Feature Archives

Park Jefferson sanction gives 1-2 weekend punch for drivers in South Dakota IMCA hub

JEFFERSON, S.D. – A one-two weekend combination is the result of the new IMCA sanction at Park Jefferson Speedway. Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Mach-1 Sport Compacts will run Saturday nights this season on the 4/10-mile dirt oval. The same five divisions will run Sundays at neighboring Raceway Park. Both venues are on an IMCA hub in eastern South Dakota and western Iowa that also links tracks in Nebraska and Minnesota, said Adam Adamson, president of A to Z Promotions, which has promoted events at Park Jefferson since 2014. “We already have a huge base of local drivers in each of the IMCA divisions plus more in the area,” Adamson said. “We had pursued sanctioning last year but the fit just wasn’t right due to scheduling.” “It (the Saturday and Sunday sanctions) will really benefit everyone in the Sioux City area,” he continued. “We feel that with where we’re located, we’re at a great crossroads to put on big events like the [Read More]

United Rebel Sprint Series signs with IMCA, RaceSaver

OBERLIN, Kan. (Jan. 7) – The Sprint Car series that boasts its drivers are Having More Fun Than The Law Should Allow is newly IMCA RaceSaver sanctioned. The United Rebel Sprint Series will have approximately 30 race dates in 2016, at tracks in Kansas, western Nebraska, Colorado and Oklahoma. “RaceSaver has really caught on and we want to be part of it. We want Sprint Cars to be affordable so everybody can race,” said series founder and director Rick Salem. “IMCA has been good to work with. We’re happy to work with them so our drivers can race for URSS points as well as national and state IMCA points.” Opening night for the 11th annual series is April 10 at WaKeeney Speedway. The final points night is Sept. 24 at Dodge City Raceway Park. More than 70 different drivers competed over the course of the series last year. The core group of URSS veterans was joined by a healthy class of eight rookies and transplants to the 305 division from neighboring 360 classes. Fifteen drivers [Read More]

Junction Motor Speedway switches sanction to IMCA

McCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. – Junction Motor Speedway sports four IMCA divisions on Saturday race programs beginning this season. Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Mach-1 Sport Compacts will run weekly at McCool Junction, formerly NASCAR sanctioned. “There are a lot of local IMCA cars that we’ll be able to share with other tracks,” explained promoter Delmar Friesen, citing sanctioned tracks in the area that run on Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights. “We didn’t have anyone around to share with when we were NASCAR. Probably 90 percent of the cars around here are IMCA.” A test and tune session is now scheduled for April 2. The tentative IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season at Junction Motor Speedway runs from April 30 through Sept. 3. All four IMCA divisions take the place of classes that ran in 2015 at McCool Junction and will be on the card for a mid-August special. “Most of the responses we’ve gotten (regarding the change in sanction) have been positive,” Friesen said. [Read More]

141 Speedway promoters nominated for ARPY

FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. – The 141 Speedway promotional trio of Dan Ratajczak, Scott Ratajczak and Toby Kruse are among the nominees for the prestigious Auto Racing Promoter of the Year award given by Racing Promotion Monthly. They were nominated from RPM’s Northern Region. 141 sanctions the Modified, Stock Car, Northern SportMod and Sport Compact divisions with IMCA. “This is exciting. It’s been a very good combination and we’ve learned a lot from Toby,” said Dan Ratajczak. “We averaged about 130 cars a week last season. We’re glad to be part of IMCA.” Ratajczak was a long-time IMCA Modified driver and Scott was his crew chief. They’ve promoted 141 with Kruse since 2014. “This is really a year-round business,” Ratajczak said, while en route to a weekly conference call with his partners. “We’ve made a lot of improvements to the facility and track but we’re nowhere near where we want to be yet. There’s still so much we want to do. Our goal is “Bigger, better, faster.” They’ve made an emphasis on customer service, which includes [Read More]

2016 Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour dates finalized

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – With Jamestown Speedway officials recently making their announcement to sanction Modifieds weekly beginning in 2016, dates and locations for the 27th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour have been finalized. Opening night for both Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car series will be in Jamestown on Saturday, July 9, at Jamestown Speedway. On Sunday, July 10, the tour heads north to Minot and Nodak Speedway. The series then goes international on Monday, July 11, at Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway. Night four brings the tour back to North Dakota on Tuesday, July 12 at Williston Basin Speedway. From there, the series heads south to Dickinson and Southwest Speedway on Wednesday, July 13. The series then heads east to Mandan for its traditional Championship Night on Thursday, July 14 at Dacotah Speedway. Still in the works is a post-tour Modified race at Dacotah Speedway called The Legendary on Friday, July 15. This race has a tentative payout of $10,000 to win, making it the highest paid race in North Dakota [Read More]

