Feature Archives

Rust is sharp in Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights IMCA Modified Tour win at Hancock County

BRITT, Iowa (July 28) – The game plan Joel Rust brought to Hancock County Speedway and the third installment of the Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour for IMCA Modifieds played out to perfection Tuesday night. Rust led all but the opening circuit in the 25-lap contest, outrunning Ethan Braaksma and Jeremy Mills to the $1,000 checkers. “We had a good draw, got to the lead quick and had to keep hitting our marks,” said Rust, who had taken the initial green flag from inside row two. “There were a lot of good cars here tonight and we got it done.” Rust was pulling away from the rest of the field when cautions came out on lap seven and again on lap 16, when his advantage over the second-running David Brown was nearly six seconds. Braaksma, winner of the first two tour events of the summer, started 11th and took over the runner-up spot for good on the ensuing restart. After spinning out of second on lap eight, Mills restarted at the tail and worked his [Read More]

Yarie, Mullen are Shawano IMCA Modified winners, Siefert, Christians score Classic Stock Car victories

SHAWANO, Wis. (July 24 and 25) – The inaugural event at Shawano Speedway billed as the Mid-Summer Classic proved to be just that. Marcus Yarie and Mike Mullen earned $1,150 IMCA Modified feature wins and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berths, Jared Siefert and Jeremy Christians were $1,000 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winners and Jeff Schmuhl swept $600 to win Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod features July 24 and 25. Opening night set a high bar when it came to action on the track with multiple features providing three-wide racing all around the oval. Three-time track champion Yarie outlasted the competition for the Modified win, taking the checkers ahead of Johnny Whitman and Mullen. Siefert, himself no stranger to victory lane at Shawano, grabbed the Stock Car win by a nose over Brandon Czarapata and Christians. Mullen, doing double duty, powered past Lance Arneson for the front spot in Saturday’s Modified headliner on the 12th circuit, then Mullen cruised to victory over the final nine laps. Yarie was second and Konnor Wilinski third. Night two IMCA Modified [Read More]

Hancock County Speedway hosts IMCA Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour

BRITT, Iowa – One streak is guaranteed to continue when the Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour for IMCA Modifieds travels to Hancock County Speedway on July 28. Ethan Braaksma hopes to continue a streak of his own next Tuesday at Britt as well. Hancock County Speedway is the only track to have hosted a Dirt Knights event every year since the tour started in 2010, with eight different drivers winning features over the course of the first 10 visits. Braaksma, from Newton, won the first two Dirt Knights features of the season July 20 at South Dakota’s Park Jefferson Speedway and July 22 at Buena Vista Raceway. Should he take the upcoming checkers and top check of $1,000, he’d match the tour consecutive wins record of three in a row established by Ricky Thornton Jr. of Adel in 2018 and equaled by Richie Gustin of Gilman last year. Also on the Tuesday card are IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks running for $1,000 to win their Joel Showalter Memorial, plus IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Karl Kustoms [Read More]

LaCrosse rules King of the Creek at 141

FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. (July 23) – With the green flag laps clicking off, the opportunity Benji LaCrosse has been waiting for finally came on the 36th time around the track Thursday at 141 Speedway. LaCrosse caught race-long leader Nick Strobbe and then led to the finish of the $5,000 to win King of the Creek main event for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. “It was awesome. I didn’t think I’d catch the 42 car (Strobbe) for a while,” LaCrosse said following the caution-free, 50-lapper and a quick dip in the infield pond at Francis Creek. “I knew I had to get him on the top. His car was really good on the bottom.” Strobbe, 13th in the event as a rookie last season, started from the pole and led Shawn Wagner across the stripe the first two laps. LaCrosse made his way to the runner-up spot at that point, running the higher line and chasing the leader into traffic on lap 22. A car length was the difference between first and second when lap 34 was scored. Strobbe [Read More]

Braaksma goes back to back with BVR win on Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour night 2

ALTA, Iowa (July 22) – After a convincing win on opening night, Ethan Braaksma dominated on night two of the Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour for IMCA Modifieds Wednesday at Buena Vista Raceway. Braaksma made his charge from seventh starting, taking over the front spot as leader Matt Bonine slowed with mechanical issues and checked out on everybody, taking the checkers half a lap ahead of runner-up Cody Laney. Laney ran second the last nine times around the track but didn’t get the break he needed as the 25-lapper ran caution-free. Chris Abelson, a three-time tour winner at BVR, started 12th and finished third. “We’ve worked pretty hard for this,” said Braaksma, who put his name on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot with his tour feature win Monday at Park Jefferson Speedway and banked $1,000 by taking the BVR checkers. “It was amazing to come out on top and know you beat the best guys in the Midwest twice.” Kyle Brown and Jesse Rogotzke, who’d started 13th, completed the top five. Braaksma had finished [Read More]

