Northern SportMod Archives

Johnson starts with seat time goal, gets IMCA Northern SportMod rookie of the year award too

LAVEEN, Ariz. (Nov. 26, 2024) – Getting seat time was goal number one of Tyler Johnson’s first Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod season. The 15-year-old speedster from Laveen, Ariz., turned that quest into two feature wins, plenty of consistency and a long run atop the national point standings, accomplishments that culminated in his earning rookie of the year honors. “January was a pretty stacked schedule. It seemed like we were always asking ourselves how many races we already had in,” stated Johnson, who spent much of the month on the track or in the shop. “With that many races, you definitely can’t lack on your maintenance program.” “We didn’t plan to run that many races that early,” he added. “We just saw more races scheduled and told ourselves ‘Let’s go run those and get more experience under our belt.’ I knew that another Arizona driver (Clay Erickson in 2020) had been rookie of the year, that we had a lot of races and that we could do it, too.” The Deuce of Clubs Thunder Raceway [Read More]

Hibdon hustles, Czarneski triumphs on Showdown night two

By Ben Deatherage CASA GRANDE, Arizona (Nov 23, 2024) – In a thrilling bout of action on night two of The Showdown, presented by Toste Construction, Kollin Hibdon made a decisive late-race move to win the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event after starting sixth in the stoppage-free 25-lap feature at Central Arizona Raceway. Bryson Yeager held the marshal’s baton when the race began after grabbing the lead in the early going. Trying to pull away from the rest of the competition, he receive immense pressure from Robby Sawyer around the halfway point. Sawyer was as the young man from the Cowboy State of Wyoming held on to the top spot in a nail-biting battle. While the two drivers in the front waltzed on the top side of the track, Hibdon began to gain on both drivers via the inside portion of the racing surface. The Pahrump, Nev., native and Fargo, N.D., transplant powered his way to the point on lap 18 and effectively negotiated slower traffic to earn the victory. Yeager held on to [Read More]

Baca visits victory lane twice during Showdown opener

By Ben Deatherage CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Nov. 22, 2024) – Chaz Baca, reigning national champion of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and the Shaw Race Cars Western Region, showcased his dominance at Central Arizona Raceway to score a big win on the first night of The Showdown presented by Toste Construction. The Mesa maestro obtained the lead just before the midway point of the 25-lap feature at Casa Grande. Montana standout Joey Price paced the field early. He would receive a strong challenge from Baca around lap six but kept him at bay. The two-time national champion would pressure again and get the necessary run-off of turn four on lap nine to become the new pacesetter. From there, Baca handled the rest of the distance without issue despite some congested lapped traffic. North Dakota traveler Shawn Strand ended the race second with Price in third. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites were also on hand. Baca, Taylor Kuehl, Zack Tate and [Read More]

Few changes in 2025 rules for other IMCA divisions

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 21, 2024) – As promised, few changes have been made in rules for seven other IMCA divisions. “We had announced this summer that the 1978-87 General Motors OEM replacement frame manufactured by Speedway Motors would be legal for use in the Stock Car, Hobby Stocks and Southern SportMod divisions, and that Stock Car drivers could compete using the MD3 Camaro kit,” stated IMCA President Brett Root. “No other changes were made in rules for any of those three divisions.” New to 2025 rules are: •A one piece rear spoiler is allowed the Northern SportMods, a maximum of five inches for crate engines and a maximum of three inches for claim engines. •STARS Mod Lite fuel cell vents must have check valves. One spring rubber is allowed per wheel and a minimum 2” x .083” steel drive shaft must be used from the transmission adapter to the automotive rear end. •Skirting is allowed between the tires only on Sport Compacts and while belt driven accessories may be removed, the crank balancer must remain [Read More]

Broadcast dates announced for Super Nationals encore on Speed Sport 1

BOONE, Iowa (Nov. 20, 2024) – Didn’t get enough of the action at Boone Speedway and the 42nd annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s ? You can enjoy encore presentations of highlights from America’s Racin’ Vacation four nights this week, beginning tonight (Wednesday) on the SPEED SPORT 1 channel. Three-hour produced shows broadcast at 9 p.m. EST and feature highlights from IMCA.TV from Day 4 at Boone this evening, Day 5 on Thursday and Day 6 on Friday. A nine-hour broadcast marathon begins at noon Sunday, Nov. 24. SPEED SPORT 1 is available for free on Amazon Prime, PlutoTV, SlingTV and more.

