Feature Archives

Drueke gets the job done Saturday at RaceSaver Nationals

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (Aug. 31) – Tyler Drueke’s first win of the RaceSaver Nationals weekend paid him $700 while Jake Bubak won for the second time in as many nights Saturday at Eagle Raceway. Drueke topped the qualifying feature for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, while Bubak scored the $1,000 Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions checkers. Drueke took over the front spot on lap 12 when Joey Danley dropped to the infield. Dusty Ballenger moved up to third after two more laps. Ballenger got past Toby Chapman on a restart with 10 laps left to take second. Cody Ledger moved the 47 into the fourth spot with 8 to go and took over third the next time around. The final change in the top four came with three laps left when Stu Snyder put his no. 5S into fourth. The top four were Drueke, Ballenger, Ledger and Snyder. Ledger was disqualified in post-race tech for refusing to tech. That moved Luke Cranston into fourth. Joining the top four to fill rows four through [Read More]

Bubak is best on opening night at RaceSaver Nationals

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (Aug. 30) – His Friday night qualifying feature win earned Jake Bubak $700 and the pole start for Sunday’s RaceSaver Nationals main event. Eighty-nine IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car teams from 14 states saw action on opening night at Eagle Raceway. Chasing Bubak to the stripe and joining him in the first three rows of the main event grid were Jason Martin, Kaleb Johnson, Trevor Grossenbacher, Anton Hernandez, Ethan Barrow, Jake Martens, Andy Shouse and Justin Clark. Johnson led lap one of the qualifier with Bubak, Martin and Luke Cranston close behind. Bubak took advantage of a lap two restart and snagged the lead while Martin passed Johnson the next time around. The track was lightning fast as the leaders jumped to the high side and began to pull away from the pack. Bubak stretched his lead to six car lengths by lap 14 but he could not shake Martin completely. Martin managed to close on him in heavy lapped traffic as the race went the rest of the way caution [Read More]

Rust runs away from IMCA Modified foes at Prelude

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 31) – A whopping 323 cars checked in to the Boone Speedway for the running of the Wild Rose Casino and Resort Prelude to the Super Nationals Saturday night and the $1,000 to win IMCA Modified feature went to Joel Rust. On a hot streak of late, Rust started sixth and grabbed the lead from Dennis LaVeine, then fended off challenges by Kyle Brown and Jeremy Mills before pulling away on the high side. Kyle Brown took second, Cody Laney came from 12th to finish third, Kelly Shryock started 10th and finished fourth and Richie Gustin was fifth after starting 15th on the field. Jeremy Mills was running third on the white flag lap, slipped high in turn four and fell back to finish 11th. Rust was already on the ballot for the 2020 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Thirty-four heat races and 17 “B” features were required to set the main event grids for the Prelude. Kelly Shryock was the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winner, John Watson topped the IMCA [Read More]

750+ early entries for Super Nationals come from 26 states, internationally

BOONE, Iowa – More than 750 drivers have already thrown their helmets in the ring to be part of the best and biggest dirt track racing event on the planet. By the noon deadline Thursday for IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s pre-entries, 752 drivers had made plans to be part of the 37th annual running of America’s Racin’ Vacation Sept. 2-7 at Boone Speedway. Early entries are in hand from 26 states plus Canada and Australia and include 228 Modified drivers. For the first time in Super Nationals history, Stock Car pre-entries have topped the 200 mark. One hundred and forty-five Northern SportMods, 123 Hobby Stocks and 45 Sport Compacts are pre-registered. Late Models following the Deery Brothers Summer Series are not required to pre-enter. That show headlines the opening night program on Monday. Pre-registered Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod drivers are eligible to compete in the Aug. 31 Prelude at Boone. Pre-registration also makes Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod and Sport Compact drivers eligible for Weekly Racing Bonuses. The [Read More]

ROC heats completed on opening night of RaceSaver Nationals

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. – The first day of the seventh annual IMCA RaceSaver Nationals at Eagle Raceway kicked off Thursday afternoon with a press conference featuring past Nationals champions Kevin Ramey and Jason Martin as well as 2019 track champion Trevor Grossenbacher. Also in attendance was this year’s grand marshall, Dr. Danger who helped put on a small demonstration of the spectacular feats he will be performing throughout the weekend. Then the Sprint Car teams that had made the trek to Eagle Raceway got a chance to jump on the track to either get familiar with the surface again or, for those who had never had the good fortune to participate in the event, learn its intricacies. Qualifying heats for the Jake Ita Memorial Race of Champions were held later that evening to set the starting grid for the Saturday event. The line-up for that race are as follows: Trevor Grossenbacher, Bennet Mike Moore, Des Moines, Iowa Bradley Sterrett, Bloomington, Ind. Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D. Adam Gullion, Lincoln Brooklyn Holland, Fresno, Calif. [Read More]

