The feature pays $500 to win and a minimum of $50 to start. Twenty-two cars will take the initial green flag. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing national, Western Region and Allstar Performance State points will be awarded.

A new clay racing surface has been laid on the track to make the four-and-five-wide racing action even better. The new 1/5-mile clay oval also will debut March 7-8.

IMCA Modifieds and the West Coast Late Model Shootout Series open the two-day show during LVMS’ NASCAR Weekend. World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and West Coast 360 Sprint Cars take to the half-mile track on March 8.

Pit gates open at 1 p.m. and spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a drivers’ autograph session to be held on the midway. Hot laps are at 6:30 p.m. with racing at 7:05 p.m. A pill draw will be conducted for starting spots in heats.

Opening night admission prices are $15 for adults and $6 for kids ages 6-12. Two-day tickets are $50 for adults and $15 for kids.

A Howard Johnson hotel has opened near the speedway, at 5300 East Craig Road, with a free breakfast and secure parking for race rigs.

Rooms can be reserved for $59 by calling 702 651-0298. The promotional code is LVMSRacer.

IMCA Modified driver Brady Coen was the winner of the drawing for a Brinn-manufactured transmission. (Photo by Gage Coen)

BAY CITY, Mich. – Brady Coen won the 2011 post-season drawing for a new Brinn transmission.

The veteran IMCA Modified driver from Wiley, Colo., made himself eligible for that award by finishing fifth on night two of the Flatlander special at Sherman County Speedway.

Brinn gave $50 product certificates, applicable toward the purchase of a new transmission from the Bay City, Mich., manufacturer, to top 10 finishers at 30 designated specials and special series events last season.

Those drivers were then entered in the drawing.

Brinn has already renewed the same awards package for 2012, its 10th season as an IMCA sponsor. Certificates will be mailed from the IMCA home office after official results are received for designated events.

“The transmission giveaway was a great way to cap off the season for the Brinn program and Brady Coen is a very deserving winner,” IMCA Marketing Director Kevin Yoder said. “It’s great that Brinn has been a supporter for a decade now and we look forward to awarding another transmission at the end of the 2012 racing season.”

In addition to transmissions, the product line at Brinn also includes bell housings, flywheels and drive flanges, steering quickeners, starters, shock dynamometers and yokes and U-joints

Information about those products is available by calling 989 686-8920 and at the www.brinninc.com website.

BURLINGTON, Iowa – 34 Raceway hosted its 2011 season awards banquet at Whitey’s Bar and Billiards in Burlington on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Nearly 300 people were in attendance to honor and recognize top 10 points finishers in the J & J Steel/Ideal Ready Mix IMCA Late Model, Miller Lite IMCA Modified and Mike’s Auto Parts IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, and the top five drivers in the in Weikert Iron and Metal Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod division.

Special recognition went to 2011 season track champions Denny Woodworth, Late Models; Brandon Rothzen, Modifieds; and Jeff Mueller, Stock Cars and SportMods.

Special awards were presented to the following: Hard luck award: Matt Bailey; million miles award, Destini Clark; BFF (Black Flag Flat) award, Daniel Bergquist; most generous racer award, Mike Weikert; major fun award, Ryan Cook and crew; Stock Car most improved award, Shane Watts; Stock Car hard luck award, John Oliver Jr.; Big Star 2entertainment friendship awards, Jake Wenig and Ray Raker; 2011 quiet zone award: Chad Krogmeier, Eric Rowley and Scott Van Buskirk; young guns award, Evan Eppersan; and special achievement award, Chad Giberson.

Also recognized was the Quincy Raceway/34 Raceway Q34 Late Model championship, Joey Gower, who was presented with a $1,700 check.

One last award included a special thanks to Jason Goble, the only full-time 34 Raceway employee, who handles day-to-day operations from mowing the grass to the concessions.

It was also announced that the total purse paid out for the 2011 season was $587,590.

34 Raceway will kick off the 2012 season with a car show on March 24. Test and tune days are planned March 31 and April 3, with the first race the Slocum 50 Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models, along with 305 sprints, 4 cylinders and mod lites on April 7.

Scott Drake shared setup tips with the Wood Team prior to the fourth installment of the IMCA Modified series at Peoria. The Missouri veteran led much of the 25-lapper before late contact with a lapped car opened the door for Wood.

“We had struggled with the suspension on our car but Scott helped us with that and everything worked the way we wanted it to,” said Wood, who’s best finish in three previous 2012 series starts has been 12th. “I’d never won a Winter Challenge race before. It’s awesome.”

Drake, quick to congratulate Wood during post-race activities, salvaged second place points and pay. Jay Foster, Jason Noll and Ryan Roath followed as home state drivers captured four of the top five positions.

