Feature Archives

Super Nationals pre-entries already up over last year

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 15) – Pre-entries for the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s are running ahead of numbers for last year’s event. More impressively, the increase from two years ago is now a robust 25 percent. At of the end of the business day on Thursday, 333 drivers had completed the early registration process. That’s up from the same date each of the last two years. By division, 2014’s early entries include 129 Modifieds, 69 Stock Cars, 54 Hobby Stocks, 68 Northern SportMods, two Late Models and 11 Sport Compacts. Super Nationals is Sept. 1-6 at Boone Speedway. Another 132 drivers have already reserved pit stalls. In all, pre-registered and confirmed drivers hail from 26 states and Canada. The latest lists of drivers registered and confirmed to compete at the 32nd annual event, by division, now include: Modified Pre-Entries Dean Abbey, Waco, Texas; Coty Albers, Wellsburg; Mike Albertsen, Audubon; Ricky Alvarado, Delta, Colo.; Jamie Anderson, Mason City; Jacob Anson, Albion, Neb.; Drew Armstrong, Alexander, Ark.; Randy Artz, Battle Mountain, Nev.; Bob [Read More]

Cooney adds to history at Stuart Speedway with 200th win of IMCA Late Model career

STUART, Iowa (Aug. 3) – Thirty-odd years ago, Todd Cooney was one on the kids hanging on the fence and reveling in the races at Stuart Speedway. On Sunday, Cooney got to celebrate another of his own on-track accomplishments at the same storied venue. The Des Moines driver won his career division-best 200th IMCA Late Model feature in the rescheduled event, then got number 201 in the scheduled race. “Stuart was the best place in the world for me to get my 200th win and it’s where I wanted to do it. This is the track where it really all began for me,” Cooney said. “I remember being six, seven, eight years old and watching my dad and best friend Doug Davis race. It was awesome.” “I love everything about Stuart, the way it’s promoted and how much fun it is to race here,” he added. “I wish we could race here every week.” His 200th career win is the latest Late Model milestone for Cooney, IMCA’s national champion in 1997 and 2002 and the [Read More]

QA1 founder & chairman James Jordan passes away

LAKEVILLE, Minn. – James “Jim” Jordan, founder and chairman of QA1, passed away Wednesday, July 30 after a long battle with cancer. He was 67. “Jim was a great mentor and very well respected,” said QA1 Product Manager Jeff Diaz, who worked with Jordan for 26 years. “I was lucky to be able to learn from him. He will be greatly missed.” “He had a way of making everyone around him feel important and willing to give him 110 percent effort,” said Karl Hacken, QA1 vice president of engineering. “I always looked up to him as a role model and mentor in business and life.” Dan Voight, QA1 sales manager, agreed, saying “Jim didn’t raise the bar for you, he motivated you to raise it yourself, higher than you thought you could.” Jordan started working in the power transmission industry in the early 1970s and quickly worked his way around related industries, eventually becoming an expert on rod ends. He became known as an innovator of numerous industry-changing products that are now standards across a [Read More]

Format changes are few for Sept. 1-6 Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 1) – Changes in the race night format during the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s are few and far between. Super Nationals runs from Sept. 1-6 at Boone Speedway. Subject to car counts at the 32nd annual event, the number of heat races, “B” features and qualifying features are the same this year as in 2013 for the Modifieds, Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks. Car count numbers will determine the number of Northern SportMod “B” features. The number of entries also have more effect on the format for the Monday, Sept. 1 Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models and Tuesday, Sept. 2 Sport Compact programs. “The rumors circulating about wholesale changes to the Super Nationals qualifying format are completely false,” IMCA Vice President of Operations Brett Root said. “Considering all the logistics and sheer size of Super Nationals, there is no room for us to be inefficient or waste time.” “We will continue with a format that makes the most sense for the racers competing and the [Read More]

Shute to defend Fast Shafts All-Star title

BOONE, Iowa (July 29) – The 2013 race winner will return to defend his Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational crown. Todd Shute prevailed in one of – if not the – most talked about Modified events of the season during last year’s IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. He was one of 15 All-Stars, three from each of IMCA’s five Modified regions, elected via Facebook to the 2014 starting field for the Friday, Sept. 5 race. Thirteen more starters will be elected, also through Facebook, from among the next top 50 vote recipients. That balloting runs from this afternoon (Tuesday) through the end of the business day next Tuesday, Aug. 5. Eleven different states are represented by the initial group of All-Stars. Tim Ward, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Brad Pounds were the top three vote-wise in the Larry Shaw Racing Western Region. William Gould, Keith White and Dean Abbey ran 1-2-3 in the Razor Chassis South Central Region. Jet Racing Central Region All-Stars were paced by Jeff Taylor, Cody Gearhart and Corey Lagroon. Jason [Read More]

