News Archives

Reese sets new goal, races to rookie honors in Big Daddy Southern Hobby Stock Region

SPANISH FORK, Utah – Just 10 races into the season, Haiden Reese set a different goal for his rookie IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock campaign. That mission accomplished, the Spanish Fork, Utah, speedster already has a new goal for 2022. Reese became the first driver from Utah to win Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region rookie honors, logging all 35 of his starts in his home state. Team Reese also produced a pair of state champions with Haiden topping KMJ Performance State standings for the Hobbies and his father Jason leading the way in Utah points for Modifieds. “I hadn’t raced anything before but my dad has been with IMCA for six years, the last three of them in a Modified, so I’ve been around it for a while,” Reese said. ”IMCA has a great rookie program going on and I needed to get into a class where I could learn. I spent November through April building a car and got it race-ready.” “The first time I practiced it was more car than I expected,” he [Read More]

Brigner’s EQ Southern Region rookie award is IMCA Stock Car first for Arizona

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. – A driver who likes to travel raced his way into the IMCA history book this season. Larry Brigner became the first driver from Arizona to earn rookie of the year honors in the EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. While supporting three tracks in his home state and a fourth in Colorado, he complemented his first feature win in The Class Too Tough To Tame with 17 top five finishes “National and regional rookie of the year awards were what I really wanted to go for at the start of the season. We had a lot of fun and we were able to race at a lot of different tracks,” said Brigner, from Apache Junction. “I like the close racing in this class and that you don’t tear too much stuff up.” The runner-up in KMJ Performance State standings, Brigner finished second in point standings at Arizona Speedway and third at Cocopah Speedway. Career win number one came on opening night at Cocopah, in front of eventual [Read More]

25-year sponsor Jet Racing renews support of IMCA Modified Central Region

BEATRICE, Neb. – Jet Racing will mark its 25th season of IMCA support in 2022, returning as title sponsor of the Central Region for Modifieds. The Beatrice, Neb., chassis manufacturer provides a portion of the $6,000 point fund to be paid to top 10 drivers in the region that includes tracks in Arkansas, eastern Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. The champion earns $2,500 with the runner-up receiving $1,250 and $625 paid for third, $325 for fourth, $300 for fifth and $200 for each of sixth through 10th places. Drivers in the Central Region will be required to display two Jet Racing logos on their race car to be eligible for shares of that point fund. Owned by four-time IMCA national champion Johnny Saathoff, Jet Racing had sponsored special events, and also Stock Car and Hobby Stock regions from 2004-2009 and 2007-2009, respectively, before becoming the Central Region title sponsor in 2012. Jet Racing also builds Northern SportMod, Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Sport Compact chassis and sells a wide range of high performance parts and accessories. More [Read More]

Barnhill brings Dirt Works Eastern Region rookie of the year award back to Florida

MILTON, Fla. – Owen Barnhill started the season winning in the IMCA Modified his father Jesse drove to a regional championship before he was born. He ended it winning rookie of the year honors in the Dirt Works Eastern Region. “We set the standards pretty high for this season. I never like to finish second,” said Barnhill, 16 years old, from Milton, Fla., and now a sophomore at Central High School. “We had about five races left in the season and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to win the rookie award. I was worried about getting torn up and messing up in points.” Barnhill didn’t mess up much in his rookie campaign, totaling seven feature victories and another 15 top five finishes in just 26 starts. He was track champion at Northwest Florida Speedway and hometown Southern Raceway, as well as the KMJ Performance Florida State champion. His first three feature wins came in the 2001 Pro Chassis that his dad won the 2004 Gulf Coast Region crown with. That car had [Read More]

Askew returns to racing after 31 years, wins ROY in Razor Chassis South Central Region

PROSPER, Texas – Thirty-one years after he last wheeled a race car, Steve Askew raced to rookie of the year honors in IMCA’s Razor Chassis South Central Region for Modifieds. The Prosper, Texas, driver, teammate to five-time regional champion William Gould and two-time regional champ Matt Guillaume, made 39 starts at six different tracks, earning his career first feature win in IMCA Modified on Aug. 21 at Grayson County Speedway. “I knew I had the potential. Everything just fell into place that evening,” said Askew, who had posted what was then a career-best finish by running third the night before at Boyd Raceway. “I raced with William almost every night and was more excited that I beat him. He and (Gould’s wife) Dana were in victory lane with my wife Michelle and I and we got pictures. It was a cool night, very cool.” Askew had raced late models in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas in 1990-91, earning rookie of the years at home track County Line Speedway. He stepped away from the sport, [Read More]

