Newswire

Red River Valley Speedway set to re-open in 2016

WEST FARGO, N.D. (Dec. 21) – Friday night racing is back at the Red River Valley Speedway. JS Bitker LLC reached a 3-year agreement with the Red River Valley Fair Association to hold a full schedule of races starting in 2016. JS Bitker LLC will be operating the track with the first race slated for Friday, May 6 with a start time of 7 p.m. Thirteen race dates are scheduled for the 2016 season with the following tentative classes: Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Pure Stocks and INEX Legend cars. Modified points will apply in IMCA’s Belleville Motorsports North Central Region, Hobby Stock points in the Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region. Allstar Performance North Dakota State points will be given in all three IMCA divisions. One of the season’s highlights will be a special race during the Red River Valley Fair on July 17 featuring the Northern Outlaw Sprint Association Sprint Cars presented by the Red River Valley Fair Association and Buffalo Wild Wings. Red River [Read More]

Jackson Motorplex adds IMCA RaceSaver Sprints, Friday program to weekly plans for 2016 season

JACKSON, Minn. – Another IMCA sanctioned division running on another race night is part of the plans behind making Jackson Motorplex one of the premier facilities of its kind in the nation. IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Cars will be part of a new Friday night program at Jackson in 2016. Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Mach-1 Sport Compacts all return to traditional Saturday shows. “We want this to be one of the premier tracks in the country,” explained General Manager Doug Johnson. “We’ve listened to racers, we’re looking at having different types of events here and we’re confident everyone will get the biggest bang for their buck.” The first regular IMCA sanctioned events were held on the ½-mile dirt oval at the former Jackson Speedway in 1988; traveling IMCA Sprint Cars made five appearances there for Jackpot Junction Tour events, most recently in 2009. “RaceSaver Sprint Cars are an affordable class for up-and-coming kids as well as adults,” said Johnson, a [Read More]

No race wheels allowed in Sport Compacts in 2016

VINTON, Iowa – Rules for the Mach-1 Sport Compact division in 2016 will not include an aftermarket race wheel option. Instead, wheel rules will be the same as in 2015. “We announced changes in the rules last month but after further discussion with industry leaders, we determined more time was needed for manufacturers to make wheels with a workable backspace available,” said IMCA marketing Director Brett Root. “The goal we were trying to achieve of allowing Sport Compact drivers to compete with race wheels in 2016 will not be attainable,” he continued. “We need to ensure that IMCA, our drivers and manufacturers are all on the same page. The smartest thing for us to do now is retract the rule before drivers buy wheels they can’t use.”

Anderson answers call from IMCA to become Late Model director

MOLINE, Ill. – A phone call from a former national champion got Randy Anderson started as a local track tech inspector four years ago. When IMCA called late this fall, Anderson agreed to become the sanctioning body’s new Late Model director. He’ll travel to tracks that sanction the division weekly beginning in 2016 while continuing to oversee tech inspection at all Deery Brothers Summer Series events. “Late Models are a premier division. I take a lot of pride in teching and enforcing the rules,” said Anderson, from Moline, Ill. “I see this position as an opportunity to be a solid voice for the class. I want to be able to help IMCA add sanctions and build car counts.” “IMCA sets the standard for Late Model rules. We want this division to be one that weekly Late Model drivers can afford,” he added. “Our rules package is very well equipped to allow them to be competitive.” Anderson had a brief racing career – three wrecks in as many starts in 1981 – before he became a [Read More]

Career-best season helps DeVries soar to eight feature wins, IMCA Lady Eagle award

SPENCER, Iowa – You’d never guess that there was a time when it was tough to get Kaytee DeVries to the track. Now she’s often the one who decides what track to go to. DeVries made 74 starts in her third Mach-1 Sport Compact season. She had the highest point total among the more than 200 female drivers in eight IMCA divisions to earn her career-first Design 500 Lady Eagle award. “We were eager to get the season started so we went to Spring Nationals at Beatrice,” said DeVries, who competed with husband Jay on 73 occasions in 2015. “I was doing pretty good when somebody told me I was leading the Lady Eagle points. That’s when I decided to go for it.” Racing as often as five times a week, DeVries traveled to 10 different tracks in three states. Her efforts were rewarded with eight feature wins and 31 top-five finishes. Most of the tracks DeVries raced at regularly are less than 45 minutes away. Hancock County Speedway in Britt is the furthest tow [Read More]

