Feature Archives

Janssen Completes Sparkling City Classic Sweep for $10,000 Weekend Haul

By Ben Deatherage CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Dec. 13, 2025) — Drew Janssen closed out the inaugural Sparkling City Classic in emphatic fashion, capturing the $3,000-to-win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified 25-lap main event on Saturday night at South Texas Race Ranch. The Pella, Iowa, racer led from the outset aboard the Kyle Wisdom-provided no. 91, completing a weekend sweep of the Modified division and earning the $4,000 Big O Screens Bonus for an overall $10,000 payday across the three-night event. Janssen seized the lead at the initial green flag and quickly began stretching his advantage, continuing the form that saw him dominate the previous two nights. Behind him, fellow Iowan Izac Mallicoat battled Matt Mueller before securing second, but a debris caution on lap nine erased Janssen’s commanding lead. On the restart, Janssen again checked out, with Mallicoat breaking free from the field as the two distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. Just as Mallicoat began closing the gap, another caution on lap 16 slowed the pace. Janssen again fired cleanly on the restart, and [Read More]

Janssen Captures Second Straight Sparkling City Classic Modified Feature

By Ben Deatherage CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Dec. 12, 2025) — Drew Janssen doubled down at the inaugural Sparkling City Classic, capturing the $2,000-to-win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified 25-lap main event on Friday night at South Texas Race Ranch. The Pella, Iowa, racer piloted the Kyle Wisdom-owned no. 91 to his second straight victory, backing up Thursday’s win with another commanding performance in the event’s richest Modified feature. Janssen and Johnny Torres traded shots for the lead on the opening lap before Janssen secured the top spot and immediately began stretching the field. Early cautions on laps five and 12 slowed momentum, but each time Janssen was flawless on the restart. Three-time Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod National champion Dean Abbey worked steadily forward, climbing to third on a long green-flag run before advancing to second on a restart. Another yellow on lap 18 again tested the leader, but Janssen continued to answer every challenge. Torres regained second during the late stages as Steven Whiteaker Jr. charged from deep in the field, vaulting into the top [Read More]

Janssen Shines on Opening Night of Sparkling City Classic Modifieds

By Ben Deatherage CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Dec. 11, 2025) — Drew Janssen powered to victory in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified 20-lap main event on opening night of the inaugural Sparkling City Classic at South Texas Race Ranch. The Pella, Iowa, driver wheeled the Kyle Wisdom-owned no. 91 to the $1,000 triumph in the first night of action for the new event. The win also placed Janssen on the eligibility list for the 2026 Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational to be held during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Janssen got to the point on the opening circuit and quickly settled into a strong rhythm, building a comfortable advantage as green-flag laps clicked off. Once the race found its flow, three-time Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod National champion Dean Abbey closed the gap and began applying heavy pressure to the leader. A caution with ten laps remaining reset the field, and on the restart, 2012 Super Nationals Modified champion Jeff Taylor surged past Abbey to take over second. Janssen again pulled away [Read More]

IMCA Champions Take Center Stage at 2025 National Awards Banquet

By Ben Deatherage LINCOLN, Neb. (Dec. 10, 2025) — The best of the best in IMCA were honored Saturday night as national champions, rookies, track and state crown winners, special series titlists, and crew chiefs shared the spotlight at the 2025 IMCA national awards banquet. More than 600 drivers, crew members, sponsors, track officials, and family packed the ballroom at the Cornhusker Marriott. Despite blizzard-like conditions in the area, a near-capacity crowd was on hand to celebrate the accomplishments of IMCA’s 2025 champions. National champions recognized during the evening were Jeff Reay, Friesen Performance IMCA Modified; Zach Zeitner, Sunoco IMCA Late Model; Lee Goos Jr., RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car; Kelly Shryock, Sunoco IMCA Stock Car; Cory Probst, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock; Landon Capps, Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod; Brayton Carter, Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod; Dillon Raffurty, Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite; and John Martinez, Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact. The Junior National Champion was Hunter Ferrell, and the Lady Eagle champion was Mylee JoAnn Goldwich-Rhames. Modified Regional championships went to Kevin Williamson in the [Read More]

DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Named Title Sponsor of 2026 Winter Nationals; Mod Lites Added To First Week

By Ben Deatherage CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Dec. 11, 2025) — DeVilbiss Racing Chassis has been announced as the new title sponsor of the IMCA TV Winter Nationals powered by Pitt Stop Motorsports and Dynamic Drivelines, expanding its long-time support of Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly racers and bringing a major West Coast influence to one of Arizona’s biggest January traditions. The 2026 edition of Winter Nationals will once again be held at Central Arizona Raceway from Jan. 20 to Jan. 31. In addition to the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods, and Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites will be a part of the card for the opening week only, running Jan. 21–24. Mod Lites will race for $500 to win each night and $100 to start. The title sponsor for the Eastern Region for the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, the DeVilbiss name takes an even larger step forward with the title partnership. For owner and chassis builder Zane DeVilbiss, the decision was driven by [Read More]

