Modified Archives

Competition at Batesville sparks Taylor in IMCA Modified Central Region rookie race

CABOT, Ark. (Nov. 30, 2023) – The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division proved to be tailor-made for Garrett Taylor. The Cabot, Ark., driver started his racing career in the class this season, racing weekly with the Saturday night stars at Batesville Motor Speedway and earning the Jet Racing Central Region rookie of the year award. “I’ve been going to races since I was learning to walk,” said Taylor, now 20 years old and an apprentice electrician by trade. “My dad Stacy raced a late model. We were looking at getting a race car and decided this class would suit us, so I jumped right into an IMCA Modified.” He got in three races last fall and returned to the track this spring in a 2019 GRT by Cadillac Chassis purchased out of Denver. “I really enjoyed the competition at Batesville. I got to race against some of the best Modified drivers in IMCA on a weekly basis,” Taylor said, “and I got to learn by watching them.” He’d log 16 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing [Read More]

Modified

Ricks travels and proves his point with IMCA North Central Region rookie prize

BOYDEN, Iowa (Nov. 30, 2023) – Dyllan Ricks’ goals at the start of the season were straight forward enough: Get as much experience racing and at as many different tracks as possible. He succeed at both, crisscrossing the Razor Chassis North Central Region for five feature wins and rookie of the year honors, and making 58 weekly starts at 18 different speed plants in all during his first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified campaign. “More seat time makes you a better driver,” reasoned Ricks, who made the move up after two seasons in a Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod. “This was the most nights we’d run in a season and it was a lot, but we got to race at a lot of different tracks and on a lot of different surfaces.” Nineteen years old and from Boyden, Iowa, Ricks traveled to Cocopah Speedway and Central Arizona Raceway, then to Abilene Speedway to start the year. He snuck in a visit to Nebraska’s Beatrice Speedway before getting his career first win in the class April 23 [Read More]

Rosebrugh primed by Florida racing vacation for run to IMCA Eastern Region rookie award

WEST BRANCH, Mich. (Nov. 30, 2023) – Chase Rosebrugh started his first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified season with a Florida vacation. The third generation driver from West Branch, Mich., ended it as rookie of the year in the DeVilbiss Racing Eastern Region. “We had so much fun in this class, and one of the reasons was because we were able to travel and go to different tracks,” said Rosebrugh, son of long-time IMCA Modified driver Todd Rosebrugh and a teammate of Collin Thirlby and Brian Brindley. “We saw the Clash on the Coast series that Taylor (Peyton) was putting on and wanted to get our mid-winter racing fix.” “We didn’t necessarily go to Florida to race for points,” he continued, “but we were able to race four nights in some very tough fields. There were some very good fields there.” That late February, early March competition had Rosebrugh ready when tracks opened closer to home. He was a winner in just his third home state start, on May 20 at Merritt Speedway, and would total [Read More]

Chevrolet Performance bonuses are record $54,750 for IMCA crate engine track champions

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 29, 2023) – Chevrolet Performance bonuses added up to a record $54,750 for IMCA drivers who won one or more track championships while competing exclusively with crate engines this season. Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, IMCA Sunoco Late Model, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod and Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod drivers who indicated on their 2023 license application they would run a crate engine receive $250 checks for each of a total of 219 track championships. “Those numbers are impressive,” observed IMCA Marketing Integration and Sponsorship Director Carson Becker-Gramm,” but what really stands out is that since the introduction of the original track championship bonus program in 2005, Chevrolet Performance has now paid over half a million dollars to IMCA drivers competing with crate engines and winning track titles.” “This program is a great way that Chevrolet Performance is able to support drivers across the country.” Modified drivers receiving bonuses for winning one or more track championships, with multiple track titles indicated in parenthesis, while competing with a crate [Read More]

Drivers at 57 tracks earn IMCA.TV replay bonuses adding up to $97,645

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 28, 2023) – IMCA drivers won’t have to wait ‘til Christmas morning to open envelopes containing IMCA.TV bonus checks. A total of 705 drivers in the nine divisions sanctioned by IMCA earned shares $97,645 generated by replays of weekly and special events at 57 tracks broadcast by IMCA.TV or its affiliates. Modified, Late Model, RaceSaver Sprint Car and Stock Car drivers finishing in the top three in point standings at those tracks receive checks for $240, $160 and $135; Northern SportMod and Southern SportMod checks are distributed in the amounts of $140, $115 and $100, and Hobby Stock, STARS Mod Lite and Sport Compact checks are in the amounts of $115, $85 and $70. Those checks are being mailed this week from the IMCA home office. “This bonus program is the first of its kind and was developed by our streaming platform provider Riivet in 2021,” explained IMCA President Brett Root. “A percentage of subscription fees paid by replay viewers is paid to tracks and to top three drivers in sanctioned divisions.” “Almost $28,000 was paid to nearly [Read More]

Patience pays off as Emerson earns IMCA Modified national, regional rookie awards

WEATHERFORD, Texas (Nov. 15, 2023) – In the fall of 2021, Kaleb Emerson credited the quality of competition he ran against weekly in helping win Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod national rookie of the year honors. It was more of that good competition, plus fatherly advice and patience that took the Weatherford, Texas, teen to national and GRT Race Cars South Central Region rookie awards for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds this season. “Unloading the car and racing against guys like Matthew Day and William Gould so many nights definitely made us better. Everything I accomplished this year I had to earn,” Emerson said. “And it helped a lot to have my dad (Jeff, also his crew chief and fellow driver) racing with me. I can ask him almost anything because he’s been to so many different tracks and definitely knew how to help me with setup.” The patience part, however, had to be learned. Emerson needed 20 starts over the first three months of the season before getting his first win, on June 2 [Read More]

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]

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]