Newswire

Race of champions planned for IMCA STARS Mod Lites

BOONE, Iowa – A race of champions is in the works for the newest IMCA division. STARS Mod Lites make their IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s debut during the Sept. 4-5 Prelude. Qualifying heats are scheduled both Saturday and Sunday and if at least 10 drivers in the division with championships on their resumes, or who are current track, series or state point leaders are competing at Boone Speedway that weekend, their race of champions will be first on the track during the Sunday program. Race of champions eligible drivers, listed below, have until next Monday, Aug. 23 to pre-register for Super Nationals before the decision to hold a STARS Mod Lite race of champions will be made: Jeff Asher (Doe Run Raceway) Dalton Bell (Dodge City Raceway Park) Collin Bender (Canyon Speedway AZ, Cocopah Speedway, Arizona State) J.D. Brown (Arizona Speedway) Randy Bryan (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 national champion) Kevin Carl (Louisiana State) Alex Cline (East Bay Raceway Park) Sean Conyers (Fairgrounds Speedway, Colorado State) Dylan Dunn (Florida State) Dawson Fisher [Read More]

Rookie Graf gets first RaceSaver Sprint win at Arlington

ARLINGTON, Minn. (Aug. 14) – Rookie Hannah Graf put her IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car in victory lane for her first career win Saturday at Arlington Raceway. Graf led from start to finish from her front row start. A first lap yellow flag came out when Bruce Allen spun off the track in turn three. The cars realigned and Graf took off again, this time with her uncle Chris following her around the track. Halfway through the race another caution was thrown when Justin Allen spun out. On this restart, Brett Allen took the high side while others were taking the bottom of the track and passed five cars to compete with the leader. The following lap, coming out of turn two, Graf had control of the front spot and Allen ran out of room, causing him to spin out putting him to the back of the field. With four laps to go, Hannah Graf led the rest of the way to take the victory. Chris Graf took second and Trevor Serbus started 13th and finished third. [Read More]

Williamson wins IMCA Modified battle at Grays Harbor, Winebarger wins Wild West Shootout war

By Ben Deatherage ELMA, Wash. (Aug. 14) – Jesse Williamson won the battle while Collen Winebarger won the war Saturday at Grays Harbors Raceway. Williamson raced to his third $1,000 Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout victory of the week in the series’ sole Washington State stop of the week. Winebarger, a three-time Shootout winner as well, ended in third, good enough to clinch his first ever Shootout title. After leading the field the first lap, Winebarger set an ever quicker pace before he was caught and overtaken on lap 17 by Grey Ferrando. Ferrando was the trailblazer for a bit of time until he had some fast company with the likes of Jesse Williamson. Williamson seized the top-place position on lap 26 only to see Ferrando take the coveted top spot back on the 30th circuit. Williamson kept his composure, got back around Ferrando on lap 38 and led to the end of the 40-lapper. The win was Williamson’s career 15th on the tour and eighth in IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing action this season. Ferrando [Read More]

Stewart scores first Benton County Speedway victory

VINTON, Iowa (Aug.15) – Points battles remained tight Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. With the season championship program coming up next Sunday, drivers positioned themselves for a title run in the final event leading up to the season finale. In the KISS Country 96.5 IMCA Modified division, a first-time winner had to hold off a hard-charging title contender in that feature. Derrick Stewart raced from the fourth row and worked along the outside of Josh Barta a handful of laps into the 20-lapper. While Stewart pressured from the outside, point leader Troy Cordes, who also started in row four, pursued on the low side. Cordes reeled in the lead pair and the trio dueled before Stewart was able to make his way around Barta for the race lead. Cordes continued to give chase and made numerous attempts to challenge high and low, but those efforts came up short as Stewart raced to his first-ever win at The Bullring. Cordes ran second ahead of Dylan Thornton, who ended the night trailing Cordes by four points [Read More]

Driver intro, shaking hands with Speedy Bill among Saathoff’s Super Nationals highlights

BEATRICE, Neb. – He has four national championships, 24 track championships and 354 feature wins on his IMCA Modified resume. The accomplishment Johnny Saathoff ranks right with those feats is walking across the infield stage during the driver introductions preceding the Saturday night Modified main event at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. “It’s pretty cool when you’re walking across the stage and shaking the hand of Speedy Bill Smith,” said Saathoff, a 15-time main event qualifier and runner-up in the 2010 Big Dance. “Your step is a lot lighter when you’re walking through the pits at Boone Speedway after you’ve done that.” From Beatrice, Neb., Saathoff is in his 42nd season on the track. A first-time qualifier at Boone in the 1995 Late Model main event, he won the Race of Champions at Super Nationals in 1997 and 1998 and has experienced highs and lows in Modified qualifying and the main event since. “It’s always cool to make the show,” said Saathoff, owner of Jet Racing, “From the business side, when I [Read More]

Winebarger scores third Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout win at SSP