IMCA releases 2022 Hobby Stock, Southern SportMod, Sport Compact rules

VINTON, Iowa – IMCA has announced 2022 rules for the Hobby Stock, Southern SportMod and Sport Compact divisions. “There are a number of clarifications and revisions for the Hobby Stocks, and Sport Compacts are an all-OEM car,” said IMCA President Brett Root, “so we wanted to get the announcement made for those divisions as soon as possible. As expected, changes for the Sport Compacts and Southern SportMods were very minimal.” OEM or aluminum aftermarket replacement hoods, maximum 63×58 inches, and trunk lids, maximum 35×62 inches, will be allowed in the Hobby Stocks. All body panels, including the trunk, may be gutted and the use of unaltered aftermarket tail pieces will be allowed. “The supply of OEM trunks in particular is becoming an issue,” Root said. “They are becoming more expensive and harder to find.” The shock body, stroke and extended length must match both sides, with a maximum eight inch stroke and 20 inch extended length. There is a maximum 13 inch free height for springs and both rear springs and both rear shocks must [Read More]

Shaw Race Cars Western travels take Kaitlyn Sample to regional rookie award

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. – Kaitlyn Sample drove 6-1/2 hours every weekend of the season just to get to the shop and work on her IMCA Modified. Then she traveled to nine different tracks in four states to earn rookie of the year honors in IMCA’s Shaw Race Cars Western Region. “That was definitely a huge accomplishment,” said Sample, who collected eight of those top five’s in the second half of the season. “I came a long ways from my first race. Winning rookie of the year was one of my biggest accomplishments this season.” Sample is the younger sister of two-time regional champion Cory Sample and drove his 2018 Razor that “fell into her hands.” She had about a month to get the car ready for 2021. “I raced a go kart for one year about 10 years ago and grew up around Cory and his racing,” said Kaitlyn, who earned her dental hygienist degree in December and made the commute from Sun Valley, Idaho, to the family base in Winnemucca, Nev., on weekends. “My brother [Read More]

GRT, B & B top IMCA Manufacturer’s Cup standings

VINTON, Iowa – GRT Race Cars defended its Modified title while B & B Racing Chassis won the first-ever IMCA Manufacturer’s Cup crown for Stock Cars in 2021. GRT led the 17 chassis builders entered in the 13th annual Modified contest with 47 points, awarded on the basis of the make of chassis driven by racers finishing in the top 10 in each of the five regions. The Greenbrier, Ark., builder topped point standings in the Central Region for the fourth straight year and in the South Central, the region it will become title sponsor for beginning in 2022. Seven drivers, among them Central Region champion Dylan Sillman, figured in the GRT point total. “Winning the Manufacturer’s Cup is a great thing. It shows the progress we continue to make,” said Wes Wise, who became owner of GRT in February. “GRT Modifieds in the IMCA Modified division have been very strong in recent years. Hopefully we can build a lot more of them and build on our success in all the regions.” Harris Auto Racing was [Read More]

Uber consistent Kohl collects two track titles, national Mach-1 Sport Compact rookie award

FORT RIPLEY, Minn. – Greg Kohl Jr. didn’t need to go into much detail to describe his Mach-1 Sport Compact national rookie of the year season. “It was great,” the Fort Ripley, Minn., flyer said following a 2021 campaign that saw him win eight features and track championships at North Central Speedway and Princeton Speedway. “Our goal was taking top five’s every night. We had three DNFs but after that was all top five’s.” He won three of 14 starts at Princeton and another five of 17 at Brainerd, where his checkers included the Ron Johnson Memorial feature and opening night of the Mighty Ax. “North Central is my home track. I live about eight miles from there and growing up I was always watching races there,” said Kohl, a former dirt bike racer. “Princeton is about an hour and a half from home. It’s a little bit smaller and there’s something about tracks that size that I like.” Fourth in national standings, Kohl ran with younger brother Nathan and cousin Josh Maleski this season [Read More]

Quest for Hobby Stock rookie honors sees Smith score Colorado IMCA firsts

BRUSH, Colo. – A season full of firsts saw Hunter Smith race to national IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock and Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region rookie of the year honors. The 14-year-old Brush High School freshman became the first Colorado driver to win either award. He’s the second 14-year-old to earn the national prize and the youngest to win in the ROY in the Northern Region. “Hobby Stocks are a good class to get started in. I wanted to be in a full-sized car in case I wanted to move up,” he said. “Our goal at the start of the season was regional rookie of the year and we just kept pushing. We dropped out of the national lead but got it back, and we were really excited when points became official. It was really cool to be the first from Colorado to do it, and I was surprised to be the youngest to win the regional rookie.” Smith did a lot of winning as a rookie, starting with 10 feature victories. His 51 starts [Read More]