Feature Archives

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]

Fast Shafts Harvest Hustle Closes 2025 Season on the High Banks October 23–25

By Kaden Crebs MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Oct. 7, 2025) — October brings farmers to the field and race teams to America’s Bucket List Track for the final event of the 2025 season, the Fast Shafts Harvest Hustle on the High Banks at Marshalltown Speedway. Last year’s edition drew 239 race teams from 15 states, and another huge field is expected this year as more than $85,000 in purse money will be up for grabs for Speedway Motors IMCA competitors. The three-day event runs October 23–25 and features Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites, and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Modifieds will race for $4,000 to win, Stock Cars for $3,000, Northern SportMods for $2,000, Hobby Stocks for $3,000, and both Mod Lites and Sport Compacts for $1,000 apiece. Thursday, Oct. 23, opens the weekend with an open practice session from 6–9 p.m. Pit gates open at 5:30 p.m., pit passes are $30, and grandstand admission is free. The popular Powder Puff Races will [Read More]

Shawn Natenstedt: A Century of Wins Forged in the Nevada Desert

By Ben Deatherage FERNLEY, Nev. (Oct. 6, 2025) — The desert around Fernley stretches wide and golden, framed by the distant Sierra Nevadas and stitched with the old irrigation canals that turned sagebrush into farmland more than a century ago. Freight trains roll past the cement plant, the hum of Highway 80 in the distance, and every so often, the bark of a race engine echoes from a nearby shop. For Shawn Natenstedt, that sound is home — the rhythm of long nights, late drives, and the relentless pursuit of one more win. That pursuit reached a milestone this summer when he captured his 100th IMCA-sanctioned victory on Aug. 2 at Lovelock Speedway, earning his place among the prestigious Century Club. That milestone also put Natenstedt in rare company — only four other Nevada drivers have ever reached the 100-win plateau in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division. “It was a hard feat, but we finally made it happen,” he said. “It didn’t come as soon as I wanted, but when it did, it meant a [Read More]

Ashton Thompson: Turning Laps for a Cause

By Ben Deatherage SALEM, Ind. (Oct. 3, 2025) — In the rolling hills of southern Indiana, where small towns dot the countryside and history runs deep, sits Salem. It has become a crossroads town with a courthouse square at its heart and strengthened by generations who rebuilt after every setback. Today, its brick streets and quiet neighborhoods still reflect that heritage of resilience. From this backdrop rises Ashton Thompson’s story — a third-generation racer who has carried her family’s tradition further than ever, chasing speed across the Midwest and now carving her path in the RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car division with the Huntley’s Hoosier Winged Sprint Series. A Family Affair “I’m a third-generation racer,” Thompson said with a grin. “My dad told me I had to play a sport when I was six, and I chose racing. We kept it in the family.” Her father, Tyson, and grandfather, Gerald, both ran Mini Sprints on the local scene. Ashton went further, climbing from quarter midgets into Micro Sprints, Midgets, and even developmental series on pavement and road [Read More]

Pavlicek Finally Breaks Through in SportMods at Dacotah’s Oktoberfest

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (Sept. 27, 2025) — Casselton’s Rich Pavlicek quickly pulled away in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA SportMod feature on the final night of Oktoberfest at Dacotah Speedway. The real battle was for second as Keenan Glasser, Troy Speten and Nathan Speten fought it out. A series of mid-race cautions regrouped the field, with Nathan Speten slipping past Glasser for second. Glasser rallied, however, and retook the spot with six laps remaining. After coming up short the past two years, Pavlicek finally broke through and parked in Dacotah Speedway victory lane. Glasser held off Nathan Speten for second, with Chris VanMil fourth and Jayden Pavlicek rounding out the top five. Satran Survives Caution-Filled Hobby Stock Main When the green flag waved in the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature, it was an early duel between Diezel Raynard and Kyler Satran. Satran grabbed the lead before a caution reset the field, the first of several that slowed the pace. The restarts worked to the advantage of former Oktoberfest champion Brandon Beeter, who sliced his way [Read More]