Feature Archives

Baca maintains momentum with Early Thaw IMCA Modified win

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 18, 2024) – Chaz Baca loaded up the momentum he found at Cocopah Speedway and raced to the opening night Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win at Central Arizona Raceway’s Ernie Mincy Early Thaw. A two-time winner during the second week of the season-opening IMCA.TV Winter Nationals, the series and defending national champion got the best of a star-filled field Thursday at Casa Grande. Baca was side-by-side battling for the lead at midway with 2020 national champ Tom Berry before taking the $1,000 checkers ahead of 2021 national king Jeff Larson. “It was definitely a tough one,” said Baca, who nonetheless stretched his lead to six car lengths before Larson cut into that advantage. “Right now everything is just going very well for us and we’re hoping we can keep up the momentum for the rest of the season.” The 20-lapper can caution-free following a yellow on the initial start and the third-starting Baca ran at or near the front every circuit, working the lower line in the first set of [Read More]

Dates announced for inaugural South Texas IMCA Modified Series

HUFFMAN, Texas (Jan. 19, 2024) – The idea of a traveling series deep in the Lone Star State becomes a reality this year, with the inaugural South Texas IMCA Modified Series. Twenty-one race dates, 18 of them during the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season, have been announced for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, I-37 Speedway in Pleasanton, South Texas Race Ranch in Corpus Christi and Texana Raceway Park in Edna. “What we want to accomplish with this series is develop an average car count of 15 to 20 cars a night along with a good fan following,” explained Jacob Hortch, a Modified driver who helped put the pieces in place for the first annual tour. “It’s cool to have the tracks working together and focusing on building Modified racing.” “Everyone is excited for the possibilities that this series can bring and we hope to put on some awesome shows for the fans” IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing national, GRT Race Cars South Central Region and IMCA state points will be [Read More]

Saturday celebration follows Baca’s IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win, championship

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 13, 2024) – Chaz Baca has to wait until last October to officially celebrate his 2023 championships. He celebrated his first of 2024 on Saturday night. The Mesa hotshoe wrapped up the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals crown with his second Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory of the series, after passing Tim Ward for the lead with just two laps left in the series finale at Cocopah Speedway. “It feels good. It’s awesome to start this year the way we finished last season,” said Baca, an IMCA national, regional, state and four track champion in 2023. “Winter Nationals was very good to us.” Ward had come into the night a single point behind Baca in his bid to repeat as series champion. A restart set the stage for that late-race drama. Baca cleared Ward for the front spot coming out of turn two, then held off Ward, Dylan Thornton and Troy Morris III to the checkers. Ethan Braaksma started 15th and finished fifth. “We made one extreme setup change for the Tuesday practice. It was [Read More]

Quick to find fastest line, Hibdon wins again at Cocopah

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 12, 2024) – He wasn’t sure where the fastest line would be when the green flag flew, but Kollin Hibdon figured it out in a hurry Friday night. Hibdon worked lapped track to perfection, leading the distance for his second $1,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win of the 2024 IMCA.TV Winter Nationals at Cocopah Speedway. Defending series champion Tim Ward, 2023 national champ Chaz Baca and Jerry Flippo were next across the stripe as drivers with Shaw Race Cars Western Region addresses or roots filled the top four finishing spots. “I felt like a sitting duck. I wasn’t sure what line I would need to be in but I must have found the best one,” Hibdon said, after watching the track prep session that preceded the 25-lap main event. “I made sure I passed lapped traffic) as quick as I could.” After running the bottom in the early circuits, Hibdon began moving up the oval as the caution-free race continued. Ward had started fourth, Baca seventh and both did their best [Read More]

Baca finds that extra speed for first IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 11, 2024) – He’d been fast but obviously not as fast as he wanted to be during the first week of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals. So home state hero Chaz Baca made changes and raced to his first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win of 2024 Thursday night at Cocopah Speedway. The defending national and Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion started on the pole and led all 25 times around the track in taking the $1,000 checkers ahead of tough customers Ethan Braaksma, Jerry Flippo and Eddie Belec. “We were fast last week,” said Baca, who counted a runner-up finish to Braaksma among three top five finishes in those four starts. “This week we’re doing some different things with the setup and found some different speed.” “Hopefully we can get another one or two wins before this week is over,” added Baca, looking to defend national and regional crowns this season. Sixty-five Modifieds vied on night six of Winter Nationals, which saw another 200-plus IMCA car count at Cocopah. Dylan Thornton [Read More]

