Newswire

Sweigart rides high side to Port Royal PASS victory

By Frank Buhrman PORT ROYAL, Pa. (April 20, 2024) – Two weeks ago, Nick Sweigart committed to the high side of Port Royal Speedway’s racing surface, and while his racing line thrilled the crowd, he needed some late attrition among other front-runners for it to result in a fourth-place finish in the River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series makeup of the 2023 Keystone RaceSaver Challenge. This Saturday night was very different. Hanging high, and hitting the wall once, the Myerstown veteran shot from his sixth starting position into second on the opening lap, then got past early leader Ken Duke at the beginning of lap three. From that point on, Sweigart was atop the Speed Palace leaderboard and despite his critical appraisal of his driving over the last half of the race, he held his lead in traffic and scored a 2.159-second victory over defending PASS champion Logan Spahr, who took the runner-up spot from Duke on the final circuit of the 20-lap feature. The feature ran non-stop and was completed in less than seven minutes. Only [Read More]

Chadwick, Diaz, Bannister are best in opener for Central California Clash

By Candice Martin ANTIOCH, Calif. (April 20, 2024) – Kellen Chadwick scored the victory in the 25-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified race Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the opening race of the six-race Central California Clash. The win paid Chadwick $1,000 and made him eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Chadwick had the outside front row for the start and bolted into the lead at the green flag, followed by Bobby Hogge IV and Troy Foulger. Foulger slipped past Hogge for second on a lap three restart with Andrew Pearce settling into third. After a lap nine caution, the race had a good run of green flag racing with Chadwick pulling away from Foulger. A yellow flag with three laps to go bunched the field but Chadwick bolted ahead and brought it home to a satisfying win. Foulger settled for second ahead of Pearce, Hogge and Cody Burke. Rick Diaz won the 20-lap IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main event. He led all the way and held off a furious challenge [Read More]

Saturday Ice Breaker Challenge checkers fly for Braaksma

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (April 20, 2024) – On a track that’s definitely different than what he’s used to running on, Ethan Braaksma raced to the same results Saturday night. Braaksma won his sixth Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature, and fifth Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying race of the season, collecting $2,000 on night two of the Ice Breaker Challenge. “It was a pretty good run. I just took my time and hit my marks. I was kind of searching there at the beginning but once I found the bottom I hit it really good,” said Braaksma, the leader from lap 11 to the finish. “I could see where the others were messing up in front of me and that’s how I got to the lead. I just had to be sure to get the left side down in the moisture so I could get off of the corner.” Ricky Stephan and then Shawn Harker held down the front spot early on. Braaksma caught Chad Andersen for second on lap seven and grabbed the [Read More]

Grays Harbor checkers are IMCA Modified first for Scherer

ELMA, Wash. (April 20, 2024) – While he’d race to track rookie of the year honors, the 2023 season was admittedly a learning one for Grays Harbor Raceway regular Riley Scherer. The Tenino hotshoe put those lessons to use on Saturday, racing to his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified career-first feature win in the 2024 opener at Elma. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t exactly know how to describe it,” Scherer said of the main event shortened by cautions and impending weather. “It’s kind of like racing from Motel 6 to the Hilton.” Wheeling a new-to-him 2018 GRT car themed Hammerin’ Down in Pound Town and Doin’ It for Bobby,’ in memory of childhood friend Bobby Orr who passed away last November, Scherer started fifth and ran third most of the way. He’d worked his way to the front just before the race ended. Two-time defending track champion Tyson Blood started 13th and finished second.

Winning continues for Reid in MLA opener

PLUMERVILLE, Ark. (April 20, 2024) – Jace Reid continued his winning ways Saturday night, as he led from the opening lap en route to the checkers in the first Mod Lites of Arkansas event of 2024 at Two Dollar Pistol Motor Speedway. The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite victory was the third in as many consecutive starts for Reid, from Nashville, at the Plumerville speed factory. Reid led from the pole and was unchallenged throughout most of the 25-lapper but that didn’t mean the win was not without some drama as his car started to show signs of overheating and smoke emerging in the closing circuits. Son and father Blake and Jeromy Wilson completed the top three with Blake being the evening’s hard charger as he raced from 11th starting to finish in the runner-up position. The Mod Lites of Arkansas return to action April 27 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis.

