Newswire

Mighty Axe checkers highlight Kendall’s regional rookie of the year season

BAXTER, Minn. – Billy Kendall didn’t hesitate to answer when asked about the highlight of his first Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified season. The BMS North Central Region rookie of the year won the night two main event at North Central Speedway’s Mighty Axe Nationals, earning $1,200 and a spot on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. “I finally got a win at the Mighty Axe and it came in a Modified,” said Kendall, who celebrated his 18th birthday a month after the point season ended. That was a pretty big deal for me.” Now a senior at Brainerd High School, Kendall started racing go-karts at the age of six and worked his way through the hornet, pure stock, street stock and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod ranks. He won five of his 37 Modified starts this season. “It was time for us to go to a new car and with the crate engine option, we decided to make the jump to a Modified. We had a really good season,” he said. “At the start of the [Read More]

Spearling makes late-season repairs to complete Eastern Region rookie quest

CLIO, Mich. – A former track champion on asphalt is now a rookie of the year on dirt. Aaron Spearling paced first-year drivers in the Dirt Works Eastern Region despite being forced to limp to the end of his first Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified season by a late August wreck. “We learned a lot this season and that’s what we expected,” said Spearling, from Clio, Mich., and a regular at Tri-City Motor Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway. “We knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this class. You know you’ve done something when you have a good finish running with these guys.” He started racing in 2004 and won the pure stock championship at Spartan Speedway in Lansing three years later. After Tri-City re-opened, Spearling raced a street stock there on Friday nights and made two or three visits to Crystal every season. “We had decent success in the street stocks and were ready for a new challenge. The big thing we had to learn with the Modified was keeping [Read More]

IMCA crate engine track champions earn $39,500 in Chevrolet Performance bonuses

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Bonuses totaling $39,500 have been paid by Chevrolet Performance to IMCA drivers winning 2016 track championships while competing exclusively with crate engines. One hundred and twenty-one different drivers in the IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod, Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMod and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock divisions won a total of 158 track titles with crate engines this season. Bonuses of $250 per track championship were mailed this month from the IMCA home office. This was the third season in the latest three-year bonus agreement with Chevrolet Performance, which has now awarded some $200,000 to eligible drivers over the course of the bonus program. “This has been a lucrative program for our members since its inception over a decade ago and we appreciate the support Chevrolet has shown IMCA racers during that time,” noted IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder. “We’ll continue to structure this program to put cash in the pockets of IMCA drivers and recognize track championships.” The 52 crate-powered Modified drivers winning 66 track titles and [Read More]

Further clarifications announced to 2017 IMCA rules

VINTON, Iowa – Several further clarifications have been announced to 2017 rules initially released by IMCA in November. A left front take-up spring will now be allowed in the Late Model division. The maximum spoiler width was increased from 72 to 72-1/2 inches while the maximum diagonal measurement from the center of the rear axle to the top of the interior deck was upped from 52 to 54 inches. No tolerance will be allowed in measuring either dimension, emphasized IMCA President Brett Root. Wording regarding standard weight axles tubes has also been added for Late Models and Modifieds and Root said drivers in both divisions should read those rules again. The rule implemented during the 2016 season allowing a claim/exchange for Stock Cars with the 350 cfm carburetor option but not the 500 cfm option will be continued. And wording allowing flat milling on the combustion side of the head only in the Stock class has been removed. “With the PRI trade show held after the release of our rules and proof reading by our [Read More]

Opening night checkers a sign of success to come for top rookie Johnson

MOORHEAD, Minn. – Luke Johnson accomplished the rare feat of winning his first race in a new division. After the May 6 victory at Norman County Raceway, he followed with six more checkers on the way to earning the national Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod award. “Winning rookie of the year and my first-ever feature were definitely the highlights of my season,” said the Moorhead, Minn., driver. “It didn’t get any easier after the first win but after we got some more things figured out with the car, we got six more wins.” He won three times in all at Norman County and twice each at Buffalo River Race Park and Red River Valley Speedway. Johnson has been a regular at all three tracks since his mod-4 days and is partial to the West Fargo oval, where he finished third in the point standings this season. “I wanted to go to a Northern SportMod and made the switch to IMCA, and I’m glad I did,” said Johnson. “I like the way these cars drive and handle. [Read More]

