Ryan Clark

IMCA Modified features at Jim Marsh Classic pay $1,000 to win

TONOPAH, Nev. – IMCA Modified features at Tonopah Speedway’s Jim Marsh Classic special will pay $1,000 to win. The Friday, Aug. 18 and Saturday, Aug. 19 main events are qualifiers for the 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Larry Shaw Racing Western Region, Allstar Performance State and track points will be awarded both nights. Car and driver each night is $100; pre-entry fee for both nights is $175. Pit gates open at 3 p.m., hot laps are at 5:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m. both days. Spectator admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military and kids. Pit passes are $25. More information is available by calling 775 277-1583 and on Facebook. A pre-entry form is on the www.tonopahspeedway.net website.

Strickler switches gears, then checks out in second half of Shryock Memorial All-Star main

BRITT, Iowa (Aug. 12) – Kyle Strickler was right where he wanted to be midway through Hancock County Speedway’s Shryock Memorial All-Star main event. As a result, he was right where he wanted to be at the end of Saturday’s 50-lap feature for IMCA Modifieds. Strickler stayed close to Ryan Ruter following numerous cautions throughout the first half and was running second when the race was halted for the mandatory pit stop at halfway. He restarted second, took the lead almost at the drop of the green and checked out on the rest of the 31-car field, taking the $4,000 checkers handily ahead of Ruter. “It was so important to be lined up second,” Strickler explained. “The track had rubbered up and I was definitely trying to position myself for the restart.” “It’s tough to run well in a field this good but we made a gear change (at halfway) that helped us,” he added. “I knew if I could get out front I’d be tough to catch.” The second 25 laps ran caution-free. The [Read More]

IMCA Speedweek sees first repeat winner as Marriott repeats at Night of 10,000 Stars

BRITT, Iowa (Aug. 11) – Hunter Marriott became the first repeat winner of IMCA Speedweek when he repeated as the Night of 10,000 Stars winner Friday at Hancock County Speedway. Marriott led all but the first lap, earning $7,000 for the IMCA Modified feature victory along with a $1,000 bonus for leading at halfway in the 50-lap main event. Tad Reutzel drew the pole start and was scored first on the opening circuit; the sixth-starting Marriott made the best use of the lower line, had the lead the next time around and stayed in front to the finish. Richie Gustin raced from 13th starting to finish second while hard charger Ryan Ruter passed 21 cars and ended in third. Rounding out the top five were Joel Rust, who had started 22nd, and Ethan Dotson. Marriott, runner-up at Thursday’s Night of 1,000 Stars at Britt, had raced his way onto the 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot by winning Monday’s Arnold Motor Supply Hawkeye Dirt Tour feature at Clay County Fair Speedway. Randy Brands was the [Read More]

Cranston is king of URSS Belleville 305 Nationals

BELLEVILLE, Kan. (Aug. 5) – Luke Cranston’s smooth, on-the-fence driving style has always been a good fit at the Belleville High Banks and Saturday night proved no different as the “semi-retired driver jumped into Danny King’s mount and claimed his fourth victory in the eighth annual Belleville United Rebel Sprint Series 305 Nationals. The fifth starting Cranston wasted no time getting around Tyler Drueke as he drove around him for the lead on lap two and began a blistering pace. Ty Williams used the very top rim to pass both Zach Blurton and Drueke to move into second and begin his charge to run down the high-flying Cranston, who had already built up a 15-20 car lead over the field. As each lap progressed, Williams began cutting into Cranston’s lead and by lap 15 was within two car lengths and on lap 17 was on his bumper. Catching Cranston was the easy part, passing him was another, however. Williams tried one last move, driving down to the bottom hard on the final corner to pull [Read More]

$1,000 awaits Sprint Series of Oklahoma winner Saturday in Enid

By David Smith Jr. OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Sprint Series of Oklahoma IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car Series presented by Smiley’s Racing Products rolls on Saturday night, Aug. 12 as the tour will make its first and only scheduled appearance at Enid Speedway. Courtesy of co-promoter Kip and Heidi Hughes, this event will pay $1000 to win, up from the standard $750 to win. This event will be the fifth weekend in-a-row the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car series, presented by Smiley’s Racing Products, will be in action. After the conclusion of this event at the Garfield County Fairgrounds, three more dates are scheduled before the end of August. Jake Martens comes in as series point leader but is looking over his shoulder as inaugural series champion Danny Shouse, winner of a tour-best four features thus far this season, is closing the gap. Coming into last Saturday night’s event in Ada, Oklahoma (won by Shouse), Martens had a slim 18-point-lead. With Shouse’s win and Martens sixth place finish, unofficially the lead is now down to 13. [Read More]

