Ryan Clark

Young New Mexico driver good as gold in reaching IMCA Sport Compact rookie goal

FARMINGTON, N.M. (Nov. 20, 2022) – A young driver who made it a point to race with and learn from veteran competition proved to be good as gold is achieving her goal of winning the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact rookie of the year award. Miley JoAnn Goldwich-Rhames became the first female driver, and the first from New Mexico to earn national rookie honors in the 4-cylinder division. She totaled 13 feature wins, making 50 starts at 11 different tracks in nine states. “I never thought we’d win that many. We really had to stay focused. We ran with a lot of good drivers everywhere we raced and I got a lot of help,” said Goldwich-Rhames, 14 years old and now a freshman at Farmington High School. “We learned a lot by watching videos and other drivers at the track.” “Every track we went to, drivers gave me pointers and told me I was doing a good job,” she added. “There were drivers who loaned us parts and helped worked on the car when we needed [Read More]

Coopman fires on all cylinders in pursuing fifth IMCA Sport Compact national crown

MANKATO, Minn. (Nov. 20, 2022) – Nate Coopman was the up-and-coming young gun when he won his first Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact national championship. Now he’s the wise old veteran, the division leader in both career wins and track titles, and five-time national champion in the 4-cylinder class. The Mankato, Minn., driver, all of 30 years old, earned his latest national title, along with Arlington Raceway and Murray County Speedway track and the Minnesota State crown, on the strength on 17 feature wins. “We weren’t sure what the season was going to be like after a DNF on opening night at Arlington,” said Coopman. “We were pretty bummed about it, but we stayed at it and kept getting the wins and top five’s.” “Probably about mid-season we looked at points and figured we still had a pretty good shot at the national championship.” Coopman was quick to right the ship after that early miscue, winning seven of his next eight and eight of his next 10 outings. Racing with his father Jerry, wife Stephanie when [Read More]

What a season! Cogburn races to national rookie award for IMCA Southern SportMods

ROBINSON, Texas (Nov. 18, 2022) – After racing to his career first IMCA Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod feature win, Trevor Cogburn celebrated the Texas way, ordering a Number One at Whataburger. After winning national rookie of the year honors, he’ll celebrate at the IMCA awards banquet in Lincoln, Neb. The 17-year-old Robinson High School senior, a graduate of the local junior limited class, got Southern SportMod win number one midway through the season at home track Heart O’ Texas Speedway, then collected another three checkers on the way to earning top rookie honors. “I wanted to get at least three wins this season. I wanted to be competitive and I wanted my family to be proud of me,” said Cogburn, who followed his father Chris into the division. “We were able to get four wins and numerous top fives.” “Watching my dad is how I got started racing and how I’ve learned,” he added. “He’s helped me out a lot, especially this year. This is the first season he hasn’t raced in 30 years.” [Read More]

White stays close to home in racing to first IMCA Southern SportMod national crown

ECTOR, Texas (Nov. 18, 2022) – All his success close to home this season means Rodney White will drive about as far getting to the IMCA national banquet as he did traveling to win an IMCA national championship. White won 15 of his 23 starts at Grayson County Speedway, just 10 miles from home in Ector, Texas, and made a single foray to Southern Oklahoma Speedway in earning the Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod national crown. “Winning a national championship is something I always wanted to accomplish but didn’t know if I’d ever be able to do,” admitted White, who juggled work and family activities in becoming IMCA’s sole first-time national champion of 2022. “It hasn’t set in 100 percent yet but I’m sure it will when I’m sitting at the banquet in Lincoln. It sounds like I’m going to be the only (national champion) who doesn’t already know what to do there.” White knew what to do each and every night at the track, finishing outside the top five just twice. He started [Read More]

Alves complements Lady Eagle award with IMCA Northern SportMod track, state titles

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Nov. 17, 2022) – The Lady Eagle award wasn’t even a blip on Shelby Alves’ radar at the beginning of 2022. Now the trophy she’ll get as the top female driver in IMCA this season will be displayed prominently at her new home in Sioux Falls, S.D. “The Lady Eagle wasn’t a goal at the start of the season. We were concentrating on winning the Arizona State championship. That was really our priority at the beginning of the year,” Alves said following her fourth Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod season. “Winning the Lady Eagle means a lot to me, especially when you consider it means competing with drivers in all the divisions. It’s hard enough just competing in the Northern SportMods.” Alves became the first Northern SportMod driver to win the Lady Eagle, and the first in any division from a Western Region state to do so since its inception in 2007. More than 300 drivers contended for the award this year. “It’s so hard to win a title like this racing [Read More]

