Newswire

Persistence pays off for Thomas with first career Sprint Series of Oklahoma victory

By David Smith Jr. ARDMORE, Okla. (Sept. 23) – Marcus Thomas finally made a slider stick in lapped traffic and captured his first career Sprint Series of Oklahoma IMCA Racesaver Sprint Car Series feature Friday at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. Thomas began utilizing sliders through each turn on lap five and each time fellow front row starter Dacus edged out front at the completion of each lap. The torrid pace up front stayed that way as the leaders began approaching slower cars on lap seven and that’s when Thomas appeared to have taken the lead exiting turn two but the feature’s first caution fell, nullifying the pass. On the restart, Dacus again motored ahead with Thomas right there on his rear bumper, once again pulling sliders in each turn, only to come up short. Lap sixteen is when the outcome of the race came into play as the leaders began entering slower cars once again. Using the top of the three-eighths mile oval as he had all race long, Dacus got hung up in lapped traffic [Read More]

IMCA competition director elected to Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame

LINCOLN, Neb. – IMCA Competition Director Tom Gutowski is about to add to his racing resume. He’ll be a Hall of Famer. Gutowski, from Omaha, is one of seven new members of the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will be Friday, Oct. 14 in Lincoln. “I was pleasantly surprised. I figured it wouldn’t happen the first time around,” Gutowski said of his hall of fame nomination. “I was voted in as a racing official. It certainly wasn’t for my skill as a participant.” Driver of the first IMCA Modified registered in Nebraska, Gutowski promoted at Crawford County Speedway, Shelby County Speedway, Buena Vista Raceway in Iowa and I-80 Speedway before taking the post with IMCA in November of 2006. Gutowski estimates that he’s made an average of 50 track visits a year, for weekly or multi-day specials in more than 20 states. He’s overseen pre- and post-race tech inspection at two of the biggest events in all of dirt track racing, the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s and the [Read More]

IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings Through Sept. 22

Final events of the 2016 point season are Sunday, Sept. 25 Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds – 1. Jordan Grabouski, Beatrice, Neb., 1,200; 2. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa, 1,192; 3. Cory Sample, Winnemucca, Nev., 1,185; 4. Eddie Kirchoff, Gillette, Wyo., 1,184; 5. A.J. Ward, Ionia, Mich., 1,175; 6. Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, 1,162; 7. Matt Cole, Vestal, N.Y., 1,159; 8. Ricky Stephan, South Sioux City, Neb., 1,156; 9. Jason Wolla, Ray, N.D., 1,154; 10. Ronn Lauritzen, Jesup, Iowa, 1,153; 11. Myron DeYoung, Stanton, Mich., 1,150; 12. Jacob Murray, Hartford, Iowa, 1,148; 13. Will Ward, Cobleskill, N.Y., and Steven Bowers Jr., Topeka, Kan., both 1,147; 15. Tyler Limoges, Redwood Falls, Minn., 1,144; 16. Tyler Frye, Belleville, Kan., 1,141; 17. Rob VanMil, Barnesville, Minn., and Dustin Smith, Lake City, Iowa, both 1,137; 19. Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn., 1,133; 20. Tim Ward, Chandler, Ariz., 1,129. IMCA EMI RaceSaver Sprint Cars – 1. Andy Shouse, Mustang, Okla., 776; 2. Tyler Drueke, Eagle, Neb., 763; 3. Michael Stien, Ceylon, Minn., 762; 4. Marcus Thomas, Corsicana, Texas, 758; 5. Jason Martin, Lincoln, [Read More]

New sponsor Tire Demon gives IMCA special events awards

KELLEY, Iowa – New marketing partner Tire Demon by Love Tap gave its first award at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Modified champion Ricky Thornton Jr. received a tire prep stand from the Kelley manufacturer and retailer. Owned by Tim Love, Tire Demon will give $500 gift certificates at a total of 60 special events for IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars and SportMods in 2017. Love originally designed the tire prep stand for a 70-something friend of his father’s. “The design essentially takes the work out of prepping a tire. The accuracy and torque make it easy to work with,” said Love, who raced a SportMod at Boone. “I built a couple and sold them, then I built a couple more and sold those. I’ve sold more than 70 so far. For a part-time gig in my garage, that’s pretty good.” “This machine is going to be very popular when we get the word out and partnering with IMCA can help us accomplish that,” he added. “I’ve even had people ask if [Read More]

Doubleheader this weekend for Sprint Series of Oklahoma

By David Smith Jr. OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The inaugural season for the Sprint Series of Oklahoma IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car Series comes to a close in a huge way this weekend as it will be a double-header of races that will tell the tale of the point championship. It all kicks off this coming Friday night at Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore in a makeup event that was rained out the previous Friday night (Sept. 16). The tour will then travel to Oklahoma Sports Park in Ada on Saturday night and wrap up its 2016 point season. This will be the fourth and final event at Southern Oklahoma Speedway where John Carney II, Michelle Melton and Chad Wilson have visited victory lane during the track’s Fast 5 Friday events. The first event saw a 20-car field while the second garnered 26 cars pit side. The latest event saw a total of 34 drivers compete. Gates open at 5 p.m. with racing action slated for a special 8 p.m. start time. Grandstand admission is $20 for adults; kids [Read More]

