Newswire

Design 500 continues Lady Eagle, plus Deery Series and IMCA Modified awards

TUKWILA, Wash. – Design 500 has renewed the popular Lady Eagle award for a ninth consecutive year, its 17th season as an IMCA marketing partner. Female drivers in all sanctioned divisions are automatically in the running for the award from the Tukwila, Wash., driver suit and apparel manufacturer. The top finisher in combined point standings for those divisions earns a complete set of custom No Fly Zone Pro-Tek CarbonX underwear, which includes a long-sleeved mock turtleneck, long pants, headsock and socks. The runner-up receives a No Fly Zone Pro-Tek CarbonX tank and shorts while the third place driver earns a $100 product certificate and CarbonX socks. More than 160 drivers contended for the Lady Eagle in 2014. Hobby Stock competitor Tiffany Bittner won the award for the fourth time. “The Lady Eagle program is unique in motorsports and we are proud to partner with Design 500 to recognize the accomplishments of our talented female drivers,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder said. “It is fitting to highlight track champions like Erica Buhr and Stephanie Forsberg in [Read More]

Wild West IMCA Modified Speedweek is June 13-20

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. – Seven $1,000 to win features are on the schedule for the June 13-20 Wild West IMCA Modified Speedweek. The fifth annual tour travels to six tracks in the Pacific Northwest for seven races in eight nights, pitting many of North America’s best IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified chauffeurs against one another at some of the nation’s best facilities. Drivers with perfect attendance throughout the tour will be eligible for shares of a $3,000 point fund. Opening night is Saturday, June 13 at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City with the Monday, June 14 event at Yreka, Calif.’s Siskiyou Motor Speedway. Coos Bay, Ore., Speedway hosts the Monday, June 15 show with Cottage Grove, Ore., Speedway the site of Tuesday, June 16 action. The tour is at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks, Ore., on Wednesday, June 17 before a day designated for travel. Two consecutive nights of racing close things out at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly [Read More]

Top IMCA Modified, Stock, SportMod rookies receive wheels from 10-year sponsor Circle

FRESNO, Calif. – Circle Racing Wheels marks a decade of IMCA sponsorship with renewal of a contingency award program recognizing top first-year drivers in four sanctioned divisions. National IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod and Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Southern SportMod rookies of the year all receive sets of four wheels from the Fresno, Calif., manufacturer. The highest finishing rookies in state point standings in the same four divisions, excluding the national rookies of the year, all receive $100 product certificates. Drivers must fill out and send a rookie of the year application form to IMCA by Aug. 1 to be eligible. Awards will be presented during the national banquet in November or mailed the following week from the IMCA home office. Information about Circle Racing Wheels is available at the www.circleracing.com website, on Facebook or by calling 559 251-1127. “It’s great to renew the program with Circle Wheels for 2015,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder said. “Our crop of rookie drivers in each division is always strong and [Read More]

Deery Series, Stock Car drivers on track for Intercomp IMCA contingency awards

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Intercomp returns for a 21st consecutive sponsorship season with contingency awards for competitors in the Deery Brothers Summer Series and the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car division. The Minneapolis, Minn., company is manufacturer of the official scales for IMCA and will give $100 product certificates to designated place finishers at all events in the series for Late Models and to top 10 drivers in official 2015 point standings for both Arnold Motor Supply Northern and Southern Stock Car regions. Drivers in each division are required to display two Intercomp decals on their race car to be eligible. Certificates can be applied toward the purchase of RFX wireless scales or digital chassis setup equipment. Certificates will be mailed to Late Model drivers the week after Deery Series races are held and presented to Stock Car drivers during the national awards banquet in November. Intercomp manufactures high-performance products for use in the shop or at the track including alignment equipment, tire and shock gauges and lap timers. Information about those products is available by calling [Read More]

Thornton makes it two straight at Canyon

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 25) – Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up his second IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified win in a row on night three of the Winter Challenge at Canyon Speedway Park. Thornton took advantage of a slight bobble by Zane DeVilbiss to race into the lead with laps left in Sunday’s $1,250 to win main event. Forty-two Modifieds were entered in the third and final Winter Challlenge event of the weekend. DeVilbiss had drawn a front row start while Thornton worked his way up from eighth and headed pursuit of the defending national champion most of the 25-lapper. “The longer we ran, the tighter he got and the better my car got,” said Thornton, who shot into the lead coming out of turn two and stayed in front the last five times around the track. His share of the Winter Challenge purse at Canyon came to $3,100. “It was definitely a good weekend,” Thornton said. Tim Ward charged from 21st starting to capture the show position. Hunter Marriott advanced from 17th [Read More]