Braaksma schools IMCA Modified foes for second Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 10, 2024) – A driver who learned a lot last season taught his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified foes a thing or two Wednesday night at Cocopah Speedway. Ethan Braaksma raced to his second $1,000 IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win of the season, taking advantage of a late restart and leading the last six circuits in the 25-lap main event at Somerton. “It’s crazy,” Braaksma said. “We didn’t have a real good year last year. We learned a lot but we didn’t get any wins. The start of this season has been awesome. We’ve just got everything in place.” Braaksma had made his first visit to victory lane last Thursday, earning Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility with that W. He was chased to the checkers by Jan. 5 winner Jeremy Mills, Grey Ferrando and defending series champion Tim Ward on his way back to the winner’s circle. “Cocopah just fits my driving style,” he said. “There are a lot of guys here who have a chance to win so you’ve got to do well [Read More]

Hibdon returns to Cocopah’s victory lane, Winter Nationals win is IMCA first for Starry

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 6, 2024) – Kollin Hibdon turned his first competitive laps at Cocopah Speedway at the age of 14. Fast forward six years and the Nevada native returned to Somerton to win his career fourth IMCA.TV Winter Nationals main event. Hibdon got the lead following a late restart in a fast and furious battle with defending national king Chaz Baca and topped Saturday’s $1,000 to win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature. “There was some pretty intense lapped traffic,” said Hibdon, newly Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible with his 40thcareer win in the class. “I know this track pretty well. It’s always fun to come back here in the winter.” The front pair traded sliders in the waning laps before Hibdon got the lead for good with a nifty crossover move. Grey Ferrando, defending series champion Tim Ward and Jake Pike completed the top five. Hibdon will return to the Midwest again this season, loading up the trailer after the snow melts this spring to race out of North Dakota. Cameron Starry’s first-ever [Read More]

Mills ends streak of fifth place finishes with first IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 5, 2024) – His streak of fifth place finishes came to an end Friday night, when Jeremy Mills topped the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Cocopah Speedway. The Iowa long tow, an IMCA.TV Winter Nationals regular the last three years, had placed fifth in four consecutive Somerton starts dating back to last January. He started on the pole and led all 25 laps in ending that streak despite the best efforts of Thursday winner Ethan Braaksma. “We’ve been coming here the last few years and I’ve finished second a couple times but had never won at Cocopah before,” said Mills, who earned $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility with his career 135th win in the division. “I’d finished fifth the last four features here. I was just trying to do better than that.” “It means a lot to be able to win at Cocopah,” he continued. “There are so many good cars here. It’s hard just to qualify out of the heat.” Braaksma worked his way up from fifth to [Read More]

34 years of great races, great racers, great memories: Gartner retires as IMCA Dakota Classic Tour director

MANDAN, N.D. (Dec. 21, 2023) – The idea for a traveling Modified series in his home state came while John Gartner was not far from the sand and surf at Daytona Beach. The founder, and director of the Dakota Classic Modified Tour since its inception, can now look back at 34 years of great racing, great racers and countless new friendships. “I never dreamed it would be this successful, but I always knew we had drivers who would support it and that we could always bank on the hospitality of fans in North Dakota,” said Gartner, after selling the long-running series to a governing group of promoters representing the tracks hosting tour events. “There are a lot of tours out there, and a lot of people have called us over the years asking us how we did it.” “For 34 years, we kept the same philosophy of a good payout, lots of contingency prizes and treating everyone fairly,” he continued. “And it worked.” Jamestown Speedway, Dacotah Speedway and Nodak Speedway are the longest-tenured tour tracks, [Read More]

IMCA.TV Winter Nationals start 2024 season at Cocopah

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Dec. 21, 2023) – The start of the 2024 Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season takes five IMCA divisions and several hundred drivers from across the U.S. and Canada to Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway for eight January dates. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods race for $1,000 to win, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $500 to win and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts for $275 to win each night of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals at the Somerton speed plant. Race nights are Wednesday through Saturday Jan. 3-6 and 10-13. Pit gates open at noon each day and racing starts at 4 p.m. Pit passes are $35. While each Modified winner becomes eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational and each Stock Car winner earns eligibility for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational, there’s plenty more at stake for drivers who can dominate those divisions. The Superior Fuel Cells Challenge pays $25,000 to the Modified driver winning all eight features, $15,000 for seven feature wins [Read More]