Feature Archives

Hatlestad, Zevenbergen take top checks, Luinenburg, Porter get big Arlington wins

ARLINGTON, Minn. (Sept. 23) – While Clint Hatlestad and Elijah Zevenbergen took $1,500 victories, Justin Luinenburg and Kyren Porter were history-making winners Saturday at Arlington Raceway. More than 200 cars were in the pits for the season championship night program, held in honor of the late Scotty Schoknecht. Hatlestad topped the IMCA Modified main, earning a spot on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, while Zevenbergen was fastest in an IMCA Sunoco Stock Car field pared from 42 entries. Luinenburg earned his career 100th victory in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature and Porter became the first driver to win an Arlington Raceway track title in the Mach-1 Sport Compact division. Curt Lund led the first 11 laps in the Modified main before Hatlestad drove by. Brandon Beckendorf came from 15th starting to take over second with hard charger Tyler Limoges passing 15 cars on his way to finishing third. Matt Schauer ran up front early in the Stock Car feature before Zevenbergen weaved his way from ninth starting into the front spot. Dustin Larson followed him [Read More]

Engine auction adds $19,100 to Saturday purse

BOONE, Iowa – Another $19,100 was added to main event purses at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s from the proceeds of the Saturday night champions’ engine auction. Stock Car champion Mike Nichols’ engine sold for $6,600 so each of the other 29 drivers starting that race receive an additional $227.59. Northern SportMod champion Brian Efkamp saw his engine sell for $6,000. The other 29 qualifiers for that event will get $206.90 on top of their purse shares. Modified champion Richie Gustin’s engine gaveled at $3,800. The other 32 starters in that minimum $1,000 to start race receive an additional $118.75. And Hobby Stock champion Shannon Anderson’s engine sold for $2,700, meaning the other 29 starters in that race receive an additional $93.10. All four Saturday champions received new engines from Karl Chevrolet and Karl Performance.

Dustin Strand captures Jamestown Stampede title for third straight year

By Mike Spieker JAMESTOWN, N.D. (Sept. 23) – The 46th edition of the Stock Car Stampede concluded Saturday afternoon at Jamestown Speedway with a near capacity crowd on hand. Coming into the evening, Dustin Strand had won the previous two Stampede championships in the late model division. By the end of the night he added a third Stampede win to his already impressive resume, this time behind the wheel of his IMCA Modified and worth $2,000. The original 62-car field of IMCA Modifieds were whittled down to the fastest 24 for the 30-lap main event. Strand started fifth on the grid and quickly worked his way forward. After moving into second on lap five, Strand drove by Robert Hellebust for the lead on lap 12. Strand ran relatively unchallenged in the lead until 14th starting Jeremy Keller charged up to second to place a bid for the lead. “I was running really well around the bottom and it’s really tough to change lanes when you’re leading,” the new Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier said afterwards. [Read More]

After $2,000 checkers, Smith notes Septemberfest win put him on All-Star ballot

BEATRICE, Neb. (Sept. 22-23) – It’s hard to believe but Dylan Smith wasn’t even on the ballot for the 2017 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. After winning Saturday’s Septemberfest feature at Beatrice Speedway, the fact he was already vote eligible for the 2018 event was one of the first things Smith noted. “That $2,000 (win) put me on the All-Star ballot for next year,” Smith said. “And it wasn’t easy. The quality of cars there was huge. There were a lot of good cars at Beatrice.” The 30-lap win came ahead of two frequent visitors to victory lane at Beatrice, Johnny Saathoff and Jordan Grabouski. Smith drew the outside front row start; Saathoff worked his way up from the fourth row to battle Grabouski behind the leader. “I knew the outside front row would be the place to be. The draw really helped me,” said Smith. “Johnny and Jordan were really racing hard behind me and I hate to think how many wins the two of them have here. There was a caution with about 10 [Read More]

Ron Little Memorial winner adds Stuart to favorites list

STUART, Iowa (Sept. 23) – While he’s known to prefer bigger tracks, Kelly Shryock has added quarter-mile Stuart Speedway to his list of favorites. Shryock held off Richie Gustin in winning Saturday’s Ron Little Memorial IMCA Modified main event, earning $2,000 and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth. “My dad raced here but this was this first time I’d raced at Stuart myself,” Shryock said following his 15th win of the season and IMCA career 81st checkers. “I came out of hot laps thinking it was fast. Stuart is a racy, fun little track.” He’d swapped the lead in traffic with Nick Roberts a couple times before Gustin, the champion at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, came calling. “There were a number of yellows and we were kind of saving our tires. We didn’t know how hard we’d been on them,” said Shryock. “I knew Richie was back there and thought oh boy, he’s been on a pretty good roll.” Shryock held on to win the 30-lapper ahead of Gustin, Shane DeMey, [Read More]