Wood ran second early on, then watched Drake shoot from third to first following a restart. Drake began to pull away before Wood changed lines, going high in the turns and to the lower line on the straightaways.

After reeling in the leader, Wood was in the right place at the right time when Drake was unable to avoid a spinning car, driving between both and taking the checkers by not much more than a car length.

The $1,000 victory put Wood on the ballot for this year’s Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Self-funded, Wood has already matched his win total for all of last season. The 2010 Allstar Performance Arizona state champion is also the newest member of the Karsyn’s Krusaders team and will help raise money for cancer awareness and prevention.

Daniel Hilsabeck and Guy Norton, the final qualifiers from the ‘B’ feature, were the evening’s hard chargers. Hilsabeck advanced 16 spots to sixth while Norton passed 14 cars to seventh.

Another qualifier from the semi, R.C. Whitwell, moved up 10 positions from his original start to end in eighth.

Feature results – 1. D.J. Wood; 2. Scott Drake; 3. Jay Foster; 4. Jason Noll; 5. Ryan Roath; 6. Daniel Hilsabeck; 7. Guy Norton; 8. R.C. Whitwell; 9. George Fronsman; 10. Tim Ward; 11. Rob bie Chiles; 12. Justin Thornton; 13. Steve Stultz; 14. Jeff Conner; 15. Jesse Williamson; 16. Gar rett Funk; 17. Dylan Smith; 18. Phil Penney; 19. Chris Abelson; 20. William Gould; 21. Ricky Thornton Jr.; 22. Joel Bushore.

Heat winners were Drake, Abelson and Williamson. Winner of the ‘B’ feature was Chiles.

In 2012, Fuel The Thunder 2 will build on the foundation established by the initial series by expanding to 13 one-hour episodes and featuring the drivers that fuel the IMCA Hawkeye Dirt Tour. The episodes will be exclusive to YouTube and will be released every Monday at 1:00 PM Central starting on December 3, 2012. A subsequent DVD/Blu Ray Set and movie theater showing will be released in the months that follow.

“The is an excellent opportunity for the modified drivers of IMCA to get much needed exposure via new media outlets,” stated IMCA Vice President Brett Root. “Barry and his team at X.CELERATED produced a fantastic program that really features the lifestyle and personalities of these drivers. On top of this, the vision they have with utilizing the internet, mobile, and TV everywhere instead of the traditional form of network television fits the dirt track racing business model now and into the future.”

The 13 drivers of Fuel The Thunder 2 will be selected at a later date. The show will follow these drivers in the quest to win races and the championship of the Hawkeye Dirt Tour, now it its third season, throughout the state of Iowa.

“Fuel The Thunder has been one of the most rewarding projects that our young company has produced,” added Barry Braun, Producer of Fuel The Thunder and President of X.CELERATED. “The project is as real as one will get at the dirt track. We do not use a big fancy film crew, equipment, or post production. We get in the trenches with one camera, a couple of ideas, and drive up and down the road like any fan would. I strive to create based on the drivers, the elements, and the pure passion of the project. The internet, with delivery to multiple devices, has allowed us to stay true to this project. Because of it, we will expand on that in 2012 with an hour long show and thirteen in-depth episodes.”

More information regarding Fuel The Thunder 2 will be released in the coming months on www.fuelthethunder.com. Filming for the series will begin in early April during the Frostbuster tour of races sanctioned by the IMCA.

To keep up with the International Motor Contest Association, IMCA visit: www.imca.com

More information on the Hawkeye Dirt Tour can be found at: www.dirttour.com

More information on X.CELERATED can be found at: www.racexr.com.

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About X.CELERATED

X.CELERATED (XR) is a marketing and multimedia firm based in Minnesota. XR focuses on the dirt track industry producing high impact websites, video, and internet broadcasts. More information on X.CELERATED can be found at: www.racexr.com

BST Promotions has been contracted to operate the track, where regular race nights move to every other Friday starting May 4 and feature the IMCA Modified, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods.

“We’re confident drivers and fans will come out and see all of the great changes and additions and help us make the 2012 race season one for the history books,” the BST’s Joe Bellm said. “We’ve made a lot of improvements for this season, everything from a new logo to most importantly the brand new racing surface.”

More than 80 truckloads of dirt were laid down and county crews transformed the track into a wide, smooth sand- and rock-free oval.

“The county has done 110 percent of everything we asked them to. That’s bound to make this track one of the finest and fastest in the region and help us increase car counts as well,” Bellm said. “It also allows us to work in conjunction with I-76 Speedway, Lamar Speedway, Sherman County Speedway, Lincoln County Speedway, allowing drivers in the four sanctioned divisions to race at Holyoke on Friday nights and then again on Saturday at another IMCA track.”

Fans will appreciate some of the other race night improvements.

