Feature

Therwhanger, Herring are heaviest Modified hitters at Cardinal’s Black Gold special

EUNICE, N.M. (March 13-14) – It didn’t take long for Michael Therwhanger to show he could run with the heavy hitters at Cardinal Speedway. Therwhanger won the first start of his IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified career, along with $600, in the opening night Black Gold Showdown program at Eunice. “It was a heck of a night. I’ve been nervous about it for months,” he admitted the next morning. “I still can’t believe it. I’ve watched the video like 14 times to make sure it really happened.” Christy Barnett kept the race close and finished second. Triston Sikes was third. Therwhanger had started from inside row two. He passed Slade Johnston near midway and led to the checkers despite several late cautions and Barnett’s best efforts. “I never dreamed my first win in a Modified would come this quick. A lot of the heavy hitters from around here were behind me and I didn’t know what to expect, ” Therwanger said, noting that the victory came on engine builder Jacob Penner’s birthday. “This is something [Read More]

Feature

Grabouski completes Spring Nationals sweep with Saturday checkers

BEATRICE, Neb. (March 14) – Jordan Grabouski brought the broom back to Beatrice Speed­way’s Spring Nationals Saturday night. Grabouski completed his sweep of the weekend’s $2,000 to win IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified main events by gaining the lead following a lap 17 restart and pulling away to the checkers. He’s now a seven-time Spring Nationals winner. His latest victory was also his IMCA career 115th. “This was definitely right up there as far as the top weekends I’ve had racing. There were a lot of good cars here,” Grabouski said. “It’s always great to win at your hometown track, especially with that many people in the grandstand. It was crazy how many people who were there.” Grabouski had won his heat race after starting last and drew the pole for the 30-lap headliner. Jesse Sobbing was the leader early on before Clayton Christensen charged to the front. A restart after midway helped open the door for Grabouski, who caught Christensen for the point before the yellow waved again. He led to the finish with [Read More]

Feature

Grabouski tops IMCA Modified feature for career sixth Spring Nationals title

BEATRICE, Neb. (March 13) – After shaking down a new car in practice on Thursday, Jordan Grabouski got back to his regular business of winning Spring Nationals features at Beatrice Speedway on Friday. Grabouski led the last 25 of 30 laps in topping the opening night $2,000 to win main event for IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds. The Spring Nationals checkers were his career sixth and came on a night when 234 cars from nine states and Canada saw action. “Everything played out good for us. We shook down a new GRT in practice, then won our heat race from the fourth row, so we started good (third) in the main event,” Grabouski said following career victory number 114 in the division. “It’s always good to start your season with a win.” Jesse Dennis, Jeremy Leiting, Jesse Sobbing and Ricky Alvarado completed the top five. The feature ran caution-free and Grabouski had nearly a straightaway lead before encountering slower traffic in the late going. Grabouski had raced his way onto the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational [Read More]

Feature

Whitwell, Drake hit IMCA jackpots at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 4-5) – R.C. Whitwell recorded his fourth feature win of the season and Scott Drake got his first when IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds ventured to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a midweek special on the half-mile Dirt Track. Whitwell proved the fastest of 50 Wednesday night entries. He’d started eighth, battled back and forth with the 10th starting Josh Vogt much of the way and finally locked down the lead with three circuits left in the 25-lapper. Vogt ended in second, about five car lengths off the pace. Bobby Hogge IV, Scott Drake and Clay Daly completed the top five. Forty-three Modifieds vied on Thursday. Drake led all 25 circuits after starting outside the front row in the Terry Henry Race Prep-owned ride out of Bakersfield, Calif. Whitwell made it too close for comfort after Drake got slowed by lapped traffic in the final four laps. He’d trailed by 10 car lengths before catching up coming out of the final turn. The front pair made contact and Drake got into [Read More]

Feature

Abbey, Hoefelman ace Abilene Modified features

ABILENE, Texas (Feb. 20-21) – An Abilene Speedway special regular and a first-timer aced IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified main events at the season-opening Ice Breaker. Dean Abbey bested the Friday feature field while Jared Hoefelman topped Saturday’s main event. Both races paid $700 to win. Previously the winner of three Ice Breaker features and a Southern Challenge main event in the Southern SportMod division, Abbey drew the outside front row start on Friday and led all 20 laps. After multiple cautions, he was catching up to the back of the pack with the checkers in sight. “My car was really good. I didn’t think anybody could get by me if I didn’t make a mistake,” Abbey said. “I don’t know if there was anything we could have done to the car to make it better.” New Mexico’s Caleb Stone, Nebraska hotshoes Tyler Iverson and Hoefelman, and Oklahoma speedster William Gould completed the top five. Hoefelman concluded his first-ever visit to Abilene by starting from the Saturday pole and staying in front for the duration [Read More]