Winning IMCA Junior National Championship is Smith’s latest Hobby Stock accomplishment

LAKE CITY, Iowa (Nov. 17, 2022) – Born and raised in a racing family where winning IMCA championships is the norm, Mike Smith can now boast of having won a unique one. The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock driver from Lake City, Iowa is the 2022 Junior National Champion after topping standings for the nearly 400 drivers ages 13-18 who competed in IMCA this season. “It’s a great accomplishment and another one I’m glad I won,” said Smith, who’d become the youngest driver in division history to win the main event at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s last year. “It’s nice to be the first one in the family to win something and I’m always glad when I can click off another championship in a Hobby Stock.” The 20-time feature winner raced to track titles at both Boone Speedway and Kossuth County Speedway and a career-first Iowa State crown as well. “We didn’t shy away from the competition. We ran with a lot of good drivers and they made me work every [Read More]

Knutsen goes across country in pursuit of first IMCA STARS Mod Lite national rookie award

ATKINS, Iowa (Nov. 15, 2022) – Darrick Knutsen towed to 10 different tracks in six states and ended up cruising into the IMCA history book. Knutsen became the first STARS Mod Lite driver to earn IMCA national rookie of the year honors, starting the season racing in Arizona and then Florida before concentrating on weekly events in the Midwest, closer to his Atkins, Iowa, home. “My goal from the start of the season was to win rookie of the year and we started out pretty good,” stated Knutsen, at 50 the second oldest driver to earn that award, in any division. “I focused on getting my starts in, especially at Marshalltown, and when we got rained out in Iowa I went to Kansas or Nebraska to race.” “There were a lot of nights,” he added, “when I went to a track eight or nine hours by myself, then turned around and drove home after the races.” Knutsen had crewed for his younger by two minutes twin brother Erick, who had raced both an IMCA Sunoco [Read More]

Raffurty nears perfection in repeating run to IMCA STARS Mod Lite national crown

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 15, 2022) – Dillon Raffurty made it his mission in his second IMCA season to show the success of his first sanctioned STARS Mod Lite season wasn’t a fluke. He was nearly perfect in proving it. The Kansas City star won 30 of his 35 starts and a second straight STARS Mod Lite national crown in 2022, repeating as winner of the Race of Champions and champion at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s as well. “Last year I felt I had a lot to prove and I kind of raced for myself. This season we dedicated to my dad David, who died in January, and a lot of good things happened,” said Raffurty. “I put his memorial sticker on the left side of the dash so he raced with me all this year.” After a February vacation to Florida for the Sugar Bowl Winter Nationals, a lot of good things happened for Raffurty during two separate streaks of 15 straight wins, from April 15 to June 25 [Read More]

Fast start key to Kirk’s drive to national IMCA Northern SportMod rookie award

SLOAN, Iowa (Nov. 14, 2022) – His fast start to the season surprised even Willy Kirk. The 15-year-old from Sloan, Iowa, had three wins and another eight top five finishes to show for his first 12 starts and stayed fast through the end of September in earning the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod rookie of the year award. “We were pretty much aiming for the rookie award from the start and we raced as much as we could,” said Kirk, who totaled five feature wins and 35 top five finishes, racing to Wagner Speedway and South Dakota State titles as well. “I had to learn how to drive the car and how to pass, so it was surprising to us, coming out of the gate like that.” “My dad taught me how to drive and gave me some really good setups,” continued Kirk, whose father and crew chief Dirk had raced both IMCA Modifieds IMCA Late Models. “We talked every time before I got in the car and after every race. We always tried to [Read More]

Career fifth IMCA national title one highlight of Looft’s Super Northern SportMod season

SWEA CITY, Iowa (Nov. 14, 2022) – A first-time win became the highlight of the season for one of IMCA’s winningest drivers. Matthew Looft raced to the fifth Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod national championship of his career, winning a single-season best 37 features – including his career 200th – and track titles at Arlington Raceway and Kossuth County Speedway. The career leader in all three divisional categories added another title to his lengthy list of accomplishments in 2022: Champion at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. “That would have to be the highlight of our season,” Looft said of his Sept. 10 drive to the checkers at Boone Speedway. “It was almost unexpected because we started so far back but by the time we were 10 laps in, I knew I had a good shot of winning. The car was just so good that night.” “It was pretty unbelievable, especially because it had been four or five years since the last time we were at Super Nationals,” he continued. “That pretty much [Read More]