Caution opens door for Cordes in XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour at Indee

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (July 24) – The caution that Troy Cordes was hoping for finally came out with eight laps left in Thursday’s XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour main event at Independence Motor Speedway. Defending IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified series champion Ronn Lauritzen drew the outside pole start and clearly had the fastest ride through the first 22 circuits. Cordes had taken the opening green from 11th and worked his way steadily to second but was still well off the pace before the fateful yellow flew for a car stopped on the track. The two Independence regulars dueled up front before Cordes finally found his way to the front. The final caution, for a car perched on the backside of turn four, set up a green, white, checkered finish. Cordes pulled ahead to take the checkers a couple car lengths ahead of Lauritzen. He earned a spot on the 2015 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot along with his tour career first victory. Vern Jackson, Jeff Waterman and Adam Johnson completed the top five. Point leader Mike [Read More]

Format is familiar, fine tuning continues for Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa (July 23) – Much of the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s will transpire in a format already familiar to drivers, fans in the grandstand and XSAN viewers around the world. You’ll have to be at Boone Speedway from Sept. 1-6 for the 32nd annual version of America’s Racin’ Vacation to see some of what’s different, however. “There is always a need to fine tune but the format and XSAN coverage will be very similar to last year’s Super Nationals,” IMCA Vice President of Operations Brett Root said. “XSAN is doing some very exciting things to extend the reach of the event.” Nearly 300 drivers from 21 states and Canada have already pre-entered and/or submitted pit stall applications. The entire Deery Brothers Summer Series Late Model program is on Labor Day while Sport Compacts run on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational is Friday, Sept. 5. Race of Champions events and main events for the Modifieds, Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks and Northern SportMods all are set for Saturday, [Read More]

Voting begins today to determine Fast Shafts All-Star field

BOONE, Iowa (July 21) – Voting begins this evening (Monday) to determine the starting field for Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Three drivers from each of the five IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified regions will be elected through round one electronic polling conducted on the IMCA Facebook page through the end of the business day next Monday, July 28. All-Star candidates will be listed by region; one vote can be cast for one driver per region each day. Thirteen more All-Stars will be elected through round two, also via the IMCA Facebook page, between Tuesday, July 29 and Tuesday, Aug. 5. Winners will be notified and their names announced as soon as possible after each round of voting. The initial round of voting was to have been conducted through the IMCA website; one other change made was that all drivers not elected through the first round will be vote eligible in the second. “Race fans vote for the drivers they most want to see in the event and genuine vote totals should reflect that,” IMCA Vice [Read More]

July fendered honors go to Hoffman’s Hobby Stock

By Ryan Clark SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Racing one night a week has allowed IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock driver Andy Hoffman to focus on a track championship. Currently in the points hunt at Raceway Park in Jefferson, S.D., Hoffman has already come out on top in fan voting this season. He was named the Sybesma Graphics IMCA Facebook Fan Favorite winner for the fendered divisions for the month of July and receives a mini-hood. Hoffman, who was leading the standings at Raceway Park entering the July 6 program, finished the night chasing new point leader Mike Hansen. “I have planned on winning the track championship this year,” Hoffman stated. “The DNF Sunday night put us back in second in points, but we’re still right there.” Hoffman has competed 10 nights this season, all at Raceway Park, and has earned one win and a number of top-five finishes. After a successful first half of the season, he expects to expand his travels as the season progresses. “Park Jefferson is opening its season in July so we [Read More]

Abelson conquers Harris Clash IMCA Modifieds at Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 17) – Chris Abelson was plenty fast in winning his Thursday night “B” feature during the Harris Clash at Knoxville. He proved even faster in the evening’s IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified main event, racing from 17th starting to the lead on the 19th of 25 laps. Abelson pulled away in the final circuits to the $2,000 payday. The Clash was also an XSAN Hawkeye Dirt Tour event and the final race of IMCA’s Hawkeye State Modified Speedweek. Eighty drivers from 11 states and Canada contended. Brett Lowry was the $1,000 Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod winner. That division drew 59 entries from six states. Eric Dailey drew the Modified pole but it was Canadian visitor Aaron Turnbull in the lead when the opening lap was scored. Cautions slowed the early going before a long green flag run that saw Mike Van Genderen race from mid-pack to second. Kurt Kile, Jeff Jodersma and the hard-charging Abelson were running close behind when the yellow came back out on lap 16. The opportunistic Abelson shot [Read More]