dakotaclassictour Archives

Another Dakota double down for Thornton, this time at Dickinson

By Jackson Braun DICKINSON, N.D. (July 10) – Ricky Thornton Jr. looks absolutely unbeatable right now. The Iowa racer, transplanted from Arizona, found Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour victory lane at Southwest Speedway in both the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars for the second event in a row. The last time any other driver found victory lane on tour was all the way back on Sunday when Matt Speckman held off Thornton in the Stock Car portion of the evening. Thornton has won six out of a possible eight features between the two classes. An all-North Dakota front row of Robert Hellebust and Travis Hagen led the 28-car field to the Modified green flag. Hellebust jumped out to the lead early as Thornton loomed behind him from the fourth starting spot. Hellebust was able to make the high line work and get enough momentum to keep his car in the top spot by as little as two-thousandth’s of a second for a few laps in the early running. Several bobbles by Thornton helped Hellebust [Read More]

Dakota Classic Tour rained out at Williston

WILLISTON, N.D. – Rain is officially the winner of the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour date scheduled tonight (Tuesday) at Williston Basin Speedway. Both IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars will be back in tour action Wednesday at Southwest Speedway in Dickinson and Thursday at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan. IMCA.TV will broadcast both nights. Modified features pay $2,400 to win and are Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying events. Stock Car features pay $800 to win. The fourth annual Corral Sales Legendary 50 is Friday, July 12 at Mandan. IMCA Modifieds race for $10,004 that evening in another All-Star ballot qualifier.

Thornton steals the show at Nodak

By Jackson Braun MINOT, N.D. (July 7) – Ricky Thornton Jr. may have had the worst redraw of the IMCA Modified heat race winners at Nodak Speedway, but he maneuvered his 20RT machine through the field and grabbed a cool $2,400 check in Sunday’s second installment of the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour. The 2015 tour champion started outside row four alongside the winner of the opener at Jamestown, Tom Berry Jr. Chris Schroeder and Iowa wheelman Justin O’Brien led the field to green. O’Brien tried to get a jump on Schroeder, but Schroeder took the field by surprise and powered his machine below O’Brien’s back into the top spot. Racing action was fierce in between the cautions. Lucas Schott challenged O’Brien for second early on. Schott and O’Brien had a handful of cars to fend off, as the likes of Thornton, Berry, Jason Wolla, Hunter Marriott and Robert Hellebust contended for top five positioning. On a restart after the halfway point in the race, Thornton got a couple good runs in the corners and [Read More]

Berry rides hot streak on the way to opening night Dakota Tour checkers

By Jackson Braun JAMESTOWN, N.D. (July 6) – Tom Berry Jr. has been on fire in North Dakota this season, grabbing five wins in June and seven total victories in weekly races and special events this year. Berry’s eighth IMCA Modified victory of the season was by far the biggest, as the opening circuit of the 30th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Modified Tour at Jamestown Speedway ended up in his hands, along with a $2,400 check and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth. 2014 tour champion Jeff Taylor and 2014 Jamestown winner Justin O’Brien led the 29-car field to green. Jeff Taylor’s car did not fire correctly following an early restart and he fell back and retired from the field. This gave O’Brien the lead on a track where he has had past success. Misfortune struck a few more past tour champions as three-time and defending champion Hunter Marriott, dropped out early in the running. 2015 tour champion Ricky Thornton Jr. also found his way back to the pit area during a caution, paving [Read More]

30th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour starts Saturday in Jamestown

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers from 12 states and Canada have already pre-registered for the 30th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour. The tour starts its six consecutive day run Saturday, July 6 at Jamestown Speedway. The Tour then goes to Nodak Speedway at Minot on Sunday, July 7. On Monday, July 8, the series travels across the international border to Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway. Williston Basin Speedway is the next stop on Tuesday, July 9. The series then heads to Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on Wednesday, July 10. Dacotah Speedway in Mandan hosts Championship Night on Thursday, July 11, and the Corral Sales Legendary 50 on Friday, July 12. All Modified features pay $2,400 to win and are qualifying events for the 2019 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, while all Stock Car features pay $800 to win. The Legendary 50 pays a record $10,004 to win the IMCA Modified feature, another 2019 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier. More than $120,000 in payout is offered for the tour [Read More]

