News Archives

Defending champion Dotson delivers IMCA.TV Winter Nationals feature win

By Ben Deatherage SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 6) – Ethan Dotson was the cream of the crop again Thursday night at Cocopah Speedway. A three-time winner and champion of the 2021 version of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals presented by Yuma Insurance, Dotson won the Thursday night IMCA Modified feature at the Diamond In The Desert, earning $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. Dotson beat fellow Bakersfield, Calif. driver Jerry Flippo and Austin Kuehl for the lead on lap one. Just two stoppages occurred in the 25-lap main event, with Dotson getting a slight challenge after the restart of the first caution. The field went 20 quick laps without incident, allowing Dotson to cruise right along, open up a significant lead and hit the tail end of the pack. He negotiated traffic on the way to registering his first feature win of the 2022 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season. Flippo was second with third credited to Austen Becerra. Cody Thompson and Don Shaw completed the top five. Entry numbers for night two at Cocopah grew to 218. [Read More]

Hibdon hoists checkers at IMCA.TV Winter Nationals opener

By Ben Deatherage SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 5) – Opening night of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals presented by Yuma Insurance featured a very full pit area at Cocopah Speedway and saw Kollin Hibdon end his evening with the $1,000 IMCA Modified checkers. The Pahrump, Nev., pilot took off from the rest of the pack at the start of the 25-lapper, powering his way around the Diamond In The Desert with nothing slowing down his pace but a lap two caution. Once racing resumed, Hibdon got back on the hammer for his first win of the 2022 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing campaign. His first career IMCA.TV Winter Nationals presented by Yuma Insurance main event victory also made Hibdon eligible to qualify for the upcoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Don Shaw and Tanner Black were second and third, respectively. Chandler native Tim Ward ended his night fourth while 2021 IMCA rookie of the year Cody Thompson hit the wire fifth. The Wednesday night lidlifter saw 215 cars in action, including 72 IMCA Modifieds, nearly 60 Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods [Read More]

Services set for Brandon Saltzman

OMAHA, Neb. – Brandon Scott Saltzman, 24, of Omaha, Neb., passed away on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 after a long battle with cancer. He was born on Nov. 9, 1997 in Omaha, a son of Teresa Hiatt and Scott Saltzman. Brandon was a graduate of Papillion La Vista High School in Papillion. He worked for Baxter Auto from November of 2018 until June of 2019. Brandon was currently employed with Al Heating and Cooling. Brandon’s passion was racing on a dirt track with his no. 98 white Late Model car. Racing was a family tradition that he carried on from his father and grandfather. His illness didn’t keep him on the sidelines. While undergoing chemotherapy, he only missed one race in 2019 and in 2020 he was victorious at the I-80 Speedway. Brandon continued his determination in 2021 and won the IMCA Late Model track championship at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa. He will be deeply missed by his fans and friends at the track as well as his family. Friends will be received from 4-8 p.m. on [Read More]

EngineQuest starts 17th season as IMCA sponsor with plenty of product in stock and ready to ship

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – EngineQuest begins its 17th year of sponsorship with plenty of product already in stock and ready to ship to IMCA customers. The Las Vegas, Nev., cylinder head and engine component manufacturer returns as title sponsor for both Stock Car regions while renewing post-season awards for IMCA Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod and Southern SportMod divisions. “We have hundreds of both the EQ-CH350I and EQ-CH318B cylinder heads in stock and hundreds more coming in the next three months,” said EngineQuest National Accounts Manager Brock Spurrell. “A number of people I have talked to at trade shows have asked about availability. We have never stopped manufacturing cylinder heads and have never run out of them. That has never been the case. They are available directly from us or our distributors.” “We have plenty on hand now,” he continued. “As long as customers get their order in by 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time, we will ship the same day.” The 2022 season is the third in EQ’s latest three-year sponsorship agreement with IMCA. In addition [Read More]

Happy start to New Year for Laney with IMCA Modified Bash at the Track victory

By Ben Deatherage BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. (Jan. 1) – Saturday rang in the new year and Mohave Valley Raceway’s New Year’s Bash at the Track was celebrated as the first event of the 2022 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season. Cody Laney was the $2,022 IMCA Modified winner and Larry Brigner collected $1,000 for the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers. Ryan Peery scored the $750 Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod victory while Ken McWilliams banked $500 for taking the Mach-1 Sport Compact win. Already Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible, Laney had the field covered and had no issues with restarts in the Modified main. The Torrance, Calif., chauffeur was #StephanieStrong after heartbreaking mechanical problems took him out of action in the final moments in the Friday program. Apache Junction driver Brigner jetted to the point of the 20-lap Stock Car main event. However, Trevor Hidalgo, managed to get around him on the second circuit. Night one winner Chris McCurdy Jr. obtained the top place position around the halfway mark. His tenure as the pacesetter lasted [Read More]

Funeral arrangements pending for Brandon Saltzman

OMAHA, Neb. – Funeral arrangements are pending for IMCA driver Brandon Saltzman, the 2021 Late Model track champion at Shelby County Speedway. Twenty-four years old and from Omaha, Neb., Saltzman had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in the summer of 2019. He passed away Monday night. Saltzman clinched the track title in dramatic fashion on the final night of the season at Harlan and attended the national IMCA banquet in November, walking across the stage to accept his track championship awards.

