Feature Archives

Nearly perfect, Peeler paces Crist Memorial

OSBORN, Mo. (July 27) – Twenty-two near-perfect laps after taking the initial green flag, Blake Peeler was celebrating a $1,262 payday and the highlight of his IMCA Sunoco Stock Car career. Peeler led every circuit of US 36 Raceway’s Joe Crist Memorial Friday night, taking the big win in front of a packed grandstand at Osborn. Peeler took command from the start of the second annual event after wife Nellie drew the two pill for him. A couple cautions kept him out of lapped traffic and Peeler put some distance on the rest of the field following the final restart with four laps left. “I’ve won championship night and mid-season championship night features before but this is the absolute highlight of my career,” he said. “I’m good friends with the (Crist) family so winning this race means a lot to me.” Brad Whitney was second, a couple car lengths back, and hard charger Mich Ross was third. Billie Hoover and Brian LaBonte completed the top five. “I knew Brad would race me clean,” said Peeler. [Read More]

Nine states, Canada represented in round 2 of All-Star voting

BOONE, Iowa – Voters will have a geographically diverse group of IMCA Modified candidates to choose from when balloting begins at noon today (Monday) to elect the next group of starters in the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Fifteen starters advanced in the first round of voting last week. Facebook voting runs through 4 p.m. CST Thursday, Aug. 2 to elect another 13 All-Stars from the at-large pool of the next top 25 vote recipients. Those candidates represent nine states (Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon and Wisconsin) and Canada. Completing the starting grid for the 30-lapper will be All-Star candidates with the top national point total and the most 40-point feature wins as of Aug. 31 competing at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The 15th annual Invitational is Friday, Sept. 7 at Boone Speedway. The race pays $1,000 to win and $200 to start.

Ruter, Zevenbergen race to 2K wins on Kossuth County’s Veterans’ Night

ALGONA, Iowa (July 26) – The crowd at Kossuth County Speedway thanked the men and women who have served in our military, then applauded $2,000 feature winners Ryan Ruter and Elijah Zevenbergen during the Thursday Veterans’ Night event. Ruter was running third and in the right place to capitalize when Kyle Strickler and Jeremy Mills tangled up front in the IMCA Modified main. He led to the finish, running the top line and taking the checkers ahead of Wehrs Dash at the Clash winner Kelly Shryock, Ethan Dotson, Rob Hughes and Nick Meyer. Ruter had taken the initial green flag from the fifth spot, Shryock from ninth. “There were a lot of good cars there. It was a fun race, for sure,” Ruter said following the 2019 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying win. “The track was really good and we got to take home the big payday.” Forty-nine IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars in all vied at Algona and Zevenbergen led that main event most of the way despite the best efforts of Derek Green [Read More]

First round of voting yields seven first-time All-Star candidates

BOONE, Iowa – Seven of the first 15 drivers elected to the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational will make career-first starts when the event hits the track Friday, Sept. 7 at Boone Speedway. First-time All-Stars are Troy Foulger, Chaz Baca, Zachary Madrid, Shane Hiatt, Tyler Frye, Chris Elliott and Austin Wonch. Steven Bowers Jr. was elected to his second All-Star race, Will Ward to his third and Hunter Marriott and Kevin Sustaire both to their fourth. Richie Gustin and A.J. Ward are both in for the fifth time, Ricky Thornton Jr. and William Gould both for the sixth. Thornton, who became a new father earlier this week, had the top vote total among the 139 drivers on the first-round ballot. Three drivers were elected from each region, with candidacy based on where drivers were racing most. Ten states are represented by the first group of All-Stars. Baca, Foulger and Madrid advance from the Western region, Bowers, Frye and Hiatt from the Central, Gustin, Marriott and Thornton from the North Central, Elliott, Gould and Sustaire from the [Read More]

Marriott makes it two wins in three nights with BVR Arnold Motor Supply Dirt Knights checkers

ALTA, Iowa (July 25) – Wednesday’s night’s Arnold Motor Supply Dirt Knights Tour rubber match went to Hunter Marriott. Marriott led every lap from the pole in winning the IMCA Modified main event at Buena Vista Raceway. The $2,000 tour victory was his second in three days, the first coming Monday at Park Jefferson Speedway. Kyle Strickler, winner of the Tuesday tour event at Hancock County Speedway, was a distant second. “It seems like we had gone on a dry streak there for a while, then we got a couple wins on the Dakota Tour so we knew we could still do it,” said Marriott, who’d put his name on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot Monday. “We’ve won three of five career starts at Alta and a couple Dirt Knights features now, and that always feels good.” Strickler fell back as far as fifth before working his way back to the runner-up spot. Joel Rust, defending BVR race winner Chris Abelson and Kyle Brown finished third through fifth, respectively, in the 25-lapper. Marriott may [Read More]

