Newswire

Flinn earns Promoter of the Year nomination

CRYSTAL, Mich. – Crystal Motor Speedway promoter Ron Flinn is one of six nominees for Racing Promotion Monthly’s Auto Racing Promoter of the Year award. The ARPY is short track racing’s most prestigious annual award. Nominees hail from six different regions, with Flinn the promoter of the year in RPM’s Central Region. Crystal was recognized with a 30-year Modified sanction award at the IMCA banquet last fall. The Auto Racing Promoter of the Year will be revealed during the 45th annual RPM Workshop at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort at Daytona Beach, Fla., on Feb. 12.

Matt Richards joins talented IMCA RaceSaver field at US 36

By Rick Staley OSBORN, Mo. – Matt, Cade and Jessica Richards are truly a racing family, competing on the highest level at tracks throughout the Midwest. Calling Eagle Raceway his home track, we will also see Matt behind the wheel of an IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car at US 36 Raceway this season, adding to a loaded field of competitors. Matt is from Lincoln, Neb., and pilots the no. 1R, the same number as his son Cade, who drives an E-modified at US 36 weekly. Married to Jessica, who also can wheel a racecar, winning her powder puff feature on fun night, they all travel and race as a close knit family and are respected by all. Matt is self-employed, running Richards Machine Shop and is passing his skills to his son. To say Matt has raced everywhere would be an understatement, so let’s name a few of the tracks he has competed: Belleville, Kan., Eagle Raceway, Lee County Speedway, Atchison County Raceway, Iowa State Fairgrounds, Rocky Mountain Speedway, Junction Motor Speedway, I-80, US 30, Beatrice [Read More]

IMCA office closed for holidays

VINTON, Iowa – The IMCA home office will close for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays at noon CST on Thursday, Dec. 21 and re-open at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2. Happy holidays to all and the best of luck to all drivers throughout the 2018 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing Season.

32nd annual Deery Brothers Summer Series set for 2018

VINTON, Iowa – Running under the Deery Brothers banner for a 27th consecutive season, the Summer Series for IMCA Late Models returns in 2018 with dates at familiar venues as well as tracks that have been absent from the schedule for years or even decades. While scheduling of $2,000 to win, $300 to start events continues, the 32nd annual tour will return to Davenport Speedway for the first time since 2014 for opening night in April. The series travels to Maquoketa Speedway, Quad City Speedway, Boone Speedway, Marshalltown Speedway, Benton County Speedway, 34 Raceway, CJ Speedway and Fayette County Speedway. Five or six more races are expected to be added to the schedule and all dates will be announced in January, as will new race format procedures. The Deery Series last visited CJ in 1996 and was most recently at Benton County in 2005 and Fayette County in 2009. Home track of series ironman Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown Speedway again hosts the Miller Lite 50 Deery event. Boone rolls out the red carpet for both Memorial [Read More]

IMCA crate engine track champions earn $36,500 in Chevrolet Performance bonuses

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Chevrolet Performance has paid $36,500 in bonuses to IMCA drivers who won track championships while competing exclusively with crate engines this season. One hundred and forty-six drivers in the IMCA Modified, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod and Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMod divisions received $250 checks, mailed this month from the IMCA home office. This was the first season in the current three-year bonus agreement with Chevrolet Performance, which has now awarded nearly $240,000 to eligible drivers over the course of the program. “This has been a great program for our racers for well over a decade and Chevrolet has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars to IMCA drivers during that time,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder noted. “Track champions were paid $250 and it is a bonus that will remain in place again in 2018.” The 75 crate-powered Modified drivers winning track titles and $18,750 in bonuses were: Drew Armstrong, Chaz Baca, Eric Barnes, Steven Bowers Jr., Randy Brown, John Burrow Jr., John Campos, Cayden Carter, Justin [Read More]

Friesen awards crate engines to three IMCA rookies of year

LINCOLN, Neb. – Friesen Performance made even bigger winners of three rookie of the year award recipients during the IMCA national banquet. Modified rookie of the year Clint Luellen received a 604 crate engine. Hobby Stock rookie of the year Lance Mielke and Northern SportMod rookie of the year Jacob Olmstead both earned 602 crates for their efforts in 2017. “This is the second year for this program, which is obviously a great benefit to the rookies of the year in these three divisions,” noted IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder. “We appreciate Friesen’s title sponsorship of the national rookie program in all three divisions and look forward to continuing this program well into the future.” In addition to completing IMCA rookie of the year requirements, drivers must have displayed a Friesen logo on their race car to be eligible for the crate engine award. Also the top first-year driver in the Side Biter Chassis North Central Region, Luellen won nine features and was ninth in the national points race. He earned three track championships and [Read More]