IMCA STARS Mod Lites are Florida bound in February for Winter Nationals Sugar Bowl

CLEWISTON, Fla. – With the opportunity to win over $6,000 and an entry fee of just $100, hotels and Air BnB’s are already filling up fast in and around Clewiston, Fla., says IMCA STARS Mod Lite Director Jimmy May The 2022 IMCA STARS Mod Lite Winter Nationals Sugar Bowl, is being held at Hendry County Motor Sports Park in Clewiston Feb. 8-12. “We will be kicking off the event on Tuesday, Feb. 8 with our second annual Big Bass Fishing Tournament and you have until Jan. 24 to register for that,” May said. “Then join us to get your cars all dialed in and pre-teched at practice night Wednesday, Feb. 9. We will end the night with the Race Of Champions Invitational.” That race pays $500 to win, with the runner-up earning $400, third place paying $300, fourth place $200 and the remainder of the field $100 each. A maximum of 20 cars will start the RoC. Thursday, Feb. 10 starts the first full program with the addition of a Manufacturer’s Race. “This will allow builders of [Read More]

Dates, locations announced for 2022 Corral Sales Dakota Classic Tour

MANDAN, N.D. – Plans have been finalized for the Corral Sales Dakota Classic Tour with IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars after a recent meeting with the six host tracks. Due to mandated Covid vaccination requirements at the international border, Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway has decided not to take a tour date despite an open border. This decision meant one track would be allowed to take an additional date to keep the traditional six consecutive date series format that has been popular with drivers and fans over the tour’s long history. Dacotah Speedway in Mandan stepped up to take the extra date. The tour will start in Jamestown on Saturday, July 9, 2022 at Jamestown Speedway. The series then heads north to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds and Nodak Speedway in Minot on Sunday, July 10. Drivers and fans next head west on US Highway 2 for Williston and Williston Basin Speedway on Monday, July 11. Southwest Speedway in Dickinson is next on Tuesday, July 12. The Tour wraps up in Mandan at Dacotah [Read More]

Amarillo’s Route 66 Motor Speedway makes switch to IMCA Modifieds in 2022

AMARILLO, Texas – Christmas comes early for IMCA Modified drivers in the GRT Race Cars South Central Region, with the announcement that the division will join Saturday race programs at Amarillo’s Route 66 Motor Speedway beginning in 2022. The 3/8-mile clay oval is promoted by brothers Zach and Jeremy Gossett. Opening night for the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season is April 23. “The IMCA Modifieds are a division we can build on,” Zach explained. “Cost is very important. We ran USRA for a while and slowly but surely the Modified numbers started dwindling. The cars had priced themselves out.” “We looked around a saw a lot of other tracks that were running IMCA, like Southern Oklahoma Speedway (in Ardmore) and getting good car counts,” he continued, noting the IMCA Modifieds will be an economical attraction to drivers in other classes. “We have around 30 cars in our local sportmod class and a lot of those drivers will be competitive in an IMCA Modified.” Both Zach and Jeremy Gossett raced street stocks, modifieds [Read More]

Early entries top 400 for 2022 IMCA.TV Winter Nationals

SOMERTON, Ariz. – After many conversations throughout the summer with drivers about the 2022 IMCA.TV Winter Nationals, the latest pre-entry numbers had Cocopah Speedway’s Brad Whitfield admittedly speechless. More than 400 drivers in six IMCA divisions are already pre-entered for seven nights of January racing at Somerton, coming from 21 states and two Canadian provinces. IMCA.TV Winter Nationals is presented by Yuma Insurance and broadcast by IMCA.TV. “It completely blows my mind that we will start the 2022 season with an IMCA crown jewel event with pre-entry numbers like these,” said Whitfield, who spent much of his summer traveling to tracks in the Midwest and talking to drivers one-on-one. “We had 108 cars for our Winter Nationals in 2020 and 275 for the inaugural IMCA.TV Winter Nationals in 2021. For 2022, we already have 420 pre-entries.” “I’m humbled, I’m blessed and I’m speechless” he continued. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that every driver who pulls into the pits and every fan that comes through the front gate has a good [Read More]