Feature Archives

Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour checkers fly for defending champ at Minot

MINOT, N.D. (July 9) – Once he found his way back to the front, there was no catching Hunter Marriott on night two of the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic IMCA Modified Tour. The defending tour champion got the lead back from Billy Kendall and checked out on the way to the $2,300 checkers Sunday at Nodak Speedway. The 30-lapper ran caution-free and Marriott was in and out of lapped traffic much of the way. Ninety Modifieds, plus 42 IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, checked in at Minot. Johnny Scott, former tour champions Ricky Thornton Jr. and Aaron Turnbull, and Joel Rust rounded out the top five behind Marriott. Already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, Marriott started third and had the lead when the first lap was scored. Kendall ran higher on the oval to take the front spot away. The front pair ran side-by-side before Marriott got the lead back and ran away from the pack, winning a straightaway ahead of Scott. “I didn’t think the race would be won from the top so [Read More]

100 IMCA Modifieds at Jamestown as Wilson tops record-setting Dakota Classic Tour opener

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (July 8) – Spencer Wilson laughed when he was asked if he was ready to consider himself an IMCA Modified special series specialist. The answer was no – not yet, anyway. With a track record 100 Modifieds checked in for opening night, Wilson led all 30 laps of Saturday’s 28th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Modified Tour main event at Jamestown Speedway. The win paid $2,300. Wilson had raced his way onto the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot in February with a win in the Arizona Modified Tour. The Saturday checkers came on a night when Modified drivers from 17 states and two Canadian provinces converged on Jamestown. “I enjoy going to big shows like this and racing with this level of competition,” said Wilson. “This was a great group of drivers. I knew I could run with them. I just needed to stay smart and not overdrive the car.” Wilson pulled away from 2015 champion Ricky Thornton Jr. and Johnny Scott following a series of restarts. Cody Baumann and Tracy Domagala rounded out [Read More]

Boone’s 50th anniversary special event combines with Prelude to Sept. 4-9 IMCA Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – As its name would imply, Boone Speedway’s 50th anniversary event will serve as a Prelude to the World’s Largest Dirt Track Event. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods fill the card at the Saturday, Sept. 2 Prelude, giving early arrivals for the Sept. 4-9 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s another night on Iowa’s Action Track. The Modified feature will be a qualifying event for next fall’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. The complete purse, as well as race night schedule, are to be announced. “Boone’s 50th anniversary event was originally scheduled in March but was rained out. They had considered rescheduling mid-season but decided the prelude would be a better time,” explained IMCA President Brett Root. “There are always a lot of drivers who get to Boone before Labor Day and this will be a good event between weekly racing and Super Nationals.” Regardless of when they get to Boone, drivers and fans will be greeted by a familiar schedule at the 35th annual Super [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings Through July 5

IMCA Modifieds – 1. William Gould, Calera, Okla., 1,143; 2. Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, 1,136; 3. Matt Guillaume, Haslet, Texas, 1,112; 4. Jason Wolla, Ray, N.D., 1,074; 5. Cory Sample, Winnemucca, Nev., 1,047; 6. Ricky Stephan, South Sioux City, Neb., 1,045; 7. Anthony Roth, Columbus, Neb., 1,013; 8. Brian Schultz, Casa Grande, Ariz., 1,006; 9. Dean Abbey, Roanoke, Texas, 989; 10. Scott R. Smith, Davenport, Neb., 985; 11. Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas, 970; 12. Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif., 949; 13. Tom Berry Jr., Medford, Ore., 935; 14. Bryce Garnhart, Shannon, Ill., 920; 15. Clinton Luellen, Minburn, Iowa, 912; 16. Kelsie Foley, Tucson, Ariz., 910; 17. Tim Ward, Chandler, Ariz., 906; 18. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz., 877; 19. Steven Bowers Jr., Topeka, Kan., 854; 20. William “Pat” McGuire, Belton, Texas, 836. IMCA Late Models – 1. Todd Cooney, Des Moines, Iowa, 775; 2. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, Iowa, and Matt Ryan, Davenport, Iowa, both 770; 4. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown, Iowa, 747; 5. Rob Toland, Colona, Ill., 720; 6. Joe Zrostlik, Long Grove, Iowa, 630; 7. Joel Callahan, Dubuque, Iowa, [Read More]

2017 Super Nationals logo required for best appearing car contest

BOONE, Iowa – There’s no particular theme, just one important requirement for Modified and Northern SportMod drivers planning to enter the Best Appearing Car contest for their respective divisions at the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. In addition to required decals for the divison, entries must incorporate the 2017 Super Nationals logo, in original and unaltered colors, in the overall design. The logo must be a minimum of 20 inches wide and 13 inches tall and located on the nose or side of the car. “Designs can and should be unique,” commented IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder. “I will email the logo to graphics companies and anyone else who needs the logo can contact me at the IMCA home office.” Golden Empire Towing of Bakersfield, Calif., awards $200 in cash to drivers of the cars judged best appearing in both divisions. Speedway Motors gives $100 gift cards to all drivers entering the contest while Sweet Manufacturing awards an ignition box to the Modified winner. Both the Modified and Northern SportMod winners [Read More]

