Feature Archives

DeVilbiss Powers to Second Race For Hope 71 Victory at Batesville

By Ben Deathearge LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Oct. 11, 2025) — Zane DeVilbiss stole the spotlight Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway, powering to victory in the 9th Annual Race For Hope 71 presented by IMCA.TV. The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified standout from Farmington, N.M., earned $4,000 for the 40-lap triumph — his first win of the season and second career Race For Hope 71 victory, adding to his 2021 triumph. With the win, DeVilbiss became just the second driver ever to capture the event more than once, joining three-time winner Ricky Thornton Jr. The victory also locked him into eligibility for the 2026 Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational at Boone Speedway. Defending race winner and 2020 National champion Tom Berry Jr. grabbed the early advantage after a tight first-lap duel with 2023 event winner Wendell Wallace. Berry, piloting the Andrews Autosport No. 11 owned by Spencer Andrews, stretched his lead until heavy lapped traffic closed the gap. Two-time and reigning Super Nationals champion Tim Ward, driving the Doug and Amy Eckrich No. 151, climbed to second on [Read More]

Shryock Claims IMCA Stock Car National Championship with Lake Mills Motorsports

By Ben Deatherage FERTILE, Iowa (Oct. 20, 2025) — Kelly Shryock added another remarkable chapter to his legendary career, capturing the National Sunoco IMCA Stock Car championship while driving the Shryock Racing Components/Skyrocket Chassis/Cooter Built Engines by Troy Swearingen/Schluetter Body Shop no. 3 provided by longtime car owner Mike Hauan at Lake Mills Motorsports. His 2025 campaign produced 21 feature wins in 44 starts, including eight at Kossuth County Speedway, five at Hancock County, three each at Clay County Fair and Worthington Speedways, and two at Boone, along with 33 podiums, 36 top-five finishes, and 40 top-tens — all but four of his starts among the top 10. The year also brought a sweep of track championships at Kossuth County, Hancock County, and Clay County Fair Speedways and his first EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region title. His 21 victories were the most he’s ever recorded in a Sunoco IMCA Stock Car season. The Kossuth crown marked his fourth career championship at the Algona oval — following a streak of three straight from 2020 through 2022 — while [Read More]

Martinez Marches to First IMCA Sport Compact National Championship

By Ben Deatherage BEATRICE, Neb. (Oct. 22, 2025) — Dedication, friendship and family support propelled John Martinez to a breakout year behind the wheel of the Richards Speedshop/Carstens Trenching/Extreme Motorsports no. 27I, racing for car owners Dillon and Kaylee Richards. “Last year at Oktoberfest my best friend Dillon Richards wanted me back in a race car,” Martinez said. “I had started that year racing but ended up having to step out of the seat because my wife and I were expecting our new baby in the winter. He kept telling me ‘you’re going to race,’ and he built it and put a Richards Speedshop setup on it. We went to Beatrice this spring and won that, then went to Hays and won their Spring Special, and we just got on a roll clicking wins off. About halfway through the year at Salina in June that car got claimed, so the car I ended up racing the rest of the year we built in three days.” “Anywhere I could go or that Dillon and Kaylee wanted me [Read More]

Reay Delivers IMCA Modified National Title for Car Owner Greg Bower; First Michigan Mod Champ Since ’95

By Ben Deatherage PORTLAND, Mich. (Oct. 21, 2025) — Jeff Reay brought the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified National Championship back to Michigan, steering the Prime Contracting/JBS Coating/Grand Ledge Paving no. 12 Rage Chassis owned by Greg Bower, who he’s driven for the past two seasons, to the 2025 National crown. It’s his first career championship — and the state’s first since Rick Stout in 1995 — earned by just two points. “At the start of the season I told everyone I wasn’t going to be running for points,” Reay said. “We had a few hiccups at the beginning — broke a couple of parts — but then things started getting better and we had a little luck on our side and found some new speed. We’re working with a car from 2022, so it’s three years old and has 130 nights on it. There were several nights where we didn’t win, but we moved forward after starting at the back and just kept pushing.” Reay’s on-track consistency soon became the backbone of his championship bid. He made [Read More]

Carter Captures First IMCA Northern SportMod National Championship in Dominant 2025 Campaign

By Ben Deatherage OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Oct. 20, 2025) — Brayton Carter delivered one of the most complete performances of his career in 2025, capturing the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod National Championship by a razor-thin three-point margin. The Oskaloosa, Iowa, racer steered the Eibach Springs / Midstate Machine / Wehr’s Machine and Racing Products no. 01 VanderBuilt Race Car to his first career national title while also earning his second straight Iowa State championship. Along the way, he collected track titles at both Stuart and Marshalltown Speedways. The championship capped a campaign marked by consistency, momentum, and mastery across multiple Iowa ovals. Between Stuart and Marshalltown alone, Carter has now earned six IMCA track championships, highlighted by a three-peat at Stuart Speedway from 2020 through 2022 before returning to claim a fourth there this year, and back-to-back championships at Marshalltown Speedway in 2024 and 2025. It was also the second time in his career that he’s captured two track championships in the same season, joining a previous dual-title effort in 2022. His 2025 season included 29 feature [Read More]

Reay Brings Modified Crown Back to Michigan; IMCA Names Six First Time National Champions

