Weekly Archives

Smith wins a thriller at Marshalltown

By Jeremy Fox MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (May 16) – Donavon Smith was the seventh different leader and won a thriller Friday on Casey’s General Stores and Old Timers Lounge Night at Marshalltown Speedway. Nate Thelen and then Robbie Merkle were early leaders in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main. Don Vis inherited the lead but Steve Meyer took the lead away on lap three. Meyer bobbled and that allowed Michael Jaennette to sneak by. Jaennette began to pull away only to see the caution come out just after the completion of lap nine. Jaennette had to contend with Brian Irvine and Meyer but it was Smith taking the lead away on lap 13. Smith led until lap 16 when Irvine got by, but then Irvine slipped up and let Smith get back by to take the win. Meyer also got by Irvine for second at the line. Richie Gustin Jr. was the IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature winner. Clint Luellen captured the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod checkers and Austin Luellen’s lap 10 pass paved the [Read More]

LaCrosse is victorious at 141 Speedway

By Greg Aregoni FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. – With 146 cars jam packing the pits Saturday night at 141 Speedway, racing was the real deal with hard-fought races just to make the feature events. The IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds have had a stacked field all year long and Benji LaCrosse finally notched his belt with a win. Many drivers with multiple feature wins sat on their trailers to watch the Modified main. Mike Wedelstadt opened as the leader with R.M. VanPay running second. A couple early cautions kept the field on the back bumper of the leader. LaCrosse started 12th and charged his way through the field. A final caution allowed Johnny Whitman to join the fun up front with eight laps to go. VanPay used a great restart to get around both LaCrosse and Wedelstadt for the lead. LaCrosse shot into second with Whitman right behind. LaCrosse was the first to catch VanPay and made his move outside with six laps remaining. LaCrosse evened up with VanPay and used the momentum from the top [Read More]

Lauritzen, Gustin, Irvine are repeat winners at Independence

By Ryan Clark INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (May 17) – Repeat winners were few and far between through the first three weeks of the season at Independence Motor Speedway. That changed Saturday night as three drivers made return trips to the winner’s circle. Ronn Lauritzen became the first driver to return to victory lane in the Performance Bodies IMCA Modified division. Lauritzen worked from a fourth row starting spot while Keith Pittman set the pace in the early going of that 20-lapper. Lauritzen made his way into the runner-up spot just before the first caution on lap seven. He worked past Pittman on the restart and paced the field through a couple more mid-race stoppages. Scott Hogan, who started 11th, raced through traffic and challenged Lauritzen late, however Lauritzen pulled away in the waning laps to score his second win of the year. By virtue of his second place finish, Hogan took over the points lead. Troy Cordes ran third. Jenae Gustin dominated the 15-lap Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature. After an early caution shook-up the lineup, [Read More]

Third straight win for Shute at Southern Iowa

By Jeremy Fox OSKALOOSA, Iowa (May 14) – Todd Shute picked up his third Musco Lighting IMCA Modified feature win as many nights at Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday. Cayden Carter and Shute battled it out side by side before Shute took the lead away for good on lap nine and sped to the checkers. Carter was second. Defending track champion Todd Cooney had to contend with Colby Springsteen and Nick Marolf following a lap nine restart but held on to take the IMCA Late Model win. Zack VanderBeek passed long-time leader Damon Murty following a lap 14 restart and led the rest of the way in the Budweiser IMCA Stock Car main event. Carter VanDenBerg became the third different KBOE Radio Northern SportMod winner this season at SIS. Next Up was the IMCA Sport Compacts feature, which saw Trent Orwig take the early lead but just after one lap was completed the caution came out for debris in turn one. Orwig and Bill Whalen began to battle for the top spot and it was [Read More]

Week 2 checkers at Mayetta fly for Holt

By Bill Grit MAYETTA, Kan. (May 10) – Danny Holt denied opening night winner Cory Wray in topping Saturday’s BSB Manufacturing IMCA Modified main event at Thunder Hill Speedway. Blake Peeler and Clay Hale set the pace from the front row but Holt, with a new power plant, took the lead early. Wray started deep in the field and used the same line as last week, racing way high into the turns to make up ground on Holt. After a challenging start to the season, Holt stood victoriously in the Pit Pass Liquor Victory Lane. Wray ran second. The Heinen Repair Service IMCA Stock Car feature looked to be a race for second place as Marvin Griffith Jr. set the pace early with a straightaway lead. Griffith lost steam with possible mechanical problems which allowed the rest of field to catch up. Lance Borgman gained the lead and the eventual win ahead of Brian Labonte. The IMCA Hobby Stocks took to the track under new title sponsorship of Bad Boyz Bail Bonds. Newcomer Tyler Hinrichs [Read More]

