Feature Archives

Lund lands round two Lone Star Tour victory

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Feb. 17) – A driver who knows a thing or two about winning tour races far from home did just that Sunday night at 281 Speedway. Minnesota veteran Curt Lund, making his first racing visit to Texas, won round two of the Sniper Speed Lone Star Tour for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. The checkers were good for $750. “The tracks down here are smaller than I’m used to,” said Lund, who has racked up 100-plus wins in both the IMCA Modified and IMCA Sprint Car divisions. “I was real happy to win and to have competed with all the guys (59) down here.” Lund started fourth and led the last 17 of 20 circuits. He was catching up with the back of the field when the checkers flew and was chased across the line by opening night winner Jeffrey Abbey and Shawn Ritter. Lund was a winner last summer in North Dakota, during the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour. He raced his way out of ‘B’ features both nights at Abilene, finishing seventh [Read More]

Sweeps! Abbey, Elliott, Tucker all are double winners at Abilene’s Ice Breaker

ABILENE, Texas (Feb. 15-16) – Three drivers brought the broom to Abilene Speedway’s season-opening Ice Breaker. Jeffrey Abbey won both IMCA Sunoco Stock Car features, earning $750 for his Saturday Sniper Speed Lone Star Tour victory, Chris Elliott swept Friday and Saturday IMCA Modified features and Gabe Tucker topped both Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod mains. Eighty Stock Cars from 10 states were in town for tour action. Abbey was racing a Stock Car at Abilene for the first time and left the track 2-for-2. “We put the car together for this tour. I ran it the weekend before at Stephenville (281 Speedway’s Big Chill Throwdown) and won there,” he said, “so I came here confident and was able to come out with two wins.” Friday’s checkers flew ahead of Elijah Zevenbergen and Dean Cornelius. Abbey had started third, caught Cornelius for the lead near midway of the 20-lapper and was catching up to the back of the field before a caution with three laps left. He won his heat, drew the pole and led [Read More]

Adams’ first Modified start ends with win at 281 Speedway’s Big Chill Throwdown

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Feb. 8) – Mark Adams’ first start in an IMCA Modified ended with his first feature win in the new division. Piloting the 2016 CAM Chassis that Josh McGaha drove to last season’s Razor Chassis South Central Region crown, Adams avoided an early melee, restated at the front and then led every lap of the Friday Big Chill Throwdown feature at 281 Speedway. “My goal this season was to win a local race,” said Adams, who made the move to the Modified after earning Texas State honors in the Stock Car division in 2018. “I got in more than 100 laps during practice at Abilene a couple weeks ago and that was good seat time, but I was surprised to win so soon.” Jeffrey Abbey led brothers Dean and Westin across the stripe in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature. Jay Coone was the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod victor, ahead of Kaden Honeycutt and Justin Shaw. The Mach-1 Sport Compact main saw another first-year, first-time winner in Brian Schoenbaum Jr. He raced [Read More]

Kirchoff adds his name to Arizona Mod Tour win list

By Jackson Braun CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 11) – There’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Eddie. Gillette, Wy.’s Eddie Kirchoff, a weekly contender back at home, grabbed the $1,500 Monday win at Central Arizona Speedway to become the 12th driver to win an Arizona Modified Tour feature in the IMCA Modified division. He held off a hard-charging Ricky Thornton Jr. in lapped traffic to earn his victory, as it has been no small feat to fend off the 20RT machine this week. Travis Olheiser and Kirchoff set the pace for the field coming to green. Kirchoff was fast off the start, but his advantage was erased by an early caution. Kirchoff led Drew Armstrong and Olheiser back to the green. Racing was close throughout the pack early on as drivers fought for every position they could get. The previous two features had gone without a yellow so these drivers knew the contest could very well go without another caution. All the lead cars were hooked up around the high side as [Read More]

Dominant Thornton scores 2nd Arizona Mod Tour win

By Jackson Braun CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 10) – While day racing at the Central Arizona Speedway brought a completely different dynamic to the plate, the driver in victory lane following Sunday’s Arizona Mod Tour main event was celebrating a second straight victory. A familiar face returned to the winner’s circle as Ricky Thornton Jr. grabbed his fourth career tour win, tying him with Hunter Marriott for the most overall wins in the third running of the tour. Also the $1,500 winner Saturday at Arizona Speedway and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier six times over, Thornton used his outside starting spot to grab the lead early. Clint Reichenbach, who had faced struggles at Queen Creek, used his fourth place spot on the starting grid to catapult himself into 2nd early on. Jake O’Neil worked his way past Reichenbach and set his sights on Thornton. Thornton had a comfortable cushion once he reached lapped traffic and once again was able to maneuver very efficiently. For the second night in a row, the Modified feature [Read More]

