Feature Archives

Super Nationals Registration Due Aug. 28 to Race in Prelude

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 21, 2026) — Drivers planning to compete in the NAPA Auto Parts Double Down Prelude must be registered for the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s by noon Central time Friday, Aug. 28. Competitors who register for Super Nationals after the deadline will not be eligible to compete in the Sept. 5-6 Prelude at Boone Speedway. Before registering, competitors must first purchase an IMCA license for every division in which they intend to compete. Drivers should then register for Super Nationals on MyRacePass. Entries will be confirmed in the order they are received, with car numbers assigned based on confirmation order. The 12th annual Prelude features two full days of racing, giving competitors one final opportunity to compete at Boone before Super Nationals officially gets underway. The unique Double Down format has become a staple of Prelude weekend, rewarding more drivers while helping accommodate the tremendous car counts that continue to define the event. Should any division exceed 100 entries, competitors will once again be split into twin [Read More]

Women in IMCA Meet & Greet Returns to Super Nationals on Thursday, Sept. 10

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 21, 2026) — The popular Women in IMCA Meet & Greet returns to the NAPA Fan Zone at Boone Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 10, during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Presented by NAPA Auto Parts and Dynamic Drivelines and coordinated with the help of Andrea McCain, the event celebrates the many female competitors taking part in America’s Racin’ Vacation while giving fans an opportunity to meet the women behind the wheel. The Women in IMCA Meet & Greet has quickly become a popular part of Super Nationals week, with over a dozen female racers participating and interacting with fans during the event. Drivers will be on hand to meet fans, sign autographs, and share their experiences in racing. Select competitors will also have their race cars on display, giving fans an up-close look at the machines they will see competing throughout America’s Racin’ Vacation. The gathering gives fans of all ages an opportunity to meet female competitors from across the country and see firsthand the growing [Read More]

Every Lap Pays in Super Nationals Race of Champions Events

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 20, 2026) — Getting to the front will pay in more ways than one during the Race of Champions events at the 2026 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Lap sponsorships will be up for grabs across the five Race of Champions events during America’s Racin’ Vacation at Boone Speedway, with the driver leading each lap earning the bonus posted for that circuit. The 12-lap Rage Chassis Modified Race of Champions will feature $100 on every lap, putting $1,200 in lap-leader bonuses on the line. Weather or Naught Food Services sponsors five of those circuits, with additional lap support coming from MyRacePass, Harris Auto Racing, Toby K’s Hideaway, and Moffitt’s Ford. Another $900 will be available during the 12-lap Sunoco Stock Car Race of Champions, with each lap worth $75 to its leader. Weather or Naught Food Services again sponsors five laps, joined by MyRacePass, Harris Auto Racing, Toby K’s Hideaway, Baymont Inn, Push Master, and Total Seal. The Dirt Defender/Pulse Racing Innovations SportMod Race of Champions and [Read More]

Jordan Tocci: Three Generations of Racers from Three Forks

By Ben Deatherage THREE FORKS, Mont. (Aug. 13, 2026) — Three rivers wind through the broad valleys of southwest Montana, cutting across a landscape framed by mountains and seemingly endless stretches of open country. Here, the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin converge to form the Missouri River. The same country has been home to Indigenous peoples for generations, witnessed the passage of Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea, and provided the setting for the legendary escape of fur trapper John Colter. More than two centuries later, the country surrounding Three Forks still carries much of the rugged character of the American West. For Jordan Tocci, it is simply home. “The area is so historic with the whole Lewis and Clark history and everything where the rivers come together to make the Missouri,” Tocci said. “It’s cool historically, and you dive deeper in the history of the tribes that lived here and Sacagawea. It’s a really cool part of the world.” It’s also where another history has been unfolding for three generations. Tocci’s grandfather Ray returned from service with [Read More]

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]