wildwestspeedweek Archives

James, Sanders, and Wild Crowned IMCA Wild West Speedweek Champions

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (June 24, 2025) — Despite the final two nights falling to rain, the 2025 edition of the IMCA Wild West Speedweek completed five races in six nights across four different Oregon tracks. Three divisions crowned champions following intense competition in the Pacific Northwest. Bricen James delivered a masterclass across the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division to secure his second career Speedweek title, backing up his 2022 crown. The Albany, Oregon native tied the all-time record for most wins in a single Speedweek with four, matching Kellen Chadwick (2016), Collen Winebarger (2019), and himself. But this time, James set a new record with four straight Speedweek feature wins. Driving the Schram Motorsports-owned no. 13, James won the opener at Southern Oregon Speedway, both nights at Coos Bay Speedway, and added another triumph at Douglas County Dirtrack before finishing second at Cottage Grove Speedway on Wednesday, June 19. Kevin Williamson of Coburg, Oregon rebounded from adversity all week to finish second in the standings aboard the Superior Fuel Cells-fielded No. 42. He came [Read More]

Whisler Wires IMCA Wild West Speedweek Modified Field at Cottage Grove

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Jun. 19, 2025) — Eston Whisler wasted no time establishing control of the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event at Cottage Grove Speedway on Thursday night during IMCA Wild West Speedweek. The 20-year-old racer from Otis, took the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back. A caution on lap two bunched the field early, but Whisler mastered the lone restart and quickly rebuilt his advantage. As the race stayed green, he encountered lapped traffic by lap 13 and spent the remainder of the 35-lap contest slicing through slower cars. Behind him, a spirited battle for second unfolded between Kevin Williamson, piloting the Superior Fuel Cell-owned No. 42, and Bricen James in the Schram Motorsports No. 13. James finally cleared Williamson on lap 26, but the 2019 Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion and 2022 Speedweek king was too far back to mount a charge. Whisler went unchallenged to score his first career Speedweek victory, and his third Shaw Race Cars Western Region triumph of 2025 — [Read More]

James Makes History with Fourth Straight IMCA Speedweek Win at the Douglas County

By Ben Deatherage ROSEBURG, Ore. (Jun. 17, 2025) — Bricen James etched his name into the IMCA Wild West Speedweek record books Tuesday night at the Douglas County Dirtrack, capturing a thrilling Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature for his fourth straight Speedweek victory — the most consecutive wins in series history for the Modifieds. James’ triumph was his 15th career Speedweek win and sixth of the 2025 season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region, keeping him undefeated in Speedweek action at the Roseburg oval. 2023 Skagit Speedway champion Geoff Morris, from British Columbia, led the opening circuit before Chad Groves rocketed around the outside to take command on lap three. Groves built a comfortable lead through lapped traffic until the race’s first caution on lap 16 bunched the field. A red flag for a multi-car crash on lap 20 halted the momentum again, but Groves remained steady on the ensuing restart. James, wheeling the Schram Motorsports no. 13 machine, methodically closed the gap over the final dozen laps. On lap 34, Groves made a move [Read More]

James Makes It Three in a Row with IMCA Wild West Speedweek Win at Coos Bay

By Ben Deatherage COOS BAY, Ore. (Jun. 16, 2025) — Bricen James continued his dominance in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds with his third straight IMCA Wild West Speedweek win and third career Speedweek victory at Coos Bay Speedway. The Albany, native started ninth and took the lead with five laps to go to collect his 14th career Speedweek series win and fifth triumph of the season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Seventeen-year-old Ian Whisler set the early tone by taking control at the drop of the green. He built a solid advantage and encountered lapped traffic on lap 21 but managed to hold steady. As the laps wound down, 2022 Speedweek and 2019 Shaw Race Car Western Region champion James began reeling him in. James made his move on lap 30 and never looked back, pulling away to win the caution-free 35-lap contest. Whisler settled for second, while Washington’s Zane Miner completed the podium in third. Wild Goes Back-to-Back in Coos Bay Stock Cars B.J. Wild captured his second straight Sunoco IMCA Stock [Read More]

James Doubles Up in Speedweek With Coos Bay Modified Win

By Ben Deatherage COOS BAY, Ore. (June 15, 2025) — 2022 IMCA Wild West Speedweek champion and 2019 Shaw Race Cars Western Region titleholder Bricen James made it two-for-two in 2025 Speedweek competition with a dominant win in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Coos Bay Speedway. Piloting the Schram Motorsports no. 13, the Albany, Ore. native jumped to the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back. A pair of cautions on lap five were the only interruptions in the 35-lap feature. James was strong on the restart and began stretching his lead until reaching lapped traffic by lap 17. Despite the heavy traffic, James made all the right moves to keep his lead safe and sailed to victory. The win was his second career Speedweek triumph at Coos Bay, his 13th career Speedweek win overall—tying him with Collen Winebarger for second on the all-time list—and his fourth Shaw Race Cars Western Region win of 2025. California’s Ethan Killingsworth earned runner-up honors while 2023 Skagit Speedway track champion Geoff Morris rounded out [Read More]

