Results Archives

Hall of fame career ends for Crystal promoter Ron Flinn

CRYSTAL, Mich. (Feb. 15, 2023) – Looking back at the end of one era and the beginning of another, Ron Flinn hopes to be remembered for the respect he showed the drivers, race teams and fans. It’s a good bet he’ll be remembered for his height and his sense of humor, too. Owner and promoter Flinn and his wife Mary Jane have announced the sale of Crystal Motor Speedway, Michigan’s longest continuously sanctioned Friesen Performance IMCA Modified track. The Flinns and son Ryan have handed the keys to Jake LeBaron, Steven Vernon and Brian LeBaron and will help the new ownership team in the transition. “It’s been a long and treasured ride for sure. I have been so blessed,” said the 81-year-old Flinn, the tallest promoter in IMCA at 6-8 and a regular in senior basketball action across the country when not at the track. “I have been blessed by my racing families and my basketball families, to say nothing about my personal family. They are all near and dear.” Now a Michigan Motorsports Hall [Read More]

Headed to Abilene for the Ice Breaker? Get your 2023 IMCA license before leaving home

ABILENE, Texas (Feb. 13, 2023) – Drivers headed to Abilene Speedway for this weekend’s IMCA.TV Ice Breaker should have their 2023 IMCA license purchased before heading to the track. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMods and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts are on season-opening cards Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18. Drivers in each of those divisions who haven’t purchased new licenses yet can go to imca.com and complete that process, and make things a little easier for everybody at the pit shack and in the scoring booth. Stock Cars race for $1,500 to win and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility while Modifieds run for $1,500 top checks and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility both nights. Features for the Southern SportMods pay $1,000 to win and the Sport Compacts $350 to win. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, GRT Race Cars South Central and EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region, Texas State and track points will be awarded for both draw/redraw programs. The Thursday, Feb. [Read More]

Beatrice has new promoter, four IMCA RaceSaver dates

BEATRICE, Neb. (Feb. 8, 2023) – New promoter Tommy Denton is already a long-time fixture at Beatrice Speedway. Denton takes over the top job at the 3/8-mile eastern Nebraska clay oval, where Friday night Speedway Motors Weekly Racing programs expand to six divisions. “We’re going to work on increasing grandstand attendance and car counts and will try to do some different things to accomplish that,” promised Denton, who’d raced bronco and factory stocks before joining the staff at Beatrice, doing the announcing before moving on to corner man and lineup board chores. “The first thing I did after I moved back here in 1980 was go to the race track. I want this track to be successful.” Bookended by Spring Nationals and Octoberfest specials, weekly races at Beatrice May 5 through Aug. 25 will again feature Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Beatrice will also crown its first-ever IMCA RaceSaver track champion, with Sprint Car dates scheduled May 12, [Read More]

IMCA Modifieds returning to Michigan’s Merritt Speedway

LAKE CITY, Mich. (Feb. 3, 2023) – Saturday night programs at the 3/8-mile oval branded as Michigan’s Premier Dirt Track will feature IMCA’s premier division. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds return to Merritt Speedway, where their Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season runs from May 6 through Aug. 26. “So much about IMCA in Michigan benefits the drivers in the division and the tracks,” explained promoter Michael Blackmer, also boss at Tri-City Speedway in Auburn, an hour and a half southeast of Lake City and where sanctioned Modifieds are on Friday cards. “We had UMP Modifieds here and the car counts just kept going down,” he continued. “Since I purchased Tri-City and got connected with IMCA, I’ve really enjoyed being associated with them. I like the communication, I like the accountability and I like the rules.” “The rules, especially motor rules, means it costs less to run an IMCA car and you can still be competitive.” Still putting final touches on the 2023 schedule, Blackmer anticipates scheduling Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational events on at least one weekend every month [Read More]

Modified, STARS Mod Lite sanctions putting Centerville Super Speedway on IMCA map

CENTERVILLE, Ark. (Feb. 3, 2023) – Two IMCA divisions are coming to The Outlaw Track of the South for Friday night shows in 2023. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and IMCA STARS Mod Lites headline Speedway Motors Weekly Racing programs at Centerville Super Speedway. The west central Arkansas speed factory is sister track to Saturday venue Diamond Park Speedway 2-1/2 hours to the south and also owned and promoted by Wayne Tidwell. “It’s a D-shaped track now, bigger than a quarter-mile and smaller than a three-eighth’s,” said Tidwell, who had watched his father fix the flats of V8 and six-cylinder drivers for a dollar each before racing at Centerville himself. “It’s 110 feet wide, a progressive banked track and it’s fast. It’s not uncommon for us to have four- and five-wide racing.” Opening night will be April 7 with points awarded through Sept. 22. Modifieds running at Centerville are part of IMCA’s Jet Racing Central Region. “Centerville is the first track I ever owned and we have wanted to sanction Modifieds with IMCA for some time. It just [Read More]