Harris hustles to Hagerstown IMCA RaceSaver win

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (April 20, 2024) – Jerald Harris finished the race right where he started it: At the front. Harris led the distance of Saturday’s IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car main event at Hagerstown Speedway, in the first of five races at the Maryland oval co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highland Sprint Series. After running second in his heat, Harris and Jay Fry paced the 25-car field to green with Harris out first before Fry got too high in the loose stuff and spun to a stop. On the second start, Harris was out again with Dylan Shatzer now in second followed by Caleb Harris, John Scarborough and Ben Miklos. Following another caution, Harris and Shatzer were joined by Scarborough and Caleb Harris. The leader was stretching it out with Shatzer and Scarborough battling for second and behind them it was sprinters swapping every spot every lap. A stalled car slowed the field bunching it up as the end was near but Harris took off and left second place up [Read More]

Pestotnik, Gifford among IMCA winners at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (April 20, 2024) – Boone Speedway held its second weekly racing series on Saturday night, and despite the chilling temperatures, 140 drivers checked in for racing action. Jake McBirnie saw his first checkers of the 2024 season in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds. It was Doug Smith going to victory lane in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. Cory Pestotnik got the monkey off his back and took the win in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods. Veteran Wayne Gifford was the winner in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Ben George took the win in the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites. Mod Lites kicked off feature racing with their 15 lap “A” main. When the race went green, pole sitter George immediately jumped to the lead while Chelsea Ladurini got a good start and tagged in to run second. Unfortunately, her run was cut short very quickly when she took a tumble in corner two and her night ended just after lap one went into the books. When the race restarted, George [Read More]

Opportunistic LaCrosse tops IMCA Modified feature at 141

By Greg Aregoni FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. (April 20, 2024) – On a cold night with hot racing, Benji LaCrosse used some misfortune of the leader to take home the checkered flag at 141 Speedway. Rob Charapata put himself up front right off the bat in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature while LaCrosse and Brandon Schmitt made their respective ways toward the front from mid-pack starting spots, with Schmitt getting to the leader first. Schmitt made quick work of Charapata and set sail with LaCrosse making his way to second. Schmitt seemed to be destined for the checkered flag even after he entered lapped traffic but made contact with another car and bent up his front suspension. He was able to maintain the lead until LaCrosse came storming past. A caution before the final flag set up a dash to the finish. Cole Czarneski used the final restart to his advantage and stay with LaCrosse for the lead. The two would put on a great battle over the final two laps with LaCrosse edging Czarneski. Johnny Whitman ran out [Read More]

Ice Breaker Challenge checkers are first for Andersen

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (April 19, 2024) – Eagle Raceway got the first night of its Ice Breaker Challenge in for the first time since 2019 and Chad Andersen won for the first time at the special that starts the season at America’s Home Track on Friday night. The defending track champion scored the $1,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory in the final event of the evening, outrunning Jordan Grabouski, Ryan Jenkins and Drew Janssen. “We’ve come to the Ice Breaker Challenge ever since I started racing a Modified and we’ve been close, but we‘d get a third or a second and never seemed to have enough to lead the final lap,” said Andersen, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “We came up with a game plan after the heat race because we felt really good. I just wasn’t quite as comfortable as I wanted to be in the heat so we made a couple of changes for the feature and it felt like the car came to life.” “Hopefully, that means [Read More]

Sherfick defends home turf in Friday Buzzard Bash Dash

By Sheldon Wickwar WaKEENEY, Kan. (April 19, 2024) – Dylan Sherfick defended his home turf Friday night at WaKeeney Speedway, earning $1,000 and becoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible while doing so. The hometown hotshoe counts the 2015 crown at WaKeeney among his eight career Friesen Performance IMCA Modified track titles and clearly had the fastest car from the drop of the green in the Buzzard Bash Dash main event. The 20-lap feature started with a front row of Sherfick and John Burrow, and once the field got going Sherfick made like he was shot out of a cannon and built a huge lead right off the bat. Once he entered lapped traffic Sherfick did not slow down and not even an always fast Jeremy Frenier could reel him in. Frenier, Brett Berry, Daniel Gottschalk and Dakota Sproul would complete the top five. Eighty-four race teams contended Friday night with Troy Burkhart topping the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Morgan Olmstead leading the way to the checkers in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Blaine Walt [Read More]