Feature Archives

26 sponsors honored at IMCA national banquet

LINCOLN, Neb. – Twenty-six of the sponsors that support IMCA and its member drivers will receive special awards during the sanctioning body’s national banquet Saturday, Nov. 24 in Lincoln, Neb. AFCO receives a 25-year award while Bilstein, Dirt Works, Holley, QA1, Schoenfeld Headers and Speedway Engineering all will be honored for 20 years of support. Day Motor Sports, Moser Engineering and MSD are 15-year award recipients while AMI Graphics, BSB Manufacturing, Dominator Race Products, Eibach Springs, Genesis Shocks, Jones Birdsong, Mach-1 Racing Solutions and Stephenville Starter all receive 10-year plaques. Five-year awards go to Big Daddy Race Cars, Finishline Racing Products, Friesen Chevrolet, Jerovetz Shock Service, Longacre, Out-Pace Racing Products, Razor Chassis and Ricochet Race Components. Drivers winning championships and rookie of the year awards will be honored and track sanction awards presented during the banquet, at the Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln. Cocktails are at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. and the awards ceremony to follow. Tickets are $35 each and available by calling the IMCA home office at 319 472-2201. [Read More]

Hurst, Ramey are first-time IMCA national champions

VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 11) – Jeremiah Hurst and Kevin Ramey earned career-first crowns while six other IMCA drivers have added to their national championship trophy collections. Hurst topped IMCA Late Model standings while Ramey paced the point race for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars. Jordan Grabouski won the IMCA Modified championship for the third time while Mike Nichols and Shannon Anderson both raced to third straight and record-extending career eighth titles in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock divisions, respectively. Matt Looft’s Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod crown was his career third; two-time champions are Gabe Tucker in the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMods and Ramsey Meyer in the Mach-1 Sport Compacts. Looft, Tucker and Meyer were all national champions in 2013. Hurst had seen his 2017 season ended mid-summer by health issues. Along with seven feature wins, including his first Deery Brothers Summer Series victory since 2002, Hurst raced to the track title at Maquoketa Speedway and his first Iowa State championship this year. The first driver to win both national and [Read More]

Grabouski gets bookend hardware at Fall Nationals

HAYS, Kan. (Oct. 6) – Jordan Grabouski came home from Hays with a bookend Fall Nationals trophy. Grabouski led all 40 laps of Saturday’s IMCA Modified main event at RPM Speedway. The victory was good for $5,000 and hardware to complement the trophy he got at the 2011 event. “I had a five second lead at one point so we definitely had a good car,” said Grabouski, already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. “It’s hard to know how much you’re leading by, especially when you’re in lapped traffic. There was a restart with six laps to go and I was able to pull away a bit after that.” He’s had mixed luck at RPM in the past – a late flat tire took him out of contention at last year’s Fall Nationals – but Grabouski won both his heat and qualifying feature on Friday night. Clay Sellard, Eddie Belec, Steven Bowers Jr. and Tanner Black completed the top five. More than 200 IMCA race teams competed during the 12th annual event at Hays. [Read More]

Kollofski comes up big time for $1,000 IMCA Modified win at Jackson Nationals

JACKSON, Minn. (Sept. 29) – An IMCA Modified driver who followed a part-time schedule this year came up big time Saturday at Jackson Motorplex. Oliver Kollofski won the Jackson Nationals main event, earning $1,000 and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth. “There were a couple caution flags that came out at the right time and a found a little grip in (turns) three and four, the Fairmont veteran said. “It’s really neat to race at such an amazing facility. Jackson is a great track.” Kollofski kept the same setup that took him to fifth place in the Friday feature, started ninth in the Saturday show and restarted third for the final caution midway through the 20-lapper. He passed Jason Fisher for the front spot three laps later. Fisher, Ricky Stephan and Josh Foster completed the top four. Big car counts meant extra money for Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks as well on Saturday. SportMod winner Dan Paplow took $1,200 to the bank while Matt Hanson’s run to the Hobby Stock [Read More]

Money takes top check at Mid-America Clash

SALINA, Kan. (Sept. 29) – It took a day or two later than he’d wanted, but Clay Money got one of those IMCA Modified wins he’d been wanting for a while Sunday at Salina Speedway. Money was the $1,500 feature winner at Salina’s Mid-America Clash, postponed from Friday and Saturday to a one-day show on Sunday because of inclement weather. He led all 25 laps from the pole in topping the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier. The victory was his fourth of 2018 and came on the final day of the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly point season. “This is one we’ve wanted to get for a while,” said Money, runner-up in the second of two Clash features last year. “Kurtis (Pihl) chased me into lapped traffic but I got clean air after the restart.” The first 17 circuits ran green before back-to-back cautions waved. Money edged away the last eight times around the oval, winning ahead of Pihl, Tim Watts and Justin Jurgens. Bryan Rigsby saw his luck at the draw do a 180 [Read More]

