Feature Archives

Ward finds right IMCA Modified option to win fifth Dirt Works Eastern Region crown

IONIA, Mich. (Nov. 8, 2022) – A.J. Ward found himself almost out of options just 14 starts into his 2022 season. After wrecking and rebuilding his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, the Ionia charger was fast but not fast enough and six checkers short of the long-time goal he had set of surpassing Rick Stout as the winningest driver in division history from Michigan. “We had already won six times, then got air borne and twirled around hard mid-May from an outside retaining wall tractor tire at Thunderbird Raceway,” explained Ward, in the hunt for Dirt Works Eastern Region and national championships as well. “We rebuilt the car but it just had that feeling where you knew you couldn’t get any more out of it. We were fast enough to do everything but win for about the next month.” “The change we made in our setup was the kind of stuff you do when you’re all out of options,” he continued, “but it worked and we started turning those second and third-place finishes into wins and [Read More]

A first for Montana as Clemens wins crown in IMCA’s Shaw Race Cars Western Region

BELGRADE, Mont. (Nov. 7, 2022) – The season where Ty Clemens wasn’t chasing points ended with him on top of point standings for the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. The 13-time Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature winner from Belgrade repeated as track champion at hometown Gallatin Speedway while becoming the first driver from Montana to win a regional championship in any IMCA division. “We were excited to win this. We weren’t points racing this season,” he said. “Last year we tried to race as much as we could, ran 58 nights and wore ourselves out finishing seventh nationally. This year we didn’t focus on points and did better, finishing sixth, because our top 25 finishes were better.” “It was a surprise to find out I was leading the regional points,” he added. “I didn’t know because it wasn’t something we were watching. I was talking to another driver at the track and he told me I was leading the points. I was just out there trying to win races. I wasn’t aware of where we [Read More]

Day adds national Modified rookie award to growing list of IMCA accomplishments

FARMERSVILLE, Texas (Nov. 7, 2022) – Matthew Day was enjoying a successful first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified season before taking a racing vacation to the Midwest. After an intense and personalized tech seminar in the pits at Deer Creek Speedway, he went home to Texas even faster. Already much accomplished in his brief IMCA career, the 19-year-old Farmersville flyer earned national and GRT Race Cars South Central Region rookie of the year honors, as well as Heart O’ Texas Speedway and Southern Oklahoma Speedway track titles and the Oklahoma State crown this season. “Winning 12 Modified features, finishing fifth in the nation and being the national rookie of the year was a much bigger deal than anything I’ve done before,” said Day, the top Southern SportMod rookie in 2020 and national champion in the division last season. “You have to have a good car and you have to know how to drive it, because you’re racing against the best drivers every night.” Day was a winner in just his third start this season, taking the [Read More]

Grabouski gains appreciation of accomplishments along with record fifth IMCA Modified national crown

BEATRICE, Neb. (Nov. 4, 2022) – The decision to run for a record fifth Friesen Performance IMCA Modified national championship was made before Jordan Grabouski took the first green flag of the season. That goal now attained, he can look back with an appreciation for his career accomplishments, as well as those of the two drivers he’d shared the previous mark of four titles with. “We were able to accomplish a lot this season, but the Modified national championship is special,” said Grabouski, from Beatrice, Neb. “I can remember when I was crewing for Johnny Saathoff and he and David Murray Jr. would drive all over to race against each other. I know the grind they had to go through back in the day and it was cool to be able to watch their rivalry.” “Then you throw drivers like Kevin Larkins and David Trauernicht and a lot of other guys in the mix, and that made it something just to win a weekly show at tracks like Beatrice and Eagle,” he continued. “There would [Read More]

Abbeys run 1-2-3 in Stock Car feature while Shepperd checks Fall Classic off bucket list

WACO, Texas (Oct. 22, 2022) – Their classic runs to the checkers at Heart O’ Texas Speedway’s 25th annual Fall Classic sent Dean Abbey and Jeff Shepperd home with $2,000 checks. Abbey outran brothers Westin and Jeffrey in Saturday’s main event for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, earning family bragging rights for the night along with qualifying eligibility for the 2023 B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. And Shepperd won his first Fall Classic crown in nearly two decades of racing the season-ending special at Waco, topping the Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod headliner ahead of Brandon Geurin and Kyle Wilkins. Dean and Westin Abbey ran side-by-side the first two times around the track in the Stock Car feature before Dean eked ahead racing down the front stretch. Westin’s pass for the lead on lap 15 was erased by a caution. The final yellow waved with two laps left and Jeffrey Abbey would complete his charge from 12th to complete the top three. “We haven’t raced together for a long time, let alone finished 1-2-3,” Dean [Read More]

