LAKE CITY, Iowa – Ten early season wins convinced Doug Smith this was the year to run for the IMCA national championship. Wins in his final two starts of the season wrapped up his first Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod crown.  “I have never chased one (a national championship). I’ve always gone out and tried to win every race,” said the Lake City, Iowa, veteran, whose brothers David, Devin, Donavon and Dustin own IMCA national championships of their own. “There have been other years when I’ve had a lot of wins but not a lot of starts. This was just a good year.” The Buena Vista Raceway and Crawford County Speedway track and KMJ Performance State champion, Smith won 10 of his first 13 starts, collecting seven straight checkers from June 3-17. “That was definitely the best start to the season I’ve had and it came in a new Rage car. I think the start of the season was a combination of it being my third year in a Rage and we changed some mounts to [Read More]

BOYD, Texas – A lot had changed since Dean Abbey last won an IMCA national championship. One thing hasn’t. The Boyd, Texas, driver is still plenty fast.  Abbey raced to a career third Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod crown this season, wheeling a Chris Bragg-owned Harris Chassis to a single-season career best 23 feature wins in 38 starts.  “We had a heck of a season. We had really good luck all year and the attention to detail and the equipment Chris gave me was second to none,” said Abbey, who had won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. “Everything just went our way this year. I can’t say enough about everybody who was part of this team. It was a real team effort on and off the track.” Abbey last ran a SportMod full-time in 2013 before successful stints in both an IMCA Modified and an IMCA Sunoco Stock Car. Bragg’s son Tyler saddled up in a Harris beginning early last season. Abbey joined the team in an active advisory role and the partnership took [Read More]

BREWSTER, Minn. – He’s always been a contender.  Now Cory Probst is the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock national champion, despite the lack of sleep. The Brewster, Minn., driver collected 24 feature wins – and another 14 top five finishes – in 41 starts, earning Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region plus Arlington Raceway and Murray County Speedway track titles in addition to his first national crown.  “I’m glad we were finally able to do it,” said Probst, runner-up to Shannon Anderson in 2018 and to Jeff Ware last year. “We hadn’t planned to run for the national championship this season. Now it’s exciting to know you can run at the same level as the other guys who have won it.”  “Our daughter Kenleigh was born last September and I didn’t think I’d be able to race as much or as hard,” he continued. “I spent as much time with Kenleigh as I could every night before she went to bed before going to work on the car. I’m one of those guys who is nitpicky [Read More]

HARLAN, Iowa – Mike Nichols began 2020 with high hopes for the year on and off the track. He achieved that broad goal in what proved to be the most unique of his IMCA career. Nichols became IMCA’s winningest driver, ending the season with 561 career checkers while racing to a record ninth IMCA Sunoco Stock Car national championship as well as a ninth EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region crown. He also won four track titles, upping his already-best IMCA career total to 42. On top of all that, Nichols completed four years of online studies for his master’s degree in organizational leadership from Buena Vista University. When social distancing guidelines allow, he’ll walk across the stage during ceremonies in Storm Lake to accept his diploma. “I had hoped 2020 would be one of life accomplishments. The way the year started, it didn’t seem like it would go that way,” said Nichols, who would be as pleased with his academic achievements as his on-track ones. “So many things were unique about this year. I couldn’t go [Read More]

WELLS TANNERY, Pa. – The math Garrett Bard did in August added up to an IMCA national championship in September. The second year IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car driver from Wells Tannery, Pa., went on a tear over the last two months of the season, ending the year with a division-best 13 feature wins, plus Pennsyl­vania Sprint Series and KMJ Performance Pennsylvania State titles to complement the national crown.  “We sat down at one point in early August, figured we had right around a dozen races left and that we needed at least seven top three’s to have a chance at the national championship,” recalled Bard. “Eight of our next nine starts were firsts or seconds, then we ended with two wins.”  “It’s cool to win it all. We’re already determined to try for it again next year,” he continued. “Hope­fully next October we can get the same congratulatory phone call from IMCA.” Bard ran 600 microsprints in his home state and across the East Coast before making his Rac­eSaver debut in July of 2019 at [Read More]

YORK, Neb. – Cory Dumpert sought and achieved IMCA Sunoco Late Model perfection in 2020. Dumpert raced to a second straight national championship, and his first outright, collecting three track titles and the KMJ Performance Nebraska State crown as well. His 21 feature wins, in just 32 starts, were the most by an IMCA Late Model driver since Justin Kay’s division record 24 checkers in 2014.  “Our goal this year was to go out, get it done and leave no doubt. We built a brand new car and it was really good right out of the box,” said Dumpert, from York, Neb. “We were more familiar with the IMCA point structure this season. Once we knew we had a perfect score after our 20th win it was a relief and we could just go out and race after that.” Putting together streaks of three, four, five and then six wins over the course of the season, Dumpert won eight times at Junction Motor Speedway, six times at U.S. 30 Speedway and five times at Boone County [Read More]