Ryan Clark

Final IMCA Modified win of season nets first Jet Racing Central Region title for Nightingale

MAIZE, Kan. (Nov. 15, 2023) – A DNF on opening night of Salina Speedway’s Mid-America Clash had Jake Nightingale thinking seriously about loading up the trailer and ending his season early. He changed his mind and stuck around, winning the night two show and ultimately the Jet Racing Central Region championship. Those Sept. 23 Friesen Performance checkers were Nightingale’s fifth of 2023 and gave him the edge in the race with Anthony Roth for his career first regional crown. “It’s pretty incredible, to say the least,” said Nightingale, who’d previously gone 1,351 days between wins while moving up in classes and before starting his IMCA career four years ago. “Racing was a dream of mine since I was little. Now It’s almost hard to believe, to go from not winning for so long to winning one of five regions.” “I can’t wait to chase the national title. I’m a little bit excited if you can’t tell.” The Dodge City Raceway Park track and Kansas State champion was an RC racer in junior high and started [Read More]

A first for California as Daffern reigns in Southern Region for IMCA Hobby Stocks

BRAWLEY, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2023) – Thomas Daffern borrowed a car when he made his first trip to race in the Midwest this summer. He might have to borrow a trailer to get all the trophies, plaques and championship jackets he’ll be receiving at the upcoming IMCA national banquet back home. The Brawley speedster set the bar high in 2023, finishing ninth in IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock national standings and becoming the first California driver in division history to win the Southern Region title. Along with 17 feature wins, he’d also earn track championships at Barona Speedway, Cocopah Speedway and Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway track titles, and both Arizona and California State crowns. “We started off racing hard for national and track championships,” said Daffern, part of a large racing family. “Getting regional and state titles were nice, too.” “We ran the car (a 2013 Reaper) I’d gotten right before the summer break at Cocopah last year all season. I’d picked it up for a fairly good price,” he continued, “ and it worked [Read More]

Clark gets job done in repeat race back to IMCA Stock Car Southern Region throne

JOSHUA, Texas (Nov. 14, 2023) – Blake Clark got the job done in the dirt and on it again this year. A heavy equipment operator by trade, the Joshua, Texas, driver raced to a second consecutive EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region championship, his total of 11 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car wins giving him the edge over Matt Guillaume after the two finished in a tie at the top of the point standings. “I had to win the last few races or I wouldn’t have won the region so there was a lot of pressure,” said Clark, who scored three wins in his last four home region starts to repeat as king in the South. “We really made the car work those last few nights. It was pretty hard and pretty cool at the same time.” Clark’s travels took him to eight different eight different tracks in Texas and Oklahoma. His first wins of the season came in back-to-back starts March 31 at Boyd Raceway and April 1 at Southern Oklahoma Speedway, shortly before he swapped [Read More]

IMCA Late Model honors are Richards’ IMCA rookie record third

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nov. 14, 2023) – A season that started with admittedly low expectations instead resulted in Cade Richards racing into the IMCA record book. Richards became the first IMCA driver to win national rookie of the year honors in three different divisions, following first-year honors for Friesen Performance Northern SportMods (2019) and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars (2021) with the IMCA Sunoco Late Model rookie prize. “We weren’t expecting much but it turned out to be a pretty good year,” said Richards, who turned 19 just before the end of the season and is in his first year studying toward a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Nebraska in his hometown of Lincoln. “I was racing for Al Humphrey in a 10-year-old Victory Circle Late Model we pulled out of a barn.” “We put in a lot of work right before the start of the season to get it ready,” he continued. “I’ve raced a Stock Car and made maybe 15 Modified starts the last two years so the big transition was learning the [Read More]

Choate adds to IMCA STARS Mod Lite resume with rich Natural State Nationals checkers

PLUMERVILLE, Ark. (Nov. 4, 2023) – Ronnie Choate added to his impressive 2023 Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite resume by winning the Mod Lites of Arkansas Natural State Nationals held Nov. 4 at Central Arkansas Motor Speedway. Choate, from Cookeville, Tenn., made his move to the front with five circuits left in the 30-lapper to win the inaugural special and $3,000. “I was just being patient, waiting for some green flag laps,” Choate said following his seventh win of 2023, a season that also saw him earn IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, Tennessee Mod Lite Racing Association and Kentucky State titles. “Showing up to a new track you have never seen and being fast is a challenge. It makes winning special.” “I feel we accomplished that this weekend,” he continued. “This year has been the best of my racing career and will be very hard to top.” Jaedon McDowell had paced the first from the start and ended in second. “My strategy was to get the lead early and run up [Read More]

DeYoung wins in 29th straight IMCA Modified season, races to first DeVilbiss Racing Eastern Region crown