Great drivers get shares of great Super Nationals purse

BOONE, Iowa – Great dirt track drivers will take home shares of a great purse at the 37th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super National fueled by Casey’s. Nearly $300,000 will be paid out to competitors at the upcoming Super Nationals, scheduled Sept. 2-7 at Boone Speedway. Another $60,000 in contingencies will be awarded to Modified, Late Model, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod and Sport Compact drivers. “So many elements have gone into making and maintaining Super Nationals as the premier event for weekly IMCA racers,” observed IMCA President Brett Root. “Our goal has always been to keep entry fee and admission costs at reasonable levels while continuing to provide the best possible purse structure that attracts and benefits the weekly IMCA racer the most. The Weekly Racing bonus accomplishes just that. We welcome all racers to attend but our bonus is geared toward IMCA’s most loyal racers.” “Over the years,” he continued, “we have been able to accomplish that because of the great contingency award support given by IMCA sponsors.” The Saturday, Sept. 7 Modified [Read More]

Deery Series headlines opening night at IMCA Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – Opening night of the 2019 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s brings the Deery Brothers Summer Series to Boone Speedway for the 49th time. The IMCA Late Model tour headlines the Monday, Sept. 2 program at Boone, in a main event that pays as much as $3,500 to win. Along with a guaranteed $2,000, the winner earns a Weekly Racing Bonus of as much as $1,500 based on their number of sanctioned starts this season, plus a wealth of contingency awards. Pit gates open at 9 a.m. and racing starts at 2 p.m. Also on the Labor Day card are qualifying races for Hobby Stocks and Northern SportMods. Pit passes are $30 and grandstand admission is $20. The 499th event in Deery Series history will also be the 30th held in conjunction with Super Nationals. Jeff Aikey of Cedar Falls has earned seven of his career 70 Deery victories at Boone, six of them at Super Nationals. Gary Webb of Blue Grass is a four-time Super Nationals king. Todd Cooney of Des Moines [Read More]

Deadline is tomorrow noon to register early for Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – The clock is ticking for drivers still planning to register early for the Sept. 2-7 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Those who do so by noon on Thursday, Aug. 29 pay entries fees of $40 for Modifieds, $25 for Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks and Northern SportMods and $15 for Sport Compacts, and make themselves eligible for Weekly Racing Bonuses in their respective divisions. Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod drivers are also required to pre-register to reserve pit stalls and to compete in the Aug. 31 Prelude at Boone Speedway. More than 700 drivers have now completed the online registration process for Super Nationals. The form for pre-registration can be found at www.imca.com and www.raceboone.com under the Super Nationals menu. Drivers who do not already have a MyRacePass account can create one when they go to that link. Pit stall application links are on Super Nationals menus on both IMCA and Boone Speedway websites as well. Late Models following the Deery Brothers Summer Series pay $50 entry fees regardless of whether they [Read More]

James collects top check at Mark Howard Memorial

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 24) – The top driver in Shaw Race Cars Western Region standings raced to the top payday of his IMCA Modified career Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway. Bricen James got the best of 40-plus Mark Howard Memorial Modified Nationals foes from across the Pacific Northwest in earning the $2,600, 2020 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying victory. Collen Winebarger ended in second after running down and challenging the leader for the vast majority of the event. James took advantage of the pole start and put his mount in front of the rest of the field to lead the first lap. He had some fast company behind him but numerous cautions over the first 26 circuits took lapped traffic out of the picture. The second half of the feature became an all-out battle for the top spot. James briefly lost the lead with a handful of laps remaining before reclaiming the position on the next corner. James held all challengers at bay to win his first career Mark [Read More]

Eckrich dominant in Deery Series win at West Liberty

WEST LIBERTY, Iowa (Aug. 24) – He’s been consistent throughout the 33rd annual Deery Brothers Summer Series. On Saturday night, Andy Eckrich was dominant. After showing off his speed in winning his IMCA Late Model tour heat race, Eckrich started fifth in the main event at West Liberty Raceway, reeled in early leader Kyle Hinrichs on the ninth circuit and stayed in front to the finish of the 35-lapper. The $2,000 victory was the career ninth and first of the season for Eckrich, the current Deery point leader. “It was really special,” said Eckrich, a three-time runner-up this year. “I have a lot of family and local fans who were here to see me win. It was nice to win in front of everybody.” The caution flew four laps after Eckrich gained the point and while Hinrichs was able to gain ground in lapped traffic, he was never able to catch up. Now the seventh different winner in eight tour events this year, Eckrich’s victory was his first since June of 2018 at Marshalltown; Hinrichs’ second-place [Read More]