parkjeffersonspeedway Archives

Thornton strikes IMCA Modified gold at Park Jefferson’s J & J Fitting Iron Cup

JEFFERSON, S.D. (Aug. 8) – Ricky Thornton Jr. added his name to the list of J & J Fitting Iron Cup champions on Saturday night as the Adel, Iowa, driver invaded Park Jefferson Speedway and left with the famed IMCA Modified Iron Cup along with a $7,000 top prize. The 35-lap feature went green with Cody Laney and Lance Mari making up the front row. The California-based Laney found the top groove to his liking and controlled the race through the mid-point. Thornton became the first driver to find the tacky bottom groove on turn four and passed slowly gained on Laney. A caution flag was all Thornton needed and he powered off the bottom of four to take the lead going into one. Meanwhile, Sioux City Excitement Chris Abelson was mounting a serious challenge and rolled into the second spot. One last caution was enough for Thornton and he pulled away for the 2021 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying victory with Abelson second and Tripp Gaylord in third. A number of drivers had strong runs mid-pack [Read More]

Park Jefferson’s rich Iron Cup pays $7,000 to IMCA Modified winner

JEFFERSON, S.D. – Seven thousand dollars is the top prize at the richest IMCA Modified race in South Dakota, Park Jefferson Speedway’s seventh annual Iron Cup special Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7 and 8. Qualifying starts on opening night with the 2021 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying main event set for night two. A race of states is also on the Friday program, with one Modified driver from each state represented at Park Jefferson selected by random draw to compete in a $500 to win event. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars race for $1,000 to win both nights. IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks race for $400 to win, Mach-1 Sport Compacts for $150 to win on Friday. Saturday’s card includes a $700 to win feature for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars while Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods race for $400 to win. Modified entry fee is $150 if paid by Aug. 1 or $200 on race day. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional and KMJ Performance state points will be given at the draw/redraw show. Gates open [Read More]

Mills tunes up with IMCA Modified checkers at Park Jeff

JEFFERSON, S.D. (Aug. 1) – A beautiful blue sky greeted drivers and fans as Park Jefferson driver warmed up for Aug. 7-8 and the Iron Cup with a great fast night of racing at Park Jefferson Speedway on Turner Plumbing Night. In the IMCA Modifieds, it was Chris Mills who took the top spot after a handful of cautions slowed the 20-lap affair. Mills was able to come from mid-pack to run away with the checkers. 2019 champion Bob Moore showed well as he was a strong second and Sean Barragan rushed in straight from a wedding to take third. In the IMCA RaceSaver Sprints, it was Colin Smith returning to the site of two track championships to whip the rest of the field. Smith has ventured around the area this year and took a comfortable win with Danny Nekoite second and Jesse Lindberg third. Veterans Travis Barker and Ryan Harris put on a show for the fans in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main. The two longtime Siouxland combatants raced nose to tail with [Read More]

Braaksma takes IMCA tour career first checkers in Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights opener at Park Jeff

JEFFERSON, S.D. (July 20) – Ethan Braaksma grew up watching the IMCA Modified Dirt Knights and wondering what it would be like to race with them. On Monday night, the young Iowan became a first-time winner when the 2020 Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour opened at Park Jefferson Speedway. Braaksma passed veteran Bob Moore on the 18th of 25 laps, then led the defending track champion through lapped traffic and across the finish line. The win paid $1,500 and put Braaksma on the ballot for the upcoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “I knew I had to keep my momentum up. I was a little hesitant about going to the top,” he said. “There was a lot of moisture on the bottom. I knew if I could just hit it right I could hold the bottom better. I knew where to enter and where to come off.” Braaksma was the fourth different leader in the tour lidlifter. Troy Cordes led the first circuit before Ricky Stephan sped by. The only caution of the contest came on [Read More]

IMCA Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour opens with three races in three states

VINTON, Iowa – Three nights to remember take the Speed Shift TV Dirt Knights Tour for IMCA Modifieds to three tracks in as many different states. Park Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, S.D., hosts its first opening night tour event, paying $1,500 to win the Monday, July 20 show. Events on Tuesday, July 21 at Jackson, Minn., Motorplex and Wednesday, July 22 at Buena Vista Raceway in Alta, Iowa, both pay $1,000 to win. All three races are Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying events and will feature top drivers from around the Midwest as well as travelers from around the IMCA Nation. The tour has yet to see a repeat champion through its first 10 seasons. While the Tuesday show will be the first tour event held at Jackson, Dirt Knights traveled to Park Jeff each of the last two years and to Alta eight of the last nine. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, Side Biter Chassis North Central Region, KMJ Performance State and series points are awarded at all Dirt Knights Tour events, [Read More]