Family Hobby Stock tradition rewarded as Rawls races to regional rookie honors

WACO, Texas – Colton Rawls continued a family tradition this season and has the Big Daddy Race Cars Southern Region rookie of the year award to show for his efforts. The 14-year-old speedster was a weekly regular at his hometown Heart O’ Texas Speedway and paced first-year Hobby Stock drivers in point standings the region. “My whole family has raced Hobby Stocks,” said Rawls, a China Spring High School freshman, cousin of Jeremy Oliver and nephew of Garett Rawls. “We only live about 20 minutes from the track. We like to race and have fun and support the Hobby Stock class.” Rawls started racing go-karts at the age of nine. He mowed yards and did odd jobs to fund his junior mini stock career before moving to the sanctioned division. “I got sponsors and I got a Hobby Stock. I came out this year and gave it the best I had,” Rawls said. “My uncle Garett has been behind me since I was racing go-karts. He scaled the car and spent a lot of late [Read More]

Bransom follows ambitious schedule to top EQ Southern Region rookie prize

BURLESON, Texas – An ambitious schedule paid off with more than EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region rookie of the year honors for Jerrett Bransom. The 14-year-old from Burleson went wheel-to-wheel weekly with IMCA Sunoco Stock Car veterans at Boyd Raceway and Kennedale Speedway Park, earning his career-first feature win in the division along with second-place in final standings at Boyd and third place in the final standings at KSP. “I like the competition. The other drivers in this class push you to become a better driver yourself,” said the Centennial High School freshman, who raced go-karts and junior mini sprints, then a junior mini stock for four years before graduating to the sanctioned class. “The Stock Car is a lot faster and handles differently than anything I’ve raced before.” His father Jay, IMCA”s national Crate Model champion nearly a decade ago, won the point race at family-owned Kennedale. “It definitely wasn’t easy racing against him. He pushes me to the limit,” Bransom said. “I feel like I became a better driver racing with him and [Read More]

Lone Star Stock Car Tour totes $5,000 champion’s check

ABILENE, Texas – A rich week of racing in Texas will see IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers battle for shares of nearly $15,000 in point fund money and $750 to win each night of the Lone Star Stock Car Tour. Champion of the inaugural tour, sponsored by Sniper Speed, takes home a whopping $5,000 and becomes eligible to qualify for the Sunoco Race Fuels Race of Champions during the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s in September. The runner-up earns $2,500, with $2,000 paid for third, $1,500 for fourth, $1,000 for fifth, $500 for sixth, $400 for seventh, $300 for eighth, $250 for ninth and $150 for 10th. In addition, drivers finishing 11th on back with perfect attendance will be eligible for a $1,000 cash drawing. The Lone Star Tour opens with Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16 and 17 events during Abilene Speedway’s traditional season-opening Ice Breaker special. Sunday and Monday, Feb. 18 and 19 dates follow at 281 Speedway. Boyd Raceway hosts Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 20 and 21 races before the [Read More]

Stormzand qualifies for every feature during quest for Dirt Works Eastern Region ROY

LOWELL, Mich. – He didn’t get a feature win but Nick Stormzand did accomplish the goal he set for himself at the start of his first IMCA Modified season. The Dirt Works Eastern Region rookie of the year qualified for the main event in all 36 starts this year, with three runner-up finishes. “These guys are always on their game but I know I’ll get a win,” the Lowell, Mich., driver said. “I knew coming in that being a rookie, it would be tough to make the show. I was hoping to make every feature and I did. I was pretty proud of that.” Stormzand logged 19 starts at Crystal Motor Speedway, where he ended fifth in the point standings, with another nine outings at Tri-City Motor Speedway and eight at I-96 Speedway. He was fifth in the Allstar Performance Michigan State points race. “The IMCA Modifieds are the most competitive division around here,” he said. “You can go anywhere around and race them and compete against the very best every weekend.” Stormzand had decided [Read More]