Sport Compact Archives

Hale bounces back, Baca dominates Castle Country Clash finale

By Ben Deatherage PRICE, Utah (Sept. 28, 2024) – Waylon Hale’s roller coaster weekend ended with a win Saturday, on the final night of the Castle Country Clash at Desert Thunder Raceway. The Mancos, Colo., speedster, second on Thursday and 15th on Friday at Price, was a man on a mission in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event. Taking control from the opening start, the 17-year-old chauffeur dominated the entire distance ahead of the rest of the competition. Camron Spangler and Shawn Parish completed the rest of the podium in second and third, respectively. Jacob Vasquez was the weekend’s overall champion in the division. Chaz Baca Jr. capped off the last night of the Clash, dominating the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature to earn his second weekend win. The Mesa, Ariz., driver got the lead early and did not look back once, despite a couple of stoppages as he would win the overall title of the weekend. Kelly Smith started the main event off as the pacesetter but could not hold back the advances [Read More]

Spectacular finish to season at Arlington

ARLINGTON, Minn. (Sept. 28, 2024) – The last race of the season saw some spectacular action in both heats and features at Arlington Raceway. Trent Loverude continued his winning ways as he drew the pole, started up front and stayed there in winning the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. Dalton Magers and Todd Stinehart were switching positions for the first 10 laps before Magers brought out a caution and then went into the pit area. By the 12th lap, Dan Menk was challenging but Loverude was able to gain quite a distance and went onto win the race. Menk took second with Stinehart taking third. Loverude won the track championship. The Rice Companies IMCA RaceSaver Sprint car feature saw several yellow flag, the first when Andrew Allen got sideways in turn four and Kyla Anderson got collected into him. Both done for the night. On the restart, another yellow came out when Brett Allen was leading and Matt Johnson came from behind. Both were vying for the same spot in turn four and neither driver [Read More]

Geist gets top spot on Flatlander podium

By Sheldon Wickwar GOODLAND, Kan. (Sept. 28, 2024) – After finishing top three on opening night, Trevor Geist topped the night two feature for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at the Sherman County Speedway Flatlander. Geist started outside the front row in the 20-lapper, took the lead at the drop of the green and controlled the feature start to finish on the bottom dominant oval. A couple late race cautions allowed hard charger Jake Nightingale to advance on restarts but was he was unable to track down Geist, who earned $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility with the win. Third was Anthony Rhoades. A caution around midway opened the door for Tathan Burkhart in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature. That 20-lap grind started with a front row of Burkhart and Cole Younger. Burkhart led until lap seven, when Jason Rogers got around him. They battled side-by-side for a few laps before Tubbs went for a spin. The restart saw Burkhart get a great run to take charge of the race. He survived a [Read More]

Flatlander checkers fly for Rohleder

By Sheldon Wickwar GOODLAND, Kan. (Sept. 27, 2024) – Kyle Rohleder kept up his winning ways on opening night of the 35th annual Flatlander at Sherman County Speedway. Rohleder’s third Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory of the season at Goodland was good for $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. Seventy-nine race teams checked in for the night and joining Rohleder in victory lane were Troy Burkhart in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Cody Williams in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Blaine Walt in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and Gage Porter in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. The Modified 20-lap feature event started with a front row of Marshal Hoppe and Trevor Geist, with the latter leading until lap three, the circuit that saw a multi-car pileup that ended the night for four of the seven drivers involved. Geist restarted the field but Rohleder sped by to take the lead. There was no catching his Zero numbered machine from that point as the WaKeeney hotshoe was flawless through lapped traffic. Second was [Read More]

Baca battles to victory lane on night two at Price

By Ben Deatherage PRICE, Utah (Sept. 27, 2024) – Taking advantage of a late restart, defending Friesen Performance IMCA Modified national champion Chaz Baca powered his way to first place and stayed ahead of all other contenders to pick up the victory at Desert Thunder Raceway’s Castle Country Clash. During the Friday night main event, Wyatt Howard had a speedy race car and led most of the race. A late race stoppage with a handful of laps remaining brought about an exciting restart. Baca drag raced the leader on the backstretch, took the lead on the 17th circuit and didn’t look back once ahead of the field. Regan Tafoya, the winner on Thursday, worked his way into second place while Kelly Smith completed third place on the podium. Five other IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing divisions were on tap, including the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Payce Herrera, Scott Hardman, Mitchell Ferguson, Dillion Thomas and Cody [Read More]

