Feature Archives

Feature

Kelly Shryock: Century Club Member Times Two After a Lifetime Behind the Wheel

By Ben Deatherage FERTILE, Iowa (Aug. 14, 2026) — Long before the trophies, championships and hundreds of nights spent beneath the lights of dirt tracks across America, Kelly Shryock was a 12-year-old kid waiting for his father to come home. During the summer, Bob Shryock worked construction four 10-hour days each week, leaving precious little time to prepare his race car before Friday night. So Kelly learned to set valves. He worked alongside the crew. Whatever needed to be done, they tried to have the car ready when Bob walked through the door. Racing became more than something father and son did together. It became the only life Kelly ever really knew. More than four decades later, that kid has become one of the most accomplished drivers and builders in dirt track racing, and on Aug. 10 at Clay County Fair Speedway, Shryock added another milestone when he earned the 100th Sunoco IMCA Stock Car victory of his career. It didn’t come easily. Austin Brands controlled much of the 25-lap feature while Shryock patiently worked behind [Read More]

Feature

Mills Moves One Win From Century Mark With Schattschneider Memorial Victory at Algona

By Greg Grabianowski ALGONA, Iowa (Aug. 13, 2026) — Jeremy Mills and Troy Swearingen each earned $2,000 feature victories at the Gene Schattschneider Memorial Race held Thursday night at Kossuth County Speedway. Mills won the 25-lap Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature and moved one victory away from his 100th career win at Kossuth County Speedway. The Clear Lake driver jumped out front at the start of the 17-car feature before the first yellow flag appeared on lap four when Todd Stinehart spun. Mills remained in command following the restart and built a comfortable advantage. At the halfway point, Mills led Kyle Brown, Izac Mallicoat, Colby Fett and Chaz Baca. A second and final caution came on lap 13 when Nick Meyer suffered a flat tire, but that did little to slow Mills’ trip to victory lane and the $2,000 payday. It was Mills’ 10th victory of the season, with nine coming in the Razor Chassis North Central Region and five at Kossuth County Speedway. The triumph was also career win No. 99 at the Algona oval. [Read More]

Appelt Overcomes Flat Tire to Claim Second Bonnie Beeter Memorial

By Brandon Beeter MINOT, N.D. (Aug. 16, 2026) — Caden Appelt overcame a flat tire and a trip to the hot pits to capture his second career $2,000-to-win Bonnie Beeter Memorial for Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks Sunday night at Nodak Speedway. The 40-lap event honoring the late Bonnie Beeter, featured multiple lead changes and plenty of drama over the closing laps. Diezel Raynard and Alan Bertsch led the field to green, with Bertsch taking the early advantage. Raynard and Appelt soon moved into contention, both getting around Bertsch before exchanging sliders for several laps. Appelt eventually secured the top spot and appeared in control until a right rear tire went flat on lap 26, forcing the Minot driver to the hot pits. Raynard inherited the lead for the restart with 14 laps remaining, while Appelt began working his way back into contention. The complexion of the race changed again with five laps to go when Raynard spun, handing the lead back to Appelt. Given a second opportunity, Appelt made it count. He controlled the final five [Read More]

Sanders Holds Off James in Legends of Dirt $10K Thriller at Southern Oregon

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (Aug. 15, 2026) — Matt Sanders of Brookings survived a furious last-lap challenge from Bricen James to win the $10,000-to-win Legends of Dirt Modified Shootout presented by Best Homes Storage for Karl Kustoms IMCA Modifieds Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. The 40-lap main event, which paid $1,000 to start, came down to a drag race out of the final corner, with Sanders beating James to the checkered flag by just 0.051 seconds. Former California State and multi-time Central California Clash series champion Troy Foulger put the Bill Bowers-owned No. 49 out front on the opening lap before a caution slowed the field on lap two. Once racing resumed, Foulger began to build an advantage while defending Southern Oregon Speedway champion and 2025 National Rookie of the Year Ethan Killingsworth became locked in a fierce battle with Sanders for second. Killingsworth eventually secured the position and quickly erased Foulger’s advantage, reaching the leader by lap eight. He tried several times to find a way around Foulger, but each move was [Read More]

Seven California Tracks Join Forces for New RaceSaver Tour in 2027

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (Aug. 13, 2026) — RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car racing in California will take a big step forward in 2027 with the formation of a new seven-track tour bringing together some of the state’s best-known dirt tracks. The California IMCA RaceSaver Tour will feature a 14-race schedule spread across some of the best California facilities and most successfully promoted venues: Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Kings Speedway in Hanford, Merced Speedway, Perris Auto Speedway, Santa Maria Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, and Watsonville Speedway. “Anytime you can get seven tracks in a region to come together and work with each other, it’s going to be a huge success,” said IMCA Vice President Jim Stannard. “This has been something that we have wanted to see in California for a long time.” In addition to the 14 tour events, the participating tracks will host additional RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car competition throughout the 2027 season. Between tour stops and other sanctioned events, drivers will have the opportunity to compete in as many as [Read More]

