Results

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa – Leah Wroten shifted into high gear after switching shifts at work. The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock driver from Independence, Iowa, won nine times during an ambi­tious 54-start campaign, capping the season with her career first Lady Eagle award. Wroten had the top point total among the 225 female drivers to compete in IMCA in 2018. “It’s definitely an honor to do this. It was a huge accomplish­ment and not something I could have done without a lot of good help,” said Wroten, whose fifth place finish in national standings was also the best-ever by a female driver in the division. “We were very consistent. We didn’t have a lot of bad nights and when we did, we were still able to persevere and get top five’s.” She became the first female driver to win a track title at Independence Motor Speedway as well as the Iowa State Hobby Stock crown, and is the second female driver to win a track champion­ship in any division at Benton County Speedway. All the hardware from [Read More]

FARGO, N.D. – Three successful seasons in a Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod were more than enough to convince Jesse Skalicky it was time to move up to the IMCA Modified division. The Fargo, N.D., driver was rewarded for that decision with rookie of the year honors in the Side Biter Chassis North Central Region. “I knew it would be possible. I knew we could be there but the big thing for us was learning to make different adjustments to the car,” said Skalicky. “I like to push myself and knew I had the best crew and the best sponsors behind me.” Driving the Fury Chassis ride owned by Randall’s Excavating of Glyndon, Minn., Skalicky won three of 50 starts at nine different tracks. He was fourth in final standings at home track Red River Val­ley Speedway and Buffalo River Race Park – where he won his first Modified feature on June 3 – and fifth at Norman County Raceway. He won again at BRRP in late July and then topped Sheyenne Speedway’s battle at the [Read More]

FARMINGTON, N.M. – Late starter Zane DeVilbiss finished fast this season. The result was a career-best 25 IMCA feature wins and a career seventh Larry Shaw Race Cars Western Region championship. “We had an outstanding season. We were really consistent and didn’t have a lot of DNFs,” said DeVilbiss, from Farmington, N.M., ultimately fourth in the national point standings.  “We had started racing late and didn’t plan to chase points. I was finishing building cars for customers and didn’t touch my own until two days before opening weekend.” DeVilbiss swept those mid-April shows at Desert Thunder Raceway. He’d travel to another 10 tracks in seven states over the course of the season. He was track champion at Desert Thunder Raceway and Sweetwater Speedway, and state cham­pion in Wyoming. “I’ve won national championships before (in 2010 and 2014) and regional championships, but never a state championship so that was pretty cool,” DeVilbiss said. “It was kind of a crazy year but it was a good one. We raced at some new tracks and the two track [Read More]

DANUBE, Minn. – Brandon Beckendorf starts every season with the goal of winning 15 IMCA Modified features. He accomplished that and much, much more in 2018. From Danube, Beckendorf collected a career-best 27 checkers – including his career 100th in the division on May 25 at Fairmont Raceway – on the way to becoming the first Minnesota driver to win an IMCA Modified regional title since 1983. Along with the Side Biter Chassis North Central Region title, Beckendorf motored to track champion­ships at Fairmont, Arlington Raceway and Redwood Speedway, as well as a career fifth Min­nesota State crown. He was third in the national point standings and is now tied for 30th on the all-time list for the divi­sion with 124 career feature wins. Beckendorf also made his first Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational start at this year’s IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. “This was the best season we’ve ever had. To be the first Minnesota driver to win the region in that many years and to win three track championships were both [Read More]

ABILENE Texas – Josh McGaha stayed close to home and stayed consistent throughout the 2018 race season. As a result, he’ll be looking for the best place to show off the Razor Chassis South Central Region championship hardware. The veteran of 18 IMCA Modified seasons won seven features and counted nine second-place showings in just 36 starts, winning the track championship at his hometown Abilene Speedway for the fifth time along with his career first regional crown. “It just kind of happened,” McGaha said of the regional quest. “My kids (Gavin, 13, and Jaxon, 8) were playing baseball so I hung around town more than I have the past couple years. That opened the door for me to race for the region.” “It’s an awesome feeling to have won it,” he continued. “I’ve been close before but it never unfolded the way we needed it to. This is definitely a milestone in my career.” The Modified is the only division of race car McGaha has competed in. He began racing against the likes of Henry [Read More]

IONIA, Mich. – A.J. Ward brought a “win everything” mindset into the 2018 IMCA Speedway Mo­tors Weekly Racing point season. He almost did. Ward became the first driver from Michigan to win three Dirt Works Eastern Region champion­ships with his third consecutive title. His 22 IMCA Modified feature victories included his career 100th in the division and came during an Aug. 26 doubleheader sweep at I-96 Speedway. The Ionia ace was track champion at I-96 and at Crystal Motor Speedway, won the Great Lakes Nationals for the first time and clinched a fourth Michigan State prize on the way to finishing se­cond in the national points race. “Getting our 100th win this season was the ultimate goal. Doing that in just our ninth season was an accomplishment in itself,” Ward said. “We had a lot of highlights this year but the ultimate was the Jimmy Bennett Memorial win at I-96 in August. He was the father of one of my crew guys and I know he wanted me to win it big for him. Everybody [Read More]