Northern SportMod Archives

Bellm Breaks Through in Thaw Brawl Stock Car Showdown

By Ben Deatherage AZTEC, N.M. (Mar. 29, 2025) — The Sunoco IMCA Stock Car 25-lap main event capped off the second and final night of the Thaw Brawl at Aztec Speedway’s 73rd season opener, and it ended with 19-year-old Lady Eagle racer Layne Bellm collecting her first win of the year. 1997 track champion Tony Hill won the race to the front on lap one and created early separation. The battle for second heated up between Jeremy Hughes and Casey Murdoch, with Murdoch eventually winning the fight and setting his sights on Hill. Murdoch began closing the gap as Bellm, the 2023 Phillips County Raceway champion from Bloomfield, Colorado, moved into third. The race took a sudden turn when Hill slowed to a stop on lap 10, retiring to the pits and handing the lead to Murdoch. Bellm soon overtook Hughes and chased down Murdoch, executing a pass for the lead with six laps remaining. Murdoch didn’t back down and stayed glued to her bumper, challenging the Centennial State chauffeur through the final turns. Bellm’s corner [Read More]

Larson Wins Emotional Modified Thriller at Maquoketa

By Ben Deatherage MAQUOKETA, Iowa (Mar. 28, 2025) — Jeff Larson scored an emotional victory in the 25-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event, holding off a hard-charging Shane Paris in a thrilling late-race duel at Maquoketa Speedway. Larson, the four-time defending Maquoketa track champion, 2021 IMCA Modified National Champion, and two-time Razor Chassis North Central Region titleholder, wasted no time getting to the front. Piloting the P.J. Kostenbader-owned No. B1, he blitzed from third to the lead on the backstretch of lap one. Behind him, Drew Janssen settled into second in the Danny Meier and Trent Guest-owned No. 127 as the top two began to distance themselves. Charlie Mohr and Jaden Fryer waged war for third until Mohr finally secured the spot. The race stayed green for a long stretch, allowing Larson to build a sizable lead. A caution on lap 16, however, reset the field. On the restart, Shane Paris – two-time IMCA.TV Winter Nationals winner – charged into third, then quickly took second by working the low groove. A late caution with five [Read More]

Ficklin Jr. Fends Off Field for Marysville Win

By Troy Hennig MARYSVILLE, Calif. (Mar. 29, 2025) — Mike Ficklin Jr. of Oroville held off multiple challengers to score a hard-fought victory in the 20-lap Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod main event at Marysville Raceway’s ¼-mile clay oval. Ficklin jumped out to the early lead before the race was slowed by a caution on lap two. On the restart, two-time California State champion Trevor Clymens made a strong run on the high side to challenge for the top spot and got around, but a yellow flag negated the pass. When racing resumed, Tyler Rodgers applied pressure to Clymens for second and took the position on lap five. Rodgers, a former track champion at both Quincy and Diamond Mountain Speedways, then set his sights on the leader. Another caution bunched the field on lap six, and Rodgers resumed his charge on the inside. He stayed glued to Ficklin’s rear bumper until lap 10, when the leader got sideways exiting turn four. Rodgers made contact, allowing Clymens to pass both drivers for the lead. However, the contact [Read More]

Burkhart Steals One at The Line at RPM’s Sunflower Classic Finale

By Sheldon Wickwar HAYS, Kan. (Mar. 29, 2025) — The 20-lap Sunoco IMCA Stock Car main was one of the most stellar races on the final night of the 13th Annual Sunflower Classic at RPM Speedway. The feature began with Johnny Yutterman and Kolby Stegman on the front row, but it didn’t take long for Jason Rogers and Troy Burkhart to charge to the front. The veteran duo battled tightly and cleanly throughout the race. In the final corner, Burkhart surged past Rogers in a thrilling drag race to the finish — winning by less than eight hundredths of a second. Burkhart earned his first win of the season in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. David Murray Jr. grabbed second, followed by Bobby Eubanks in third, Rogers in fourth, and Yutterman in fifth. Money Brings New Car to RPM Victory Lane The 20-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature started with Greg Gustus and Tim Hamilton led the field to green, with Gustus getting the early jump as Hamilton tried to keep pace. A few laps in, [Read More]

Sproul Fastest in Friday Night Modified Action At RPM

By Sheldon Wickwar HAYS, Kan. (Mar. 28, 2025) — The 20-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature marked the headlining event of the opening night of the 13th Annual Sunflower Classic at RPM Speedway. Dakota Sproul and Cole Czarneski led the field to green, with Sproul jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Not even lapped traffic slowed the locked-in racer, who claimed his first victory of the season in the Jet Racing Central Region in dominant fashion. Cole Czarneski finished second, followed by Tanner Black in third, Clay Sellard in fourth, and Brett Berry in fifth. Pfeifer Holds Off Wisconsin Star in Stock Car Battle! Austin Carter and Tyler Tipton started on the front row of the 20-lap Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature, but it didn’t take long for Kyle Pfeifer and double duty runner Czarneski to charge to the front. The duo battled closely and cleanly for much of the event. In the end, Pfeifer came out on top, earning his first win of the season in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern [Read More]