Awesome weekend at Ocean adds $4,000+ to DeCarlo’s racing account

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 29) – What Nick DeCarlo called “an awesome weekend” ended with his name on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot and more than $4,000 in the bank. DeCarlo held off Troy Foulger for the $3,003 IMCA Modified Pettit Shootout victory Saturday at Ocean Speedway. He’d started outside the front row and led all 36 laps. Hogge, winner of the Friday feature at Watsonville, Shane DeVolder and 21st starting Ryan McDaniel completed the top five. Three cautions came out early but a long green flag run preceded the checkers. “Friday I ran the bottom and led most of the way before Hogge passed me on the top,” DeCarlo said. “Saturday we ran the high side, then ran the last eight laps wherever to pass lapped cars.” In addition to the lion’s share of the Saturday purse, DeCarlo took home $700 for his second place showing on Friday, $500 for having the top point total for the two days and the $100 fan favorite award. “This was my highest paying weekend ever and it [Read More]

Mark Martin’s second annual Race For Hope 74 at Batesville Motor Speedway a huge success

By Mike Spieker BATESVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 29) – IMCA Modified entries topped the 130 mark and traveled from more than 20 states and Canada for Mark Martin’s second annual Race For Hope 74 at Batesville Motor Speedway Troutman, N.C.s Kyle Strickler, already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, led the distance en route to Saturday’s $20,000 payday. Defending race winner Ricky Thornton Jr. and Jordan Grabouski completed the top three. A purse of more than $150,000 was paid to the 28 main event qualifiers Qualifying feature winners Thornton, Strickler and Grabouski, made up the front row for the three-wide start. Thornton placed his bid for the lead on an early restart but Strickler had the momentum down the back straightaway to hold the point. Behind the leaders, Grabouski and Chase Allen swapped the third spot on lap four, with Grabouski holding onto the position. The bottom became the preferred groove for the entire field as the race approached the lap 40 fuel stop. Thornton slipped from second to fourth following the lap 35 restart [Read More]

2018 IMCA point season ends this Sunday, Sept. 30

VINTON, Iowa – The 2018 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season for seven divisions ends this Sunday, Sept. 30 Final races are scheduled that day for Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Stock Cars, Hobby Stocks, Northern SportMods, Southern SportMods and Sport Compacts. Final national and state points for the Late Model division were given at the Sept. 21 Deery Brothers Summer Series event. Bonus points will be figured and national and regional champions and rookies of the year announced as soon as possible. Local track officials have until noon Central Standard Time on Monday, Oct. 29 to notify IMCA of corrections that affect their top 15 point standings before all standings for those divisions become official. Questions about IMCA point totals and standings should be directed to Virginia Lindsey, director of membership and points, at vlindsey@imca.com or by calling 319 472-2201, ext. 215.

Thornton takes opening night feature win at Race For Hope 74

By Mike Spieker BATESVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 26) – Picking up where he left off last year, Ricky Thornton Jr. raced to the opening night feature win of Mark Martin’s Race For Hope 74 at Batesville Motor Speedway. Thornton, who is the defending champion of the Race For Hope 74, led all 30 trips around the high-banked three-eighths mile clay oval en route to the Wednesday evening IMCA Modified win. “The car was really good tonight. I was able to jump out front and really run my own race,” said Thornton after the race. “We’ll probably make a few small changes for Saturday but we are excited to roll from the pole.” The top eight finishers in the Wednesday qualifier are locked into Saturday’s $20,000-to win, 74-lap main event. Those drivers include Thornton, Cayden Carter, Jason Hughes, Justin Kay, Drew Armstrong, Ken Schrader, Zack VanderBeek and Joel Rust. Armstrong ran in the runner-up position until the lap 12 restart when Hughes snuck underneath him in turns one and two. On the following circuit, 10th place runner Jake [Read More]

Race For Hope 74 practice, time trials start Tuesday

BATESVILLE, Ark. – Practice and time trials get underway Tuesday night at Batesville Motor Speedway for the top-paying IMCA Modified event of the season. A $20,000 share of the $150,000 Mark and Arlene Martin Hope For Arkansas Foundation Race For Hope 74 main event purse goes to the winner of the Saturday, Sept. 29 headliner. Twenty-seven drivers take the green flag in a race that pays a minimum of $2,000 to start. All IMCA rules will apply and IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Motors Weekly Racing National, Jet Racing Central Region and Arkansas State points will be awarded. Race For Hope 74 will be broadcast by IMCA.TV. Presenting sponsor is Sweet Manufacturing. Fifteen heat races will be held each night Wednesday through Friday. “D,” “C” and “B” races will follow qualifying features those evenings with points to be awarded toward a special race. Both the Race of States, featuring the fastest car from each state that does not qualify for the main event, and the Manufacturers’ race, featuring the fastest non-qualifying car built by each manufacturer [Read More]