Fall Round-Up feature wins at Sweetwater go to Yeager, Gaylord

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (Sept. 16-17) – Justen Yeager won another rare start and Ryan Gaylord won the race he started at Sweetwater Speedway’s Fall Round-Up. Yeager topped Friday’s opening feature for Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds, racing from sixth starting to the front spot 10 circuits into the 30-lapper. Gaylord failed to answer the call when his car wouldn’t start in staging that evening, put posted a dominating flag-to-flag run at the front of the Saturday field. Both events paid $1,000 to win and were qualifiers for next year’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Numerous cautions slowed the start of the opening night feature. Yeager then held off Chase Hansen following a late yellow. Chris Delp, Michael Hale and Bert Beech rounded out the top five. “I only lost a couple of the races I ran at Sweetwater. I concentrated more on my son Braxton’s program this year,” said Yeager. “It’s hard to take care of two cars. You don’t realize that ‘til you try it and it’s like holy moly, but I think I enjoy [Read More]

Dirt Track work already underway for IMCA Duel In The Desert Nov. 9-12

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – One hundred and twenty trailer loads of new material have already been added to the half-mile Dirt Track and Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Tim Richter says drivers can look forward to a smooth racing surface at the Nov. 9-12 Duel In The Desert. “We added a little before our spring race. We wanted to see what it would do and it blended in fine with the existing stuff,” said Richter, the short track race operations manager at LVMS. “We’ll have the packing truck and sheeps foot on the track one day, then water it the next,” he continued. “We’re going to work on the track every single day leading up to the Duel to give drivers a smooth track.” Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds race for $7,777 to win their Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier on Saturday, Nov. 12. The runner-up earns $3,250, with $2,250 for third, $1,750 for fourth, $1,500 for fifth, $1,250 for sixth, $1,150 for seventh, $1,100 for eighth, $1,050 for ninth and $1,000 for 10th. A [Read More]

Ritchey races to Laurel Highlands checkers at Bedford

By George Horner BEDFORD, Pa. (Sept. 17) – Drew Ritchey led all 20 laps of Saturday’s Laurel Highlands Sprint Car Series feature at Bedford Speedway. The Fall Fest victory was Ritchey’s second IMCA EMI RaceSaver Sprint Car series victory of the season. Joe Zap was second and Reed Thompson finished third. Zap and Ritchey started on the front row with Ritchey out front from the get-go. The field swapped spots throughout the contest, with Scott Lutz and Roger Irvine completing the top five. The Saturday show was the third straight Laurel Highlands event to run caution free. Feature results – 1. Drew Ritchey; 2. Joe Zap; 3. Reed Thompson; 4. Scott Lutz; 5. Roger Irvine; 6. Ryan Lynn; 7. Brad Mellott; 8. Rob Bartchy; 9. Jim Kennedy; 10. Coltt Lepley; 11. Tim Lash; 12. Ron Aurand; 13. Dylan Shatzer.

URSS national finale is Saturday at Jerry Soderberg Memorial

DODGE CITY, Kan. – The final race in the 2016 Myers Racing Engines National Points has the United Rebel Sprint Series headed back to Dodge City Raceway Park for the fourth annual Jerry Soderberg Memorial this Saturday, Sept. 24. Taylor Velasquez will be going for his third Jerry Soderberg Memorial win in a row; Zach Blurton captured the inaugural event win in 2013. Racing action begins at 7 p.m. with Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, IMCA SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks joining the Sprints. General admission is $20 with children 11 and under admitted free when accompanied by an adult. So far in the 10 races of the Myers Racing Engines National Championship there have been six different winners with Luke Cranston taking three feature victories. Blurton and Brian Herbert each garnered a pair of wins. Jason Martin, Steven Richardson and J.D. Johnson each picking up single wins this season.

Mr. Excitement 40 this Saturday at Canyon Speedway Park

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. – The regular season at Canyon Speedway Park wraps up in truly exciting fashion with the running of this Saturday night’s Mr. Excitement 40 Tribute to Terry Belcher atop the 1/3-mile clay oval near Phoenix. IMCA Modifieds will take center stage in Saturday’s Mr. Excitement 40. Saturday’s action goes green at 7 p.m. after an open practice session on Friday from 7-10 p.m. Mike Strobl is closing in on the CSP Modified track title while Bryson Curry and Jay Foster split the most recent Modified action. Tickets to Saturday’s “Mr. Excitement 40 Tribute to Terry Belcher” are $16 with a $3 discount for military, seniors and students. Children ages 7-12 are $6 with children six and under admitted free. VIP passes are available for $20.