Feature Archives

Confident in lapped traffic, Callahan collects Benton County Fair Deery Series feature win

VINTON, Iowa (June 27) – Lapped cars didn’t bother Joel Callahan. He figured if he had to get past them, so did everybody chasing him for the lead in Thursday’s Deery Brothers Summer Series main event at Benton County Speedway. Callahan made the most of four restarts before midway of the 40-lap IMCA Late Model tour feature after starting ninth, reeling in Jeff Aikey and leading the last 16 circuits for the $2,000 victory, his Deery career sixth and first since July 7 of 2016. “It’s always good to win. We had a good car and the cautions helped. It seemed like every caution I was able to gain a couple spots,” Callahan said following the county fair show victory. Aikey, winner of the previous tour race at Maquoketa Speedway, had started from the pole and set a blistering pace in the early going. Cautions erased his big leads, however, and Callahan was already sitting in second when the fourth of those yellow flags waved on lap 18. Both had to work their way around [Read More]

Stuart Speedway set for July 2 Ron Little Memorial

STUART, Iowa – The top prize for IMCA Modifieds will be $2,000 while IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars race for $1,000 to win at Stuart Speedway’s Tuesday, July 2 Ron Little Memorial. The fourth installment of the Arnold Motor Supply Midwest Madness Tour is a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying event for the Modifieds. The Modified main event pays a minimum of $150 to start, the Stock Car feature a minimum of $125. Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods race for $1,000 to win, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $500 to win and Mach-1 Sport Compacts for $300 to win at Stuart, with IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing national, regional and E3 Spark Plugs State points awarded in all divisions. Pit gates open at 5 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 5:30 p.m. Hot laps are at 6:45 p.m. with racing to follow. A fireworks display is planned for intermission. Grandstand admission is $15 for adults, $7 for kids and free for ages 10 and under. Pit passes are $30 for adults and $15 for kids. The [Read More]

25 years of great memories: Final checkers fly on July 3 for Hogan Memorial

VINTON, Iowa – A quarter-century of memories will be shared and a tear or two shed before the final checkers fly for one of the longest running events in the history of the IMCA Modified division. The 25th and final Hogan Memorial is Wednesday, July 3 at Benton County Speedway in Vinton. With lap money and the mid-way leader’s bonus, the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier could pay the winner more than $5,000. “The Hogan has been a premier Modified event for many years and rightfully so,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “It’s one of those events every IMCA Modified driver wants to win. Winning the Hogan is one of those rare career highlight-type victories.” The event got its start in 1995 as the Dick Hogan Memorial Mid-Season Championship. It was renamed the Hogan Memorial following the death of Dick’s wife Janet. The Hogans’ son Scott won the inaugural Modified race in 1995. After adding trophies from the 2005, 2006 and 2010 events, he leads all drivers with four career victories. Special recognitions and presentations [Read More]

Registration underway for history-making 30th annual Dakota Classic Tour

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Registration is underway for a tour three decades in the making. IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers planning to follow the 30th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour can now go to the www.dakotamodtour.com website to register and make themselves eligible for contingency awards and reserve car numbers. “This tour has become something of an institution,” noted founder and director John Gartner. “Drivers come from all over the United States and Canada to enjoy the competition as well as the hospitality.” “Thirty years ago, we had no inkling that this tour would be this successful,” he added. “The tracks, the drivers and the sponsors who have been part of the tour deserve a lot of credit.” Modifieds race for $2,400 to win, Stock Cars for $800 to win on July 6 at Jamestown Speedway; July 7 at Nodak Speedway; July 8 at Estevan Motor Speedway; July 9 at Williston Basin Speedway; July 10 at Southwest Speedway; and July 11 at Dacotah Speedway. All six Modified tour features are qualifying events for the 2019 [Read More]

Cottage Grove win is third of Wild West Shootout for Winebarger

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 25) – The late-race scenario was the same Tuesday but this time Collen Winebarger held Kellen Chadwick in check to win the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout feature at Cottage Grove Speedway. Chadwick had reeled in Winebarger in lapped traffic late for the Monday victory at Cottage Grove. Winebarger caught up with the back of the pack again on Tuesday, but held on to earn his third tour feature of the week and another $1,000. Chadwick was a close second while Jake Mayden ended his evening in third. Bricen James collected a fourth while posting a fifth-place result was Gus Cooper. Cooper had motored his way to the front of the field in the opening laps before getting passed on lap four by Mayden. The lone stoppage of the race was a caution on lap nine bunching the field right up. Shortly after the restart, Winebarger maneuvered around Mayden and took over the role as the trailblazer. Winebarger set a torrid pace in open racetrack and as in [Read More]