“Phillips County Raceway has partnered with Budweiser and Monster Energy Drinks and we will have a beer garden available for the spectators in the grandstands,” Bellm noted. “We believe this will help attract more fans to the stands for our TGIF racing events.”

More information on the upcoming season at Holyoke is available at the new phillipscountyraceway.com website and on Facebook.

Test and tune for all divisions is Saturday, April 21. The Blood Sweat and Tears Series for Modifieds and Stock Cars headlines the Wednesday, July 4 show, along with Hobby Stocks, SportMods, midgets and dwarfs.

Late models and lightning sprints also take turns on weekly cards. Season championship night is Aug. 24, with a rain date of Sept. 16.

Phillips County is in IMCA’s Central Region for Modifieds and Probe Industries Northern Regions for Stock Cars and for Hobby Stocks. Points earned in all four divisions at Holyoke figure toward IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing national crowns.

Abelson topped Sunday afternoon’s $1,000 to win IMCA Modified main event at Canyon by driving to the front from the 8th starting spot. After a couple early cautions, the lights stayed green as he led the last 19 of 25 circuits at Peoria.

“This is my first visit to Canyon and I really like it. Dylan Smith kind of talked me into coming down and I’m glad he did,” said Abelson, after out-of-state drivers took the top six spots in the Sunday show. “I finished second on Friday and got up to second on Saturday.”

“This time I got up to first and never touched with another car getting there,” he continued. “I’ve been really pleased with how the racing has gone.”

Front row starters Jesse Williamson and Scott Drake tussled over the lead while Abelson used the lower and middle lines to race his way into contention.

Their battle went three wide before Abelson drove by on the inside. Williamson, who made the trip from Oregon, ended in second and Jay Noteboom was third.

Saturday feature winner Smith and Drake, piloting the familiar Darin Duffy ride, rounded out the top five.

Abelson is now qualified four times over for the 2012 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. He won the All-Star race last September, as well as JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour and Clay County Fair features.

Feature results – 1. Chris Abelson; 2. Jesse Williamson; 3. Jay Noteboom; 4. Dylan Smith; 5. Scott Drake; 6. Spencer Wilson; 7. Garrett Funk; 8. Phil Penney; 9. Guy Norton; 10. Jay Foster; 11. William Gould; 12. Larry Hood; 13. Tim Ward; 14. Bryan Schultz; 15. Ryan Roath; 16. Jason Briese; 17. Jeff Conner; 18. Jason Haug; 19. Lance Mari; 20. D.J. Wood; 21. George Fronsman; 22. Jason Schoenberger.

Heat winners were Abelson, Noteboom, Funk and Drake. “B” feature winners were Penney and Gould.

“This is a great track,” said Gray, previously boss at McCook from 2006-2009. “We want to have a track that’s fun for the fans and for our drivers and we’ll do everything we can to make it that way.””

He’ll be part of the nine-member McCook Speedway Race Committee, formed to supervise the track operation and finances.

Eight regular weekly programs on the 3/8-mile clay oval, all but one of them on Friday or Saturday nights, feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sprint Cars, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods.

Point earned in all five divisions figure toward IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing national championships. McCook is part of IMCA’s Central Region for Modifieds and Probe Industries Northern regions for Stock Cars and for Hobby Stocks.

Opening night is April 20. The county fair race is Thursday, July 26 and season championship night is Aug. 25.

Smith took advantage of a long green flag run and raced his way from the 15th starting spot to the lead in Saturday’s main event. The 2010 series champion held off fellow long tow Phil Penney and defending Winter Challenge king Tim Ward for the $1,000 victory.

Penney moved up 15 places on the night while Ward was a plus 11. Opening night winner Larry Hood was fourth while Scott Drake, another traveler, hurried his way into the top five.

A couple yellows slowed the early going in the 25-lapper and two more cautions kept the field close in the final circuits.

“We tightened the car up after our heat and it was pretty good in the ‘B,’” said Smith, who ran second to William Gould in the semi. “I was able to roll around everybody in the middle (line) in the feature and once I got into the lead I went back to the bottom. I had to protect the lead once I got it.”

Penney was right on Smith’s back bumper at the end.

The win was Smith’s career fifth at Canyon and IMCA career 69th.

Feature results – 1. Dylan Smith; 2. Phil Penney; 3. Tim Ward; 4. Larry Hood; 5. Scott Drake; 6. Marlyn Seidler; 7. Jason Noll; 8. Chris Abelson; 9. Jason Schoenberger; 10. Jay Noteboom; 11. Guy Norton; 12. D.J. Wood; 13. Jason Haug; 14. Spencer Wilson; 15. Jeff Olschowka; 16. Garrett Funk; 17. William Gould; 18. Daniel Hilsabeck; 19. Jason Briese; 20. Jesse Williamson; 21. Rocky Thornton Jr.; 22. George Fronsman.

