wildwestspeedweek Archives

James repeats Wild West Speedweek heroics with win at Douglas County

By Ben Deatherage ROSEBURG, Ore. (June 18, 2024) – Bricen James and Chase Berkeley both raced back to victory lane while Ethan Killingsworth captured his first checkered flag of the 2024 IMCA Wild West Speedweek Tuesday at Douglas County Dirtrack. James, who’d topped the opening night show at Yreka, banked $1,000 for his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified victory while Berkeley followed his Monday Coos Bay win with an impressive run from 11th starting. Killingsworth paced the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods. A pair of former Speedweek champions made up the front row in the Modified tilt, with Troy Morris III and Kellen Chadwick fighting for the initial lead. Morris used the top of the track and beat Chadwick to the line to pace the field. Chadwick settled into second with Jacob Mallet Jr. and James in pursuit. Lapped traffic became a factor with eight circuits negotiated. Mallet got the second spot on lap nine but James and Chadwick quickly came to challenge. The 2022 Speedweek champ, James took over second on lap 12 but was well [Read More]

Winebarger, Sanders, Berkeley top Wild West features at Coos Bay

By Ben Deatherage COOS BAY, Ore. (June 17, 2024) – Tour career win number 12 for Collen Winebarger came on night three of IMCA Wild West Speedweek at Coos Bay Speedway. Winebarger completed his drive from fifth staring to the front on the 25th circuit, then outran Bricen James for the $1,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified checkers and qualifying eligibility for the upcoming Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Timothy Allerdings was a strong third. Lawrence O’Conner and Tyler Blankenship completed the top five. Perfect coastal weather greeted Speedweek competitors for the Monday night show. The Modified main began with 2022 tour champion James motoring ahead of Chance Hyser for the lead at the line. The two battled for a few more laps before James secured the position. Winebarger passed Hyser for second following a lap six restart. A twist to the plot was thrown in the mix after a caution with 20 laps to go in the form of a melee for fifth between Kellen Chadwick, Tim Balding and Tyler Blankenship. Blankenship kept the other two [Read More]

Morris hustles to IMCA Wild West Speedweek win at Southern Oregon

By Ben Deatherage WHITE CITY, Ore. (June 16, 2024) – The driver nicknamed TM3 was the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified winner on night two of Wild West Speedweek. Bakersfield, Calif., ace Troy Morris III motored all the way from 14th in winning Sunday’s main event and $1,000 at Southern Oregon Speedway. Already eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational, his dominating victory came over Mark Wauge, Katelynn Robertson, Ian Whisler and Kevin Williamson. The race was a thriller from the start, with Whisler and Wauge fighting up front and Robertson and Tim Balding slugging it out for third behind them. Morris made the most of the top line following a lap restart to crack the top five. He made it around Balding on lap seven for fourth and dispatched Robertson on the ninth circuit for third. Wauge came under fire from Morris before a lap 10 caution erased Whisler’s big lead. Morris kept his faith on the high side on the twelve times around the 3/8-mile clay oval to pick up the runner-up spot [Read More]

James, Ryland start IMCA Wild West Speedweek with wins at Yreka

By Ben Deatherage YREKA, Calif. (June 15, 2024) – Prospectors came to Yreka to strike in rich in the Gold Rush of the 1850s. Bricen James and Fred Ryland both struck gold of their own Saturday night at Yreka Speedway with feature wins on opening night of the IMCA Wild West Speedweek. James’ won the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature and $1,000 while two-car star Ryland ruled both IMCA Sunoco Stock Car and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main events. When the green flag came out for the Modifieds, Collen Winebarger beat the field to the line for the opening lap. The Corbett, Ore., chauffeur and 2021 Speedweek champion tried to get a big lead, but Tyler Blankenship kept it close for the first few laps. Winebarger got into a good rhythm and began to pull away from the rest of the pack, but before he could get too far ahead, the yellow flag came out with six laps down. Winebarger was masterclass on the restart as Blankenship and James, the 2022 Speedweek champion, battled [Read More]

Feature

Hibdon Storms to Jamestown Victory in Dakota Classic Modified Tour Opener

By Ben Deatherage JAMESTOWN, N.D. (Jul. 5, 2025) — Kollin Hibdon used the high side of Jamestown Speedway to perfection to score the opening night victory of the 2025 Wolla Trucking Dakota Classic Modified Tour powered by Industrial Electric. The Pahrump, Nevada, native led the final 23 circuits of the 30-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature to earn his second career tour win at Jamestown, third career Dakota Tour triumph, sixth win of the season overall, and fifth in the Razor Chassis North Central Region. Justin O’Brien grabbed the early lead before a lap four caution reset the field. Hibdon quickly went to work on the top groove, charging to the point on lap seven. Another caution on lap 12 gave defending tour champion Ethan Braaksma a shot at Hibdon, and he put the Danny Meier and Trent Guest-owned No. 111 into second on the restart. But Hibdon was consistently strong up top and never faltered, even while navigating lapped traffic. Braaksma would finish second with early leader O’Brien ending the night third. Richey Awarded Stock [Read More]

Hobby Stock

Rykhus Wins First of Season at Bumble Bee Nationals

By Greg Grabianowski ALGONA, Iowa (Jul. 3, 2025) — Le Center, Minnesota’s Mick Rykhus had long set his sights on the Bumble Bee Nationals. On Thursday night at Kossuth County Speedway, he finally got to celebrate in victory lane with a commanding performance that earned him $1,000 and his first win of the 2025 campaign. Levi Volkert and Charles Prime led the 18-car Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact field to green, with all drivers guaranteed at least $100 to start. Volkert paced the opening circuits until Tyler Thompson took over on lap three, just before a yellow flag slowed the field on lap five. At halfway, Thompson led with Volkert and Rykhus in pursuit. Rykhus surged to the front with seven laps to go and never looked back, holding off Thompson for the lucrative win. Volkert rounded out the podium. Sidles Storms to Second Hobby Stock Win at Algona The Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks delivered a thrilling finish with Josh Sidles making a late-race move to earn his second win of the season at Kossuth County and his [Read More]

Feature

Larson Bags Big Bucks at CJ Speedway

By Jerry Mackey COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa (Jul. 4, 2025) — The $1,300 dollar first place prize money drew an excellent field of very talented Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds to the 4/10th mile dirt track CJ Speedway located on the Louisa County Fairgrounds. The 20 lap feature was dominated by past National Modified champion Jeff Larson from Freeport, Illinois. Larson took advantage of a great start from the outside of the front row and put the P.J. Kostenbader-owned no. B1 on the top side of the smooth track and sailed on to the feature win over some of the best Modified drivers in the Midwest. Larson has managed to score seven wins in the Razor Chassis North Central Region in 2025. Logan Veloz of Colona, Illinois stayed within striking distance of Larson but was not able to seriously contend for the win. Veloz crossed under the checkers ahead of Josh Foster. Griffiths Grabs the Gold in Stock Cars The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars put on their usual exciting race in their main event. Dustin Griffiths emerged from a [Read More]