IMCA crate engine track champion bonuses awarded for 2024

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 19, 2024) – IMCA drivers earning one or more track championships while competing exclusively with crate engines this season receive $250 bonuses given by Chevrolet Performance. Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, IMCA Sunoco Late Model, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod track champions indicating on their 2024 license application that they would run a crate engine will receive $250 checks for each of a total of 186 track championships. Checks will be presented during the upcoming national awards banquet or mailed in December. Modified drivers receiving bonuses for winning one or more track championships, with multiple track titles indicated in parenthesis, while competing exclusively with a crate engine include: Steven Anderson, Chaz Baca (2), Curtis Barnes, Jordan Bartz, Cole Bents, Brett Berry, Tyson Blood, Kenny Boardman, Kyler Bowen, Jarrett Brown, Keith Brown Jr., David Carrera, Kellen Chadwick, Ben Chapman, Brandon Clough (2) and Jimmy Cole. Jeffery Cooper, Ted Cooper Jr., Troy Cordes, Joel Crowbridge, Cole Czarneski, Myron DeYoung, Rick Durica, Dwight East, Grey Ferrando (2), Shawn Fletcher, Dalton Flory, Dakota Fox, [Read More]

Rainy start to season slows, but can’t stop Looft’s charge to seventh IMCA Northern SportMod crown

SWEA CITY, Iowa (Nov. 4, 2024) – His season didn’t begin like any other in Matthew Looft’s Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod career, but the way it ended was plenty familiar. “It was just a different year with all the rainouts early in the season. We went almost a month (April 15 to May 11) without a race,” said Looft, asked to compare national championship number seven with any of the six that preceded it. “So we worked and we relaxed and had more family time, which was good.” Looft, from rural Swea City, Iowa, totaled 33 feature wins among 46 top-five finishes in his 50 starts in 2024, earning track titles at Arlington Raceway, Kossuth County Speedway and Murray County Speedway. The biggest payday of his 296 career wins in the division came at Clay County Fair Speedway’s Quarter Million Dollar Challenge in May; his checkered flag run at Boone Speedway’s NAPA Auto Parts Double Down Prelude came with the national points race heating up. “The Quarter Million Dollar Challenge paid $16,667 and that made [Read More]

Iowa Dirt Nationals set records at Maquoketa Speedway

By Jerry Mackey MAQUOKETA, Iowa (Oct. 17-19, 2024) – The final race of the 2024 season was held this past weekend at the Maquoketa Speedway as the Iowa Dirt Nationals were run with three near perfect weather days greeting record-setting car counts and large crowds. The action got underway on Thursday, Oct. 17with a practice session and the makeup features of the All Star Classic that was cut short back on Sept. 14 due to rain. Ethan Braaksma scored the win in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature, David Brandies topped the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main event, Brayton Carter raced to the win in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and Eric Knutson took the win the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Friday was opening night of the Iowa Dirt Nationals with 206 competitors packing the infield on the Jackson County Fairgrounds. Winners on Friday night included Drew Janssen in the Modifieds, Brandon Schmitt took top honors in the Stock Cars, Carter scored the win by inches in the SportMod feature and Knutson took the checkers [Read More]

IMCA announces 2024 national champions

VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 15, 2024) – Record-setting racers and first-time kings and a queen are among the 2024 national champions announced today by IMCA. Mike Nichols’ 13th IMCA Sunoco Stock Car crown is the most all-time in IMCA while Cory Dumpert’s sixth straight IMCA Sunoco Late Model title sets a new record for the sanctioning body in its modern (1979-) era. Kaylee Richards became the first driver to win both a national championship, in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts, and Lady Eagle award. Other first-time national champs were Lee Goos Jr. in the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car and Jeff Shepperd in the Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMods. Matthew Looft’s Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod title was his career seventh, Dillon Raffurty’s Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite crown his career fourth. Chaz Baca went back-to-back in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and Cory Probst topped the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock standings for the second time. A 30-time feature winner, Nichols complemented his latest national title with EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region and Crawford County Speedway, [Read More]

Wray checks forecast, then checks out at Beatrice Octoberfest

BEATRICE, Neb. (Oct. 11-12, 2024) – Cory Wray checked the forecast, then he checked out. The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified hotshoe from Trenton, Mo., made his first visit to Beatrice Speedway in five years for the season-ending Octoberfest special, leading all 25 laps of Saturday’s $2,000 to win feature. “We looked at the weather, saw it was going to be nice and decided to race one more weekend,” said Wray, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “It was a good way to end the season.” He’d started third and took the lead coming to the line at the end of lap one. A lap four caution bunched the field back together but Wray pulled away and was running in traffic late in the contest. Johnny Saathoff was second, Braxton Yeager third. Justin Zeitner motored from 15th starting to fourth for hard charger honors. Jordan Grabouski, most recently a three-time Octoberfest main event winner in 2020, topped Friday’s $1,000 to win feature for the Modifieds and both $750 to win features for the [Read More]