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Rudolf reigns in Friday SportMod qualifier at Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 13) – He hasn’t seen his name in lights yet but Chase Rudolf stole the headlines Friday night at the Duel In the Desert. The 17-year-old from Norwalk, Iowa, led every lap of the $500 to win qualifying feature for Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. He’ll advance to Saturday’s $1,777 to win show along with fellow top six finishers Rick Diaz, Clay Money, Ryan Wolla, Nick Spainhoward and Adam Armstrong. The race ran caution-free and Rudolf stayed flawless up front, leading by a straightaway when lap 12 was scored. A flat tire took Michael Johnson out of a transfer spot with three laps left. Diaz took second well ahead of Money and Wolla. Qualifying feature results – 1. Chase Rudolf, Norwalk, Iowa; 2. Rick Diaz, Los Banos, Calif.; 3. Clay Money, Penokee, Kan.; 4. Ryan Wolla, Williston, N.D.; 5. Nick Spainhoward, Bakersfield, Calif.; 6. Adam Armstrong, Beatrice, Neb.; 7. Jerry Hoffman, Oronogo, Mo.; 8. Kyle Smith, Yuma, Ariz.; 9. Wayne Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif.; 10. Brian [Read More]

Schott, Grabouski ace Friday Modified Duel qualifying features

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 13) – Night two at the Duel In the Desert saw Lucas Schott and Jordan Grabouski ace Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified qualifiers at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Schott won Friday night’s first feature ahead of Ryan Ruter, Dylan Smith and John Hansen. Joining Grabouski in the top four for the nightcap were R.C. Whitwell, Hunter Marriott and Travis Hagen. All eight drivers advance to Saturday’s $7,777 to win main event. Both qualifying features paid $777 to win. Schott led the first qualifier from the drop of the green and pulled out to nearly a half straightaway lead before fifth-running Jeremy Payne, a four-time Duel winner, slowed in turn two. The race was for second following the ensuing restart as Hansen had his hands full holding off Ruter for second while David Murray Jr. motored behind in fourth. Ruter had caught Hansen for the runner-up spot before 2008 race winner Murray spun on unlucky lap 13. Twenty-sixth starting Benji LaCrosse drove by Eddie Belec and Dylan Smith to [Read More]

Sobbing, Drake score Thursday IMCA Modified qualifiers at Duel In the Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 12) – Jesse Sobbing and Scott Drake hit the jackpot with Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified qualifying feature wins Thursday at the Duel In The Desert. Sobbing checked out and won the first, caution-free qualifier at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track ahead of Terry Phillips, Kyle Strickler and Lance Mari. Drake didn’t have it as easy in the nightcap, as he crossed the line with Rodney Sanders and Bobby Hogge IV right behind. Ken Schrader held off Hunter Marriott for the fourth transfer into Saturday’s big $7,777 to win show. Both Thursday qualifiers for the Modifieds paid $777 to win. Sobbing, the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod Duel winner in 2011, opened a quick 10 car length lead over second-running Mari. Mari, three-time and defending Duel winner Phillips and Strickler were battling for the runner-up spot by lap five. Sobbing was in another time zone and negotiating lapped traffic by lap 10. Phillips took over second on lap 15 but had nothing for Sobbing, who stayed way out front. Strickler [Read More]

Frye dominates opening night Duel qualifier for IMCA Northern SportMods

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 12) – Tyler Frye will start his pursuit of another big payday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the pole. Frye ran away with the qualifying feature win Thursday on opening night of the Duel In The Desert. He’ll look to parlay those $500 checkers into a $1,777 victory in Saturday’s Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod main event on the half-mile Dirt Track at LVMS. The top six from Thursday’s 20-lapper advance to the big show. Frye will be joined by Chris McKellar, Kevin Johnson, Robert Elliott, Brylon Holder and Jorddon Braaten. Holder led early on Thursday, finally giving way to Frye on the ninth lap. Showing the same speed that netted him the IMCA national championship this season, Frye opened a half straightaway lead with three laps to go and won by that margin. Feature results – 1. Tyler Frye, Belleville, Kan.; 2. Chris McKellar, Bakersfield, Calif.; 3. Kevin Johnson, Bakersfield, Calif.; 4. Robert Elliott, Clinton, Okla.; 5. Brylon Holder, Bakersfield, Calif.; 6. Jorddon Braaten, Central Point, Ore.; 7. Shawn Harker, [Read More]

Hadan acquires RaceSaver Sprint Series

BENNINGTON, Neb. – RaceSaver Enterprises is pleased to announce the acquisition of the RaceSaver Sprint Series by Roger Hadan, owner and promoter of Eagle, Neb. Hadan has obtained the rights to the name RaceSaver and will oversee all media relations, sponsorships, hard card applications, etc. for the series. IMCA will be the official sanctioning body again in 2016 and beyond. French Grimes, the originator of the series in 1997, will retain his position as the face of RaceSaver. He will also be relied on to establish and oversee all rules and regulations as well as having the final word on all tech-related issues. “Three years ago, I had a weekly Sprint Car class at Eagle Raceway that was struggling with its car count due to rising costs. After having 50 different sets of Sprint Car rules spread out across my living room floor, trying to find rules that were enforceable, I discovered RaceSaver,” Hadan said. “So that is the direction we took. Three years later, here I am with a weekly RaceSaver Sprint Car division [Read More]