Crow rescues old car from weeds, wins Sport Compact rookie award

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. – A car rescued from the weeds carried Richard Crow to the national rookie of the year award in IMCA’s Mach-1 Sport Compact division. “I had wrecked late in the season so I got my old car out of the weeds to finish the year,” he said. “I won three times in that car, twice at RPM Speedway and once at Salina Speedway.” From Grand Island, Neb., Crow had opted to race with IMCA because of the number of sanctioned tracks. He collected nine wins in all, with victories at five of the 10 different tracks in four states that he raced at. “We didn’t decide to race for rookie points until about a month into the season,” said Crow, sparked by back-to-back April checkers at U.S. 30 Speedway and Lincoln County Raceway. “We told ourselves ‘Let’s go for it.’” RPM ranks as his favorite venue. “It’s like my home track that I used to race at but has way more cars,” explained Crow. “I’d rather race against a lot of cars. [Read More]

Rust, Armstrong win drawings to attend 2017 Bob Harris Race Tech Info chassis schools

AMES, Iowa – Joel Rust and Adam Armstrong were winners of drawings to attend Bob Harris Enterprises Race Tech Info dirt chassis schools next month. Winners of 30 designated events for Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds and 15 specials for Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMods were entered in that drawing. Rust will attend the Jan. 13-14 session while Armstrong can look forward to the Jan. 27-28 school. All race winners received certificates good for two shock rebuilds. Modified winners were Chris Abelson, Kyle Brown, John Corell, Myron DeYoung, Tracy Domagala, Kevin Green, Richie Gustin, John Hansen, Bobby Hogge IV, Jeff James, Justin Kay, Benji LaCrosse, Josh McGaha, Hunter Marriott, Jay Noteboom, Jeremy Payne, Reed Payne, Travis Peery, Robby Sawyer, Johnny Scott, Brad Sites, Dylan Smith, Alex Stanford, Kevin Sustaire, Ricky Thornton Jr., A.J. Ward and Justin Zeitner. And SportMod drivers included Jeffrey Abbey, Justin Addison, Travis Arenz, Lance Borgman, Darren DeLoach, Kinzer Edwards, Daniel Gottschalk, Shawn Harker, Levi Kiefer, Johnathon Logue, Tony Olson, Tyler Soppe and Nick Spainhoward.

Top competition helps McDonald to top of Southern SportMod rookie point standings

KELLER, Texas – Better competition made Kamera Kaitlin McDonald a better driver. The Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMod national rookie of the year from Keller, Texas, tallied three feature wins while running weekly at Boyd Raceway and Kennedale Speedway Park, also the regular venues for national champion Jeffrey Abbey and a host of the division’s heavy hitters. “I have raced with the Abbeys forever. It’s always been a goal of mine to be competitive,” said McDonald, 15 years old and a sophomore at Timber Creek High School. “I got three of the wins Jeffrey could have had. Once I won my first race (on June 11 at Kennedale) we strived even harder.” McDonald was runner-up to Abbey at KSP, third behind Abbey and Ronnie Welborn at Boyd and fourth in the national points race. “Seat time was very important. I learned to get a feel for the car and read more into the track,” said McDonald, who made 47 starts at five different speedplants in Texas and Oklahoma. “That helped me develop as a driver. [Read More]

Three IMCA Hobby Stock track titles complement Church’s rookie awards

MOORHEAD, Minn. – Three decades after his last race, Tim Church returned to the track with that same competitive spirit. The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock driver from Moorhead, Minn., has national and Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region rookie of the year awards, as well as a trio of track championships to prove it. Now 52 years old, Church had run a handful of enduros in the 1980s before getting married, starting a business and raising his family. Wife Bonnie and daughters Teresa and Carla encouraged him to get back behind the wheel so he bought Shannon Anderson’s 2015 ride and made the tow home to Moorhead, Minn., through a snowstorm with an open trailer. “Whatever I raced, it had to be a big body car. That’s what I like and I wanted to race IMCA because I wanted to run a crate engine,” Church said. “I got seat time at Spring Nationals in Beatrice and wore out two sets of tires at an open practice at North Central Speedway.” He ended his rookie season [Read More]

IMCA Modifieds new in 2017 at N.Y.’s Thunder Mountain Speedway

CENTER LISLE, N.Y. – IMCA-sanctioned Modifieds return to Thunder Mountain Speedway in 2017, headlining Saturday programs at the south central New York speedplant. The first point race for the newest addition to the Dirt Works Eastern Region will be April 15. The tentative schedule for the 3/8-mile clay oval just north of Center Lisle sees the Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified season running to Sept. 2. “There are a lot of IMCA Modified drivers in this area and I know many of them personally,” Thunder Mountain owner and promoter Karl Spoonhower said. “IMCA Modifieds are good looking cars, they put on pretty decent shows, the fans like them and that’s the name of the game.” The upcoming season will be the 26th at Thunder Mountain. Spoonhower had started his own construction company to build the facility in the early 1990s and got back into the race track promotional business in 2014. “I think we’ve got the nicest racing surface of any track in the area. We put 700 truckloads of new clay on it last year,” [Read More]