Sprint Car Archives

IMCA RaceSavers chase big payday at Dodge City Sprint Car Nationals

DODGE CITY, Kan. (Feb. 27, 2024) – IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars get top billing and race for a lot of dollar bills at Dodge City Raceway Park’s April 5-6 Sprint Car Nationals. The opening weekend event for the United Rebel Sprint Series sees the winged warriors race in qualifying heats and features on Friday. Last-chance races and a king of the hill pole shuffle for the top eight qualified cars precede the $5,000 to win, minimum $400 to win main event on Saturday. Also on opening night, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods race for $500 to win and Mach-1 Sport Compacts for $250 to win. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds chase a $1,000 payday and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility on Saturday. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars run for $500 to win that evening. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional, track and state points will be awarded. Pit passes are $35 each night. Pits open at 3 p.m., the grandstand opens at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m. [Read More]

IMCA RaceSaver Sprints headline Saturday Sitton Classic at Hunt County

GREENVILLE, Texas (Feb. 26, 2024) – IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars are on the Saturday night card when Hunt County Raceway celebrates a Texas motorsports legend. The March 2 Smiley Sitton Classic main event for IMCA Sprints at Greenville pays $3,000 to win and a minimum of $300 to start. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National and Texas State points will be awarded. Sitton began racing as a teen, founded Smiley’s Racing Products in 1968 and has been a supporter of dirt track racing in the Lone Star State and of IMCA for more than half a century. “We are very much tied to the local history of our sport,” said Donnie Shipp, speaking for himself and his Hunt County Raceway co-promoter Josh Landers. “And Smiley has been a huge help to us.” Entry fee for the Smiley Sitton Classic is $75. The top six out of heats from passing points advance to the $400 to win pole dash and 20 cars start the main event. Pit gates open at 5 p.m. and the grandstand opens [Read More]

Sheyenne Speedway adds four IMCA divisions for 2024

LISBON, N.D. (Feb. 2, 2024) – Four IMCA track champions will be crowned this season at Sheyenne Speedway. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks are on May 29, June 9, July 12 and July 28 programs at the quarter-mile dirt oval in Lisbon, N.D. Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks will be joined by Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods for the Ransom County Fair show on Aug. 22. New promoters for the 51st season of racing at Sheyenne Speedway are Jake and Sharnel Bitker, who also promote IMCA venues Norman County Raceway in Ada, Minn., and Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, and Nick Skalicky. “The fair board has been very supportive – they’re good people – and the community has been very supportive. We look forward to working with them this year,” Jake Bitker said. “This new sanction will give drivers in the Fargo-Jamestown hub to race for IMCA points another four or five nights.” Dirt work began last fall and will be completed [Read More]

Perfect opportunity brings Sunday racing back to Redwood Speedway

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. (Jan. 23, 2024) – What Velvet Dostal called “a perfect opportunity” brings Sunday night IMCA racing back to Minnesota’s Redwood Speedway. The upcoming 2024 Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts runs from June 2 through Sept. 29. IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars are also on the June 23 card and a $750 to win B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible special is scheduled on July 14. “When Princeton Speedway changed hands last fall, promoting Redwood was a perfect opportunity for us to jump on,” said Dostal, who had worked with husband Ricky at Princeton and at North Central Speedway the past 10-plus years. “When we saw the Facebook post that they were looking for a new promoter at Redwood, it’s like one door closed and another one opened.” Redwood named its first IMCA champions in 1991 and held its most recent sanctioned events three years ago. The big half-mile [Read More]

$100,000 in contingencies awarded to IMCA drivers in 2023

VINTON, Iowa (Dec. 21, 2023) – Their on-track accomplishments earned IMCA drivers some $100,000 worth of contingency awards in 2023. “The combination of sign-up programs, and programs with individual and unique requirements continue to benefit IMCA drivers at a record pace,” noted IMCA Marketing Integration and Sponsorship Director Carson Becker-Gramm. “I strongly encourage award recipients to take advantage of these programs, and to continue their support of the businesses that support IMCA.” Awards were presented at the IMCA national banquet or mailed earlier in December from the IMCA home office. The following contingency awards were not necessarily determined by actual regional finish, but by either driver sign-up sheets or other unique requirements. All awards are product certificates or product unless otherwise noted. Any questions about contingency programs or awards can be directed to Marketing Integration and Sponsorship Director Carson Becker-Gramm at cbgramm@imca.com. Aero Race Wheels $25 to each Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod, Southern SportMod, Mod Lite and Sport Compact state champion. AFCO GM frame replacement kits to Modified national champion Chaz Baca and [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]