Modified Madness 50 at Davenport Speedway set for May 23

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Fifty laps will be the distance and $2,000 is the winner’s share of the purse for Davenport Speedway’s Friday, May 23 IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified Madness special. Pit gates open at 4:30 p.m., the grandstand opens at 5 p.m., the drivers’ meeting is at 6 p.m. and hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. Racing on the ¼-mile oval starts at 7 p.m. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Belleville Motorsports North Central Region and Allstar Performance State, but no local track points will be awarded for the draw/redraw show. The $50 entry fee can be paid at the gate. Pit passes are $25. All other weekly divisions, including the IMCA Late Models and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods, are on the evening’s card and race for all applicable points. Spectator admission will be $16 for adults and $14 for seniors and students, with kids ages 11 and under free when accompanying a paid adult. More information is available from promoter Bob Wagener at 563 652-5302 and at the new DavenportSpeedway.com website.

Thunderhill Raceway opener this Saturday; huge improvements for 2014

By Edward Anschutz STURGEON BAY, Wis. – One of the nicest racing facilities in Wisconsin readies for the 2014 season opener this Saturday night, May 17 at Thunderhill Raceway brought to you by Dave Hatch Racing and WDOR. Staff and management are crossing their fingers in hopes mother-nature will play nice and allow the men and women to strap in their racers and drop the hammer this weekend. Racing starts at 6 p.m. Track IMCA rep John Sternard is asking drivers to show up early for pre-race tech inspection. Dan Lewis will be on hand for Hot Shot Photos. Track promoter Woody Wodack has worked since championship night last season to make 2014 the best he can for drivers and fans. The hard work and dedication has certainly paid off as drivers will be competing for $28,000 in contingencies that include a boat load of racing parts for every division, thousands in cash and a 602 crate engine. The track known as the “Circle of Death” received a huge makeover for 2014. Hundreds of yards [Read More]

Trip to Desert Thunder yields 100th career win for DeVilbiss

FARMINGTON, N.M. (May 9) – After a relatively short five-hour tow, one of IMCA’s most traveled drivers could cross off another item on his racing to-do list. Zane DeVilbiss journeyed the Desert Thunder Raceway in Utah to win the Friday, May 9 IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature. The victory was the career 100th for DeVilbiss, the 2010 national champion and four-time defending king in the Larry Shaw Racing Western Region. “Winning the national championship is the biggest thing I’ve done in IMCA but getting 100 wins is the next. It blows my mind that we’ve been able to win that many times,” he said. “It’s something I never thought about being able to do.” “I can remember maybe five years ago reading about Brad Pounds (who won his 100th career feature the next night) getting his 50th win and thinking that was a crazy number,” DeVilbiss added. “When IMCA called me this year and said I was getting close to 100, that was crazy, too.” DeVilbiss got his first wins in the sanctioned division [Read More]

Frye starts his own win streak at Salina

By Larry Lowrey Jr. SALINA, Kan. (May 9) – For the first two races of the season in the M&H Motors IMCA Northern Sport Mod division at Salina Speedway, Austin Carter came away with the victories. The big question Friday night was could he get three in a row? If so, someone forgot to let Tyler Frye in on it that Carter was supposed to get the hat trick. From his third row starting spot, Frye wasted little time getting to the front of the pack. At the front he would click off lap after lap while the 11ith starting Carter systematically worked his way up. Frye was too strong and he had built up enough of a lead that he wasn’t going to give it up, however, and picked up his first local win of the season. For the second straight week Brian Knoell was standing tall in victory lane after another strong win in the Belleville Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds. After three weeks of competition in the Budweiser IMCA Hobby Stock class there [Read More]

Whitman masters IMCA Modifieds at 141 Speedway

By Greg Aregoni FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. (May 10) – Johnny Whitman gambled and came up with the Friday night IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature win at 141 Speedway. With five laps remaining and everyone trying to run the bottom of the track, Whitman and Benji LaCrosse drove to the top of the track in their pursuit of leader R.M. VanPay. Both seemed to hook up like a draft and move past everyone to focus on VanPay. Whitman charged to the lead with LaCrosse in tow with three laps remaining. LaCrosse tried multiple times to dethrone Whitman but was denied after trying every way around the leader. Whitman took the checkers in front of LaCrosse to earn his first win of the season. VanPay came in third. Once in front of the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car field, there was no catching Dustin Loberger. Brandon Long cruised to his second victory of the season in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod main.