By Ben Deatherage BANKS, Ore. (Aug. 13) – The third different leader raced to his third feature win in seven Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout starts Friday at Sunset Speedway Park. Collen Winebarger got the best of a 23-car IMCA Modified field at Banks Bullring, earning $1,000 for his career 11th series triumph. Jake Mayden led the field at the start of the 40-lap main event and remained the pacesetter until lap five, when Greg Walters overtook him. Winebarger chased down Walters after one of seven restarts and took control of the top spot on lap 15, dealing with any lapped traffic and leading the rest of the way. Mayden rallied to end the race second while Grey Ferrando placed third. Greg Walters took home fourth while the top five was completed by Craig Cassell in fifth. The Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods had their final night alongside the Wild West Modified Tour. The 25-lap main event saw Dustin Comer take the lead from Michael Melton by the completion of the second circuit. Comer dominated the [Read More]

Cassell scores huge victory in Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout at Banks

By Ben Deatherage BANKS, Ore. (Aug. 12) – A frequent visitor to victory lane at Sunset Speedway Park raced to a huge win Thursday night at the Banks Bullring. Craig Cassell’s fifth win of the season at SSP was also his career first in Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout action and the $1,000 checkers make him eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. When the initial green flag flew for the 40-lap main event, Cassell got right to the point and then had no issue with lapped traffic when he approached it. Toward the end of the race, Cassell began to feel pressure from behind. Collen Winebarger briefly challenged but Cassell kept him in check. Winebarger threw a slider on Cassell with a few laps to go, which Cassell countered with a cross-over maneuver. Jesse Williamson wound up second, with third going to Winebarger. Aaron Elwess placed fourth, followed by Eston Whisler in fifth. For the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods, the 25-lap main event began with Chris Frisbie grabbing the point and holding [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings through Aug. 12

IMCA Modifieds – 1. Jeff Larson, Freeport, Ill., 1,000; 2. Chaz Baca, Mesa, Ariz., 984; 3. A.J. Ward, Ionia, Mich., 982; 4. Ethan Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif., 977; 5. Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa, 976; 6. William Gould, Calera, Okla., 973; 7. Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa, 969; 8. Shane DeMey, Denison, Iowa, 964; 9. Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, and Tim Ward, Chandler, Ariz., both 963; 11. Ty Clemens, Belgrade, Mont., 960; 12. Cayden Carter, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 958; 13. Kollin Hibdon, Pahrump, Nev., 957; 14. Jeffrey Reay, Portland, Mich., 953; 15. Jim Pettit, Prunedale, Calif., 943; 16. Dylan Thornton, Santa Maria, Calif., 940; 17. Aaron Johnson, Brainerd, Minn., 939; 18. Chris Mills, Sioux City, Iowa, and Austin Wonch, Crystal, Mich., both 937; 20. Travis Denning, Sterling, Ill., 935. IMCA Sunoco Late Models – 1. Cory Dumpert, Exeter, Neb., 790; 2. Justin Kay, Wheatland, Iowa, 787; 3. Matt Ryan, Davenport, Iowa, 776; 4. Andy Nezworski, Buffalo, Iowa, 765; 5. Kyle Prauner, Norfolk, Neb., 761; 6. Logan Duffy, Independence, Iowa, 760; 7. Alex Banks, Newman Grove, Neb., 749; 8. Chase Osborne, [Read More]

Colorado rookie hunts for Hobby Stock success at first IMCA Super Nationals

BRUSH, Colo. – Hunter Smith’s first IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock season has already taken him to nine tracks in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. Track number 10 will be Boone Speedway, where the 14-year-old rookie charger will test his skills against the best of the best at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. “Our goal is to make the Saturday night feature. If we can do that, I’ll be happy,” the national rookie of the year point leader said. “The best of the best race at Super Nationals so I think making the main event would be amazing.” While the freshman-to-be at hometown Brush Colo., is a third-generation driver, the 2021 season is also his first racing anything, two wheels or four. His grandfather Rich raced on pavement while father and now crew chief/tow rig driver Zach raced a Stock Car. “I’d always been around racing. We saw a good car (a 2020 Charger Chassis) for sale, bought that and are doing better than we expected,” Smith said. “Our first goal was to [Read More]

Five more IMCA Modified drivers eligible for Fast Shafts All-Star qualifying

BOONE, Iowa – Another five IMCA Modified drivers have made themselves eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational with recent feature wins. Dylan Sillman, Jacob Pirkle and Chris Zogg all topped qualifying weekly events while Curtis Towns and Craig Cassell became eligible with checkered flag runs during the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout. Drivers winning sanctioned events paying $1,000 or more held through the first weekend of September become eligible to qualify. They must be pre-registered for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s to attempt to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Two rounds of group time trials on Thursday, Sept. 9 determine 28 of the 30 All-Star starters with the top driver in national point standings and the leader in 40-point feature wins attending Super Nationals at Boone Speedway completing the Friday, Sept. 10 grid. Additions to the following list of Fast Shafts All-Star qualifying eligible drivers through Aug. 12 should be directed to Bill Martin at the IMCA home office, 319 472-2201 x. 213 or bmartin@imca,com. Chris [Read More]