dacotahspeedway Archives - IMCA - International Motor Contest Association

Believe it! James tops IMCA Modifieds in Dakota Classic Tour finale at Mandan

MANDAN, N.D. (July 15) – On opening night of the Corral Sales Dakota Classic Tour, Bricen James didn’t believe he had a top 10 car. But the Oregon driver stood on the top step of the podium on the final night of the 32nd annual tour after leading all 30 laps of the $2,000 to win IMCA Modified feature at Dacotah Speedway. “The car was so easy to drive. It was just perfect,” he said following the Thursday checkers. “This is our first time on the tour so we’ve never been to any of these tracks. Winning (tonight) was pretty danged cool.” His best finish in four tour starts, before a Wednesday DNQ, had been 17th. Making some minor changes led to a “less aggressive” setup that paid off at Mandan. Timely cautions kept lapped cars from becoming a factor and James was catching up with the back of the field at the finish. Former tour champion Marlyn Seidler was runner-up. Tripp Gaylord and Ethan Dotson were next across the stripe. Tim Ward’s charge from 13th starting [Read More]

Keller conquers IMCA Modified feature at Dacotah

By Rebecca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (June 18) – What began as three-car battle ended with a fourth driver back in victory lane Friday at Dacotah Speedway. Scott Gartner, Zach Frederick and Mark Dahl tussled early. Frederick shuffled into the lead as Jeremy Keller quickly worked his way into the top five and then passed Dahl for second. Using the high line around the track, Keller reeled in Frederick and they briefly raced for the lead. Keller took the lead on lap five and pulled away from the field. Frederick then lost positions to Quentin Kinzley, Dahl and Spencer Wilson. When the checkered flag waved, Keller picked up the feature win. Dahl held off Wilson for second place. Kinzley finished fourth while Frederick finished fifth. Shad Pederson and Lane Doll started on the front row of the Mach-1 Sport Compact feature. They raced door-to-door for the lead, allowing Stan Thompson and Ken Sandberg to make it a four-car battle. Contact among the leaders allowed Sandberg to slip by and pull away from the field. Stan [Read More]

Keller checks out at Mandan

By Rebecca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (June 11) – Jeremy Keller checked out on everybody in winning Friday’s IMCA Modified feature at Dacotah Speedway. Tony Marsh started on the pole and when the green flag waved, the eighth starting Keller flew by on the outside and took the lead on lap one. Quentin Kinzley and Marcus Tomlinson battled for second place as Keller started pulling away. Kinzley cleared Tomlinson for second as Mark Dahl started reeling Tomlinson for third. It soon became a three-car battle for fourth between Tomlinson, Drew Christianson and Marlyn Seidler. Seidler split the middle and took the fourth position. Near the end of the race, Keller started catching lapped traffic but Kinzley struggled to reel in the leader. Keller led all 25 laps and won by a margin of six seconds over second place Kinzley. Dahl finished third while Seidler crossed the finish line fourth. Shawn Strand rounded out the top five. Lane Doll and Tanner Hofer led the field to the green flag in the Mach-1 Sport Compact feature. Alex Thompson grabbed [Read More]

Hibdon gets biggest IMCA Modified win at Dacotah Speedway’s Iron Man

MANDAN, N.D. (June 5) – Kollin Hibdon brought a simple strategy into Saturday night’s 100-lap Iron Man main event for IMCA Modifieds at Dacotah Speedway. And after staying patient and “not burning stuff up,” the 17-year-old from Pahrump, Nev., had a career highlight-type win and $5,000 to show for his first visit to the quick North Dakota oval. “This was my biggest win ever. I’ve won $1,500 to win and $1,700 to win races but nothing over $2,000,” said Hibdon, who chased teammate Casey Arneson over the first half of the race, then caught and held off Jeremy Keller the last 21 laps. “I kept looking at the leader board late in the race and knew if I didn’t burn stuff up that I had a pretty good chance.” Arneson and Hibdon ran 1-2 to the mandatory caution at midway. Keller had moved to third on lap 25, right before top five running Tom Berry and Marly Seidler were part of a multi-car tangle. Defending national champion Berry exited for the pits and Spencer Wilson [Read More]

Keller captures IMCA Modified checkers, Sandberg scores 10th straight at Dacotah

By Rebecca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (May 28) – Jeremy Keller held off Casey Arneson for the IMCA Modified feature win on Military Appreciation Night at Dacotah Speedway. Scott Gartner and Travis Tooley battled for the early lead and Tooley grabbed the front spot before a caution regrouped the field. On the restart, Gartner lost positions to Spencer Wilson, Shawn Strand, Arneson and Marlyn Seidler. As Tooley started to pull away, Keller cracked the top five and quickly passed Arneson, Strand and Wilson. Keller reeled in Tooley and took the lead with 10 laps to go. A couple late-race cautions erased Keller’s large lead and put a speedy Arneson on his rear bumper. But on the final restart, Arneson struggled to get around Keller. When the checkered flag waved, Keller outran Arneson for the feature win. Tooley, who led most of the race, settled for third while Seidler finished fourth ahead of Crist Pittenger. After two complete restarts in the Mach-1 Sport Compact feature, it was a three-wide battle for the lead between Tanner Hofer, Stan Thompson [Read More]

