Tyler Mecl scored the win in Saturday’s IMCA Modified feature at Central Arizona Speedway.
By Jeff McSpadden
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (May 12) – Persistent Tyler Mecl and a very fast Jason George were IMCA winners Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway.
Mecl used the outside of the speedway to surprise Jeremy Thornton and take over the lead coming to the stripe to complete the ninth lap of the IMCA Modified main.
From there, Mecl weathered one last caution on lap 12 to take the checkered flag by more than two seconds over Thornton and Trevor Mille.
Jason George shot from fifth to first, somehow going lower on the speedway than the three-wide trio of Gerry Glenn, Mark Farnes and Chris Tipton on the first lap of the Karl Chevrolet Northern Sport Mod feature.
George pulled away to a full straightaway lead by the halfway mark and simply checked out over the last 10 laps of the race. George crossed the finish line almost nine seconds ahead of Glenn.
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 9) – Chaz Baca, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Cody Thompson all raced to second wins in their respective divisions, in the third IMCA Arizona Dirt Track Tour event of the weekend. Baca led the way to the $2,000 IMCA Modified checkers while Thornton collected the $750 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers Sunday afternoon at Central Arizona Speedway while Thompson returned to Casa Grande for another impressive Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod victory, also good for $750. After a rough start to the 25-lapper, Baca led the distance in the Modified main. Already on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot, he was chased every time around the track by Tim Ward while Thornton made his way from 17th starting to third before a lap 14 caution. The race stayed green to the finish from that point. Thornton, Jeff Taylor and Casey Arneson rounded out the top five. Back-to-back yellows just after midway were all that slowed Thornton in his drive to the Stock Car win. Brendon LaBatte, Zachary Madrid, 10th starting Arron Hetrick and Chanse [Read More]
By Jackson Braun CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Feb. 10) – While day racing at the Central Arizona Speedway brought a completely different dynamic to the plate, the driver in victory lane following Sunday’s Arizona Mod Tour main event was celebrating a second straight victory. A familiar face returned to the winner’s circle as Ricky Thornton Jr. grabbed his fourth career tour win, tying him with Hunter Marriott for the most overall wins in the third running of the tour. Also the $1,500 winner Saturday at Arizona Speedway and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier six times over, Thornton used his outside starting spot to grab the lead early. Clint Reichenbach, who had faced struggles at Queen Creek, used his fourth place spot on the starting grid to catapult himself into 2nd early on. Jake O’Neil worked his way past Reichenbach and set his sights on Thornton. Thornton had a comfortable cushion once he reached lapped traffic and once again was able to maneuver very efficiently. For the second night in a row, the Modified feature [Read More]
By Jeff McSpadden CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (April 28) – Jeremy Thornton rocketed to his second IMCA Modified victory of the season while Mark Harrison came back from early troubles to hold off Jason George in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod feature Saturday at Central Arizona Speedway. Thornton shot into the lead following an early restart and left the rest of the field to battle for second. At the finish, Thornton took a 2.303 second win over Tyler Mecl, Darin Center, Trevor Miller and Chuck Grohnke. With two laps remaining and a bunched-up restart, it appeared as if George might be able to challenge Harrison for the Northern SportMod win. But Harrison was up to the task and got a nice jump at the green. George stayed close but, in the end, would cross the stripe .488 seconds behind Harrison at the finish. Arron Hetrick held on to the third spot after crossing the line side by side with a charging Jimmy Terstriep.