Dakota Classic Modified Tour: From a Dream to A Premier National Tour

By Tom Berg Dakota Classic Modified Tour: From a Dream to A Premier National Tour In 1990 John Gartner had a vision about having a series of dirt-track racing during the summer in North Dakota, similar to Speedweeks in Florida during the week of the Daytona 500 each February. Out of that vision was born the Dakota Classic Modified Tour. Some thought the idea was crazy. As it turns out, Gartner’s tour dream was far from crazy; it has blossomed into the largest Modified touring series in the United States. Sponsored by Kupper Chevrolet of Mandan, the Dakota Classic Modified Tour is entering its 28th year in 2017 and begins on Saturday, July 8 at Jamestown Speedway in Jamestown. That is followed by stops at Nodak Speedway in Minot, Estevan Motor Speedway in Saskatchewan, Canada, Williston Basin Speedway in Williston, Southwest Speedway in Dickinson and wrapping up on July 13 at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan. Incidentally, the six-night tour will be followed by the Legendary 50 at Dacotah Speedway, an event paying $10,002 to win. The [Read More]

Dakota Tour online entries close on Thursday

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Online entries close Thursday, July 6 for the 28th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Modified Tour. Early entries for the July 8-13 tour are already in hand from a record 94 IMCA Modified and 41 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers. Seventeen states and Canada are already represented in pre-registration numbers. The tour starts on Saturday, July 8 at the Statesman County Fairgrounds Jamestown Speedway track in Jamestown. From there the Tour goes to Nodak Speedway on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds in Minot on Sunday, July 9. Round three takes the tour north of the border to Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway on Monday, July 10. The tour’s next stop is Tuesday, July 11 at Williston Basin Speedway, located at the Upper Missouri Fairgrounds. Round number five is in Dickinson and Southwest Speedway on Wednesday, July 12. The tour wraps up its six-day run at Mandan’s Dacotah Speedway on Thursday, July 13. The Corral Sales Legendary 50, a special $10,002 to win race sponsored by Corral Sales, will be held on Friday, July 14 [Read More]

Marriott gets confidence boost, top check at Hogan Memorial

VINTON, Iowa (July 2) – It sounds hard to believe, but even Hunter Marriott needs a confidence booster once in a while. He got that, and a check for $3,433 Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. The 15th starting Marriott took the lead 29 laps into the 50-lap Hogan Memorial main event for IMCA Modifieds, then went to the higher line and held off fellow hard charger Tyler Droste for the victory. “I never count myself out. You always have the chance to win. You’ve just got to keep your head up and keep digging,” said Marriott, who had qualified through his ‘B’ feature. “I went out there, hit my marks and when I had a chance to get the lead, I took it.” Droste had started 13th. Defending race winner Richie Gustin was third, 11th starting Joel Rust was fourth and Cayden Carter completed his march from 21st starting to round out the top five. Corey Dripps was looking to add a bookend trophy to the Hogan hardware he took home in 1997 and led the first [Read More]

Dominant Dotson becomes first to repeat in Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout

By Ben Deatherage LEBANON, Ore. (June 29) – Ethan Dotson became the first two-time feature winner when the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout rolled into town Thursday for the first of three events at Willamette Speedway. Dotson enjoyed a smooth drive to the $1,000 checkers as the Bakersfield, Calif., hotshoe took full advantage of his front row starting position to seize the lead from the start. Already a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational candidate, Dotson dominated the race in its entirety as the cautions came out just at the right time before lapped traffic would play a factor. Jesse Williamson, winner of the Sunset Speedway park event on Wednesday, was second with Brian Thompson, winner of his Thursday “B” qualifier, an impressive third. The rest of the top five consisted of defending series champion Kellen Chadwick and Cory Sample, who had to come from the back after getting caught up in a lap one incident. Feature results – 1. Ethan Dotson; 2. Jesse Williamson; 3. Brian Thompson; 4. Kellen Chadwick; 5. Cory Sample; 6. Dustin Cady; [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings Through June 28

IMCA Modifieds – 1. William Gould, Calera, Okla., 1,129; 2. Matt Guillaume, Haslet, Texas, 1,095; 3. Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, 1,056; 4. Brian Schultz, Casa Grande, Ariz., 980; 5. Ricky Stephan, South Sioux City, Neb., 961; 6. Jason Wolla, Ray, N.D., 955; 7. Brandon Hood, McGregor, Texas, 946; 8. Anthony Roth, Columbus, Neb., 941; 9. Scott R. Smith, Davenport, Neb., 917; 10. Dean Abbey, Roanoke, Texas, 909; 11. Cory Sample, Winnemucca, Nev., 907; 12. Kelsie Foley, Tucson, Ariz., 891; 13. Tom Berry Jr., Medford, Ore., 866; 14. Bryce Garnhart, Shannon, Ill., 847; 15. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz., 841; 16. Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif., 837; 17. Tim Ward, Chandler, Ariz., 831; 18. Josh McGaha, Abilene, Texas, 829; 19. Clinton Luellen, Minburn, Iowa, 804; 20. Tyler Hall, Fertile, Minn., 792. IMCA Late Models – 1. Matt Ryan, Davenport, Iowa, 767; 2. Todd Cooney, Des Moines, Iowa, 761; 3. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, Iowa, 757; 4. Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown, Iowa, 722; 5. Rob Toland, Colona, Ill., 695; 6. Joel Callahan, Dubuque, Iowa, 584; 7. Andy Nezworski, Buffalo, Iowa, 576; 8. Joe [Read More]