Michigan’s I-96 makes change to IMCA Modifieds

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. – Ending an absence of more than a decade, Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds return to Friday race programs at Michigan’s I-96 Speedway in 2016. The sanctioned division first ran at Lake Odessa in 1988 and most recently there in 2005. Weekly point races will tentatively run from May 6 through Aug. 26 next season. “We are super excited about sanctioning our Modifieds again with IMCA,” said promoter Mike Mouch, who anticipates sharing cars with Saturday venue Crystal Motor Speedway 45 minutes to the northeast. “We ran a pro mod class that had rules very similar to IMCA’s and averaged 16-18 cars a week this year. Those drivers will be able to race with us and at Crystal next year.” “Dropping the IMCA sanction after I bought this track was probably the stupidest mistake I ever made,” he added. “The class went out of control cost-wise after that.” The 3/8-mile dirt oval at I-96 has a configuration similar to the old half-mile track. Mouch brought in turns two, three and four along [Read More]

Thornton wins Desert Classic IMCA Modified main at Canyon

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Nov. 7) – Ricky Thornton Jr. proved his mastery of the 1/3-mile Canyon Speedway Park clay oval by racing to victory lane to capture the $5,000 winner’s share in Saturday’s 27th annual Desert Classic Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified main event. The 40-lap finale quickly turned into a non-stop battle between Thornton and Kyle Strickler, who topped Friday’s qualifying session and then won his 20-lap qualifier to earn the pole starting position. The duo swapped the lead several times along the way before Thornton, the 2014 CSP track champion, came away with the victory. After Strickler failed to pass post-race tech inspection, Iowan Jesse Sobbing was promoted to runner-up with Friday’s second “Twin Twenty” winner Lance Mari rounding out the podium in third. New Mexico’s Zane DeVilbiss and Missouri’s Hunter Marriott rounded out the top five. Already qualified for the 2016 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, Thornton also took top pure stock honors. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature winners were Jason George on Friday and Chris Toth on Saturday. Nov. 6 [Read More]

Stakes are high for IMCA’s Duel In The Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – What happens in Vegas this week will be the talk of the dirt track racing nation. Las Vegas Motor Speedway rolls out the red carpet for hundreds of IMCA drivers and thousands of fans traveling to the Entertainment Capital of the World for the 18th annual Duel In The Desert special Nov. 11-14. Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds race for $7,777 to win and a minimum of $777 to start their main event on Saturday. Nov. 14 at the half-mile Dirt Track. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods run for $1,777 to win that evening. Two hundred and twenty-five drivers have pre-entered for the Duel. Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace join the IMCA Modified field in seeking the big payday and a spot on the ballot for the 2016 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Heat races, “B” features and qualifying features are on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 12 and 13 race programs. Modified qualifiers pay $777 to win and SportMod qualifiers $500 to win both nights. Last-chance races and both Modified Young Guns and [Read More]

Abelson’s Modified trophy is new to IMCA national championship hardware collection

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Chris Abelson got to celebrate his birthday the way few other IMCA drivers have. The Sioux City, Iowa, driver blew out the 44 candles on his cake on the final day of the point season before getting the call congratulating him for winning the 2015 Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified national championship. “I could sit back and relax. I was kind of glad the season was over,” admitted Abelson, also the winner of 32 features, three local track titles and a second straight Belleville Motorsports North Central Region crown. “After we got done racing (at September Fest in Beatrice) we came home and waited to hear something official.” That waiting process is something Abelson is already familiar with. He was the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod national champion eight years ago and joins just a handful of drivers to have earned national crowns in more than one division. “I think the national championship just kind of happened in the Northern SportMod. It wasn’t something we were trying for,” Abelson said. “We were [Read More]

Luinenburg will take national IMCA Hobby Stock crown home to Minnesota

READING, Minn. – With a month to go in the 2015 point season, Justin Luinenburg sat down and penciled out that he still had a pretty good chance at winning the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock national championship. Those calculations proved correct. Luinenburg topped six features in his stretch run and became the first Minnesota driver to capture the title in the 25 years the division has crowned a national champion. “We had decided at the start of the year that we were going to run a lot, but we weren’t going to run for national points,” explained the Reading racer. “Things really didn’t start falling into place until the last seven or eight nights, then we raced much as we could.” “We got to where we needed three or four more wins to do it and fortunately they came for us,” he continued. “Finishing races was important and I can’t say enough about maintenance. Another thing that really helped us this year is that we ran a 2015 Terminator and as the season went [Read More]