Friday is another good night for Nightingale at Salina

SALINA, Kan. (Sept. 27, 2024) – The track where Jake Nightingale says he’s “always had some pretty good luck” was the site of more of the same Friday night. The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified heavyweight from Hutchinson took the lead right after midway in the championship night main event, earning $2,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. “It was a pretty hammer down deal with lots of moisture. We were wide open all the time,” Nightingale said following his third win and 10th top three finish in as many Salina starts this season. “We ran a lane and a half off the top all the way around.” He started fourth and passed Austen Huehl for the front spot on the 11th of 20 circuits. Restarts kept the field close but Nightingale would build an advantage of three seconds when green flag racing prevailed. Tenth starting Tyler Sutton and Huehl completed the top three. Nightingale heads to Sherman County Speedway in Goodland on Saturday for night two of the Flatlander special in his defense of the Jet [Read More]

Tafoya denies Baca for opening night Clash checkers

By Ben Deatherage PRICE, Utah (Sept. 26, 2024) – There would be some thunder at Desert Thunder Raceway on Thursday night in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds for the first of three legs of the Clash. Regan Tafoya stormed the castle around the halfway mark after a restart. But the Farmington, N.M., driver had to fend off several advances by a determined Chaz Baca Jr. and held on for the win. The main event began with Bryan Wordelman setting a good pace when the green flag dropped. A caution on lap seven halted things and when the race resumed, Tafoya pounced on an opportunity to get to the front on the eighth circuit. Another yellow flag emerged, erasing Tafoya’s lead. When the race resumed, Tafoya faced relentless challenges from defending national champion Baca. Despite Baca’s persistent efforts, the seventh-starting Tafoya managed to fend off his attempts not once, but twice, in a thrilling display of skill and determination. Baca secured a respectable second place. Local driver Wyatt Howard, who had a remarkable journey to the [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings through Sept. 26, 2024

Final points races of the 2024 season are Sunday, Sept. 29 Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds – 1. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz., 1,000; 2. Ethan Braaksma, Newton, Iowa, 987; 3. Tim Ward, Harcourt, Iowa, 979; 4. Chris Zogg, New Liberty, Iowa, and Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa, both 977; 6. Troy Morris III, Bakersfield, Calif., 973; 7. Grey Ferrando, Stayton, Ore., 969; 8. Jed Freiburger, Dubuque, Iowa, 967; 9. Myron DeYoung, Stanton, Mich., 965; 10. Jeremy Mills, Clear Lake, Iowa, 962; 11. Jeff Larson, Freeport, Ill., and Jeffrey Reay, Portland, Mich., both 957; 13. Austin Harnick, Clare, Mich., 949; 14. Jake McBirnie, Boone, Iowa, and Ty Clemens, Belgrade, Mont., both 942; 16. Todd Shute, Norwalk, Iowa, 941; 17. Matt Werner, Geneseo, Ill., 940; 18. Charlie Mohr, Bettendorf, Iowa, 939; 19. Jake Nightingale, Maize, Kan., 938; 20. Cole Czarneski, Denmark, Wis., 937. IMCA Sunoco Late Models – 1. Cory Dumpert, Newman Grove, Neb., 795; 2. Travis Denning, Sterling, Ill., 793; 3. Anthony Roth, Platte Center, Neb., 780; 4. Evan Miller, Davenport, Iowa, 774; 5. Zach Zeitner, Bellevue, Neb., 770; 6. [Read More]

Mallicoat speeds to topless win at Interstate

By Ben Deatherage JEFFERSON, S.D. (Sept. 22, 2024) – The topless Friesen Performance IMCA Modified finale was a thrilling spectacle Sunday at Interstate Speedway, culminating in an exciting green, white, checkered finish. Izac Mallicoat’s daring fighter pilot moves from the top shelf to secure the lead and the win added an extra dose of excitement to the race. The race kicked off with Bob Fleshman taking an early lead, only to be overtaken by Jason Schneiders on the next lap. As Schneiders battled to maintain his lead against Jace Whitt, Chris Abelson entered the fray, intensifying the competition. Abelson’s incredible double overtake pass in turn three was a display of skill and strategy. It was a moment that left the audience in awe of his racing prowess. As the race progressed, Mallicoat steadily closed the gap with Abelson, but it seemed he might run out of time. However, the game changed when a caution was raised with only two laps remaining, giving Mallicoat the opportunity he needed to make his move. Just when it seemed [Read More]

Baca reigns supreme at Central Arizona

By Ben Deatherage CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Sept. 21, 2024) – In sheer dominance, defending Friesen Performance IMCA Modified national champion Chaz Baca put together a fantastic drive Saturday at Central Arizona Raceway. He seized the race lead from the very start of the feature and built a nearly six second advantage over the second-place finisher, securing his 26th open-wheeled victory of the season. Marvin Mueller and Bill Miller were second and third, respectively. Five other Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing divisions attended the Pinal County Fairgrounds 3/8-mile clay oval. They included the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Winners were Bo Partain, Eric Winemiller, Nathan DeRagon, A.J. Whisler and Steve Carter. Partain made the high side work in his favor in the Stock Car main as he grabbed the torch and ran away from the rest of the field. Frustratingly, he did have to deal with three stoppages, which didn’t allow him to get too far ahead, [Read More]