Feature Archives

Dirt track racing foray leads Leasure to IMCA Junior National Championship

MANSFIELD, Texas (Nov. 9, 2023) – iRacing got Sean Leasure hooked on racing. IMCA Racing got the Mansfield, Texas, driver on the track, and his Mach-1 Sport Compact nine feature wins and consistent top five finishes throughout an abbreviated season got him the Junior National Championship. “This was my final year of being eligible to run for Junior National Champion. It was definitely an accomplishment,” said Leasure, 18. “Sport Compacts gave me my first foray into dirt track racing and most nights they were a blast to drive.” More than 500 drivers ages 13-18 contended for Junior National Champion honors and accompanying post-high school education scholarship funds in 2023. “We had a lot of fun this season and were right up there in national points,” said Leasure, already a high school graduate with an associate’s degree from Tarrant County Community College and planning to resume computer science studies next fall. “I’m looking forward to getting more seat time and seeing what we can do next season.” He’d raced a go-kart in addition to seven seasons [Read More]

Raffurty’s formula for success equals third straight IMCA STARS Mod Lite national title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 9, 2023) – Start with long hours in the shop and a sharp eye for detail, then add good help and good sponsors. The result was 28 feature wins and another Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite national championship for Dillon Raffurty. “We’ve got a formula that works and we’re going to keep using it,” explained Raffurty, from Kansas City, Mo. “I don’t like change, anyway, and if something is working for you, there’s no reason to change.” There have been few reasons to do anything different as Raffurty has raced to the national crown each of the three years the Mod Lite division has been sanctioned by IMCA, totaling 88 feature victories while winning an other-worldly 80 percent of his weekly starts. He won 28 of 34 outings, along with US 36 Raceway and Valley Speedway track and the Missouri State title in 2023. After a three-race sweep of the Sugar Bowl Winter Nationals at Florida’s Hendry County Motorsports Park in February, Raffurty returned home and went a perfect 16-for-16 [Read More]

Drueke tops tough competition in drive to IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national title

EAGLE, Neb. (2023) – Tyler Drueke started the season looking to race with the toughest competition and prove he was the best RaceSaver Sprint Car driver in the country. He accomplished both goals, racing to a division best 13 feature wins and a career-first IMCA national crown. “I wanted to do it my way,” said Drueke, also champion at hometown Eagle Raceway. “I wanted to find the toughest competition and leave no doubt we were the best RaceSaver team in the country.” “Winning the national championship was our goal from the start of the season,” he stated. “I meet with sponsors every winter and when I talked with Cody Cherney at Cherney Enterprises, he thought we should try for it. Rachel Kroese and Matt Warner at mysalesman.com said ‘Let’s do it.’” “We’ve been close but I’d never won it before,” continued Drueke, also track champ at Eagle and national runner-up in both 2016 and 2018. “This year we sealed the deal.” A top five finisher in eight of his first 13 starts, Drueke won at a .500 [Read More]

Headers, ride height highlight few changes to 2024 IMCA rules

VINTON, Iowa (Nov. 8, 2023) – Hobby Stock drivers have an exhaust header option and minimum and maximum ride height is specified in four divisions, in the 2024 rules announced today by IMCA. Changes from 2023 and other previous seasons were few, noted IMCA President Brett Root, so drivers who were legal this year won’t be spending extra money to be legal next year. Beginning next season, Hobby Stock drivers competing with a crate engine can use Schoenfeld header part no. 1485-CM2-22 or an OEM exhaust manifold with a 2-1/4 inch diameter exhaust pipe while those competing with a claim engine can use a Schoenfeld header part no. 1485-20 or OEM exhaust manifold with a two inch diameter exhaust pipe. “This is a step we believe will keep the field level for more drivers in the division,” explained Root. “Schoenfeld has already added header awards to their 2023 contingency program which drivers will be receiving at our upcoming national banquet.” Minimum and maximum ride heights for Modifieds and Northern SportMods are four inches and 7-1/2 inches, and [Read More]

Kuehl soars to seven wins, first IMCA Lady Eagle honors

AMES, Iowa (Nov. 7, 2023) – The theme to Taylor Kuehl’s Lady Eagle championship winning season had to be Have race car, will travel. The Arizona native, relocated to Ames, Iowa, since last spring, traveled to 14 different tracks in four Midwestern States over the course of the season, winning seven of 41 Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod starts in topping point standings for the nearly 300 female drivers competing in IMCA in 2023. “We had a lot of racing planned. We ran mostly weekly shows, deciding on some of them last-minute, and filled in our schedule with specials,” said Kuehl, a top five finisher on 20 nights. “We didn’t start the season running for the Lady Eagle but winning it was really cool to do. It’s another prestigious award to put on our racing resume.” Kuehl found victory lane at Stuart Speedway three times while getting single wins at Interstate Speedway, Independence Motor Speedway, Buena Vista Raceway and 141 Speedway. “We had a really good year at Stuart. That track was good to us,” she [Read More]