Shute Denies Carter in Last-Lap Modified Showdown at Bloomfield

By Ben Deatherage BLOOMFIELD, Iowa (Mar. 29, 2025) — Todd Shute captured the $1,250 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified finale on the final night of the Southern Iowa Frostout at Bloomfield Speedway with a wire-to-wire effort, holding off a furious late-race charge from Cayden Carter. The 2007 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s winner set the early pace on the 3/8-mile Davis County Fairgrounds oval before a lap 11 caution erased his advantage. Carter, the 2018 Harris Clash winner piloting the Joe Ferguson-owned No. 10C, shadowed Shute throughout the restart and pulled alongside on the final lap, but the champion the last two seasons at Stuart Speedway, from Norwalk, held on at the line to claim his first Razor Chassis North Central Region win of 2025. Illinois’ Austen Becerra, aboard the Jon and Joyce Fuller No. 22, nipped Jon Fuller, from Missouri, in a tight battle for third. Agee Outduels De Jong in Stock Car Thriller Derrick Agee charged from seventh and battled door-to-door with Maguire De Jong in a thrilling Sunoco IMCA Stock Car [Read More]

Pike Rules IMCA Modifieds at Bakersfield

By Steven Blakesley BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Mar. 29, 2025) – Pahrump, Nevada’s Jake Pike battled past Bakersfield’s Gavyn Manning over the final three laps to win the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. 22 IMCA Modifieds took the green flag for the 30-lap feature. Pike started eighth and advanced into the lead past Austin Keifer of Corona on lap 13. Keifer tracked him back down before a caution flew on lap 17. Pike held court on the subsequent restart. 11th-starting Gavyn Manning and 13th-starting B-Main transfer Ricky Childress, Jr. battled for second position. Childress retired from the race on lap 20, however. A caution on lap 27 set up a three-lap shootout between Pike and Manning. Manning drove inside Pike and the pair raced side-by-side through turns three and four. Manning pushed up the track with his front wheels in the air, allowing Pike to drive around the outside to maintain the lead. Pike grabbed the $750 checkered flag, his first this season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region, [Read More]

Tafoya Dominates Opening Night of Thaw Brawl at Aztec Speedway

By Ben Deatherage AZTEC, N.M. (Mar. 28, 2025) — The opening night of the Inaugural Thaw Brawl kicked off Aztec Speedway’s 73rd racing season, and Regan Tafoya wasted no time asserting his dominance in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. Tafoya, a six-time Aztec Speedway champion and three-time New Mexico State titleholder, took control at the drop of the green and never looked back. The Shaw Race Cars Western Region standout left the field behind, with only four cars remaining on the lead lap by race’s end, to earn his first win of the year. A strong hometown battle for second developed between Julian Garcia Sr. and Travis Sutherlin before Brian Carey, also from Aztec, joined the mix to make it a three-car fight. Garcia held on for the runner-up finish, while Carey claimed third. Cain Commands for First Stock Car Win of 2025 Rio Rancho’s Josh Cain was in top form during the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature, charging from fifth to the front to earn his first EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region victory [Read More]

Carter Sweeps Modified and Stock Car Features at Southern Iowa Frostout Opener

By Ben Deatherage BLOOMFIELD, Iowa (Mar. 28, 2025) — Oskaloosa’s Cayden Carter had a flawless opening night at Bloomfield Speedway, sweeping both the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified and Sunoco IMCA Stock Car features during the first night of the Southern Iowa Frostout. Each win was worth $1,250 on the 3/8-mile oval at the Davis County Fairgrounds. In the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main, eight-time reigning Hancock County Speedway track champion Jeremy Mills took command at the green flag before Tripp Gaylord powered into the lead on lap two. Gaylord, the defending Marshalltown Speedway champion and Colorado native now living in Iowa, held strong out front while fending off challenges. Austen Becerra eventually moved past Mills for second. Becerra, fresh off his IMCA.TV Clash On The Coast title a few weeks ago, piloted the Jon and Joyce Fuller-owned No. 22 machine. Meanwhile, Carter began working the high side and took third from Mills just before a lap 12 caution. Driving the Joe Ferguson-owned No. 10C Modified, Carter capitalized on the restart as Gaylord dropped low to defend [Read More]

Baca Outduels Shryock for Iowa Spring Nationals Modified Win

By Ben Deatherage SPENCER, Iowa (Mar. 28, 2025) — Two-time and reigning IMCA Modified National Champion Chaz Baca Jr. of Mesa, Arizona, opened his Razor Chassis North Central Region campaign with a win in the 20-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Clay County Fair Speedway during the Iowa Spring Nationals. Baca led early after passing reigning Kossuth County Speedway champ Cody Knecht, but a misstep on lap eight allowed two-time Harris Clash winner Kelly Shryock to take over. Cody Thompson then grabbed second before Baca battled back, reclaiming the top spot with a slider in turn three on lap 15. After trading the lead once more, Baca secured the position for good on lap 16 and held off Shryock in traffic for his seventh win of the season. Shryock was second while Thompson finished third. Deschamp Digs Deep for Stock Car Victory Westhope, North Dakota’s Gabe Deschamp, a 20-year-old standout, scored his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region win of the year in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars. Deschamp led early before the defending Speedway [Read More]