Registration underway for history-making 30th annual Dakota Classic Tour

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Registration is underway for a tour three decades in the making. IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers planning to follow the 30th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour can now go to the www.dakotamodtour.com website to register and make themselves eligible for contingency awards and reserve car numbers. “This tour has become something of an institution,” noted founder and director John Gartner. “Drivers come from all over the United States and Canada to enjoy the competition as well as the hospitality.” “Thirty years ago, we had no inkling that this tour would be this successful,” he added. “The tracks, the drivers and the sponsors who have been part of the tour deserve a lot of credit.” Modifieds race for $2,400 to win, Stock Cars for $800 to win on July 6 at Jamestown Speedway; July 7 at Nodak Speedway; July 8 at Estevan Motor Speedway; July 9 at Williston Basin Speedway; July 10 at Southwest Speedway; and July 11 at Dacotah Speedway. All six Modified tour features are qualifying events for the 2019 [Read More]

Emotions flow at Mandan as Wolla scores Modified finale, Lund lands Stock Car prize

By Mike Spieker MANDAN, N.D. (July 12) – The defending national champion let his emotions show when the 29th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour came to a close Thursday at Dacotah Speedway. Jason Wolla claimed a hard-fought Modified win after 30 laps, as Hunter Marriott successfully concluded his bid for a third straight title with a second-place finish. “Hell yeah! We won!” Wolla exclaimed from victory lane. “To every single one of the fans up in the stands, it means a hell of a lot for me to be able to win this race on our home track. All these guys from out of town can pack it up, we won tonight.” Outside front row starter Wolla grabbed the lead on the opening circuit as third row starters Ricky Thornton Jr. and Marriott made their way up to second and third, respectively. Thornton slid up briefly to take the lead on lap 12 but Wolla came back to retake the top spot on the other end of the speedway. The lead duo swapped the [Read More]

Thornton wins Dakota Tour thriller at Dickinson, Zevenbergen cruises to another Stock Car win

By Mike Spieker DICKINSON, N.D. (July 11) – Winning streaks by both inclement weather and Hunter Marriott came to an end Wednesday night at Southwest Speedway. Ricky Thornton Jr. picked up the Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic IMCA Modified Tour win at Dickinson, ending both the streak of two straight wins by two-time defending champion Marriott and then back-to-back rainouts. R.C. Whitwell and Shawn Strand made up the front row for the 30-lap main event. Whitwell grabbed the lead before Thornton got a run to go from fourth to second on lap two, getting by both Strand and Ethan Dotson. The top three distanced themselves from the rest of the field at the halfway point. With 14 to go, Whitwell found himself in lapped traffic and had to move away from the preferred bottom groove, which allowed Thornton to reel him in. Thornton dove to the inside with 10 to go to take the lead but Whitwell didn’t go down without a fight. The Arizona driver battled back to go three wide with Thornton along with a [Read More]

Online registration begins for Dacotah Classic Tour

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Online registration is now open for IMCA Modified and IMCA Sunoco Stock Car drivers planning to follow the 29th annual Kupper Chevrolet Dakota Classic Tour. Drivers in both divisions can go to the drivers tab on the www.dakotamodtour.com website to pre-register. Modified drivers must be pre-entered to become eligible for provisionals during the tour as well as to compete in the $10,003 to win Corral Sales Legendary 50 on July 13 at Dacotah Speedway. Modified features pay $2,400 to win, a minimum of $300 to start and are qualifying events for the 2018 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Stock Car features pay $800 to win and a minimum of $125 to start. Opening night is Saturday, July 7 at Jamestown Speedway. The tour is at Nodak Speedway in Minot on July 8, Estevan, Sask., Motor Speedway on July 9, Williston Basin Speedway on July 10, Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on July 11 and Dacotah Speedway at Mandan on July 12. Title sponsor Kupper Chevrolet provides tour point funds of $2,000 for the [Read More]