BatesvilleMotorSpeedway Archives

Race For Hope 71 Offers Big Money, Big Action Oct. 9–11 at Batesville Motor Speedway

By Ben Deatherage LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Sept. 21, 2025) — The 9th annual Race For Hope 71 presented by IMCA TV returns to Batesville Motor Speedway for three straight nights, Thursday–Saturday, Oct. 9–11, with a complete Friesen Performance IMCA Modified show and full payout each night. A new-for-2025 format puts real money on the line every time the green drops: $3,000 to win on Thursday, $3,000 to win on Friday, and $4,000 to win on Saturday. Sweep all three features and collect a $2,000 bonus; win two of the three and add a $1,000 bonus. It’s $12,000 possible to win across the weekend for one driver under the three-night format. Grandstands open at 5:30 p.m. nightly. Adults are $15 on Thursday and Friday and $20 on Saturday; youth 12–15 are $10; kids 11 and under are free. Pits open at 4:00 p.m. each day with pit passes $40 nightly and ages 6–11 $20. Driver entry is $50 per night. Teams can enter online at batesvillemotorspeedway.com or call 870-613-1337 for details. The Race For Hope 71 delivers three full [Read More]

Abbey Charges Late to Mid-America Stock Car Championship Win at Batesville

By Ben Deatherage LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Sept. 27, 2025) — The $7,500-to-win Mid-America Stock Car Championship produced a thriller Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway, with Jeffrey Abbey of Rhome, Texas, charging late to capture his first-ever win in the marquee event. Abbey also pocketed a $500 bonus for displaying a Schoenfeld Headers logo on his car, bringing his total payday to $8,000. Peyton Taylor paced the opening circuits in the Brandon & Jodi Simon-owned no. 20PT, building a three-second advantage before a lap-16 caution erased his lead. Taylor pulled away again on the restart, but Iowa’s Dallon Murty, a two-time Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s winner, closed in from second. After another restart on lap 30, Murty worked the high side to take over the top spot on lap 33. Taylor refused to back down, and the pair traded the lead until Taylor nosed back ahead on lap 38 and began to build an edge. Meanwhile, Curtis Cook, piloting the Jayson and Tonya Hefley no. 82, pressured Murty for second, allowing Taylor [Read More]

Batesville Motor Speedway to Host 30th Annual Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Stock Car Championship Sept. 25–27

By Ben Deatherage LOCUST GROVE, Ark. (Sept. 18, 2025) — The 30th Annual Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Stock Car Championship returns to Batesville Motor Speedway on Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 25–27, 2025, with three nights of Sunoco IMCA Stock Car racing action and a $20,000-to-win, $1,000-to-start main event. The 3-day event kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 25, with practice at 7:00 p.m. and is followed by racing at 7:30. Drivers will compete each night with double heats and draw for positions on Thursday and Friday nights. Drivers will accumulate points and will run a nightly feature as well. On Friday, Sept. 26, we will follow the same format with drivers drawing for positions with double heats and a nightly feature to accumulate points. Hot Laps at 7:00 p.m. with racing to follow at 7:30. Saturday will again see hot laps at 7:00 p.m. and racing at 7:30. The Top 16 in points will advance to the 50-lap Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Stock Car Championship main event paying $20,000 to win on Saturday night, September 27. The [Read More]

Wilkey Rises Above the Rest at Wimp Reed Spring Nationals

By Ben Deatherage BATESVILLE, Ark. (Mar. 29, 2025) — Ashton Wilkey delivered a masterful performance in the final night of the Wimp Reed Spring Nationals, earning a $1,600 payday in the 31-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event at Batesville Motor Speedway. Wilkey, the 2023 Arkansas State champion and two-time track titleholder, took the lead at the start and held off repeated challenges from National Late Model Hall of Famer Wendell Wallace. After several early cautions, Wallace stayed close on each restart but couldn’t find a way around the Batesville native. Cameron Cook briefly moved into second before Wallace regained the spot on another restart. As the laps clicked off, Wilkey pulled away while Wallace and Cook traded shots for the runner-up position through heavy lapped traffic. With three laps to go, Wallace’s motor expired, setting up a late restart. Wilkey nailed the restart and drove away to earn his first Jet Racing Central Region win of the year. Cook, who started eighth, held off 2014 Arkansas State champion Brint Hartwick for second. Witt Dominates for [Read More]

Moore Steals Wimp Reed Spring Nationals Opener in Final Laps Thriller

By Ben Deatherage BATESVILLE, Ark. (Mar. 28, 2025) — The opening night of the Wimp Reed Spring Nationals at Batesville Motor Speedway delivered a dramatic finish in the 31-lap, $1,500-to-win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature. The race, held in memory of longtime tech man and former driver Wimp Reed, came down to a near last-lap move by Jonesboro 17-year-old Grayson Moore. It is his first win in the Jet Racing Central Region this year. John Waugh led the opening lap before Brandon Smith charged into the lead. A fierce battle for second between Ashton Wilkey and Waugh allowed Moore to make a slick double pass and jump to second. Smith pulled away up front until a lap 11 caution slowed the field. The yellow proved costly for 2023 Arkansas State Champion Wilkey, who suffered right-front damage while attempting to avoid a spinning car. Smith was strong on the restart, but another caution kept the pack tight. 2012 IMCA Super Nationals winner Jeff Taylor moved into third and battled Moore for second. Once Moore got clear, he [Read More]