Kay wins Deery Series finale, Sobbing earns IMCA Late Model tour crown

WEST LIBERTY, Iowa (Sept. 23) – Justin Kay celebrated another feature win and Jesse Sobbing celebrated a first championship when the final Deery Brothers Summer Series checkers of the season flew Saturday at West Liberty Raceway. Kay topped the $5,000 to win, 100 lap Liberty 100 main event while Sobbing persevered to a 15th place finish, good enough to make him champion and the top rookie of the 2017 tour for IMCA Late Models. Tyler Bruening led all but the first nine and the last nine laps before chasing Kay across the stripe. Jake Neal ran in or close to the top three all night and finished as the runner-up to Sobbing in the points race. Kay had raced his way to the 16th starting spot in the feature by finishing second in his “B” race earlier in the evening; he and Sobbing were part of a multi-car tangle on the 26th lap that was loaded with potential to change both the outcome of the main event and the series standings. After restarting at the rear, Kay raced his way [Read More]

Kay tops IMCA Modified main to repeat as Governor’s Cup champ at Davenport

DAVENPORT, Iowa (Sept. 22) – Even when you’ve won as often as Justin Kay has, you can enjoy new accomplishments. And on Friday night at Davenport Speedway, that feat was accompanied by a $5,000 check. Kay earned his second straight Iowa Governor’s Cup crown along with the IMCA Modified checkers. His 2016 Governor’s Cup title had come with Late Models as the premiere division. “It was pretty cool. There were a lot of good cars here,” Kay said after the biggest payday of his Modified career. “It rained earlier in the week so the track was a little rough in spots, but I kept looking for the smoothest way around and tried not to let the car push.” He started fourth in the 25-lapper and passed Eric Barnes and then Kurt Kile to get to the front on the sixth circuit. Chris Simpson was running second when the final caution of the night came out, with six laps left. “I’ve raced with Chris enough in a Late Model that I was not going to give [Read More]

2017 IMCA point season ends this weekend

VINTON, Iowa – Final point races of the 2017 season will be held this weekend for all IMCA divisions. Modifieds, Sprint Cars, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, Southern SportMods, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts wrap up the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season on Sunday, Sept. 24. The final national and state points for Late Models will be given at through the West Liberty Raceway Deery Series event on Sept. 23. The Late Model track point season ended on Aug. 27. Bonus points will be figured and national and regional champions and rookies of the year announced as soon as possible. Local track officials will have until noon Central Standard Time on Monday, Oct. 23 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.

IMCA Modifieds chase $2,000 check at Stuart’s Ron Little Memorial

STUART, Iowa – A $2,000 top prize and 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth are at stake this Saturday at Stuart Speedway’s Ron Little Memorial. Also on the Sept. 23 card are IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods, all racing for $500 to win. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional and Allstar Performance State points will be awarded. There is no entry fee for the draw/redraw show. Grandstand admission is $10 for adults, $4 for kids and free for five and under. Pit passes are $30 for drivers and $20 for crew members. Pit gates will be open all day. The grandstand opens at 5 p.m. and hot laps are at 78 p.m., with racing to follow. More information is available by calling 515 238-6945, by emailing stuartracetrack@gmail.com and at the www.stuartspeedway.net website. The Ron Little Memorial will be broadcast by IMCATV.

Iowa Governor’s Cup returns to Davenport Speedway

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Davenport Speedway hosts the Iowa Governor’s Cup, the official stock car championship of the State of Iowa, this Friday, Sept. 22. The premier class will be IMCA Modifieds racing for $5,000 to win. This will be the largest Modified purse in the history of the race track and the winner earns a berth of the 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot as well. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods run for a $2,000 top prize. All racing will be on the quarter-mile oval and there are no entry fees for the draw/redraw show. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National and Allstar Performance State points will be awarded in both divisions. Modifieds also earn Side Biter Chassis North Central Region points. Hot laps are at 6:15 p.m. and racing is at 6:45 p.m. Twenty-four cars will start each IMCA feature. Spectator admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students, and free for kids ages 12 and under. Pit passes are $35. The first Iowa Governor’s Cup race was held in 1986, at Hawkeye Raceway. [Read More]