southernraceway Archives

Spalding Holds Off Late Surge to Capture Battle of the Beach Finale at Southern Raceway

By Ben Deatherage MILTON, Fla.(Feb. 22, 2025) — Chris Spalding delivered a commanding performance to win the third and final round of the Battle of the Beach at Southern Raceway. The Montgomery City, Missouri driver led all 20 laps of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event, fending off fierce competition from top drivers across the DeVilbiss Racing Eastern Region and beyond. Spalding jumped out front from the drop of the green flag, but Pennsylvania pilot Randall Paxton stayed close in pursuit. However, a series of early cautions derailed any momentum Paxton could build to try and perform the overtake. Each restart saw Spalding execute flawlessly, while the battle for third heated up between Shawn Harker and Iowa’s Drew Janssen. At the halfway point, hometown driver Joseph Joiner electrified the crowd with a daring double overtake, propelling himself into third. Unfortunately, a misstep the following lap allowed Harker to snatch the position back. As Spalding maintained control, both Harker and Joiner overtook Paxton, reshuffling the podium contenders. A late caution set the stage for a tense [Read More]

Joiner And Seffens Shine In Southern Raceway’s Battle Of The Beach Doubleheader

By Ben Deatherage MILTON, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2025) — Southern Raceway delivered an action-packed Valentine’s Day weekend with a thrilling Friesen Performance IMCA Modified doubleheader. Drivers from across the Devilbiss Racing Eastern Region gathered for the first two rounds of the highly anticipated Battle of the Beach series at the 3/8-mile oval facility. The Saturday, February 15th feature was a hometown showcase for Jonathan Joiner, who overcame early chaos to secure a commanding victory. After Jimmy Dunaway initially grabbed the lead, Joiner surged ahead at the line just before a massive three-car wreck reshuffled the top five with only one lap complete. Another incident shortly after pushed several top contenders to the back, but once the race settled into long green-flag run, Joiner dominated. Building a significant lead, the Milton motorist seemed untouchable until a late caution reset the field for a green-white-checkered finish. Despite pressure from Owen Barnhill, a three-time Florida State and Southern Raceway champion, Joiner stayed composed and led the final laps to notch his first win of 2025. Owen Barnhill, who rallied [Read More]

Mallicoat ends Florida roller coaster ride with IMCA Modified Clash on the Coast checkers

MILTON, Fla. (March 2, 2024) – His Florida roller coaster ride saw Izac Mallicoat end the IMCA Clash on the Coast on top. The 17-year-old speedster from Boone, Iowa, stayed close to leader Trevor Fitz the first 19 times around the track in the Saturday finale for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Southern Raceway, and took over up front after Fitz fell off power on a restart. Mallicoat then outran Benji LaCrosse, Ethan Braaksma, speedweek champion Jeff Larson and Tanner Barnhart to the $1,000 checkers. “We have struggled with consistency but the whole week, we knew we had a fast car. We just didn’t know it would be this good,” said Mallicoat, who became eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational aboard a new Brand X ride. “This was a big confidence booster before we start racing around home.” Mallicoat ran fourth in his opening night ‘B’ and exited early from the night two feature at Northwest Florida Speedway, then was kayoed by a flat tire early in his ‘B’ Thursday at Milton. [Read More]

Ohio’s O’Patik tops Clash on the Coast IMCA Modified feature at Milton

MILTON, Fla. (Feb. 29, 2024) – Mitchell O’Patik and Dallon Murty both talked about luck during their post-race interviews Thursday night at Southern Raceway. Truth is that both made their own luck on night three of the IMCA Clash on the Coast. O’Patik led the distance of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Milton, outrunning hometown speedster Joseph Joiner for the $1,000 win and earning Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. “I had a good feeling on the night. I drew 11, went out for my heat race and saw there were some heavy hitters in the back,” he said. “I was like ‘Man, it’s pretty stacked, I’d better go,’ and I did that.” A Colorado native and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod winner early in his racing career there, O’Patik attended college in Ohio and now works for Meyer Shank Racing in Pataskala. His Thursday start was just his third in a 2020 Rage Chassis. The win came just a car length ahead of Joiner, with Shane Stephens, Joel Rust and Jadin Fuller [Read More]

Weekend forecast forces change in Clash on the Coast schedule

BAKER, Fla. (Feb. 27, 2024) – An ever fickle Mother Nature has forced changes to the weekend part of the schedule for the IMCA Clash on the Coast. Tonight’s (Tuesday) speedweek event for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars at Northwest Florida Speedway is on as originally scheduled with Wednesday’s planned day off at the beach becoming a practice day at Southern Raceway. With developing potential for inclement weather, the scheduled Friday and Saturday races at Milton have been moved to Thursday and Friday, Feb. 29 and March 1. What was to have been the final night of racing on Saturday has been designated as a rain date should the Friday show fall to weather. All start times and gate admission rates remain the same. Each Clash on the Coast race program will be broadcast on IMCA.TV starting at 6:30 p.m. CST.

