Results – IMCA – International Motor Contest Association

Four race dates in Canyon’s IMCA Winter Challenge

PEORIA, Ariz. – Four IMCA divisions race all four dates in the 2020 Winter Challenge at Canyon Speedway Park. IMCA Modifieds run for $1,250 to win and a minimum of $125 to start Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying features on Saturdays and Sundays Jan. 25-26 and Feb. 1-2. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods both vie for $1,000 to win and a minimum of $100 to start. IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks run for $500 to win and a minimum of $75 to start. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional and E3 Spark Plugs State points will be awarded. Pill draws are $50 for Modifieds, $40 for Stocks and SportMods, and $30 for Hobbies. Front gates open at 11 a.m. and racing starts at 1 p.m. each day. Grandstand admission is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and military and free for kids ages 11 and under. Pit passes are $35, $20 for children ages 7-11 and free for six and under. Open practices on Fridays Jan. 24 and Jan. 31 [Read More]

Driver Don Gumke passes away in Arizona

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Don Gumke, a fixture in the North Dakota racing community for more than four decades, died Tuesday night. The long-time driver, businessman and former owner of his hometown Jamestown Speedway passed away in Somerton, Ariz. He was 66. Gumke had raced in Late Model and Modified divisions beginning in the 1970s, earning the respect of fellow competitors and a legion of fans. Nicknamed The Grinder, Gumke had followed the Dakota Classic Tour and was sixth in the IMCA Modified points race at Jamestown last season. “He’s the reason I got into stock car racing back in the day,” said John Corell, who first raced with Gumke in a late model in the late 1970s. “I helped him build a car in my dad’s garage and we were best buds ever since.” “Don was just a nice guy, pretty soft-spoken, friendly and competitive,” continued Corell. “Everybody took a liking to him.” A member of the club that had operated the speedway, Gumke was at the promotional helm there when it received two business of [Read More]

Rush on pit stall sales results from new IMCA Modified sanction at Michigan’s Winston Speedway

ROTHBURY, Mich. – After making the announcement that he’d run IMCA Modifieds beginning in 2020, Winston Speedway promoter Dean Wilkerson had one of the hottest properties in town. Twenty Friday night dates for the sanctioned division are scheduled this season at the 3/8-mile clay oval in Rothbury. It didn’t take long for area drivers to start a rush on pit parking reservations at the newest track in IMCA’s Dirt Works Eastern Region. “We made the announcement that we would sanction with IMCA and posted pit spots for sale. We’ve already sold more than 30,” Wilkerson reported. “The response has been unreal. It’s been more than I ever expected.” The second of three generations to race at Winston – his father Dean Sr. was a multi-time track champion while son Drew has earned rookie of the year honors there – Wilkerson and wife Lynette took over as promoters last September. Wilkerson had been in charge of track prep at both Winston and Saturday speedplant Thunderbird Raceway in Muskegon, half an hour to the south “I grew [Read More]

Visitation announced for Greg Durbin

SILVIS, Ill. – Visitation for Greg Durbin will be 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 at Van Hoe Funeral Home in East Moline. Durbin, 41, died Wednesday at his home. The family has requested those attending the visitation wear their favorite racing shirt and jeans in his memory. Durbin had raced for more than 20 years. He was a three-time IMCA Modified track champion at Quad City Speedway and also won three Illinois State crowns. In lieu of flowers, memorial may be made to the family. Survivors include his wife Michelle; three children, Lexy, Brooke, and Gavin; two brothers, Brandon Durbin and Eric Barnes (Aleic Underwood) both of Colona; mother Jean Durbin (Jeff Peterson) of Colona; father Dennis Barnes (Juli Spindler) of Silvis; maternal grandparents John and Mary Ann Durbin of Colona; paternal grandfather A.C. Barnes of Silvis, brother-in-law Michael Stottler; nieces Kaylee and Addie, and several aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandmother June Barnes; mother-in-law Carol and uncles Jody Durbin and John Barnes.

IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars on Jan. 1 card at Arizona Speedway

QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. – The first green flag of the 2020 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season flies Wednesday, Jan. 1 at Arizona Speedway. A 40-lap feature for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars is on the program for the ninth annual New Year’s Day special. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region and E3 Spark Plugs Arizona State points will be awarded. Pit gates open at 10 a.m., the grandstand opens at 11 a.m. and racing is at noon. Grandstand admission is $15 for adults and seniors and free for kids ages 11 and under. Pit passes are $35 for adults, $10 for kids ages 7-12 and free for six and under.