Braaksma takes IMCA tour career first checkers in Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights opener at Park Jeff

JEFFERSON, S.D. (July 20) – Ethan Braaksma grew up watching the IMCA Modified Dirt Knights and wondering what it would be like to race with them. On Monday night, the young Iowan became a first-time winner when the 2020 Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour opened at Park Jefferson Speedway. Braaksma passed veteran Bob Moore on the 18th of 25 laps, then led the defending track champion through lapped traffic and across the finish line. The win paid $1,500 and put Braaksma on the ballot for the upcoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “I knew I had to keep my momentum up. I was a little hesitant about going to the top,” he said. “There was a lot of moisture on the bottom. I knew if I could just hit it right I could hold the bottom better. I knew where to enter and where to come off.” Braaksma was the fourth different leader in the tour lidlifter. Troy Cordes led the first circuit before Ricky Stephan sped by. The only caution of the contest came on [Read More]

America’s Home Track Eagle Raceway to host Sept. 3-6 RaceSaver Nationals

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. – IMCA race teams and fans from across the country are making plans to be part of the biggest Sprint Car event of the season, the eighth annual RaceSaver Nationals Sept. 3-6 at America’s Home Track Eagle Raceway. Twenty-seven Sprint Cars will go wheel-to-wheel and wing-to-win in the 30-lap, $2,500 to win, minimum $1,250 to start main event on Sunday evening. The most prestigious checkers in the RaceSaver World fly during a four-day event filled with fun on and off the track. Pre-tech, practice and qualifying heats for the $1,000 to win Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions fill the Thursday card. Friday and Saturday qualifying features pay $700 to win and $250 to start both send nine cars the the big show, with last-chance races rounding of that field on Sunday. Parties in the pit follow all four race programs, with the band Jacked providing the tunes Sunday night. Dr. Danger, aka The American Daredevil, will perform four-wheel stunts during intermissions throughout the weekend. The dodgeball tournament to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund [Read More]

Super Tuesday voting is Aug. 11 for IMCA Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational

VINTON, Iowa – Super Tuesday voting will be Aug. 11 to elect 28 of the 30 drivers who will start the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational during the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. All voting will be done through the IMCA Facebook page, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST. The top three vote recipients from each of the five IMCA Modified regions become All-Stars, with their region of candidacy determined by where they made the majority of their sanctioned starts. The next 13 drivers with the highest vote totals, regardless of region, join the All-Star field. The final two All-Stars will be drivers with the top national point total and the most 40-point wins as of Aug. 28 competing at Super Nationals. Final qualifying events for the 2020 ballot will be held Aug. 6 with an updated list of candidates to be announced the next Monday. Tripp Gaylord and Chase Hansen put their names on the ballot with Wild West Tour wins. Casey Skyberg was Mountain States Tour winner and Nick [Read More]

Gaylord finds glory at Dacotah, Zevenbergen wins 5th

MANDAN, N.D. (July 15) – When Tripp Gaylord drew the pole position for the IMCA Modified “A” feature on the Moritz Sport & Marine Dakota Classic Tour presented by Bismarck Motor Company at Dacotah Speedway, the real test began. A week with many frustrations for the Colorado racer finished out with a feeling of euphoria. Gaylord did double duty in the Modified and Stock Car all week long until Dacotah Speedway, handing the reins over to brother Ryan in order to focus on the Modified. He had made every feature in both classes until that point. Gaylord was a rocket from the drop of the green flag in Mandan, leading by over three seconds at one point and maneuvering lapped traffic to grab the $2,400 win. Already on the Fast Shafts Al-Star Invitational ballot, Gaylord was followed across the stripe by Jake O’Neil, Robert Hellebust, Shawn Strand and Alex Stanford. Consistent Austin Arneson captured the tour championship. Elijah Zevenbergen is the best accomplished IMCA Sunoco Stock Car driver the tour has seen, winning for the [Read More]

Health care heroes theme for best appearing car contest at Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – The health care heroes who have given us their all throughout the Covid-19 pandemic will be celebrated at the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Modified and Northern SportMod drivers competing at Boone Speedway during the September dirt track racing spectacular are encouraged to enter cars with the Health Care theme, promoting the contributions made by anyone from individual providers to specific hospitals. “All our lives have been impacted by the pandemic and we owe so much to those who have cared for us, our family and our friends,” said IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder. “Super Nationals is our biggest stage and as such the perfect time to thank all in the health care profession.” Along with $250 IMCA.TV broadcasting bonuses, drivers of contest winning cars in each division receive trophies. Speedway Motors gives $100 gift cards to all drivers entering the contest while Sweet Manufacturing gives a steering box to the Modified winner. Required decals must be part of cars’ overall design. Both winners will be announced during the week [Read More]