IMCA honors 700-plus champions, top rookies at national awards banquet

LINCOLN, Neb. (Oct. 24, 2022) – Another record number of champions and rookies of the year will take their turn on stage at the IMCA national awards banquet. Drivers winning 700-plus national, regional, track, series and state championships, as well as national and regional rookie of the year honors during the 2022 race season will be recognized during the Saturday, Nov. 26 banquet, to be held at the Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in downtown Lincoln, Neb. More than 500 track and series, and 132 state titlists are among the champions crowned by IMCA this season. Banquet attendees can go to the IMCA website and purchase tickets for $35 each and make room reservations at the Cornhusker by using www.imca.com/banquet. Overnight accommodations can also be made by calling the Cornhusker at 866 706-7706 and requesting the IMCA group rate. Cocktails are at 5 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. with the awards ceremony to follow. IMCA sponsors to be recognized during the evening include Performance Bodies for 40 years, Sunoco Race [Read More]

Westover, Guillaume, Poor each earn career second crowns at IMCA Southern Challenge

ABILENE, Texas (Oct. 15, 2022) – Kale Westover, Matt Guillaume and Bradley Poor each added second Ryan Bard Memorial Southern Challenge trophies to their IMCA hardware collections Saturday night. They each banked $2,500 for their latest Abilene Speedway feature wins as well. Westover came out of a last-chance qualifier, started 10th and won the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main. Guillaume had just enough left to beat Chad Hertel to the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers and Poor got rich dominating the Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod feature at the 28th annual special. The 2019 Southern Challenge Southern SportMod winner, Westover found the top line in turns three and four to his liking and was in the lead before midway of the Modified 30-lapper. “I ran the top in three and four. I kept rolling the top in and it picked up more speed,” said Westover, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “I grew up racing bullrings and I go good at pretty much every bullring I show up to.” “It means a [Read More]

Mid-America Championship checkered flies for Jerovetz

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 15, 2022) – After an inauspicious start to the week, his third visit to Batesville Motor Speedway proved to be a $10,000 charm for Troy Jerovetz. Jerovetz raced from 15th starting to win Saturday’s Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Sunoco Stock Car Championship. He collected the career-best payday after getting the front spot back from Zane DeVilbiss twice before leading the last 11 times around the track in the 50-lapper. “The biggest things we talked about before the race were saving our equipment, passing cars one at a time and seeing where we ended up,” said Jerovetz, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, and now guaranteed a starting spot in the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. “This was definitely my biggest win and definitely the biggest win from the furthest back.” “I saw Zane on the outside at the point when we were committed to the bottom,” he continued. “From there we just kept hitting our marks and let the best car win.” DeVilbiss, winner of Thursday and Friday night World Stock Car Championship [Read More]

At home at Batesville, DeVilbiss sweeps IMCA.TV World Stock Car Championship

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 13-14, 2022) – He might have to travel 1,100 miles to get there but Zane DeVilbiss still feels right at home at Batesville Motor Speedway. The New Mexico long tow topped Thursday and Friday night IMCA.TV World Stock Car Championship features at the Arkansas speedplant, earning $4,000 for each IMCA Sunoco Stock Car victory. “I feel like Batesville is a cross between Desert Thunder Raceway (in Utah) and Fairgrounds Speedway (in Colorado), two of our home tracks. It has the shape of price and the dirt consistency of Cortez,” said the two-division star and 2021 Race For Hope 71 Modified winner, newly eligible to qualify for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. “It kind of fits the skill set I have growing up on those two tracks or, as Jeff Taylor would say, where I cut my teeth on.” DeVilbiss drew the pole start for the Thursday show and led all 40 laps, winning ahead of Peyton Taylor, Chanse Hollatz, T.J Herndon and Jeffrey Abbey. That checkered was the first [Read More]

IMCA announces 2022 national and regional champions, rookies of the year

VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 5, 2022) – First-time Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod king Rodney White joins fellow luminaries Jordan Grabouski, Cory Dumpert, Justin Clark, Mike Nichols, Dillon Richards, Matthew Looft, Dillon Raffurty and Nate Coopman in IMCA’s national championship class of 2022. Nichols is the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car champion for the 11th time while Grabouski, Looft and Coopman all earned career fifth titles in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact divisions, respectively. Dumpert won a fourth straight IMCA Sunoco Late Model crown. Clark repeated as the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car king, Raffurty as the IMCA STARS Mod Lite champ. Richards won his own second national IMCA title, this time in the Sunoco Hobby Stocks. He’d ruled the Sport Compact standings in 2017. Shelby Alves raced to her first Lady Eagle prize and Mike Smith is the Junior National Champion. Grabouski also ruled the Jet Racing Central Modified Region while Ty Clemens paced the Shaw Race Cars Western Region, Travis Denning the Razor Chassis North Central Region, [Read More]