Heat winners were Hilsabeck, Drake, Noll and Hood. “B” feature winners were Gould and Ward.

Hood made the trip from California to win Friday’s opening event in the Winter Challenge Series, matching his win total from all of 2011 on his first night out this season. The $1,000 victory also put him on the ballot for this year’s Fast-Shafts All-Star Invitational.

“We didn’t do much racing last year,” said Hood, who logged just nine starts. “At the end of the year we got everything together and made plans to start this season at Canyon, and obviously I’m glad we did. The program they ran there was absolutely amazing. I was very impressed with the entire program.”

After drawing the outside front row start, Hood took the lead following an early restart and ran in front all 25 laps.

He caught up with the back of the field with three laps left. Running a comfortable enough distance ahead of his closest challengers, Hood ran a cautious final circuit in securing the win, his IMCA 26th.

Hood would finish his Arizona excursion with fourth and 12th place finishes.

“The whole weekend went well,” he said after completing the trip home and getting an early start on preparing for opening night at Bakersfield Speedway. “We went with the goal of making all three shows and did that without having to go through a ‘B’ main.”

Chris Abelson was second while pole starter Garrett Funk ended in third. Dylan Smith advanced 10 spots to finish fourth and Phil Penney completed the top five.

Feature results – 1. Larry Hood; 2. Chris Abelson; 3. Garrett Funk; 4. Dylan Smith; 5. Phil Penney; 6. Tim Ward; 7. Spencer Wilson; 8. Rock Thornton Sr.; 9. William Gould; 10. George Fronsman; 11. Marlyn Seidler; 12. Jay Noteboom; 13. D.J. Wood; 14. Steve Simpson Jr.; 15. J.C. Parmeley; 16. Joel Bushore; 17. Bryan Schultz; 18. Jason Noll; 19. Jeff Olschowka; 20. Robert Adams; 21. Scott Drake; 22. Ryan Roath.

Heat winners were Hood, Fronsman, Olschowka, Adams and Abelson. “B” feature winners were Gould and Smith.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 5 p.m., with racing set for 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3 at Peoria. Gates open at 10 a.m., the grandstand opens at 11 a.m. and the first heat is at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Spectator admission is $18 for adults, $22 for reserved seating, $7 for kids ages 7-12 and free for youngsters six and under. Pit passes are $30 for members or $35 for non-members.

The series ends Friday and Saturday, Feb., 10-11 Winter Nationals programs at Cocopah Speedway, just outside Yuma in Somerton. The opening night feature pays $750 to win and first place money on night two is $3,000.

D.J. Wood became the first home state driver to chalk up a series victory this season, using lapped traffic to his advantage in passing Scott Drake for the Wednesday night checkers at Canyon.

California’s Larry Hood, Nebraskan and 2010 series champion Dylan Smith and Iowan Chris Abelson were opening weekend feature winners.

Smith, Abelson and defending champion Tim Ward now run 1-2-3 in the Winter Challenge Series point race.

All six events at Canyon and the Saturday feature at Cocopah are qualifying events for the 2012 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot.

Winter Challenge Series top 20 point standings – 1. Dylan Smith, Osceola, Neb., 138; 2. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa, 134; 3. Tim Ward, Gilbert, 132; 4. Phil Penney, Percival, Iowa, and Scott Drake, Webb City, Mo., both 131; 6. Garrett Funk, Phoenix, 122; 7. D.J. Wood, Peoria, 118; 8. Jason Noll, El Mirage, 110; 9. William Gould, Calera, Okla., 107; 10. Larry Hood, Bakers field, Calif., 106; 11. George Fronsman, Surprise, 102; 12. Jay Noteboom, Hinton, Iowa, 98; 13. Jesse Williamson, Coburg, Ore., 97; 14. Guy Norton, Peoria, Ryan Roath, Phoenix, and Spencer Wilson, Minot, N.D., each 96; 17. Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, 86; 18. Jay Foster, Buckeye, 85; 19. Jason Haug, Salida, Colo., 83; and 20. Marlyn Seidler, Underwood, N.D., 77.

The 4-cylinder class joins IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods on regular Wednesday night programs.

“We wanted to add a division that allows younger people to get involved in racing on an economical level. They can get into a Sport Compact without spending a lot of money,” explained promoter Mike Van Genderen. “I’ve also gotten calls from 4-cylinder drivers looking for another place to race for national points.”

The first-year boss at SIS also said those drivers were looking forward to racing at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Cenex at Boone on Sept. 4.

Southern Iowa Speedway becomes the 26th track to sanction the Sport Compacts this season. Twenty-one track champions were crowned in the division in 2011.

Van Genderen announced in December that he’d resume the IMCA sanction at Oskaloosa.