‘Something different,’ Dacotah Iron Man 100 features $5,000 top prize for IMCA Modifieds

MANDAN, N.D. – Mandan Stock Car Association board members were looking for “something different” when they came up with the idea of a 100-lap race for IMCA Modifieds. Now they’re looking forward to the same great things when Dacotah Speedway hosts its second annual $5,000 to win Iron Man 100 on Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5. Presented by Jerome Distributing and Coors Light, the Iron Man 100 starts with heat races and a pair of 25-lap $1,000 to win qualifying events on opening night. Saturday’s big 100-lap, Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying main event will be stopped at midway for fuel and tearoffs. “We’re expecting a strong field of home state drivers and some out-of-state travelers,” said board director Mike Christiansen, noting the run to the checkers by Ricky Thornton Jr. in the 2019 Iron Man slowed by just two cautions. “When we started talking about this as a board, we agreed we wanted something different,” he explained. “When we had it two years ago (last year’s even was canceled because of [Read More]

IMCA Dakota Classic Tour point funds total $10,000

MANDAN, N.D. – Point funds totaling $10,000 will be paid to IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers in top 10 point standings for the upcoming Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour. Courtesy of Hoosier Tire and IMCA, point fund amounts increase from $2,000 to $6,500 for the Modifieds and from $1,000 to $3,500 for the Stock Cars. The Modified champion earns $1,600, with $1,150 for second, $850 for third, $700 for fourth, $550 for fifth, $450 for sixth and $300 for seventh through 10th places. The Stock Car champion gets a $850 share of the point fund, with $625 for second, $475 for third, $400 for fourth, $325 for fifth, $225 for sixth and $150 for seventh through 10th. All Modified features pay $2,000 to win and are qualifying events for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Stock Car features pay $1,000 with winners becoming eligible to qualify for the B & B Chassis All-Star race. Opening night for the 32nd annual tour is Saturday, July 10 at Jamestown Speedway. From there it heads to [Read More]

Seidler, Sandberg keep winning at Mandan

By Becca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (May 21) – Marlyn Seidler and Ken Sandberg continued their winning ways Friday at Dacotah Speedway. Scott Gartner led from the pole in the IMCA Modified feature. As Gartner stretched his lead over second place Crist Pittenger, Seidler cracked the top five after starting eighth. Seidler passed Chris Welk for fourth and when Michael Hartigan got loose, Seidler slipped by for third place as well. Wasting no time, Seidler quickly caught and passed Pittenger for second and set his sights on the leader. Once Seidler caught Gartner, he struggled to get around the young driver. Switching his line to the high side, Seidler found some extra speed to get around Gartner and take the lead on lap 10. Seidler pulled away as Gartner had his hands full with a speedy Zach Frederick and Jeremy Keller. It was a three-car battle before Keller slipped by to take second. As the laps wound down, Seidler started to catch lapped traffic but it didn’t slow him down any as he pulled away to [Read More]

Restart opens door for Strand at Mandan

By Rebecca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (May 7) – Shawn Strand took advantage of a restart in winning the IMCA Modified feature on a chilly Friday night at Dacotah Speedway. Fans packed the grandstands and saw veteran Marlyn Seidler, coming back from a rollover the previous week, in the lead early. He pulled away early before a caution erased his large lead over second place Strand. On the restart, Strand flew by on the highside, leaving Seidler to fend off third place Quentin Kinzley. It didn’t take long for the leaders to start catching lapped traffic. Using the slower cars to his advantage, Kinzley slipped by Seidler for second. A late-race caution erased Strand’s large lead over the field. On the final restart of the race, Jeremy Keller slipped by Seidler for third as Mark Dahl had his hands full with a speedy Spencer Wilson. Coming to the checkered flag, Spencer Wilson made a last lap pass over Mark Dahl to finish fifth. Tanner Hofer led the field to the green flag in the Mach-1 Sport [Read More]

Keller, Sandberg score opening night wins at Dacotah Speedway

By Rebecca Rattei MANDAN, N.D. (April 30) – Dacotah Speedway kicked off its 2021 racing season with more than 110 cars from all over the Midwest checked in to officially kick off dirt track racing in North Dakota. Jeremy Keller was the IMCA Modified winner and Ken Sandberg scored the Mach-1 Sport Compact main event victory. After a complete restart in the Modified feature, pole sitter Mark Dahl and Quentin Kinzley battled for the lead. Kinzley grabbed the lead before an early caution regrouped the field. On the restart, Kinzley pulled away while Mark Dahl, Marlyn Seidler and Shawn Strand raced hard for second. Dahl got loose off turn four which resulted in Dahl turning into Seidler and sent him rolling down the front stretch. Seidler was OK but his night was cut short On the restart, Kinzley and Strand made contact racing for the lead. The contact broke Strand’s right front tie rod which drew a caution. On the final restart of the night, Keller dove low under Kinzley. They raced side-by-side until Keller [Read More]