Ryan Clark

Memorial services for Sam Hodges are Thursday

EUNICE, N.M. – Sam Hodges will make his final visit to the winner’s circle at Cardinal Motor Speedway on Thursday night, June 28. Memorial services for the late track owner, promoter and IMCA driver begin at 8 p.m. that evening in the winner’s circle at the Eunice speedplant he helped build. “Sam loved dirt track racing and it showed in every facet of his participation, from a racer to a promoter and track owner,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “He will be missed by all of us at IMCA.” Survivors include his wife Jill; his daughters, Cari Coy and husband Matt of Eunice, and Casey Hodges of Eunice; his son Cody Hodges and fiancée Jessica of Eunice; grandchildren, Tanner Bill (Whip) Coy, Tyson Coy, and Ellie Sikes; his sister Lea Ann Lord and husband Mike of Seminole, Texas; nephews and great nieces. Hodges, died last week at the age of 56. He and brother-in-law Mike Lord built Cardinal 20 years ago. He promoted before the track was leased to Chris Meyers and Toby Herring in [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings Through June 21

IMCA Modifieds – 1. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz., 1,109; 2. Jeffrey Abbey, Comanche, Texas, 1,083; 3. Matt Guillaume, Haslet, Texas, 1,026; 4. Colin Deming, Hobbs, N.M., 995; 5. William Gould, Calera, Okla., 993; 6. Cory Sample, Winnemucca, Nev., 956; 7. Rob Slott, New Waverly, Texas, 876; 8. Kelsie Foley, Tucson, Ariz., 850; 9. Chris Morris, Taylor, Texas, 828; 10. Josh McGaha, Abilene, Texas, 823; 11. Scott R. Smith, Davenport, Neb., 794; 12. Chad Melton, Mineral Wells, Texas, 770; 13. Bryce Garnhart, Shannon, Ill., and Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, both 746; 15. Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb., 745; 16. Jay Noteboom, Hinton, Iowa, and Drew Armstrong, Alexander, Ark., both 744; 18. Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas, 735; 19. Kyle Brown, Madrid, Iowa, 729; 20. Jaden Fryer, Freeport, Ill., 726. IMCA Late Models – 1. Matt Ryan, Davenport, Iowa, 738; 2. Andy Nezworski, Buffalo, Iowa, 728; 3. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, Iowa, 655; 4. Todd Cooney, Pleasant Hill, Iowa, 592; 5. Rob Toland, Colona, Ill., 576; 6. Chad Holladay, Muscatine, Iowa, 532; 7. Eric Sanders, Sherrard, Ill., 478; 8. Joe [Read More]

Thornton dominates $10,000 to win IMCA Clash at the Creek

By Mike Spieker FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. (June 21) – Ricky Thornton Jr. dominated Thursday’s IMCA Modified Clash at the Creek at 141 Speedway to earn the $10,000 payday. Already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, Thornton led all 50 trips around the smooth and slick 1/3-mile dirt oval. The Clash did double duty as an Arnold Motor Supply Dirt Knights Tour event, the first such held outside Iowa. Eighty-two Modifieds were entered and seven states were represented in the main event. Thornton grabbed the lead from the pole on the opening lap as Mike Mullen filed into second. A gaggle of cars, including Hunter Marriott, Joel Rust, Kyle Stickler and Benji LaCrosse, raced for the final positions inside the top five. Thornton immediately checked out from the field, establishing a one second lead over Mullen in the first five laps. Like Thornton, the rest of the drivers inside the top five ran the low side of the speedway until Strickler countered that trend. Strickler went to the top side and quickly began picking off cars, [Read More]

Celebration of life is July 6 for Ed Parker

MERCED, Calif. – Family and friends will celebrate the life of Merced Speedway owner and promoter Ed Parker on Friday, July 6, at the fairgrounds. Parker, 51, died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning. “His goal when he took charge at Merced was to make it a great track for racers and he was well on his way to achieving that,” said IMCA President Brett Root, noting increased car counts and grandstand numbers at Merced during Parker’s tenure. “Very few people in this industry had the passion for motorsports that Ed did, as a fan, driver, car owner and eventually as a promoter. Our sympathies go to his family and many friends.” Survivors include his wife Patricia, son Cody, who races in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod division, his father Moses Parker and sister Beth Pfau. Evergreen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements and donations can be made sent payable to: Cody Parker at PO Box 3154 in Merced, 95344 The Celebration of Life starts at 11 a.m. in the fairgrounds pavilion.