Paris prevails in IMCA Stock Car special at 34

By Brian Neal WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa (Aug. 5) – It was kids’ night at the track but Shane Paris wasn’t kidding around when it came to the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car special Saturday at 34 Raceway. Paris proved the fastest in a one-lap dash to the checkers, edging Jake Wenig by inches to take the $1,000 victory, his first this season at West Burlington. John Oliver Jr. led much of the way before ending in third. Completing the top five were Dane Fenton and Tom Bowling Jr. Oliver made the most of his front row starting spot, pulling away from the rest of the field after a succession of cautions. Challenger Dean Kratzer’s run up front came to an end on lap 15 when his engine expired. Paris and Wenig, who had started 14th, stayed close to Oliver through the next two restarts. Coming off turn four to take the white flag, Oliver drifted high and allowed both Paris and Wenig to go by. After the lap was scored complete, the yellow came out again and [Read More]

Richie Gustin checks out on IMCA Harris Clash foes

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (Aug. 8) – Richie Gustin made sure the race was for second Tuesday night at Hamilton County Speedway. Gustin led all 25 laps of the Harris Clash for IMCA Modifieds, earning $2,000 for a dominating performance. Tim Ward took over second late in the contest but didn’t have enough laps left to reel in Gustin. Ryan Ruter chased Gustin early and ended in third while Hunter Marriott was fourth. Kelly Shryock and Joel Rust came out of “B” features to finish fifth and sixth, respectively. Gustin had started outside Todd Shute on the front row and quickly moved into the front spot, running the extreme lower line with Ruter. A couple cautions were all that slowed Gustin as he pulled away from the rest of the field after each restart. Ward found success on the high side in working his way to the runner-up spot. Shryock started 16th, Rust 18th. Already on the ballot for next year’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational, Gustin had previously won the Harris Clash in 2010. Rust, the [Read More]

Arlington checkers fly for Plamann

ARLINGTON, Minn. (Aug. 5) – Chris Plamann was the third and final leader in Saturday’s Premier Logistics IMCA Hobby Stock feature at Arlington Raceway. Colton Burke and Luke Trebelhorn split time up front before Plamann capitalized on a restart, then held off Brad Becker the eight times around the track. A restart also helped open the door for Unhinged Pizza IMCA Northern SportMod winner Kevin Kirk, who prevailed in a green, white, checkered finish in front of Jeff Lloyd. Dean Cornelius led from lap three to the finish of the B & B Racing Chassis IMCA Stock Car feature and traveler Adam Hensel prevailed in the MN 93 IMCA Modified headliner. Chris Graf started 10th and finished first in the 95.7 The Rock IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car main. Sixth starting Alex Dostal captured the Coors Light IMCA Sport Compact checkers.

Jerry Muenster, former promoters to be inducted into Luxemburg Hall of Fame

LUXEMBURG, Wis. – A 76-year-old driver still competing weekly and a trio of former track promoters will be inducted into Luxemburg Speedway’s Hall of Fame at the third-mile clay oval Friday night, Aug. 18. 1968 track champion Jerry Muenster of Green Bay, along with Luxemburg Tri-Star Speedway promoters Debbie and Kelly Hafeman and Ralph Aschenbrenner will be ushered into the track’s Hall of Fame. Tri Star Promotions promoted weekly racing at Luxemburg for 13 seasons from 1989 through 2001. During their tenure the track boasted some of the highest weekly IMCA car counts nationwide and Kelly Hafeman is a former IMCA Modified champion. Despite being two full generations older than most of his fellow racers the 76-year-old Muenster is the only holdover driver still competing from the track’s coupe days. Muenster still competes weekly at Luxemburg in an IMCA Modified. There will be plenty of wheel-to-wheel action that night as well. The Quietwoods RV Gambling Man’s Stock Car Special will take place along with the annual John Soukup Memorial SportMod Special. Soukup, a racer from [Read More]

Aug. 18 is deadline for Super Nationals pit stall reservations

BOONE, Iowa – Friday, Aug. 18 will be the final day to make pit stall reservations for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Pit stall applicants must be licensed IMCA members and have pre-registered for the Sept. 4-9 Super Nationals at Boone Speedway. “We are still taking pit stall applications but they are filling in quickly,” observed IMCA President Brett Root. “The size of their hauler, the division the driver races in and the nights they will be racing are mandatory requirements for us to know.” “We are doing all we can to accommodate requests for pit stalls,” he continued. Pit stall confirmations will be e-mailed to drivers on Aug. 19 and 20. Drivers should bring those confirmations with them to Boone Speedway to make the parking process easier. “There are still plenty of non-reserved stalls available,” Root said. “Boone Speedway has added an additional 17 acres of camping, grandstand parking and pit parking for the 2017 event.”