Divisions Archives

Stephanie Dodson: Finding Her Voice in the Tower

By Ben Deatherage MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (May 20, 2026) — In the heart of Central Pennsylvania sprint car country — where engines echo through the Susquehanna Valley and some of the biggest names in the sport compete — Stephanie Dodson has found her place. For nearly three decades, she competed behind the wheel, starting in go-karts before eventually moving into Midgets and RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Cars. Today, it’s high above the track, in the announcer’s tower. A former driver turned play-by-play voice of the PA Sprint Series, Dodson is part of a growing wave of women in motorsports — but still one of the few regularly calling races corner to corner. It’s a role she never planned. And a path that, like most of her life in racing, found her along the way. Built Into Racing “I don’t think I even had a choice to get involved in racing,” Dodson joked. Her father, George Stevens, raced Stock Cars. Her uncle, Gary Stevens, competed across Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada in Small Block Modifieds. When her uncle stepped [Read More]

2026 Dakota Classic Mod Tour Dates Announced and Pre-registration Now Open

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa. (May 20, 2026) — Pre-registration is now officially open for the 2026 Dakota Classic Mod Tour, as one of the premier stretches of Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing competition prepares to return to the Upper Midwest and Canada this July. The six-race tour will once again feature some of the best Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified and Sunoco IMCA Stock Car competitors from across the country competing in North Dakota and Saskatchewan from July 5-10. The 2026 schedule opens Sunday, July 5 at Nodak Speedway before heading north to Estevan Motor Speedway on Monday, July 6. Williston Basin Speedway hosts round three on Tuesday, July 7, followed by Southwest Speedway on Wednesday, July 8. Dacotah Speedway welcomes the tour on Thursday, July 9, before the finale at Jamestown Speedway on Friday, July 10. Every night of the tour will serve as a Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational and B&B Racing Chassis All-Star Stock Car Invitational qualifier for the 2026 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. North Dakota State, regional, and [Read More]

Oathout Opens Santa Maria’s IMCA SportMod Season with Dominant Victory

By Stephanie Odom SANTA MARIA, Calif. (May 16, 2026) — Santa Maria Speedway opened its gates Saturday night for another evening of racing action, including the first Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod event of the 2026 season at the facility. With strong family ties to Santa Maria Speedway, Bakersfield’s Sunnie Simkins picked up her first career SportMod heat race victory. Local favorite Matthew Frazier secured the second heat race win of the evening. With it being opening night for the division, the top 10 drivers after heat race competition redrew for the 20-lap feature event. Willy Oathout and Paul Brown led the field to green. Oathout, from San Luis Obispo, grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back on his way to his first victory of the season. Frazier finished second while Alyssa Smith crossed the line in third. Orion Messina charged from 12th to finish fourth while Rich Denman advanced from 10th to round out the top five.

Cooper Holds Off Dowty in Cottage Grove Sport Compact Thriller

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (May 16, 2026) — Kerry Cooper survived a late-race challenge and a green-white-checkered restart to capture the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact feature at Cottage Grove Speedway, scoring his first victory of the season in the 20-lap finale. Lady Eagle racer Tiffany Towns paced the opening laps before Cooper worked his way around her on lap six. The Cottage Grove driver began to stretch his advantage as the race stayed green and encountered lapped traffic on lap 12. Teenager Shane Dowty started reeling Cooper in by lap 14 and edged ahead at the line just before a caution slowed the field. On the restart, Dowty established himself out front and built a comfortable advantage while Cooper regrouped and mounted another charge. Cooper caught Dowty on lap 17 and reclaimed the lead with two circuits remaining, but another caution on lap 18 set up a dramatic green-white-checkered finish. Dowty made one final bid on the last lap, but Cooper held strong at the stripe to secure the win after starting third. Dowty [Read More]

Memorial Weekend Rumble Set for May 24 at Benton County

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (May 15, 2026) — Benton County Speedway will celebrate Memorial Weekend in a big way on Sunday, May 24, with the inaugural Memorial Weekend Rumble featuring Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing action and special payouts for Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds and Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods. Modifieds will race for $2,047 to win and $247 to start in a draw/redraw format with no track points awarded. The feature will also serve as a Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational qualifier for the 2026 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. SportMods will compete for $1,021 to win and $121 to start, also utilizing a draw/redraw format with no track points awarded. Other divisions on the card include Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Track, Iowa State, regional, and national points will be awarded in those divisions. Stock Cars will compete for EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region points, while Hobby Stocks race for B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region points. Modifieds will also compete for Razor [Read More]