Sports Park Raceway Joins IMCA for 2026 Season, Moves Weekly Racing to Sunday Nights

By Sarah Stewart FORT DODGE, Iowa (Dec. 5, 2025) — Sports Park Raceway has announced a major step forward for the 2026 season, confirming that the facility will operate under Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing sanctioning beginning next year while shifting its weekly program to Sunday nights. The track’s 2026 IMCA lineup will feature Sunoco IMCA Late Models, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks, and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Owner and promoter Jeff Frevert said the decision aligns with the track’s long-term goals for growth, stability, and consistency. “We believe it’s time to grow,” said Frevert, “and with IMCA’s strong consistent support and a move to Sunday nights, we’re confident this step will help Sports Park Raceway continue to thrive for years to come.” The track previously sanctioned IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Compacts, and IMCA Hobby Stocks in 2018–19. Operations manager Sarah Stewart echoed that excitement, noting both personal experience and the benefits for competitors and fans. “As someone [Read More]

Ken Hansen: A Life Remembered

By Ben Deatherage MYTON, Utah (Dec. 5, 2025) — The Uintah Basin has always been a place shaped by work, resourcefulness, and people who build their own opportunities. Among those who left a lasting mark on the region’s racing community, few names carry more weight or affection than Ken Hansen — a father, inventor, promoter, and friend who helped bring IMCA racing westward and connected drivers across eight states. Hansen passed away on November 18, 2025, at age sixty-five after complications from a stroke. His loss is felt across the Basin and beyond, in the tracks he helped guide, the racers he supported, and the family he poured his life into. Early Years and a Move West Hansen grew up in Powell, Wyoming, exposed to racing without ever taking up the wheel himself. Ken later moved to Utah during the oil boom, drawn by opportunity and the chance to build something of his own. He founded Jet Lift Systems, inventing parts for oil and gas wells that are still used today. His creativity and engineering mind [Read More]

Taylor Heaton: Long Roads, Long Nights, and a New Beginning

By Ben Deatherage BAKER, Mont. (Nov. 25, 2025) — The highway out of Baker runs straight and lonely, a ribbon of asphalt cutting through open prairie and endless sky. It’s the kind of road where you measure distance not in miles, but in hours — the kind that every racer from eastern Montana knows by heart. Most weekends, Taylor Heaton and his family point their rig toward North Dakota, chasing laps across the badlands, putting in three-, four-, even five-hour hauls just to race. For Heaton, that long road is part of the deal. It’s where the thinking happens, where the nerves settle, where the excitement builds. It’s where the weekend begins. This is the landscape that shaped him — wide, rugged country where nothing comes easy and every mile matters. It’s where his family put down roots, where racing first sparked to life, and where that spark carried him from off-road machines to the no. 11H Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock. Now, as he prepares for 2026, those same long miles are leading him into a [Read More]

Shane Butler: A Second Chance at Speed

By Ben Deatherage GLIDDEN, Iowa (Nov. 24, 2025) — The open country between Scranton and Glidden is quiet in the fall, corn stubble rolling out beneath a November sky that feels wider than the world. Out here, farm towns don’t hide their history. These towns were built by people who kept going no matter the obstacles, and in that way alone, they fit the life of Shane Butler. Butler returned to racing in 2025 after nearly four years away, climbing back into a Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock at Boone Speedway. The comeback was more than a restart. It was a declaration that life had finally given him back the one thing he had lost — his health, his freedom, and the chance to chase the sport that runs in his family’s blood. The Road Back Butler had raced since he was 17, when his father Rodney built him his first Hobby Stock. Racing was a Butler family constant. His dad had raced Hobby Stock–type cars for three decades beginning in 1985, often carrying the number 37 [Read More]

Thanksgiving Thunder Set for Nov. 22 at Smoky Mountain Speedway; $1,200 Awaits Mod Lite Winner

By Ben Deatherage MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 10, 2025) — The Tennessee Mod Lite Racing Association is set to light up the foothills of the Smokies as Thanksgiving Thunder returns to Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 22. This can’t-miss event in the scenic Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee will showcase the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites, competing for $1,200 to win on one of the South’s premier clay ovals. The weekend opens with a Friday night practice on Nov. 21 from 6:00–9:00 p.m. Pit passes are $20, offering teams valuable track time before race day. Saturday’s main event schedule features pit gates opening at 9:00 a.m., grandstands at 10:00 a.m., a drivers’ meeting at noon, and hot laps at 12:30 p.m., followed by a full program of high-speed Mod Lite competition. Grandstand admission is $20 for adults and $5 for kids 11 and under, while pit passes are $35 on race day. Adding to the prestige of the second annual event, the winning chassis will receive exclusive post-race recognition through a dedicated IMCA media spotlight [Read More]