Record number of champions crowned in IMCA’s centennial season

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nov. 28) – A record number of champions were honored during IMCA’s centennial season national awards banquet Saturday evening in Lincoln, Neb. In all, an IMCA record 478 track, series and special series, and 102 state champions were crowned this season. More than 9,000 drivers competed in sanctioned events this season and more than 3,400 of them received shares of a $650,000-plus point fund. National champions were Chris Abelson, Xtreme Moor Sports IMCA Modified; Justin Kay, Late Model; Chad Wilson, IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Car; Travis Van Straten, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car; Justin Luinenburg, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks; Tyler Frye, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods; Jesse Baldwin, Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMods; and Nate Coopman, Mach-1 Sport Compact. Kay and Coopman were both three-time national champs while Abelson, Wilson, Van Straten, Luinenburg, Frye and Baldwin all were first-time kings in their respective divisions. Abelson is a former Northern SportMod national champion; Luinenburg became the first Hobby Stock titleist from Minnesota, Baldwin the first Southern SportMod champ from New Mexico. Kay was also champion [Read More]

Whitwell puts on clinics at Desert Thunder Nationals

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Nov. 21-22) – R.C. Whitwell put on a passing clinic Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway. The lesson he taught on Sunday was working lapped traffic. A night after racing from 24th starting to fourth, Whitwell was the flag-to flag leader in the 30-lap, $3,000 to win Desert Thunder Nationals main event for Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds. “I just stayed focused on the lapped cars. I was pretty surprised when I saw the checkers,” admitted the new Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier. “There weren’t any cautions and I got into heavy lapped traffic by midway. The race went by pretty fast.” Jeff Taylor cut into Whitwell’s advantage in the later circuits and finished five car lengths back. Opening night winner Ricky Thornton Jr., Jason Noll and Lance Mari completed the top five. Whitwell was driving a Mike Wedelstadt-owned car and finished second to the Wisconsin traveler in his Sunday heat race. “Redrawing the pole was really key,” he said. “I was fortunate to start on the front and have a good car.” [Read More]

There’s evolution but no revolution in IMCA rules for 2016

VINTON, Iowa – There’s evolution but no revolution in the IMCA rules for 2016. Most notably, Modified drivers will not be allowed to use a spoiler, regardless of whether they’re running a crate or a claim engine. Plastic valances will be allowed on the nose, to go with previously allowed plastic skirting on doors and quarter panels. A horizontally placed top door bar will be required on the passenger side door in the Modified, Northern SportMod and Southern SportMod divisions in an attempt to stop the movement and potentially unsafe placement of the top passenger side door bar. The maximum hood rake for those classes has also increased from three to six inches. “Most of the changes or clarifications in the rules for next season in any division are a result of evolution,” explained IMCA President Brett Root. “There are better ways of doing things without creating a competitive advantage.” “As always, we tried to eliminate gray areas in the way the rules are written to make them easier for everyone, drivers, builders and tech [Read More]

First-ever New Jersey state champion Haggenbottom sprints into IMCA record book

LEVITTOWN, Pa. – A racer through and through wrote his name in the IMCA record book this season. Mike Haggenbottom finished second in the national point standings for IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Cars. A four-time feature winner, he finished outside the top five twice in just 21 sanctioned starts in earning Tri-State RaceSaver Series and New Egypt Speedway titles. He also became the first driver in any sanctioned division to win an Allstar Performance New Jersey State championship. “I had no clue how the IMCA point system worked,” admitted the Levittown, Pa., pilot. “A friend, Cody Mallicoat, texted me and said I was in the top two nationally. That’s pretty neat.” He’s raced Sprint Cars since 1991 and has won a championship of some sort in each of his four RaceSaver seasons. “I started racing quarter midgets when I was five years old and have driven just about every kind of race car in the last 40 years. It’s a neat feeling to wheel an open-wheeled car. With the way the tracks are, you [Read More]

BMS captures sixth Manufacturers’ Cup title

BELLEVILLE, Kan. – Belleville Motorsports will be making room in the trophy case for another Manufacturers’ Cup award. For the fifth straight year, and for the sixth time in the program’s seven-year history, the Belleville, Kan., chassis builder had the top point total among manufacturers entered in the Cup contest; points were awarded based on top 10 drivers (10 points for first, nine points for second, etc.) in each of the five Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified regions. BMS continued its dominance in the Eastern Region while totaling 53 points. GRT Race Cars won both Western and Central Region titles and was second with 25 points. Chase Allen Motorsports ruled again in the South Central Region and tied Skyrocket Chassis for third place with 21 points. Razor Chassis and Rage Chassis share the North Central Region crown. Larry Shaw Race Cars completed the top five in points with 20. All regional winners get plaques and BMS receives a $500 cash prize and trophy during the IMCA national awards banquet in Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 28. [Read More]