Fraction of a second makes Saturday difference in Canyon Modified feature

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 24) – A tenth of a second made the difference between first place and second Saturday at Canyon Speedway Park. Ricky Thornton Jr. beat Tim Ward to the finish line by that blink of an eye margin in Saturday’s 25-lap Winter Challenge feature for IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modifieds, which drew 46 entries. The 17th starting Thornton earned $1,250 for his efforts; he was already on the ballot for September’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Ward had scored Friday Winter Challenge honors at Canyon Winner of the second ‘B’ feature, Thornton ran multiple lines early on, was in the top four by lap 10 and was second when the 15th circuit was scored. Ward and Thornton had both taken the white flag before a spun car brought out what proved to be the final caution. Thornton, in Marlyn Seidler’s back-up car, moved off the bottom and higher on the track for the last two laps. “It was kind of a Hail Mary thing. I’ve won close races before but never [Read More]

Ward opens Winter Challenge weekend with win at Canyon

By Lonnie Wheatley PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 23) – Tim Ward raced forward from the seventh starting position to take IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified honors over a stout field of 41 competitors on opening night of the Winter Challenge Weekend at Canyon Speedway Park. The new Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier earned $1,250 and took the checkered flag ahead of defending track champion Ricky Thornton Jr. as Missouri’s Hunter Marriott topped his “B” feature and rallied from 18th to take third. Brian Schultz raced from 15th to fourth with defending national champion Zane DeVilbiss rounded out the top five. Ward was quickly up to second and led briefly before a couple early cautions. Thornton passed him for the front spot before two more yellows came out. After falling back to third, Ward got his opportunity when the caution flag waved again late in the contest. He went high to pass Schultz and then Thornton coming out of turn two and down the back straightaway, and drove to his first feature win of the season. [Read More]

Brett Root named president of IMCA

VINTON, Iowa – Brett Root will follow in some big footsteps at IMCA. Root succeeds his mother Kathy as president of the Vinton-based automotive racing sanctioning body. She’d purchased IMCA and sister company CarPac Publications from the family of Keith Knaack in the mid-1990s. “I realize that I am just the third president of IMCA since the 1970s. It’s good company to be in,” said Root. “I hope everyone understands how important IMCA is to me. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.” Root started working part-time at CarPac on his 14th birthday in 1986. The University of Northern Iowa graduate joined IMCA full-time as marketing director in July of 1997. He became vice president of operations in 1999, spending as much as 10 months every year traveling to IMCA sanctioned tracks, special events and trade shows around the country. “My responsibilities have shifted more to day to day operations and race night issues so I have traveled less the last couple years,” Root said. “Hiring Jim Stannard as director of track relations and Dave [Read More]

Crawford County on schedule for April 4 Deery Series opener

DENISON, Iowa (Jan. 23) – The 2015 Deery Brothers Summer Series will take its first green flag at Crawford County Speedway. After inclement weather washed out numerous attempts to bring the series back to Denison last spring, the upcoming IMCA Late Model tour travels to Crawford County for opening night action on Saturday, April 4. In all, the 29th annual series currently has 16 dates. The first 15 of those events pay $3,000 to win and a minimum of $300 to start. Additional tour dates are still pending. “It’s nice to have our highest paying race as the series finale at the Yankee Dirt Track Classic at Farley Speedway,” Tour Director Kevin Yoder said. “That feature pays $7,500 to win so it should make for an exciting conclusion to the series.” The one previous Deery race at Denison was held in 1994. Kossuth County Speedway in Algona has also hosted just one tour event, in 2008, and brings the series back for a July 2 show. “If we get all our races in, this year’s [Read More]

Deery Series pole starters receive Justice Brothers/Gillund awards

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (Jan. 23) – Every driver starting on the pole in a Deery Brothers Summer Series main event this season is a guaranteed award winner. Justice Brothers and Gillund Enterprises give a car care package to the driver taking the green from inside row one at all IMCA Late Model tour features again in 2015. Drivers must display two Justice Brothers decals on their race car to be eligible. They’ll receive car care packages once the pole is determined. Ten different drivers enjoyed pole starts over the course of the 2014 Deery Series, with Tyler Bruening, Joel Callahan, Ray Guss Jr. and Justin Kay each drawing the spot twice. One-time pole starters were Mike Cothron, Andy Eckrich, Tommy Elston, Nick Marolf, Jason Rauen and Colby Springsteen. Gillund distributes Justice Brothers Car Care products manufactured for high-performance and commercial vehicles and begins its 19th season as a marketing partner with IMCA. The Eden Prairie, Minn., company introduced the Deery Series pole starter prize in 2011. Information about the JB brand is available at the [Read More]