Sun, sand, speed are Clash on the Coast attractions for IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars

BAKER, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2024) – Sun, sand and speed bring 150-plus IMCA drivers to Florida for the four-race Clash on the Coast presented by IMCA.TV. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds will be joined by IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, making their first-ever appearance in the Sunshine State Feb. 26 and 27 at Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker and March 1 and 2 at Southern Raceway in Milton. Speedweek features for both divisions pay $1,000 to win and a minimum of $100 to start. Feature winners become eligible to qualify for the Modified Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational or the Stock Car B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. “We now have more than 150 drivers from 23 states and two provinces pre-entered,” said speedweek director Peyton Taylor, “including Ken Schrader for the first two nights in a Modified and Kenny Wallace all four nights in both the Modified and Stock Car.” “Both the opportunity to race in Florida at this time of year and to compete under the IMCA sanction are what bring a lot of drivers to [Read More]

130-plus IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars are Florida bound for Clash on the Coast

BAKER, Fla. (Jan. 29, 2024) – Just north of 130 drivers from across the United States and Canada are headed south for the Clash on the Coast presented by IMCA.TV. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds return to race night cards for the second annual speedweek, presented by IMCA.TV and will be joined by IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars for first-ever appearances by The Class Too Tough To Tame at both Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker Feb. 26 and 27, and at Southern Raceway in Milton on March 1 and 2. Features for both divisions pay $1,000 to win and a minimum of $100 to start. Feature winners become eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational or the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. All four race programs will be broadcast by IMCA.TV. “It’s mind boggling that we have gotten this much support from the racing community. We’ve already got more than 80 Modified and more than 50 Stock Car entries, from 20 states and two Canadian provinces,” said speedweek promoter Peyton Taylor. “These being 100 percent [Read More]

Becerra is incredible in unforgettable IMCA Clash on the Coast title clinching win

MILTON, Fla. (March 4, 2023) – Improbable? Maybe. Impossible? Not for Austen Becerra. Becerra was incredible in racing from last at the start to first at the finish Saturday night at Southern Raceway, winning his third Clash on the Coast for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds start of the week and going home to Carthage, Ill., with a $2,500 share of the inaugural tour point fund. “We put our heads down and did what we had to do,” said Becerra, who worked his way quickly through the field and passed Drew Janssen for the lead following a restart with four laps left. “This win, and to win three nights and finish second the other night, means a lot to us about our entire program.” “Definitely, the last race is one I’ll never forget.” Becerra had taken a two point advantage over Milton driver Joseph Joiner into the Saturday show, finished sixth in his heat and then ran second in the final ‘B’ feature. “We got run over in the heat but the car wasn’t very good, [Read More]

Becerra masters Southern traffic for second IMCA Clash on the Coast win

MILTON, Fla. (March 3, 2023) – Austen Becerra worked a little lapped traffic for another big Friesen Performance IMCA Modified win in Florida Friday night. Becerra chased hometown driver Joseph Joiner to just past midway of the Clash on the Coast presented by IMCA.TV main event at Southern Raceway, making his pass for the lead as the front pair came to the line on the 14th of 25 laps. He’d lead to the $1,000 checkers, repeating his winning ways from opening night on Monday and flipping the 1-2 finish with Tuesday winner Joiner. “I knew we’d get to lapped traffic and I saw my chance. He was trying to search and more around, he’d go low and I’d go high,” said Becerra, from Carthage, Ill. “A lapped car kind of got him bottled up. He didn’t know where to go, I stuck it in there and was able to get the lead in lapped traffic.” The only caution came with eight circuits left, when a lapped car spun in front of Joiner, who was able to [Read More]

Great IMCA racers, partners combine to make Clash on the Coast an event

BAKER, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2023) – All the nervous energy that promoter Peyton Taylor brought with him to Florida ahead of the inaugural Clash on the Coast presented by IMCA.TV has been transformed. Now it’s energy. “The response has been mind-blowing,” Taylor said, not much more than hours ahead of the tour for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, at NW Florida Speedway in Baker Feb. 27 and 28 and at Southern Raceway in Milton on March 3 and 4. “We have turned four races into an event, and that would not have been possible without a lot of great IMCA racers and a lot of great IMCA partners.” More than 50 early entries are in hand, among them former and defending regional champions, former regional rookies of the year and IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s champions. Local drivers will greet a strong contingent from Taylor’s home state of Arkansas and another 10 states, racing for $1,000 to win, a minimum of $100 to start and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility each night. Purses [Read More]