James Claims First Southern Oregon Score in IMCA Wild West Speedweek Opener

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (Jun. 14, 2025) — Ryan Peery set the early pace from the pole in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Southern Oregon Speedway, driving the Morgan Creswell-owned No. 5K as part of the opening leg of the 2025 IMCA Wild West Speedweek. Eston Whisler took command on lap six but suffered mechanical issues that ended his night, giving the lead back to the 2022 Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod track champion, Peery. That allowed 2022 Speedweek and 2019 Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion Bricen James to begin applying pressure. Driving the Schram Motorsports no. 13, James made several attempts to pass on the bottom but was interrupted by three cautions. On lap 22, he finally completed the pass and took control. James, from Albany, started eighth and never looked back, claiming his first career Speedweek win at Southern Oregon Speedway, 12th overall series win, third Shaw Race Cars Western Region victory of the year, and first at SOS in 2025. Two-time defending champion Collen Winebarger rallied from 10th to [Read More]

2025 IMCA Wild West Speedweek Set for Seven Races in Eight Nights Across Oregon

By Ben Deatherage VINTON, Iowa (May 22, 2025) — The best of the West will once again converge in the Pacific Northwest as the 2025 edition of IMCA Wild West Speedweek returns for a thrilling stretch of racing from June 14 through June 21, featuring seven races at six tracks over eight nights, all within the borders of Oregon for the first time in several years. The tour opens Saturday, June 14 at Southern Oregon Speedway, then heads northwest to Coos Bay Speedway for a two-night stay on June 15 and 16. The action continues Tuesday, June 17 at the Douglas County Dirt Track, followed by a midweek break on Wednesday, June 18, for a Pit Party at Cottage Grove Speedway. The engines fire back up on Thursday, June 19, at Cottage Grove, then roll into Willamette Speedway on Friday, June 20, before the grand finale at Sunset Speedway Park on Saturday, June 21. This year’s tour features Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, and Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods. Speedweek has been sanctioned [Read More]

James, Berkeley, Bloom win IMCA Wild West Speedweek finales

By Ben Deatherage BANKS, Ore. (June 22, 2024) – The sun set Saturday on the IMCA Wild West Speedweek, with final night feature wins at Sunset Speedway Park going to Bricen James, Chase Berkeley and Aaron Bloom. Tour champions in those divisions would be Collen Winebarger, Berkeley and Matt Sanders. The Modified finale had Carter Patterson in control on the initial start but Devon Reed had plans and was in the lead by lap five. Another exciting race unfolded for third as Grey Ferrando battled Tyler Smith. What proved to be the only caution of the contest came on lap seven. The event stayed green for the remaining 28 circuits around the quarter-mile clay oval. Patterson tried to retrieve the lead from Reed and Craig Cassell entered the picture after securing third from Ferrando on lap 10. Reed kept Patterson at bay but in a sudden turn of events, three-time defending and six-time Banks Bullring track champion Cassell, pulled alongside, then edged out Reed for the top spot on lap 12 and began to pull [Read More]

Berkeley dominates at Willamette, James & Killingsworth win, too.

By Ben Deatherage LEBANON, Ore. (June 21, 2024) – Night six of the 2024 IMCA Wild West Speedweek had to rate a 10 with Chase Berkeley. The Colville, Wash., warrior raced to his fourth consecutive and career 10th IMCA Sunoco Stock Car tour win Friday night at Willamette Speedway, a victory good for $2,500 and qualifying eligibility for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. The two-time defending Speedweek champion took control of the first of 40 laps with brother-in-law B.J. Wild trying to run him down, Kersey Ferrando in third and David Schmidt and Jeff Lovell fighting for fourth. Lovell secured fourth on lap eight and the top five running order remained the same until a lap 19 caution for second-running Wild. Kevin Roberts moved around Lovell to get third on lap 22. Another long green flag run followed with Roberts continuing his charge forward to second. The final caution occurred with 12 laps to go. Berkeley was just too good out in the open in scoring his fourth straight Speedweek win. Roberts was a [Read More]

IMCA Wild West Speedweek sees repeat winners at Cottage Grove

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 20, 2024) – After taking a night off, the Wild West Speedweek returned to action and Collen Winebarger, Ethan Killingsworth and Chase Berkeley all returned to victory lane following their Thursday IMCA feature wins at Cottage Grove Speedway. Winebarger won his second Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature of the week, Killingsworth collected a second straight Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod checkered while Berkeley topped a third consecutive IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main event. The night three winner at Coos Bay, Winebarger pocketed his second $1,000 of the week after winding his way to the front following a lap three restart. He hit lapped traffic the 25th time around the track but that did not slow down his quick pace. Winebarger dominated what became a 33-lap green run to win by more than four seconds. The victory was the 13th of his Wild West Speedweek career and came ahead of Geoff Morris, Paul Rea, Kevin Williamson and Tyler Smith. Berkeley drew the fourth starting spot in the Stock Car feature, taking over up [Read More]