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 9, 2025) — The 2025 Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing season was one for the record books, filled with razor-thin finishes, breakout performances, and enduring dynasties. Six of the nine National titles were decided by three points or fewer, two required tiebreakers, and six drivers celebrated first-time championships. Portland, Michigan’s Jeff Reay earned his first National championship — and became the first Michigan driver since Rick Stout in 1995 to claim the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified crown — by just two points. He also won the DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Eastern Region, the Michigan State Championship, and track titles at Crystal Motor Speedway, where he’s now a two-time champion, and at I-96 Speedway, where he earned his first. Reay closed the season with 14 wins in 42 starts. Across the rest of the division, four additional Regional champions also added to the Modified season’s prestige. William Gould, of Oklahoma, topped the GRT Race Cars South Central Region for his eighth career Regional title, repeating his 2024 success. Jeremy Mills, from Iowa, [Read More]

Matt Speckman: Taking Flight into IMCA’s Stock Car Century Club

By Ben Deatherage SLEEPY EYE, Minn. (Oct. 10, 2025) — The prairie around Sleepy Eye stretches in all directions, a patchwork of green and gold divided by gravel roads and the steady rhythm of farm life. The town itself rises gently beside its namesake lake — small, hard-working, and steeped in stories older than the state itself. For Matt Speckman, it’s the perfect place to build, fly, and race — a life shaped by machinery, family, and perseverance. That combination came full circle this fall when Speckman captured his 100th career IMCA-sanctioned feature win on Sept. 27 at Arlington Raceway, driving from eighth on the grid to victory. The milestone made him the sixth driver from Minnesota to reach the Century Club in the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car division. Matt Speckman races his no. 81 Sunoco IMCA Stock Car at speed at Arlington Raceway earlier this summer. (Photo by Sarah Moriarty) A Town with Deep Roots Sleepy Eye’s history is as enduring as the fields that surround it. The town took its name from Chief Sleepy [Read More]

Race For Hope 71 Offers Big Money, Big Action Oct. 9–11 at Batesville Motor Speedway

By Ben Deatherage LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Sept. 21, 2025) — The 9th annual Race For Hope 71 presented by IMCA TV returns to Batesville Motor Speedway for three straight nights, Thursday–Saturday, Oct. 9–11, with a complete Friesen Performance IMCA Modified show and full payout each night. A new-for-2025 format puts real money on the line every time the green drops: $3,000 to win on Thursday, $3,000 to win on Friday, and $4,000 to win on Saturday. Sweep all three features and collect a $2,000 bonus; win two of the three and add a $1,000 bonus. It’s $12,000 possible to win across the weekend for one driver under the three-night format. Grandstands open at 5:30 p.m. nightly. Adults are $15 on Thursday and Friday and $20 on Saturday; youth 12–15 are $10; kids 11 and under are free. Pits open at 4:00 p.m. each day with pit passes $40 nightly and ages 6–11 $20. Driver entry is $50 per night. Teams can enter online at batesvillemotorspeedway.com or call 870-613-1337 for details. The Race For Hope 71 delivers three full [Read More]

Taylor Tops Jordan Page Winter Nationals at Southern Oklahoma Speedway

By Ben Deatherage ARDMORE, Okla. (Oct. 4, 2025) — The Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds headlined Saturday’s Jordan Page Winter Nationals finale at Southern Oklahoma Speedway, where Locust Grove, Arkansas, veteran Jeff Taylor stormed from seventh starting to win the 30-lap, $2,500-to-win feature — his third victory of the season in the GRT Race Cars South Central Region, all coming at the Ardmore 3/8-mile clay oval. 2013 IMCA National Champion William Gould jumped out to the early advantage aboard the Kenny Fryer Motorsports no. 60 and built a comfortable lead before traffic and cautions began to reel him back in. A fierce mid-race fight developed for second between two-time Abilene Speedway track champion Vince Ogle, Tate Butler, and Taylor. Butler eventually secured the runner-up spot and began reeling in Gould as the leaders hit lapped traffic with 13 circuits remaining. Taylor, the 2012 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s champion, methodically picked his way forward, ripping the top groove to join the battle up front. Following a caution with 12 laps to go, Butler momentarily [Read More]

Burkhart Doubles Down for Dramatic Stock Car Win at Hays’ Fall Nationals

By Sheldon Wickwar HAYS, Kan. (Oct. 4, 2025) — The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars stole the show at the 19th Annual Fall Nationals at RPM Speedway with a classic Hays slugfest. Angel Munoz grabbed the early lead from the pole before Jeff Ware and Tathan Burkhart traded furious slide jobs for second. A caution bunched the field and turned the track into three-wide chaos. Burkhart powered to the high side and never flinched, taking command with eighteen laps remaining. A multi-car incident on the ensuing restart reshuffled the field, but Burkhart held strong on the final green to secure back-to-back Fall Nationals crowns. Jeff Ware chased him to the line in second, followed by Brock Beeter, Tyler Frye, and Johnny Yutterman, who stormed from deep in the pack to earn hard charger honors after gaining 18 positions. Thome Tops the Field for Modified Fall Nationals Crown The Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds capped the weekend with a high-intensity 30-lapper, where Robbie Thome prevailed after a duel of heavyweights. Polesitter Eddie Belec led the opening circuit before Thome powered [Read More]