Memorial Clash checkers put Thies on All-Star ballot

JEFFERSON, S.D. (May 23) – Fans at Park Jefferson Speedway have been cheering for Jim Thies since he started racing some 27 years ago. They got to cheer for him again Saturday night, as Thies scored his first IMCA Modified feature win of the season. The Memorial Clash checkers paid $1,000 and put the Mapleton, Iowa, hotshoe on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. “It’s nice when you can still get it done when you’re this old,” said Thies, who held off Shane DeMey and Chris Mills following a late restart in the flag-to-flag run. “It’s always fun to win.” The victory, his career 32nd in the class, came in Thies’ sixth start close to home after starting the season in Texas. After chalking up a single-season best six wins last year, he won on Saturday aboard a new Razor and ahead of DeMey, Mills, Bob Moore and Anthony Ross. Jesse Sobbing rushed out to an early lead and fended off challenges by Justin Luinenburg in winning the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main. Austin Brauner was [Read More]

Park Jefferson’s Memorial Duels boast $1,000 top prize for IMCA Modifieds

JEFFERSON, S.D. – Park Jefferson is the place to be for the fourth annual Memorial Duels this Saturday, May 23. The Duel sees the first Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier of the year at Park Jefferson Speedway for IMCA Modifieds. Paying $1,000 to win and $150 to start, the best of Siouxland’s IMCA Modifieds will be on hand. Joining them for their first IMCA points event are the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Drivers are asked to register at Park Jefferson International Speedway on MyRacePass. Pit gates open at 3 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 5 p.m. and hot laps at 6:15 p.m. Seven hundred spectator tickets are for sale. Tickets can be purchased at https://market.myracepass.com/store/tickets/?i=1205673&store=10866. Remaining tickets will be available at the ticket window. Social distancing guidelines will be in effect and fans are asked to observe best practices. We do request fans and teams to bring some type of face covering to help us continue to have the support of the state which allows us to race during this [Read More]

Roth sweeps Spring Nationals with twin $1,000 IMCA Modified feature wins

JEFFERSON, S.D. (May 8-9) – Anthony Roth brought the broom to Park Jefferson Speedway, sweeping $1,000 to win Spring Nationals features for IMCA Modifieds on May 8 and 9. The 2019 Nebraska State champion and already a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational candidate, Roth started from the pole and rumbled away to the opening night win after holding off challenges from track regular Chris Abelson and Colorado invader Ricky Alvarado. Front row starters Jesse Skalicky and Daniel Gottschalk got things off to a roaring start on Saturday, sliding and shooting for the lead while Shane DeMey joined the fray. Roth then threw a go for broke slide in turn three entering in the fourth position and exited in first. It was a position he would not relinquish. DeMey was second and hard-charging Tyler Frye was third. Shane Stutzman outran hard-charging rookie Justin Luinenburg and Taylor Williams for the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car win on Friday. Luinenburg, a former Hobby Stock national champion, held off Travis Barker and Elijah Zevenbergen in winning the Saturday show. Another Minnesota [Read More]

Park Jefferson Speedway sets IMCA Spring Nationals show for this weekend

JEFFERSON, S.D. – Kruse Motorsports, Inc. and Park Jefferson Speedway team up to bring IMCA racing action back with a two-day Spring Nationals show Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks run both nights, the Mach-1 Sport Compacts on Friday and the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars on Saturday. Each day will be a separate show with the draw/redraw format. Entries are limited and no IMCA points will be awarded. Modifieds will vie for a $1,000 top prize each day in their Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifiers, Sprint Cars race for $600 to win, Stock Cars and SportMods each chase $500, Hobby Stocks going after $400 and Sport Compacts race for $200 to win. Thirty-two entries from each of the Modified, Stock Car, SportMod and Hobby Stock divisions, and 20 each of the Sprint Cars will be entered into the event. Links to registration are: Friday, https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/2303/registrations/2655. Saturday, https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/2303/registrations/2656. Entry fees will be $40 for Modifieds and $30 for all other divisions [Read More]

IMCA Racing returns at Open Wheel Nationals

JEFFERSON, S.D. (April 25) – Dirt track racing made its much anticipated return Saturday night at Park Jefferson Speedway’s Open Wheel Nationals. Ricky Thornton Jr. outran a star-filled field, representing nine states, for the $1,000 IMCA Modified feature win. The first sporting event of any kind held in much of the country this spring, the Open Wheel Nationals played out in front of an empty grandstand but with a worldwide audience watching online. Already a Fast Shafts Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot candidate, Thornton made his charge from seventh starting and caught Sean Barrigan for the lead on the sixth of 25 laps. The feature stayed green following a lap three caution and Thornton ran with lapped traffic the last nine times around the oval. He pulled away as a multi-car tussle for second ensued behind him. Fourteenth starting Robby Sawyer was scored second most of the way before 11th starting Jeff Taylor snuck by to take the runner-up finish by all of .023 of a second. Chris Abelson started 10th and finished fourth while Jim Thies completed [Read More]