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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]

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]

VINTON, Iowa – There’s evolution but no revolution in the IMCA rules for 2016. Most notably, Modified drivers will not be allowed to use a spoiler, regardless of whether they’re running a crate or a claim engine. Plastic valances will be allowed on the nose, to go with previously allowed plastic skirting on doors and quarter panels. A horizontally placed top door bar will be required on the passenger side door in the Modified, Northern SportMod and Southern SportMod divisions in an attempt to stop the movement and potentially unsafe placement of the top passenger side door bar. The maximum hood rake for those classes has also increased from three to six inches. “Most of the changes or clarifications in the rules for next season in any division are a result of evolution,” explained IMCA President Brett Root. “There are better ways of doing things without creating a competitive advantage.” “As always, we tried to eliminate gray areas in the way the rules are written to make them easier for everyone, drivers, builders and tech [Read More]

BELLEVILLE, Kan. – Belleville Motorsports will be making room in the trophy case for another Manufacturers’ Cup award. For the fifth straight year, and for the sixth time in the program’s seven-year history, the Belleville, Kan., chassis builder had the top point total among manufacturers entered in the Cup contest; points were awarded based on top 10 drivers (10 points for first, nine points for second, etc.) in each of the five Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified regions. BMS continued its dominance in the Eastern Region while totaling 53 points. GRT Race Cars won both Western and Central Region titles and was second with 25 points. Chase Allen Motorsports ruled again in the South Central Region and tied Skyrocket Chassis for third place with 21 points. Razor Chassis and Rage Chassis share the North Central Region crown. Larry Shaw Race Cars completed the top five in points with 20. All regional winners get plaques and BMS receives a $500 cash prize and trophy during the IMCA na­tional awards banquet in Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 28. [Read More]

VINTON, Iowa – With the biggest divisional increase attributed to the Sprint Cars, a record 102 IMCA drivers earned Allstar Performance State championships this season. Thirteen Sprint Car drivers were crowned state kings, eight more than in 2014. Modified champi­ons were named in 26 states, the most since 2001. Myron DeYoung ruled the Modifieds in Michigan for the fifth time in his career. Ricky Stephan re­peated in South Dakota; he’s also won the Iowa state crown three times.. Drew Armstrong will hang a fourth Arkansas state plaque on his wall. Drivers winning career se­cond titles were Dean Deming in New Mexico, Mike Densberger in Nebraska, Jeremy Meirhofer in Montana, Robert Miller in Nevada and Spencer Wilson in North Dakota. First-time title winners were Jason Barnhill in Florida, Justin Elmer in Wyoming, Van Gemmill in Oklahoma, Kevin Green in Texas, Daryl Hay in Missouri, Scott Hogan in Iowa, Jeff Hunter in Colo­rado, Jake Donnelly in Idaho, Justin Jones in Minnesota, Keith Lamphere in New York, Jesse Richter in Kansas, Dusty Safley in Utah, Brian Schultz in [Read More]

LINCOLN, Neb. – Three tracks synonymous with IMCA racing will each be recognized for three decades of sanctioning, during the national awards banquet late this month in Lincoln, Neb. Seymour, Wis., Speedway and Stuart, Iowa, Speedway have both sanctioned Modifieds while Boone, Iowa, Speedway has sanctioned Stock Cars with IMCA for 30 years. In all, 58 length of sanction award plaques will be presented to officials from 39 different tracks during the Saturday, Nov. 28 ban­quet at the Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln. Twenty-five year awards go to I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for Modifieds and the Iowa State Fair­grounds Speedway in Des Moines for Late Models. Tracks to be honored for 20 consecutive years of sanctioning are Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa, for Modifieds and Stock Cars; Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, for Late Models; and Aztec, N.M., Speedway for Stock Cars. Fifteen-year plaques will be presented to Tri-State Speedway at Pocola, Okla., for Modifieds; Jack­son County Speedway in Maquoketa, Iowa, for Late Models; and Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa, [Read More]