New approach, same results: Looft takes off Fridays, races to sixth IMCA Northern SportMod national title

SWEA CITY, Iowa (2023) – Matt Looft took a new approach in his pursuit of another Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod national championship. He raced less. Looft chased points at just two tracks, winning titles at Thursday night venue Kossuth County Speedway and Saturday night speed plant Arlington Raceway. Three Monday night checkers at Clay County Fair Speedway and three more in as many Friday night starts at Murray County Speedway would help give the Swea City speedster 31 wins and his third straight and career sixth national crown. “The only thing that’s harder than getting to the top is staying there. Our family is busier and work is busier. It’s a real balancing act,” said Looft, the division’s all-time leader with 263 feature wins and 35 track and special series titles. “My wife and I decided that we’d take some nights off from racing to focus on family things with the kids and make sure the car was ready when we did race. My wife and family are my biggest support system and we [Read More]

The Professor changes point chasing plans, becomes first IMCA Sport Compact national champ from Texas

SPRINGTOWN, Texas (Nov. 2, 2023) – A driver who wasn’t even planning to race for points at the start of the season led them all at the end of it. Twenty feature wins helped make Randall Martin the first Texas driver to win the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact national championship. The speedster from Springtown won track titles at Boyd Raceway, Kennedale Speedway Park and Southern Oklahoma Speedway as well as Texas and Oklahoma State titles in his first full season in the 4-cylinder class. “It means a lot for me to win the national championship, and to be the first driver from Texas to do it in the Sport Compacts. That’s one of the reasons why I ran for it,” Martin said. “It’s an awesome feeling and now there’s a sparkle in my eye. I wanted my name on that trophy.” Trophies may have been the last thing on Martin’s mind after his engine went up in smoke on opening night, but he was the king of consistency from that point. The wins … seven [Read More]

Back on track after six years, Phillips wins IMCA Southern SportMod national crown

TUSCOLA, Texas (Nov. 1, 2023) – Back in a race car after six years away from the track, David Phillips couldn’t have scripted a better start to his 2023 season. The ending was pretty special, too. Phillips, from Tuscola, was quick to knock the rust off after his lengthy hiatus, winning a dozen features, Boyd Raceway and Texas State honors on the way to earning the Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod national championship. “I had something to prove,” stated Phillips, who’d wheeled IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and then a SportMod over 12 seasons before that break. “I had a pretty bad year the last year I raced. It was rough on us. I wanted to come back, prove to myself and show I still had it.” “It’s a really, really cool achievement to win a national championship, especially when you look at the list of the other guys who have done it,” he continued. “You don’t realize what it takes ‘til you do it yourself and it was a 100 [Read More]

Olmstead races to 100th career win on way to first national IMCA Hobby Stock crown

OVERTON, Neb. (Oct. 31, 2023) – Zach Olmstead’s 27th feature win of the season was the 100th of his IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock career. His 28th checkers of 2023 made the Overton, Neb., driver a first-time IMCA national champion. “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” admitted the Overton, Neb., driver, who also has an IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s crown and three straight Stephenville Starter Race of Champions victories on his IMCA resume. “Being a national champion is something I dreamed would happen.” “We knew it would be tough but we thought we had a good chance at the start of the season. We had some luck and it just seemed like everything happened at the right time on the track for us.” Olmstead, who shares a 60×60 shop in Overton with brothers Jacob and Morgan, traveled to 11 different tracks in Kansas and Nebraska and won at all but one of them in earning IMCA Northern Region and Dawson County Raceway and RPM Speedway track titles. He had averaged 14 feature wins over each of [Read More]

2023 is another season for the IMCA record book as Nichols races to 12th Stock Car national crown

HARLAN, Iowa (Oct. 31, 2023) – Mike Nichols had three lessons to share, following his career 12th IMCA Sunoco Stock Car national championship. First, do the work. Second, surround yourself with good people. And third, when you find a penny, pick it up. Nichols won 22 features, along with the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region and track championships at Dawson County Raceway and Shelby County Speedway, in matching the legendary Ernie Derr’s IMCA career total of 12 national championships in 2023. “Since I started racing, we have always remembered to do the work away from the track. You can never get away from that,” said Nichols, already laying the groundwork for 2024. “And when you continue to surround yourself with good people, good things will continue to happen.” “My racing has become 10-fold better since becoming part of a team,” continued the Harlan, Iowa, hotshoe. “Since getting together with my wife Anita late in 2011 we have eight national championships together.” Nichols started his latest championship campaign with nine checkers before the Memorial Weekend, then endured [Read More]