was a goal we wanted to reach this year.” Nichols totaled 42 feature wins, at 11 different tracks in five states while upping his division best total to 503 career checkers. The EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region champion won all 13 starts at Dawson County and eight of 10 at Crawford County Speedway. Nichols had [Read More]

Ramey follows learning season with 2018 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national title

FORT WORTH, Texas – A learning season in 2017 paid national championship dividends for Kevin Ramey in 2018. Ramey won a division-best 16 features en route to his first IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national crown. “We could not have asked for a better season. We were blessed,” said Ramey, from Fort Worth and track champion at Devil’s Bowl Speedway and RPM Speedway and Texas State champion as well. “It was just a phenomenal year.” He won eight times at Devil’s Bowl and seven times at RPM, plus a checkered flag run in the June 29 Sprint Series of Oklahoma at Red Dirt Raceway. “We lost a lot of races to rain, but we were consistent when we did race and when we looked at them, we saw we were up there in national points,” Ramey said. “There are a lot of good drivers at both our weekly tracks but this was one of those seasons where no matter what happened, it worked in my favor.” Ramey had 31 starts on the season. He finished outside [Read More]

2019 drivers’ meeting set for US 36, Bethany

CAMERON, Mo. – The drivers’ meeting for the 2019 season at US 36 Raceway and Bethany Speedway is set for 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at the Cameron Community Center. The drivers’ meeting is combined for both race tracks so drivers can get all their paperwork completed for both tracks if they choose to. The meeting will allow drivers and teams to register their car and reserve pit stalls for the upcoming season. Registration for the 2019 season for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars is $60 and $50 for Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods is $50. Pit stalls are $60 to reserve for the 2019 season. The meeting will also include a discussion on the updated 2019 general rules and teams can bring any questions they have. This is a great opportunity for drivers and teams to get a head start on the 2019 season. Snacks and coffee will be available for all in attendance. The Cameron Community Center is located at 915 N. Ashland Drive, Cameron, Mo., [Read More]

Back on track, Hurst races to national Late Model title

DUBUQUE, Iowa – A driver who was just glad to be back on the track earned his career first IMCA Late Model national championship this year. Jeremiah Hurst won both starts on the final weekend of the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season, then clinched the national title with a seventh place run in the Deery Brothers Summer Series finale in September. The conclusion of his 2018 campaign was a far cry from Hurst’s 2017 season, which came to an abrupt end after he suffered a heart attack in late July. “I wanted to go back and race the next night. I couldn’t wait to get back and race this year and the doctors said there was no reason not to,” the Dubuque, Iowa, driver explained. “I changed my lifestyle dramatically. I changed my diet and quit smoking. This is the best I’ve felt in years.” A contender for the 2017 national crown, Hurst ended up seventh in the points chase despite missing the final month-plus following his heart attack. Changes in track sanctions [Read More]

Grabouski’s third title comes at end of bittersweet season

BEATRICE, Neb. – A season that saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows ended with Jordan Grabouski winning a career third IMCA Modified national championship. Grabouski, from Beatrice, Neb., topped 30 features in adding to a trophy collection that already included hardware from 2011 and 2016. The joy of his latest achievement was more than offset by the passing of son Jagger shortly after his birth on July 4. “It was a bittersweet season,” Grabouski said. “It was definitely a roller coaster season for us. We were glad to have won the national championship but there were nights when it wasn’t easy for us to race.” “My wife Whitney and I are extremely thankful and incredibly blessed to have an amazing support group of family and friends,” he continued. “We could never thank everyone enough for all the love and prayers that have followed the loss of our son.” Along with the Jet Racing Central Region prize, Grabouski earned track titles at Beatrice Speedway and Eagle Raceway, as well as his career-first [Read More]

Best of the best honored at IMCA national awards banquet

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nov. 24) – Champions and top rookie drivers of 2018 were honored at the IMCA national awards banquet Saturday in Lincoln. National champions recognized during the evening were Jordan Grabouski, IMCA Modifieds; Jeremiah Hurst, IMCA Late Models; Kevin Ramey, IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars; Mike Nichols, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars; Shannon Anderson, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks; Gabe Tucker, Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMods; Matthew Looft, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods; and Ramsey Meyer, Mach-1 Sport Compacts. Regional Modified kings were Grabouski in the Jet Racing Central, A.J. Ward in the Dirt Works Eastern, Brandon Beckendorf in the Side Biter Chassis North Central, Josh McGaha in the Razor Chassis South Central and Zane DeVilbiss in the Larry Shaw Race Cars Western. Nichols reigned in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region, Westin Abbey in the EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Stock Car Region. Anderson led the way in the Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region and Dennis Spencer sped to the Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region Hobby Stock championship. Earning national rookie of the year awards were [Read More]