Deery Brothers Summer Series gets top billing at Benton County Fair show

VINTON, Iowa (June 22) – The Deery Brothers Summer Series makes a much anticipated return to Benton County Speedway next Thursday night. Touring IMCA Late Models race for $2,000 to win and a minimum of $300 to start the June 28 main event, which headlines the county fair show in Vinton. Pit gates and the grandstand open at 5 p.m. Hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. and racing begins at 7 p.m. The series has made just two previous visits to BCS, which can stake a claim to fame as the site of Darrel DeFrance’s first series win. The Marshalltown driver has competed at all 484 series events to date and captured that first victory at Vinton on July 14 of 1988. Rob Toland of Colona, Ill., prevailed when the tour returned for a July 21, 2005 show. “I know Deery drivers and a lot of fans have been looking forward to this event from the time we announced the 2018 schedule,” said Tour Director Kevin Yoder. “It should be a great night.” Spectator admission [Read More]

Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout opens at Siskiyou

By Ben Deatherage YREKA, Calif. – For the second straight occasion in the history of the Wild West Shootout, Siskiyou Motor Speedway will kick things off for the IMCA Modified Tour. Hosting the same honor in 2017, the Northern California ¼-mile oval will shred the clay on Friday, June 22 and is expected to have high car counts along with great racing. All eight Wild West Shootout features pay $1,000 to win, a minimum of $100 to start and are 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying events. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Larry Shaw Race Cars Western Region and IMCA State points will be awarded each night. Tow money is $50. Oregon tour dates are Saturday, June 23 at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City; Sunday, June 24 at Coos Bay Speedway; Monday and Tuesday, June 25 and 26 at Cottage Grove Speedway; Wednesday, June 27 at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks; and Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30 at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon. The driver appreciation party on travel day Thursday, [Read More]

Holley marks 20th season as IMCA sponsor with awards in five divisions, Deery Series

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Holley Performance marks its 20th season of IMCA sponsorship in 2018, renewing an awards program for five divisions and one special series. The Bowling Green, Ky., company is manufacturer of the sanctioning body’s official carburetor and gives a combination of product and product certificate awards to IMCA Modified, IMCA Late Model, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod and Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod drivers, as well as competitors in the Deery Brothers Summer Series. Holley returns to the decal program for Stock Cars and drivers in that division are required to display two Holley decals to be eligible for national and regional point fund shares. Top eligible drivers in each of the five Modified regions get 750 cfm gas or alcohol HP carburetors while product certificates valued at $350, $250, $100 and $100 go to the next four drivers in regional point standings. Both the national Late Model rookie of the year and the Deery Series rookie of the year receive 4150 series gas carburetors. Top three drivers in [Read More]

Hancock County reschedules Northern SportMod Nationals to July 10

BRITT, Iowa (June 19) – Chalk up a “W” for Mother Nature tonight in Britt. Due to rain, already wet track conditions and a less than stellar forecast, Hancock County Speedway’s Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod Nationals have been rescheduled to Tuesday, July 10. The MaxYield Seed-sponsored special pays $2,500 to win and a minimum of $300 to start. The evening’s IMCA Modified feature pays $1,000 to win and is both a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot and Wehr’s Dash at the Harris Clash qualifier. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars race for $600 to win, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $500 to win. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional and Iowa State, but no track points will be awarded. Pit gates open at 5 p.m., the grandstand opens at 6 p.m. and racing follows 7 p.m. hot laps. Spectator admission is $12 for adults and $7 for students, seniors and veterans. Kids 12 and under get in free. Pit passes are $25. More information is available at the www.hancockcountyspeedway.com website. Other event sponsors are Croplan by [Read More]

Kirkey Racing Fabrication continues awards for IMCA national champions

ST. ANDREWS WEST, Ont. – Kirkey Racing Fabrication has renewed an awards program recognizing the accomplishments of national champions in all eight IMCA divisions. The IMCA Modified national champion receives an 88 series layback containment seat while the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national champion earns an 89 series containment seat. In its 12th season as an IMCA sponsor, the St. Andrews West, Ont., manufacturer and accessories retailer also gives $250 product certificates to the IMCA Late Model, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod, Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod and Mach-1 Sport Compact national champions. “Kirkey Racing is proud to continue our sponsorship of these outstanding divisions,” said Kevin Derochie. “The dedication to the sport and attention to detail that is continually shown by IMCA teams are second-to-none, and we are honored to continue this partnership for the upcoming season.” All Kirkey awards will be presented during the national IMCA banquet in November. Information about seats and other Kirkey products is available at the www.kirkeyracing.com website, on Facebook or by [Read More]

Road to the Iron Cup round 2 set June 23 at Park Jefferson

JEFFERSON, S.D. – A $1,000 to win Road to the Iron Cup feature event for IMCA Modifieds is on the Saturday, June 23 card at Park Jefferson Speedway. Jay Noteboom will also look to take the checkers and capture the second leg of the $25,000 Clean Sweep Sjogrensen Winery Bonus. Noteboom picked up the checkers in the first event held on May 26. The Modified feature is a qualifier for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Mach-1 Sport Compacts complete the sanctioned portion of the program. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional, South Dakota State and track points are at stake. Gates open at 5 p.m. with hot laps slated for 6:30 p.m. and racing to follow. Spectator admission is $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 70-plus, $10 for students ages 6-16 and free for five and under. Discounted tickets are available in advance through the track link on myracepass.com and are completely refundable in the event [Read More]