Rain delays but can’t stop Cooney in Fayette County Deery Series quest

WEST UNION, Iowa (July 25) – Todd Cooney had his car loaded up and ready to go home, thinking the rain that delayed Wednesday’s Deery Brothers Summer Series program at Fayette County Speedway would ultimately lead to its cancellation. But the rain went away, the speedway crew got the oval back in prime shape and Cooney ultimately ended up going home with the IMCA Late Model tour victory and $2,000. After running everywhere from third to seventh, Cooney passed Justin Kay and leader Chad Holladay on the 31st of 40 circuits. He beat Kay to the checkers by about a car length for his career eighth Deery win. “We’d kind of been all over the place but I was able to get up to third before that last restart, get a run on the back stretch and get the lead,” said Cooney, who used the higher line to do so. “Any time you can beat Justin it’s a big thing and Chad has been running well, too. To pass both of them is pretty awesome.” [Read More]

Strickler is best at Britt for IMCA Arnold Motor Supply Dirt Knights Tour win

BRITT, Iowa (July 24) – There’s something about Hancock County Speedway that brings out the best in Kyle Strickler. Strickler led every lap in winning Tuesday’s Arnold Motor Supply Dirt Knights Tour feature for IMCA Modifieds, earning $2,000 along with a spot on the 2019 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Hunter Marriott followed his Monday night victory at Park Jefferson Speedway with a runner-up finish. He pressured Strickler throughout the first half of the race and was joined by Ryan Ruter in hot pursuit the last half. Strickler, however, was able to lengthen his lead on the rest of the field before taking the checkers. The victory was Strickler’s Dirt Knights Tour career third and all have been at Britt. Strickler won the show that doubled as Night of 1,000 Stars in 2013 and the Salute to Veterans Night event in 2015. He also counts the 2014 Night of 10,000 Stars and last year’s Shryock Memorial All-Star among his checkered flag runs at Hancock County. Rounding out the top five were Ethan Dotson and ‘B’ [Read More]

Supporting your local IMCA track provides theme for best appearing car contest at Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – The 150-plus venues from across the country and Canada that give weekly racers the opportunity to shine provide the theme for the Best Appearing Car contest at the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Modified and Northern SportMod drivers coming to Boone Speedway for the Sept. 3-8 Super Nationals are encouraged to enter cars with the Support Your Local Track theme. Golden Empire Towing of Bakersfield, Calif., gives $200 in cash to drivers of the winning cars in each division. An official track logo must be displayed in a prominent location on the car. “Super Nationals is the biggest event in the world for the weekly dirt track racer so the local track theme is something that allows racers to bring a piece of home with them,” said IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder. “Racers are proud of their local IMCA sanctioned dirt track and we want them to highlight that.” “This is also a contest with a lot of latitude. Designs can and should be unique but drivers and [Read More]

Early entries at 70 for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Nationals

EAGLE, Neb. – Two words of advice from Roger Hadan regarding the upcoming RaceSaver Nationals? Register now. Seventy IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car drivers have already taken that advice and are signed up to compete in the sixth annual event, to be held Aug. 30-Sept. 2 at Eagle Raceway. “Go online and pre-enter. It’s only $15 and it gets you a pit stall,” said RaceSaver boss and Eagle promoter Hadan. “Drivers who don’t enter by Aug. 23 will pay $50 and won’t be guaranteed a pit stall.” Joining a strong contingent of home state hot shoes thus far will be RaceSaver competitors making the tow to the Nebraska speedplant from California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia. Hadan also confirmed that Thomas Weeks from the Discovery Channel’s Misfit Garage will be grand marshal for the event. Weeks and crew will spend the week at the event. What’s guaranteed to be the biggest RaceSaver event of the season pays $2,500 to win and a minimum of $1,250 to [Read More]

Race of champions winners add to Super Nationals history

BOONE, Iowa – Four hometown heroes will be among the drivers honored on the final day of the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Winners of race of champions events take their turn in victory lane on Championship Day Saturday, Sept. 8 at Boone Speedway. Top drivers at local tracks will fill starting fields for the 30th annual Harris Auto Racing Modified Race of Champions, the 18th annual Sunoco Stock Car Race of Champions, and 10th annual Stephenville Starter Hobby Stock Race of Champions and BSB Manufacturing Northern SportMod Race of Champions. “The original idea behind Super Nationals was giving drivers who competed weekly at IMCA tracks the opportunity to showcase their talents. That’s been the intent as we’ve added race of champions events over the years,” observed IMCA President Brett Root, “and many of the best weekly racers in our history have won these events.” “Look at qualifying heats and you’ll see drivers from coast to coast and border to border,” he added. “Winning a race of champions at Super Nationals is [Read More]