Nate Coopman: Three Hundred Wins and a Lasting Legacy

By Ben Deatherage MANKATO, Minn. — Three hundred victories. Even Nate Coopman has a hard time wrapping his head around that number. “I can’t believe it,” Coopman said. “It’s pretty amazing to have had that much success.” On Aug. 1 at Arlington Raceway, the Mankato, Minn., driver reached another milestone by earning the 300th IMCA Sport Compact feature victory of his career, extending his record as the division’s all-time winningest driver. What began with his first IMCA feature victory in 2011 quickly turned into one of the most dominant seven-year stretches in IMCA history. Between 2011 and 2017, Coopman never won fewer than 21 features in a season, highlighted by a 54-win campaign in 2014 that is tied with Mike Nichols’ 2016 IMCA Stock Car season for the modern-era record for victories in a single IMCA class. “We were racing four or five nights a week for a while, so I guess I never really looked at it that close,” Coopman said. “When you step back now, it’s pretty incredible.” Nate Coopman celebrates his historic 300th [Read More]

Dan Mackenthun: The Hamburg Racer’s Road to 200 Stock Car Wins

By Ben Deatherage HAMBURG, Minn. (Aug. 11, 2026) — Two hundred victories don’t happen overnight. They aren’t the product of one dominant season or one magical race car. They’re built one night at a time, one feature at a time, one year after another. When Dan Mackenthun earned the 200th Sunoco IMCA Stock Car victory of his career, the Hamburg, Minn., driver joined one of the most exclusive clubs in IMCA history, becoming just the eighth driver to reach the milestone. “It was something we were looking forward to,” Mackenthun said. “The Stock Car class is pretty tough competition anywhere, so to pick up just one win is a feat, let alone to do it 200 times. It’s been a pretty solid year so far.” His first IMCA Stock Car victory came in 2002 at Arlington Raceway. The following night he backed it up with another triumph at Redwood Speedway, unknowingly beginning one of the sport’s most accomplished careers. Mackenthun’s milestone also earned him membership in IMCA Stock Car racing’s exclusive Double Century Club. Only seven [Read More]

Ralph Bloom Memorial Returns to Cottage Grove Speedway Aug. 14-15

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 12, 2026) — The sixth annual Ralph Bloom Memorial returns to Cottage Grove Speedway on Aug. 14-15 with an exciting new twist, as the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods will compete topless for the first time in event history. The two-night special honors the memory of Ralph Bloom, one of the patriarchal members of the Bloom Family Racing team whose passion for racing helped build one of Cottage Grove Speedway’s most recognizable racing families. His legacy continues to be celebrated each summer through one of the premier IMCA SportMod events in the Pacific Northwest. Saturday night’s 33-lap feature currently pays at least $3,333 to win and $333-to-start main event. The confirmed purse has already grown to nearly $14,000, with additional support continuing to come in. Presented by American Steel, Industrial Source, Discount Windows, R&S Industrial Supply and Bloom Family Racing, the event continues to grow in prestige while drawing many of the Northwest’s top IMCA SportMod competitors. The weekend opens Friday, Aug. 14, with qualifying competition to set the [Read More]

Shryock’s 100th Career Stock Car Win Headlines Clay County Fair Speedway Program

By Jane Burd SPENCER, Iowa (Aug. 10, 2026) — Kelly Shryock reached a milestone Monday night at Clay County Fair Speedway, earning his 100th career Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature victory to headline the evening’s racing program. Shryock, of Fertile, started from the pole and led the opening laps before Austin Brands worked his way to the front. Shryock remained within striking distance before reclaiming the lead on lap 15 and driving away for the historic victory. The win was Shryock’s 10th EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region triumph of the season and his second at Clay County Fair Speedway in 2026. Brands finished second, Mike Albertsen was third, Jake Masters charged from ninth to fourth, and Dayton Ullrich completed the top five. Davis Scores First Clay County SportMod Win Brayden Ahlers appeared poised for victory in the Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature before Zach Davis of Lonsdale, Minn., mounted a late charge. Davis raced from fifth starting position and made the winning pass with two laps remaining to collect his sixth victory of the season. [Read More]

James Captures Third Banks Mod Nationals Crown

By Jack Mitchell BANKS, Ore. (Aug. 8, 2026) — Bricen James added another chapter to his Whisler Construction Banks Modified Nationals legacy Saturday night at Sunset Speedway Park, leading all 40 laps of the $2,000-to-win Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified feature to earn his third career victory of the event and second straight. The Albany driver also collected his third DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Western Region victory of the 2026 season, with each of those wins coming at a different track. The Banks Mod Nationals was also a Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational qualifying event, but James was already on the eligibility list for the event, which will be held during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s in September. Seventeen cars took the green for the 40-lap feature, which was slowed by just one caution. James wasted little time taking command and spent the evening fending off challenges from Craig Cassell, 2023 winner Grey Ferrando, and Zane Miner. Despite the pressure, James never surrendered the lead and methodically worked through traffic to secure another prestigious [Read More]