Gottschalk, Johnson win Harris Race Tech drawings

AMES, Iowa – Daniel Gottschalk and Michael Johnson will hit the books next year, courtesy of Bob Harris Enterprises. The names of both IMCA special events competitors were drawn from a pool of 35 eligible drivers to attend BHE Race Tech Info dirt chassis schools. Gottschalk won the IMCA Modified main event at RPM Speedway’s Fall Nationals while Johnson was runner-up in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod headliner during the Duel In The Desert at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Top five finishers at designated Modified, Northern SportMod and Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod events were entered in the drawing and all received BHE certificates good for two shock rebuilds. Modified drivers receiving certificates included Austin Arneson, Casey Arneson, Tom Berry Jr., Cayden Carter, P.J. Egbert, Troy Foulger, Gottschalk, Jordan Grabouski, Eddie Kirchoff, Ryan McDaniel, Josh McGaha, Hunter Marriott, Terry Phillips, Joel Rust, D.J. Shannon, Casey Skyberg, Jesse Sobbing, Alex Stanford, Collin Thirlby, Ricky Thornton Jr., Dominic Ursetta and R.C. Whitwell. SportMod certificate recipients were Guy Ahlwardt, Lance Borgman, Brayton Carter, Kaden Honeycutt, Johnson, Luke Krogh, [Read More]

Southern Oklahoma promoters share holiday spirit, fill sleigh with presents for young hospital patients

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – With a little help from a lot of their friends, Southern Oklahoma Speedway promoters John and Nicky Webb brightened the holiday spirits of young patients at the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases in Children. The Webbs collected donations, purchased and transported more than 1,600 presents, distributed during a Tuesday party at the Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. There were so many presents, in fact, that siblings, other patients at The Children’s Hospital and children and grandchildren of nurses got early Christmas gifts as well. “We were at lunch one day just talking about the holidays and just came up with the toy drive idea,” Nicky said. “I got out of the restaurant, called one of our sponsors and he said ‘Great, put me down for $500.’ By the end of the first day we had $1,400 in donations. We couldn’t believe how big it got.” Other sponsors, drivers, Abilene Speedway and the Webbs’ Trucks Unlimited all chipped in. Nicky promoted the toy drive in an interview on a local [Read More]

Burda becomes youngest driver to earn IMCA Modified regional rookie of the year

COLUMBIAVILLE, Mich. – Back-to-back feature wins at Thunderbird Raceway put the wraps on Chase Burda’s history-making first IMCA season. The 14-year-old earned rookie of the year honors in the Dirt Works Eastern Region, becoming the youngest IMCA Modified driver to accomplish the regional feat. A consistent runner from his first night out in late April, the Lapeer High School freshman made like lightning in winning Aug. 24 and Aug. 31 main events at Muskegon, some three hours from his Columbiaville, Mich., home. “It was a big relief to finally get my first win. There was a big crowd and the track surface was great that night. It was super exciting,” he said. “We were confident the next weekend and were able to get the lead and the win. It was an awesome feeling to win back to back.” Burda had raced quarter midgets and then a street stock for two seasons before getting into a Modified. As a rookie, he campaigned in a 2017 GRT Chassis purchased last year and made the transition from a [Read More]

After season of ups, downs and a lot of miles, Pike prevails as top Shaw Western Region rookie

PAHRUMP, Nev. – Jake Pike’s first goal for his rookie season was just getting comfortable behind the wheel of his IMCA Modified. His second goal quickly became getting comfortable in victory lane. The 15-year-old from Pahrump, Nev., took the checkers in just his fifth start in the division, at Mohave Valley Raceway on March 16. He won at the same venue two months later and raced at 19 different tracks in five states on the way to earning the Shaw Race Cars Western Region rookie of the year award. “I did not expect to win that soon. I was still trying to get comfortable in the car and everything fell into place,” said Pike, a sophomore at Pahrump Valley High School and son of 2001 regional champion Jason Pike. “I started sixth, got to the lead and held on. My first IMCA Modified win is the biggest thing I’ve done in my life.” He’d raced in local modlite and mini dwarf classes before stepping up to a Modified, a 2010 Hughes Chassis purchased last fall [Read More]

DeRagon races to Arizona first by winning Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region ROY

PEORIA, Ariz. – Not long after IMCA made it official, the social media congratulations started rolling in for Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region rookie of the year Nathan DeRagon. From Peoria and the first Arizona driver to earn the regional Hobby Stock rookie prize, DeRagon totaled five wins and another top five finishes in just 18 freshman season starts. “The rules brought us in. I like being able to race at different tracks under the same set of rules,” said DeRagon, a native Californian. “We wanted to run for the state championship and regional rookie. We hit the midpoint of the season and had problems with the car but still won rookie of the year.” Travel buddy of ROY runner-up Scott Tenney, DeRagon had those mechanical issues figured out and finished the year with a flourish. He was a double winner at Canyon’s Dan Shepherd Memorial special, ran second and third at Cocopah Speedway, then ventured to Fairgrounds Speedway in Colorado to win twice on the final weekend of the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly [Read More]