Berry brings broom to Batesville’s IMCA Race for Hope 71

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2024) – The last thing Tom Berry Jr. loaded in his trailer Saturday night was the broom. Berry completed his three-night sweep of Batesville Motor Speedway’s Race for Hope 71, leading all 71 laps of the $7,500 to win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. Coupled with $2,500 feature wins Thursday and Friday and a $2,500 bonus for winning all three nights, his weekend take added up to $15,000. “It was an awesome payday,” acknowledged Berry, already Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible. “I had it in my mind going down there that I might be able to win three in a row if everything worked out the way we needed it to.” “Also, I was alone this weekend. I had no crew, it was just me and my dog Sidekick,” he added. “I had a few people jump in and help me with the fuel stop but other than that it was a one man band all weekend, so to run that good being alone was pretty cool.” Berry, third [Read More]

DeVilbiss delivers another big money IMCA win at Batesville

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2024) – Another big money race at Batesville Motor Speedway ended with Zane DeVilbiss taking home the big money. The Farmington, N.M., flyer led the last 33 of 50 laps in winning Saturday’s Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Sunoco Stock Car Championship. “The track’s been beautiful. That’s why we love coming to Batesville. I drive 17 hours to race here,” said DeVilbiss, trying to make himself heard over the noise of the fireworks that followed his run to the $10,000 checkers. “I wish this was my home track.” Those sentiments are understandable as DeVilbiss raced to a career-best $50,000 payday at Batesville’s IMCA Modified Race for Hope 71 in 2021. Third in last year’s Mid-America main event, he started outside Dallon Murty on the front row and chased the Chelsea Charger the first 17 times around the track. DeVilbiss was scored in the lead by all of nine thousandths of a second on the next circuit. Murty stayed close while Peyton Taylor rallied after restarting at the tail early on, racing into [Read More]

IMCA Stock Cars run for $10,000 to win at Batesville

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 16, 2024) – IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers will head to Batesville Motor Speedway to wrap up their 2024 points campaign at one of the richest events of the season. The 50-lap finale of the Sept. 26-28 Schoenfeld Headers Mid-America IMCA Stock Car Championship pays $10,000 to win, with an accompanying guaranteed starting spot in the 2025 B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational field. The runner-up earns $5,000 with $2,500 for third, $1,250 for fourth, $1,000 for fifth and a minimum of $800 to make the 25-car field. There’s also a $500 bonus that will be paid to the highest finishing driver displaying a Schoenfeld Headers decal on their race car. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, EQ Cylinder Heads Southern Region and Arkansas State points will be awarded. Entry fee of $150 can be paid at the gate. On Thursday, pre-tech and practice run from 7-8:30 p.m. with time trials to follow. Pit passes are $20 and grandstand admission is free. Heat races are on Friday and two cars will [Read More]

No sleeping in for Stuart after Batesville win

BENTON, Ark. (Aug. 10, 2024) – The smile in victory lane belonged to Dustin Stuart. The smile the next morning belonged to his daughter Scarlette. Stuart won Saturday’s IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Batesville Motor Speedway, his first sanctioned checkers since 2021. After a two-hour tow home to Benton, the trophy went straight to the bedroom of six-year-old Scarlette, who woke up to find it early … too early … the next morning. “She came in our bedroom, jumped on top of me and said ‘You got me a trophy!’ She was ecstatic,” said Stuart. “We’d gotten home about three in the morning and this was at 8 a.m. I wasn’t ready to get woken up quite that early.” A five-time feature winner and the first-ever Stock Car state champion crowned in Arkansas in 2020, Stuart dialed up GRT and inquired about getting a new car after realizing he’d be eligible to qualify for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Race of Champions. He picked up that ride, the first one [Read More]

Warm weather, sunshine, $10,000 await IMCA Modifieds this weekend at Batesville

BATESVILLE, Ark. (Oct. 10, 2023) – The Race for Hope three-day event will bring in the best of the best in IMCA Modified drivers and teams to Batesville Motor Speedway this Thursday-Saturday, October 12-14. On Thursday and Friday, drivers will pill draw for heat positions and will qualify through heat races, B features and a nightly A feature. Drivers will accumulate points in order to qualify for the 71-Lap Main Event on Saturday night. Drivers will receive points every time they are on the track. The Top 18 in points will transfer to the main on Saturday. The top two in each of the last chance B features will transfer to the feature to complete the field for the 71-lap feature that will pay $10,000 to win and $1000 to start. Ken Schrader will also be in attendance and competing in the seventh annual event. All three nights of action will be broadcast live on IMCA.tv.