STANTON, Mich. (Nov. 14, 2023) – A winner every season he’s raced a Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, Myron DeYoung continued one streak and started another in 2023. DeYoung won 14 features this season, his record-tying 29th straight with at least one weekly sanctioned victory. Those checkers and consistent top-five finishes helped the Stanton, Mich., driver earn his career-first DeVilbiss Racing Eastern Region championship. “It feels really good. We tried really hard for the region in 1996 or 1997, wrecked a couple cars, didn’t finish the season and really haven’t run for it since,” said DeYoung, at 51 the oldest Modified driver to win their first regional title. “I’m glad we stuck with it and glad we won it.” “A regional championship is something, for sure, You don’t realize how special it is until you’ve done it,” he continued. “And now that we’ve won the region once, maybe we can do it again next year.” Now 27th on the all-time divisional list with 143 wins, DeYoung won both the Crystal Motor Speedway track and Michigan State titles for [Read More]

Larson wins career 100th IMCA Modified feature, second Razor Chassis North Central Region title

FREEPORT, Ill. (Nov. 13, 2023) – A season that started out with the goal of focusing on special events turned out special in a couple different ways for Jeff Larson. Larson counted his career 100th Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win among 15 checkered flag runs while racing to another Razor Chassis North Central Region championship. “At the beginning of the year, we really didn’t have any plans to do a lot of weekly racing. We were just going to race specials,” explained Larson, from Freeport, Ill., and wheelman for the Tim Current Rage Chassis-equipped team. “There were a lot of rainouts early and after about a month we saw that we could still race for the region and maybe a top three finish nationally.” Both belated goals became reality as Larson earned regional honors, along with Maquoketa Speedway and East Moline Speedway track and Illinois state titles. He was third in final national standings, behind Chaz Baca and Matthew Day. “Chaz had a good year and won a lot of races, so hats off to [Read More]

Day adds to IMCA accomplishments with GRT Race Cars South Central Region title

FARMERSVILLE, Texas (Nov. 10, 2023) – The question at the end of each of the last three seasons has been what will Matthew Day do for an encore? The answer to that question this year was win the GRT Race Cars South Central Region title. Day, just 20 years old and from Farmersville, Texas, motored to 19 feature wins and a runner-up finish in national standings for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds in addition to that career-first regional prize. His 2023 accolades also included Boyd Raceway and Southern Oklahoma Speedway track, All Star Shootout series and Oklahoma State crowns. “We didn’t plan to run for points at all. Everything just came together for us,” said Day, now a second-year structural engineering student at the University of Texas at Arlington. “We just ran where we wanted from the get-go and saw we were doing good running two nights a week before deciding to focus on points.” In a new-to-him 2022 Longhorn Chassis by Loenbro, Day recorded six wins in his first 26 starts and 13 checkers in [Read More]

Dirt track racing foray leads Leasure to IMCA Junior National Championship

MANSFIELD, Texas (Nov. 9, 2023) – iRacing got Sean Leasure hooked on racing. IMCA Racing got the Mansfield, Texas, driver on the track, and his Mach-1 Sport Compact nine feature wins and consistent top five finishes throughout an abbreviated season got him the Junior National Championship. “This was my final year of being eligible to run for Junior National Champion. It was definitely an accomplishment,” said Leasure, 18. “Sport Compacts gave me my first foray into dirt track racing and most nights they were a blast to drive.” More than 500 drivers ages 13-18 contended for Junior National Champion honors and accompanying post-high school education scholarship funds in 2023. “We had a lot of fun this season and were right up there in national points,” said Leasure, already a high school graduate with an associate’s degree from Tarrant County Community College and planning to resume computer science studies next fall. “I’m looking forward to getting more seat time and seeing what we can do next season.” He’d raced a go-kart in addition to seven seasons [Read More]

Raffurty’s formula for success equals third straight IMCA STARS Mod Lite national title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 9, 2023) – Start with long hours in the shop and a sharp eye for detail, then add good help and good sponsors. The result was 28 feature wins and another Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite national championship for Dillon Raffurty. “We’ve got a formula that works and we’re going to keep using it,” explained Raffurty, from Kansas City, Mo. “I don’t like change, anyway, and if something is working for you, there’s no reason to change.” There have been few reasons to do anything different as Raffurty has raced to the national crown each of the three years the Mod Lite division has been sanctioned by IMCA, totaling 88 feature victories while winning an other-worldly 80 percent of his weekly starts. He won 28 of 34 outings, along with US 36 Raceway and Valley Speedway track and the Missouri State title in 2023. After a three-race sweep of the Sugar Bowl Winter Nationals at Florida’s Hendry County Motorsports Park in February, Raffurty returned home and went a perfect 16-for-16 [Read More]