Logue finds answers, $2,500 feature win at Hancock County’s SportMod Nationals

BRITT, Iowa (June 25) – One win in his first 19 starts of the season had Johnathon Logue looking for answers. He found them Tuesday night at Hancock County Speedway’s MaxYield Seed SportMod Nationals. Logue won his heat, the dash and the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod main event, earning $2,700 in all for his efforts. “My car was very, very good,” said Logue, whose one previous victory this year had also been at Britt, on June 7. “It seems like we’ve been on the trouble bus with it all season. To be able to run as well as we did made it a fun night.” Brayton Carter, Jared Boumeester, Jake McBirnie and Jim Chisholm completed the top five across the stripe in the $2,500 to win feature. Forty-seven drivers from five states were entered. “So many good drivers come to this event every year. I’ve always loved coming up here,” said Logue, also the SportMod Nationals winner in 2016. “The amount of talent in this division is unbelievable.” Logue pocketed $200 for winning the DeKalb [Read More]

Checkers fly for Chadwick in Wild West Shootout round 4

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 24) – After runner-up finishes each of the last two nights, Kellen Chadwick stood on the top step of the podium following Monday evening’s Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout at Cottage Grove Speedway. Chadwick ended Collen Winebarger’s winning streak at two with the $1,000 victory, putting his name of the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot in the process. Winebarger looked primed to three-peat, setting a rapid pace from his outside pole start and building a huge lead over the rest of the field. The leader encountered heavy lapped traffic in the final half of the main event and began to come under pressure from the second-running Chadwick. The California challenger tried several times to make a pass underneath or around the outside, but each time Winebarger thwarted those advances. Unfortunately, the two touched briefly in turn one on lap 32, resulting in Winebarger spinning. Winebarger went to the tail of the field, Chadwick inherited the lead with three laps to go and held onto the top spot [Read More]

Coos Bay checkers give Winebarger consecutive Wild West Shootout wins

By Ben Deatherage COOS BAY, Ore. (June 23) – Collen Winebarger became the first repeat winner in the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout, with a flag-to-flag run in front of the Sunday Gambler field at Coos Bay Speedway. The $1,000 win followed Winebarger’s Saturday victory at Southern Oregon Speedway, which had put him on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. And like the opening night show Friday at Yreka, the feature ran caution-free. Winebarger took the lead at the drop of the green flag, got up on the wheel and outpaced the rest of the field. He worked traffic late in the race, putting 12 of the 20 starters down at least a lap. Winebarger earned his fifth career Wild West Shootout main event win and first at Coos Bay. He is also the first driver since Kellen Chadwick in 2016 to win consecutive races. Chadwick was second for the second straight night, while Travis Peery of North Dakota crossed the wire in third. Bricen James scored a fourth-place result in his first appearance of [Read More]

Southern Oregon win to Winebarger on night two of Wild West Modified Shootout

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (June 22) – Another defending race winner was first to the checkers, on night two of the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout Collen Winebarger topped Saturday’s main event at Southern Oregon Speedway, gaining a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth with the $1,000 victory, his series second in a row at White City. Kellen Chadwick took full advantage of his pole starting spot, taking the lead early and remaining there much of the race. Chadwick cruised until the culminating laps when he was briefly barricaded by traffic. Winebarger managed to cut down Chadwick’s lead and for the first time in the feature put significant pressure on the leader. The two battled briefly until lap 33 when Winebarger edged out in front. Winebarger went on to win the main event, his career fourth Wild West Shootout triumph. Chadwick, Jesse Williamson and Zach Fettinger were next across the stripe, while Jerry Flippo posted a fifth in his series first career feature start. Nick Trenchard had repeated his winning ways on opening [Read More]

Trenchard takes third straight at Yreka in Wild West Modified Shootout opener

By Ben Deatherage YREKA, Calif. (June 21) – Another Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout event at Siskiyou Golden Speedway ended with Nick Trenchard in victory lane. Trenchard raced to his third straight Shootout win at Yreka on Friday, earning $1,000 and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth along with the opening night tour checkers. Danny Lauer set a torrid pace for much of the race, cruising right along until hitting thick lapped traffic around halfway. Trenchard began to give chase and reeled in Lauer,thus beginning his bid for the lead. Trenchard and Lauer had a seesaw struggle for the top spot before in traffic before Trenchard secured the position on lap 25. The race went green to checkered and Trenchard held on the rest of the distance unchallenged to win his third straight series race at Siskiyou. It marked his fourth career Wild West Modified Shootout feature triumph. Lauer ended the night second while Jerry Schram placed third. Matthew Drager collected an impressive fourth over fifth-finishing Jesse Williamson. All consolation features before the main [Read More]