Atchison County Raceway will add IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars next season

ATCHISON, Kan. – Atchison County Raceway will feature Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars on regular Friday night programs beginning in 2016. A couple spring specials are to be scheduled before the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season begins at the 1/5-mile oval on April 29. Point races on the 1/5-mile dirt oval continue through Aug. 26. “We had wanted to go with IMCA since we opened (in 2012) but things just didn’t work out,” said owner and promoter Phil Birkinsha. “We have had IMCA drivers race with us before. Now they’ll be able to come here on Fridays and race for IMCA points.” Located in the extreme northeast corner of Kansas, Atchison County Raceway was built at the former site of an asphalt plant two miles north of Atchison. The high-banked racing surface is 80 feet at its widest. “Stock Cars put on the best show around with the rule package IMCA has,” noted Birkinsha. We haven’t run Modifieds here before weekly but have run specials. When IMCA allowed Modifieds [Read More]

Jamestown announces IMCA Modified sanction for 2016

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (Dec. 24) – Christmas came a day early for Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified drivers in North Dakota. Jamestown Speedway owner Keith Veil announced the division would headline regular Saturday race programs at the ¼-mile high-banked clay oval beginning next season. Opening night for the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season is scheduled for May 14. Jamestown will be part of IMCA’s Belleville Motorsports North Central Region. Jamestown had sanctioned the division with WISSOTA since 1988. Veil told the Jamestown Sun that the move to IMCA had been in the works for at least the last four years, citing the growing number of sanctioned tracks in western North Dakota and neighboring Minnesota. Red River Valley Speedway at West Fargo announced earlier in the week it would re-open with sanctioned Modifieds, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks on weekly cards. Both affordability of the IMCA class and the ease drivers had in moving up to the class were also factors. “As a race track promoter, we’re a marketing agency and [Read More]

Red River Valley Speedway set to re-open in 2016

WEST FARGO, N.D. (Dec. 21) – Friday night racing is back at the Red River Valley Speedway. JS Bitker LLC reached a 3-year agreement with the Red River Valley Fair Association to hold a full schedule of races starting in 2016. JS Bitker LLC will be operating the track with the first race slated for Friday, May 6 with a start time of 7 p.m. Thirteen race dates are scheduled for the 2016 season with the following tentative classes: Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Pure Stocks and INEX Legend cars. Modified points will apply in IMCA’s Belleville Motorsports North Central Region, Hobby Stock points in the Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region. Allstar Performance North Dakota State points will be given in all three IMCA divisions. One of the season’s highlights will be a special race during the Red River Valley Fair on July 17 featuring the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association Sprint Cars presented by the Red River Valley Fair Association and Buffalo Wild Wings. Red River [Read More]

Record number of champions crowned in IMCA’s centennial season

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nov. 28) – A record number of champions were honored during IMCA’s centennial season national awards banquet Saturday evening in Lincoln, Neb. In all, an IMCA record 478 track, series and special series, and 102 state champions were crowned this season. More than 9,000 drivers competed in sanctioned events this season and more than 3,400 of them received shares of a $650,000-plus point fund. National champions were Chris Abelson, Xtreme Moor Sports IMCA Modified; Justin Kay, Late Model; Chad Wilson, IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Car; Travis Van Straten, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car; Justin Luinenburg, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks; Tyler Frye, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods; Jesse Baldwin, Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMods; and Nate Coopman, Mach-1 Sport Compact. Kay and Coopman were both three-time national champs while Abelson, Wilson, Van Straten, Luinenburg, Frye and Baldwin all were first-time kings in their respective divisions. Abelson is a former Northern SportMod national champion; Luinenburg became the first Hobby Stock titleist from Minnesota, Baldwin the first Southern SportMod champ from New Mexico. Kay was also champion [Read More]

Whitwell puts on clinics at Desert Thunder Nationals

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Nov. 21-22) – R.C. Whitwell put on a passing clinic Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway. The lesson he taught on Sunday was working lapped traffic. A night after racing from 24th starting to fourth, Whitwell was the flag-to flag leader in the 30-lap, $3,000 to win Desert Thunder Nationals main event for Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds. “I just stayed focused on the lapped cars. I was pretty surprised when I saw the checkers,” admitted the new Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier. “There weren’t any cautions and I got into heavy lapped traffic by midway. The race went by pretty fast.” Jeff Taylor cut into Whitwell’s advantage in the later circuits and finished five car lengths back. Opening night winner Ricky Thornton Jr., Jason Noll and Lance Mari completed the top five. Whitwell was driving a Mike Wedelstadt-owned car and finished second to the Wisconsin traveler in his Sunday heat race. “Redrawing the pole was really key,” he said. “I was fortunate to start on the front and have a good car.” [Read More]