Berg Goes Flag-to-Flag for First Dacotah Speedway Stock Car Victory

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (May 15, 2026) — When the green flag waved for the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature at Dacotah Speedway, pole sitter Jason Berg quickly pulled away from the field. As Berg’s lead continued to grow, the battle raged behind him for second place between Brennor Grinstead and Travis Ulmer. They raced door-to-door and side-by-side for several laps. A caution with seven laps to go erased Berg’s large advantage over the field. On the restart, Andrew Jochim quickly moved into the second position and challenged for the lead. Mechanical failure on Jochim’s car resulted in contact between the leaders, but Berg held onto the top spot while Jochim took his car to the pits. Berg, from Fargo, pulled away once more to lead all 20 laps and cruise to his first Dacotah Speedway win and first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the 2026 season. Travis Ulmer finished second ahead of points leader Geoff Hellman, who charged from 18th to third. Brennor Grinstead slipped to fourth while Todd Carter rounded out [Read More]

Pillar Restaurant Group Stan Cisar Speedweek Set for June 17-20 Across Nebraska

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (May 19, 2026) — The inaugural Pillar Restaurant Group Stan Cisar Speedweek is set to bring four straight nights of RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car action across Nebraska from June 17-20, honoring one of the region’s longtime supporters of racing while offering strong nightly payouts and a lucrative overall points fund. The tour opens Wednesday, June 17 at Boone County Raceway in Albion before heading to US 30 Speedway in Columbus on Thursday, June 18. Beatrice Speedway hosts round three on Friday, June 19, with the finale scheduled for Saturday, June 20 at Eagle Raceway. Each night will pay $1,547 to win, with a consistent nightly format, support from Four Corners Fire and Safety, a dedicated race director, and a dedicated tech official throughout the week. Drivers who qualify for the feature will earn a minimum of $300 to start, while those unable to transfer to the main event will still receive $200 in tow money. Nightly feature payouts include $1,000 for second, $800 for third, $750 for fourth, and $700 for [Read More]

5th Annual Dave Riley Memorial Returns June 14 to Park Jefferson Speedway

By Ben Deatherage JEFFERSON, S.D. (May 19, 2026) — One of the most anticipated special events of the summer at Park Jefferson Speedway returns on Sunday, June 14, as the 5th Annual Dave Riley Memorial Race honors the longtime Siouxland racer with a loaded night of Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing action. The event celebrates the legacy of Dave Riley, who spent most of his racing career competing in the IMCA Hobby Stock division before racing an IMCA Northern SportMod during his final season in 2017. Over the past four years, the memorial has grown into one of the marquee events at the high-banked South Dakota oval. “This race has been a huge success the last four years commemorating dad,” said Dave’s son, Chance Riley. “It brings the community together and everyone has a great night of celebration in honor of Dave.” A massive purse awaits competitors across all five IMCA divisions. Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks headline the event with a $3,056 winner’s share, while Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds race for $2,056 to win. Sunoco IMCA [Read More]

Christensen Capitalizes Late for Shelby County Stock Car Victory

By Don Hawkins HARLAN, Iowa (May 16, 2026) — Once again with rain and storms in the forecast, the Shelby County Speedway staff met the challenge by completing a quick and efficient program. The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars once again put on one of the night’s best races. Mike Albertsen looked poised to capture the victory while being heavily pressured by Riley Christensen and Miciah Hidlebaugh. An incident in the closing laps involving Albertsen and Hidlebaugh opened the door for Christensen, who slipped into the lead and never looked back. The Audubon driver started seventh and picked up his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of the season. Dayton Ullrich finished second while Dusty Van Horn advanced from 10th to third. Braden Richards charged from 12th to fourth and Austin Meiners completed the top five. The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts had a stout field of 24 entries battling for the $1,000-to-win feature. A special thank you went to Jim Cahill, who added $550 to the already impressive winner’s purse. After several incidents throughout the feature, [Read More]

Voeltz Scores Emotional First Career IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car Victory at I-90

HARTFORD, S.D. (May 16, 2026) — A long-awaited breakthrough finally came Saturday night for Michalob Voeltz at I-90 Speedway. The Madison driver held off repeated challenges and a dramatic series of restarts to capture his first RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car feature victory. Starting fifth, Voeltz kept his cool while three-time defending track champion and reigning IMCA National champion Lee Goos Jr. charged through the field late in the race. Despite the pressure from Goos, who advanced from 11th, Voeltz was able to pull away in the closing laps to secure his first win of the season. The victory also earned him a $200 bonus from fellow driver Nick Barger of Barger Construction. The triumph marked Voeltz’s first victory at I-90 Speedway since 2014, when he won six times in a Chevy Beretta in local Stock Car competition. Goos ended the race second. “Longhair” John Lambertz delivered the drive of the night, racing from 19th on the starting grid after transferring through the B feature to finish third. Ryan Bickett advanced from 10th to fourth while Gunnar [Read More]