SkagitSpeedway Archives

Rick Smith: From the Operating Room to the Winner’s Circle

By Ben Deatherage MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (Sept. 19, 2025) — The Skagit Valley stretches north of Seattle, where the Skagit River bends through farmland and tulip fields before emptying into Puget Sound. Along its banks sits Mount Vernon, a city first carved out by loggers in the 1870s and toughened by floods, fires, and the grit of rebuilding. Just beyond town, the mist of the North Cascades rolls down into fields of color each spring, while at night the roar of Skagit Speedway turns the valley into a dirt-slinging cathedral. For Rick Smith, it’s more than a backdrop — it’s home, and the stage where three generations of his family have chased speed. That stage nearly slipped away in December 2024, when Smith suffered a heart attack and underwent open-heart surgery. But eight months later — on Aug. 2, his 35th year in the sport — he was back in victory lane at Skagit Speedway in his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified. Rick Smith celebrates in victory lane at Skagit Speedway on Aug. 2, marking his 35th [Read More]

Survive the 55 Offers $10,260 to Win and More at Skagit Speedway on Sept. 26–27

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 18, 2025) — One of the premier fall specials on the Speedway Motors IMCA calendar returns as the Survive the 55 brings two nights of Friesen Performance IMCA Modified racing to Skagit Speedway on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26–27. Drivers from across the Shaw Race Cars Western Region will chase a lucrative purse, with the 55-lap A Main paying $10,260 to win and $500 to start. In total, more than $30,000 will be awarded across A, B, C, and D features. Friday’s program will feature a two-heat format, with each driver competing in two eight-lap heats — the first lined straight up from pill draw, and the second fully inverted. Points from both heats will determine lineups, with the top 12 earning the option to run a fully inverted, 20-lap dash. Saturday’s finale locks the top 18 in accumulated heat race points into the Survive the 55 main event, with the top 8 redrawing for their starting positions. Drivers ranked 19–32 will line up for the 15-lap B Main, 33–46 [Read More]

$10,000-to-Win Survive The 55 Returns to Skagit Speedway

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 21, 2025) — One of the biggest Friesen Performance IMCA Modified shows in the Pacific Northwest returns this fall as Skagit Speedway hosts Survive The 55, presented by Mel Decker Racing, on Friday and Saturday, September 26–27. IMCA Modifieds headline the weekend with a $10,000-to-win main event. The feature also pays $500 to start, with additional $500 awards for longest tow, hard charger, top local car, and best appearing car/crew. A special Fuel Cell Giveaway courtesy of Superior Fuel Cells will also be part of the program. A complimentary private invitation lunch will be served at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday for drivers, crews, and families as a thank-you to the competitors who make the journey. The meal also serves as a recognition of Mel Decker, the first IMCA Modified track champion at Skagit in 1997, who has been instrumental in the growth of this event and in supporting countless drivers over the years. While Decker is scaling back the level of his sponsorship, he will remain a key part of [Read More]

Westergard Prevails Late in Skagit Season Opener

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Apr. 26, 2025) — Jeff Westergard kicked off the 2025 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified campaign at Skagit Speedway in style, overcoming early traffic and late-race pressure to earn his first Shaw Race Cars Western Region victory of the season. Adam Holtrop jumped to the early lead in the 25-lap main event before a flurry of mid-pack battles began to unfold. On a restart, Vancouver Island’s Geoff Morris, the 2023 Skagit Speedway track champion, powered into second before being shuffled back by James Bundy and Westergard. Bundy closed on Holtrop before a lap eight caution slowed the field. On the ensuing restart, Morris flipped in a multi-car tangle in turn four, bringing out the red flag. Westergard capitalized on the next restart, moving into second and then methodically pressuring Holtrop over several laps. Westergard finally found daylight on lap 16, slipping past Holtrop to take the lead. From there, the Sedro-Woolley driver pulled away, with only a late caution threatening his advantage. He held on through the final restart to claim the [Read More]

Berry survives, thrives at Skagit IMCA special

ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 28, 2024) – He was in racing a borrowed car at a track he’d never been to before, but his Saturday night results were familiar to Tom Berry Jr. Berry returned to his Pacific Northwest roots, topping the $10,000 to win Skagit Aggregates Survive the 55 main event for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Skagit Speedway. “It was nice to get back and see a lot of people I haven’t seen for a while,” said the Oregon native, who raced out of North Dakota before moving his dirt track operation to Central Iowa eight year ago. “The facility is very nice and I got to race against a lot of different cars.” “This is the third time I’ve won a race that paid $10,000,” continued Berry, who took home the same amount for winning the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s in 2022, “so this has to rank right up there. There were a lot of tough cars here.” Berry fell back to fourth early in the 55-lapper before starting [Read More]

Westergard scores IMCA Modified checkers at Skagit

By Ben Deatherage ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 3, 2024) – Skagit Speedway witnessed the return of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and the return of Jeff Westergard to the top step of the podium Saturday night. Greg Hibma took control at the start before car owner Ben Gunderson swept pass to collect the lead at the end of the second circuit. Brandon Nutter worked his way up to second, dispatching Hibma the fourth time around the flag stand. After a restart from a lap four caution, the battle for the runner-up spot became a three-car affair between Nutter, Hibma and Rick Smith. That tussle was put on ice, however, by a multi-car get-together on the backstretch. Things got spicy when racing returned to green as Nutter had to deal with the likes of Smith and Westergard. With neither party having a distinct advantage, Smith went to work the upper portion of the track and performed a brilliant double overtake to obtain second on lap six, with Westergard following him a short time later. Eventually, a [Read More]

DeBenedetti makes rare Skagit visit pay with $10,000 IMCA Survive the 55 victory

ALGER, Wash. (Sept. 24, 2022) – After picking his way through lapped traffic, Jon DeBenedetti picked up a $10,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified paycheck. The Rogue River, Ore., driver made a rare visit to Skagit Speedway pay off big time on Saturday night, leading the last half of the Survive the 55 special at Alger. “At this point in my career, to be at the top of my game pushing 25 years and win this race is really special,” said DeBenedetti, newly eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. “To come up here and be able to go against the best of the Pacific Northwest means a lot.” SDMF Chassis teammate Jesse Williamson was next to the checkers in the 55-lapper. Eston Whisler, Bricen James and Ian Whisler rounded out the top five. DeBenedetti was making just his second career start at Skagit after a runner-up finish in a weekly show there eight years ago and compared the Alger oval to Arkansas’ Batesville Motor Speedway. “It’s a very racy place,” he said. “I [Read More]

Washington’s Skagit Speedway puts spotlight on IMCA Modifieds in 2022

ALGER, Wash. – IMCA Modifieds will take their turn in the spotlight at Skagit Speedway beginning in 2022. The 3/10-mile oval at Alger, located halfway between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., off Interstate 5, becomes the second track in Washington State to sanction IMCA’s premier division. Eleven Saturday night shows leading up to the big $10,000 to win Survive The 55 special on the final weekend of the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season Sept. 23-24. “Sanctioning with IMCA seemed like a no-brainer. It’s win-win for everybody, the drivers, the fans, the track owners,” explained Mike Anderson, partners with Kevin Rudeen and Peter Murphy in Fifty-Five Promotions, the ownership group that took charge at Skagit in mid-September. “Talking with our Modified drivers, they felt they were on an island and couldn’t travel much,” he continued. “We did much research and found out there was a lot of interest in racing here from Canadian drivers and Oregon drivers. It just made sense to get on the same page as the rest of the West Coast and the rest [Read More]