First-night RaceSaver winner Rabenberg ends first IMCA Sprint Car season with rookie award

CAMBRIDGE, Minn. (Nov. 15, 2023) – Tyler Rabenberg had two pretty big accomplishments to his credit in just his first month in an IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car. He had an even bigger one at the end of his first season. The 17-year-old from Cambridge, Minn., had two wins and another 13 top five finishes in racing to national rookie of the year honors in IMCA’s winged division. “We started off really good. I definitely never thought I’d win my first start, at Red River Valley Speedway, and to win again just 10 days later at Huset’s Speedway was a huge accomplishment,” said Rabenberg. “We had a tough stretch for a while with some DNFs before we got our momentum back and ended up having a pretty good year.” “There are a lot of second, third and even fourth generation drivers who have a lot of knowledge in the sport but we came into Sprint Car racing blind,” he added. “We had very little knowledge about it so my dad Craig and I spent many hours [Read More]

Drueke tops tough competition in drive to IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national title

EAGLE, Neb. (2023) – Tyler Drueke started the season looking to race with the toughest competition and prove he was the best RaceSaver Sprint Car driver in the country. He accomplished both goals, racing to a division best 13 feature wins and a career-first IMCA national crown. “I wanted to do it my way,” said Drueke, also champion at hometown Eagle Raceway. “I wanted to find the toughest competition and leave no doubt we were the best RaceSaver team in the country.” “Winning the national championship was our goal from the start of the season,” he stated. “I meet with sponsors every winter and when I talked with Cody Cherney at Cherney Enterprises, he thought we should try for it. Rachel Kroese and Matt Warner at mysalesman.com said ‘Let’s do it.’” “We’ve been close but I’d never won it before,” continued Drueke, also track champ at Eagle and national runner-up in both 2016 and 2018. “This year we sealed the deal.” A top five finisher in eight of his first 13 starts, Drueke won at a .500 [Read More]

Schoenfeld Headers adds awards for IMCA top 10 Hobby Stocks, national champions

VAN BUREN, Ark. (Nov. 8, 2023) – Schoenfeld Headers puts the wraps on its 25th sponsorship season with new awards for even more IMCA drivers. The Van Buren, Ark., manufacturer, a long-time sponsor of IMCA special events, gives more than $5,000 in product certificates, redeemable for a new set of headers, to top 10 finishers in national standings for the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and to national champions in seven other IMCA divisions. Top 10 Hobby Stock recipients of $260 certificates are national champion Zach Olmstead, Mike Smith, Tristan Grape, Nicholas Ronnebaum, Cory Probst, Cody Williams, Kyler Satran, Randy Lamar, Thomas Daffern and Brandon Nielsen Also receiving certificates will be national champions Chaz Baca, Modified, and Dillon Raffurty, STARS Mod Lite, both $410; Cory Dumpert, Late Model, $390; Tyler Drueke, RaceSaver Sprint Car, $350; Mike Nichols, Stock Car, $330; and Matthew Looft, Northern SportMod, and David Phillips, Southern SportMod, both $290. Schoenfeld certificates will be presented Nov. 25 during the IMCA national banquet. “Special series and Super Nationals competitors have benefitted from Schoenfeld Header support for many [Read More]

Headers, ride height highlight few changes to 2024 IMCA rules

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 8, 2023) – Hobby Stock drivers have an exhaust header option and minimum and maximum ride height is specified in four divisions, in the 2024 rules announced today by IMCA. Changes from 2023 and other previous seasons were few, noted IMCA President Brett Root, so drivers who were legal this year won’t be spending extra money to be legal next year. Beginning next season, Hobby Stock drivers competing with a crate engine can use Schoenfeld header part no. 1485-CM2-22 or an OEM exhaust manifold with a 2-1/4 inch diameter exhaust pipe while those competing with a claim engine can use a Schoenfeld header part no. 1485-20 or OEM exhaust manifold with a two inch diameter exhaust pipe. “This is a step we believe will keep the field level for more drivers in the division,” explained Root. “Schoenfeld has already added header awards to their 2023 contingency program which drivers will be receiving at our upcoming national banquet.” Minimum and maximum ride heights for Modifieds and Northern SportMods are four inches and 7-1/2 inches, and [Read More]