Thornton slices, dices through traffic for night two Arizona IMCA Modified Tour win

By Jackson Braun QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Feb. 9) – Round 2 of the 2019 edition of the Arizona Modified Tour brought even more great racing to the table as the competitors battled it out to try and come out on top Saturday at Arizona Speedway. Ricky Thornton Jr. was the night’s biggest titan of the 25 IMCA Modified starters in the feature action, as he drove through lapped traffic the most efficiently in the wire-to-wire contest and came away with his third career Arizona Modified Tour victory. Fargo, N.D., was represented well as hometown drivers Casey Arneson and Dylan Goplen led the field to the green flag in the Modified feature. Arneson got the jump but after one lap Thornton was already next to him and contending for that top spot. Roaring around the high side of the speedway, Thornton officially took the race lead on lap six. He then cleared Arneson and started to run away from the field. Arneson was then pressure by Jake O’Neil, who was able to take his momentum from [Read More]

Ward tops record-setting Arizona Mod Tour opener

By Jackson Braun QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Feb. 8) – An action-packed night of racing at the 1/3 mile Arizona Speedway speedplant was capped off by a first-time winner in Arizona Mod Tour action as Arizona native and Iowa transplant Tim Ward bested the field of 26 stout IMCA Modified drivers. A tour record 92 Modifieds and 37 IMCA Northern SportMods checked into the pit gate for opening night of the third annual tour. Ward’s victory paid $1,500 and put him on the ballot for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Robert Hellebust and Joey Price led the field to green for 25 trips around the Arizona Speedway oval. Hellebust jumped out to an early lead, but a caution reset the field back to square one. Hellebust got the jump on the restart but Bobby Hogge IV challenged early on. After a few laps of battling, Hellebust started to pull away. Ward started 11th on the field and had already made his way up into the top five within a few laps. He got past Hogge quickly [Read More]

IMCA Arizona Modified Tour at 170 early entries

QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. – One hundred and seventy drivers are on the pre-entry list for the Feb. 7-16 IMCA Arizona Modified Tour. Arizona Speedway at Queen Creek hosts Friday and Saturday, Feb. 8 and 9 events. The tour is at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Speedway for Sunday and Monday, Feb. 10 and 11 shows and at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria on Wednesday, Feb. 13. USA Raceway in Tucson is the site of Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15 and 16 programs. IMCA Modifieds race for $1,500 to win while Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods chase $600 top checks each night. All seven Modified features are 2019 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying events and pay a minimum of $150 to start. Northern SportMod features pay a minimum of $60 to start. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, state and special series points will be given in both divisions; Modifieds also vie for Larry Shaw Race Cars Western Region points. Entry fees each night of the tour will be $40 for Modifieds and $30 for Northern SportMods. [Read More]

Center scores Sunday SportMod, Stock Car checkers at Canyon’s IMCA Winter Challenge

PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 26-27) – After a forgettable opening night, Cody Center had a Sunday to remember Sunday at Canyon Speedway Park’s Winter Challenge Series. A DNS in Saturday’s main event following two early tangles with another car in his heat race, Center started last but still earned his career-first Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature win in the second day show at Peoria. He followed with the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers, winning two main events on the same program for the first time. “There were so many emotions after the SportMod win. That was a team effort if I ever had one,” said Center, crediting his father Darin and crewman Garrett Hommel for getting the car race-ready again after nasty heat race dustups both days. “They got my car rebuilt twice so I could win on Sunday.” That victory came ahead of Speedy Madrid and Bo Partain. He took the lead early in the Stock Car feature and won ahead of John Parmeley and George Fronsman. “I absolutely love the Stock Cars. They’re by [Read More]

New-look logo created for IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing

VINTON, Iowa – New season, new look. The new IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing logo was unveiled today. Incorporating the new Speedway Motors logo with the familiar red IMCA logo, it will appear on decals to be mailed in 2019 drivers’ packets for all eight divisions. The new logo will also accompany many of the releases posted on the IMCA website and published in the IMCA newsletter. “We have released the new weekly racing logo in conjunction with Speedway Motors’ rebranding,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “We’ve had a great partnership with Speedway Motors and we look forward to continuing that relationship for many more years.” Speedway Motors is the longest tenured IMCA sponsor, as part of a business partnership that dates to the 1950s. The Lincoln, Neb., speed shop, founded by ‘Speedy’ Bill Smith and his wife Joyce in 1952, has paved the road for drivers for the past 67 years through innovation, grit, and good old-fashioned heart. Now the world’s largest manufacturer, distributor and retailer of street rod, muscle car and racing products [Read More]