Sievertsen jumps at second chance to promote at Maquoketa Speedway

MAQUOKETA, Iowa (Feb. 2, 2023) – This time, no regrets. Having passed on one previous opportunity to promote Maquoketa Speedway, Bret Sievertsen jumped at the second and will be calling the shots beginning this season at the Jackson County speedplant. He’ll be in charge of a Speedway Motors Weekly Racing program that features IMCA Sunoco Late Models, Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods. Late Models return to Saturday shows following a four-year absence and will be sponsored locally by Kinion Auto Sales. “We’ve already gotten a huge response from people who want to be involved with the track and Kinion was one of the first to pick up the phone and call,” said Sievertsen, a long-time scorer at Maquoketa, among other Eastern Iowa and western Illinois IMCA venues. “When I started working here I was doing public relations. I have primarily scored since, assisted the race director and have watched and learned since I got here,” he continued. “I had the chance to [Read More]

Van Genderen, Benning break non-partnership vows to promote Independence Motor Speedway

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (Feb. 1, 2023) – Two guys who had promised themselves they’d never promote a race track with a partner will do just that this season at Independence Motor Speedway. Mike Van Genderen and Dana Benning make up the Greater Iowa Promotions team that takes charge at Indee, which adds a sixth IMCA division and four Monday Night Madness programs to its Speedway Motors Weekly Race slate in 2023. Van Genderen also owns and promotes IMCA venue Stuart Speedway while Benning returns for a third turn at the Independence helm, following 2000-2002 and 2015-2017 stints. “This partnership just makes sense. Dana is good at things and I am good at other things,” said Van Genderen, who met Benning 20-plus years ago when buying out his father Merlin’s Modified program. “We’ve known each other for years and became good friends when we were both working at Benton County Speedway.” “Independence has a great racing history,” he continued. “We want to continue that.” Van Genderen’s jobs in particular will be track prep and race night director. Benning will [Read More]

Hanna will help hand out the trophies as new promoter at East Moline

EAST MOLINE, Ill. (Feb. 1, 2023) – Last season, Chuck Hanna wanted to take a trophy home from his Sunday night race at East Moline Speedway. This season, he’ll be helping hand them out. Hanna, a long-time IMCA Sunoco Late Model driver, takes over as promoter of the 1/4 -mile dirt oval, where five sanctioned divisions return to Speedway Motors Weekly Racing programs in 2023. “Ultimately, we want to improve this facility and work closely with the fair board to make the changes to keep it successful in the future,” Hanna said. “We’re going to add dirt to the racing surface, do terrace work outside turns one and two, and change some of the existing fencing around to help race car traffic flow in the pits,” he continued. “We will do some painting, update the signage and concessions, and are also looking at an earlier start time.” The upcoming point season at East Moline runs from April 23 to Aug. 27 and weekly shows feature the IMCA Late Models for a 20th consecutive season. Friesen Performance IMCA [Read More]

PASS celebrates 25th anniversary starting at Racing Xtravaganza

By Frank Buhrman YORK, Pa. (Jan. 30, 2023) – The River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series will celebrate 25 years of the best economy Sprint Car racing, beginning with a booth at the annual Racing Xtravaganza show Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4 in York. The season’s first race is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, at Selinsgrove Speedway. Thirty-five races are scheduled for the anniversary season, with the possibility of more being added. Once again, the series will be characterized by close racing with youngsters and veterans matching wits and talent in sprint cars powered by RaceSaver rules sealed engines. That national rules package is shared by regional series and tracks throughout the country, with an estimated 700-plus cars competing nationally. IMCA, the nation’s oldest sanctioning body, sanctions the series nationally. Last season, 13 different drivers took the feature checkered flag in PASS races despite a dominating performance by Garrett Bard of Wells Tannery, who won 12 races, tying the best single-season performance in series history. Bard also captured his unprecedented third straight championship. He is [Read More]

Four dates for IMCA RaceSaver Sprints added at Southern Oklahoma Speedway

ARDMORE, Okla. (Jan. 26, 2023) – IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car drivers asked for more dates at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. They’ll get four of them in 2023. The winged division joins four Saturday night shows at Ardmore this season, on April 22, May 13, June 24 and July 8. At stake at each of those shows will be IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National and Oklahoma State points. A track championship – but no bonus points – will be awarded if dry weather prevails each of those race nights. “There are a lot of IMCA RaceSaver drivers who live down along this way and they’ve run here before at specials or at series events,” explained promoter Nicky Webb. “They’ve asked when they could run here again and we asked ourselves ‘Why not run them once a month and see what happens?’” Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMods already run regularly at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. “Sprint Car drivers like the size of this track (a 3/8-mile clay oval) [Read More]