Feature

Kansas clippers Gemmill, Sellard score IMCA Modified feature wins at Red River Invasion

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Feb. 13-14) – Two drivers from Kansas traveled to Red River Speedway for their first IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature wins of the season. Brendon Gemmill topped Friday’s opening night Red River Invasion feature for his career 39th victory in the division. Clay Sellard showed more of the speed that netted him Jet Racing Central Region rookie of the year honors in winning the Saturday show. Tommy Fain and another sophomore speedster, 2014 national ROY Dean Abbey, rounded out Friday’s top three. William Gould, the 2013 national champ and two-time defending Razor Chassis Southern Region king, was runner-up and Gemmill ran third on Saturday. Chad Wilson was the opening night IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Car winner, ahead of Logan Scherb and John Carney II. Carney took the Saturday checkers. Scherb repeated in second and T.J. Michael was third. Modified and Sprint Car features all paid $700 to win. Former national champion Gabe Tucker racked up Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMod career win number 74 on Friday. John Webb and Levy [Read More]

Feature

Smith returns to winning ways at Cocopah with IMCA Modified career victory no. 98

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Feb. 13-14) – A week after uncharacteristic Winter Nationals finishes, Dylan Smith got back in his groove at Cocopah Speedway. Smith outran R.C. Whitwell for the $3,000 IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified checkers in the fourth and final Winter Nationals show Saturday at Somerton. The front pair had run door-to-door in the final turn before Smith pulled ahead of Whitwell, the $1,000 Friday night winner. Sixty Modifieds vied on opening night, 57 in the finale. Smith’s victory landed the fleet Nebraskan on the ballot for September’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational and was his IMCA career 98th win. Four of those earlier victories came in as many Winter Nationals events last February. Smith had run no worse than fifth in nine career Cocopah starts before posting sixth and 11th place finishes on Feb. 6 and 7, respectively. “We definitely ended the weekend on a high note,” Smith said after the 30-lapper. “I started sixth, was able to get up to third real quick and then passed Tim Ward for second. We had a restart [Read More]

Feature

Whitwell, Marriott rule IMCA Modifieds at Winter Nationals

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Feb. 6-7) – R.C. Whitwell and Hunter Marriott proved the fastest in big IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified fields at Cocopah Speedway’s Winter Nationals opening weekend. Whitwell raced from 12th starting to win Friday’s main event, which drew 65 entries. Marriott scored the Saturday checkers, which had 54 entries. Both Modified features paid $1,000 to win; Marriott was already on the ballot for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. In all, drivers from 18 states and Canada vied at the fourth annual event. Manny Baldiviez and Andrew Altenburg were IMCA Sunoco Stock Car winners, Scott Shaw and Leonard Manos topped IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock mains and Timmy Reese and Sean Callens topped Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod features. Whitwell caught Marriott for the lead with four circuits left in the opening night 25-lapper. Marriott, Scott Drake, 12th starting Brian Schultz and David Murray Jr. completed the top five. “There was no lapped traffic and the cautions helped me because they bunched the field back up,” Whitwell said. “There was a lot of pretty good competition [Read More]

Feature

Thornton makes it two straight at Canyon

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 25) – Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up his second IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified win in a row on night three of the Winter Challenge at Canyon Speedway Park. Thornton took advantage of a slight bobble by Zane DeVilbiss to race into the lead with laps left in Sunday’s $1,250 to win main event. Forty-two Modifieds were entered in the third and final Winter Challlenge event of the weekend. DeVilbiss had drawn a front row start while Thornton worked his way up from eighth and headed pursuit of the defending national champion most of the 25-lapper. “The longer we ran, the tighter he got and the better my car got,” said Thornton, who shot into the lead coming out of turn two and stayed in front the last five times around the track. His share of the Winter Challenge purse at Canyon came to $3,100. “It was definitely a good weekend,” Thornton said. Tim Ward charged from 21st starting to capture the show position. Hunter Marriott advanced from 17th [Read More]

Feature

Fraction of a second makes Saturday difference in Canyon Modified feature

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 24) – A tenth of a second made the difference between first place and second Saturday at Canyon Speedway Park. Ricky Thornton Jr. beat Tim Ward to the finish line by that blink of an eye margin in Saturday’s 25-lap Winter Challenge feature for IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds, which drew 46 entries. The 17th starting Thornton earned $1,250 for his efforts; he was already on the ballot for September’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Ward had scored Friday Winter Challenge honors at Canyon Winner of the second ‘B’ feature, Thornton ran multiple lines early on, was in the top four by lap 10 and was second when the 15th circuit was scored. Ward and Thornton had both taken the white flag before a spun car brought out what proved to be the final caution. Thornton, in Marlyn Seidler’s back-up car, moved off the bottom and higher on the track for the last two laps. “It was kind of a Hail Mary thing. I’ve won close races before but never [Read More]