Ryan Clark

Thornton, DeVilbiss deal Saturday IMCA Duel wins

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 13) – There was a time when Ricky Thornton Jr. and Zane DeVilbiss went to Las Vegas and wondered where their good luck went. Now they’ve both repeated as winners of rich IMCA main events Saturday night at the 24th annual Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert. Thornton took home $10,000 after taking the IMCA Modified checkers while Devilbiss’ latest IMCA Sunoco Stock Car win at the half-mile Dirt Track paid $5,000. “It’s nuts. I had struggled there for a while and now I’ve won the Duel two years in a row,” said Thornton, who had started from the pole and chased Cody Laney most of the 25-lapper, getting the lead back with five circuits left. “It’s definitely special to win here. This is just five hours from where I grew up and my whole family gets to come.” Laney had climbed from the sixth position to take the lead at the conclusion of the sixth lap. Thornton kept pace with Laney until six laps remained. Thornton attempted a slide job at that [Read More]

Anderson, Forster earn Friday IMCA Duel wins

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 12) – The first two IMCA champions at the 24th annual Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert were crowned Friday at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as Logan Anderson and Zack Forster took home titles. Anderson won the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod title and $5,000 while Forster won the first-ever STARS Mod Lite championship and $1,500. Jorddon Braaten joined Anderson on the front row of the Northern SportMod grid. Anderson built a four second lead in the first 11 laps of the race but his advantage was erased by the first caution of the main event. A multi-car tangle on the restart sidelined several contenders including Chase Alves and Brett Berry. Alves had climbed from 10th to fourth place. Anderson remained unchallenged in the final 10 laps of the race, leading wire-to-wire for the victory. Dylan VanWyk, Matt Sanders, Braaten and Danny Concelman completed the top five. Forster and Randy Bryan led the field to the green in the 20-lap STARS Mod Lite championship feature. Following a caution on [Read More]

Bannister making a name for himself with Northern SportMod rookie of the year award

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Tyler Bannister started his first Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod season racing with “name” drivers at Cocopah Speedway’s Winter Nationals. He ended the season making a name for himself as the national rookie of the year. Bannister, 19, won eight features – three of them during California Speedweek – track championships at hometown Bakersfield Speedway and at Merced Speedway, and was seventh in the national points race. “Rookie of the year was not something we were really running for at the start of the season. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year,” said Bannister, who contended with Izac Mallicoat and fellow Californian Ryan Peery for the rookie prize. “I knew I had to not stress out and just do as well as I could every night. I think my parents and my crew were more worried than I was.” Bannister raced with his father Jason in most of his 38 starts, joining him in the Northern SportMod division after running bandolero and legends cars on asphalt and a local [Read More]

Looft delivers career fourth Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod crown

SWEA CITY, Iowa – Matthew Looft wasn’t kidding when he said chasing points were not in the plans for 2021. Looft and wife Brittney were expecting their third child and as a result, he’d be racing for fun and supporting tracks closest to their rural Swea City, Iowa home. A single-season career best 27 feature wins later, however, Looft delivered his career fourth and division-best Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod national championship. “We never thought it would happen. Everything just worked out,” said Looft, who watched the Salute to Veterans race at Kossuth County Speedway on the delivery room TV prior to the 1:33 a.m. July 30 arrival of daughter Brynlee. “The whole season was pretty crazy, really. One distinct memory I’ll never forget was winning the Salute to Veterans race at Clay County Fair Speedway while my wife was having contractions in victory lane. I suggested she stay home that night, but I didn’t win that battle. Brynlee was born a day later.” Starting his first season in a Skyrocket Chassis by B & B, Looft picked up the opening [Read More]

Two more drivers punch tickets to Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert championship features

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 11) – Two more drivers are locked into Saturday’s IMCA Modified championship feature following qualifying feature victories on Night 3 of the 24th annual Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Winners of qualifying features receive automatic bids into Friday and Saturday night’s championship features in four divisions at the Duel in the Desert: IMCA Modified, Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car and IMCA STARS Mod Lite. Based on points, the top 15 starters for championship features are now set for each of the four classes. Each championship feature will carry up to 24 cars; the remaining spots will be filled on Friday and Saturday during their respective heat races and last chance qualifying races. For a full breakdown of Thursday night’s results, click here for the Box Score. For final qualifying points, click HERE. In IMCA Modified action on Thursday night, Jacob Hobscheidt of Plattsmouth, Neb., took the lead for good on lap seven and continued on to victory over Bricen James. [Read More]

Emerson thrives on competition, earns Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod national rookie award

MILLSAP, Texas – Kaleb Emerson knew that good competition would make him a better driver. It made him the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod national rookie of the year, too. The 16-year-old from Millsap, Texas, topped the points race for rookie drivers in the division, complementing his first feature win in the division with another 11 top five finishes. “We set our sights on rookie of the year at the beginning of the season, knowing that racing with so many good drivers was going to make us better in the long run,” said Emerson, son and frequent travel partner of now three-time Texas Sprint Series champion Jeff Emerson. “This is definitely a very competitive division and when you race with guys like Jerrett Bransom, Matthew Day and Billy Gould Jr., it pushes you to strive to do your very best.” After making the move from a junior limited class – the biggest differences from a Southern SportMod were the engine and suspension – Emerson ran a homebuilt car at Abilene Speedway, Boyd Raceway, Heart O’ [Read More]

Day is lights out in drive to Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod national crown

FARMERSVILLE, Texas – A driver who left prom early to go racing will be wearing a tuxedo again at the IMCA national awards banquet. Matthew Day, 18 years old and a senior at Farmersville, Texas, High School, collected a division-best 14 feature victories in winning the 2021 Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod national championship “It’s definitely a big accomplishment,” said Day, who had earned top rookie of the year honors in the class last year. “All the work we put in on the car was definitely worth it.” ‘The car’ is the same 2020 Harris that Dean Abbey had driven to the 2020 national crown. “We chased Dean a lot of last year and decided to upgrade,” explained Day, who also enjoyed the expertise that car owner Chris Bragg provided with the purchase. “I wanted to be more consistent and get more wins this year. Our realistic goal was 10 wins.” “It took a little bit of getting used to but the car definitely fit my driving style,” he added. “We didn’t have the experience [Read More]

Seven drivers lock into weekend main events of Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 10) – Seven new drivers locked themselves into Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert championship features by way of qualifying feature victories on Wednesday night at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Winners of qualifying features receive automatic bids into Friday and Saturday night’s main events in four classes at the Duel in the Desert: IMCA Modified, Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod, IMCA Sunoco Stock Car and IMCA STARS Mod Lite. Chase Alves (SportMod), Dylan Van Wyk (SportMod), Arie Schouten (SportMod), Bubba Stafford Jr. (Stock Car), Zane DeVilbiss (Modified), Zack VanderBeek (Modified) and Ricky Alvarado (Modified) all earned places into their respective main events on Qualifying Night 2. The three repeat winners – who earned victories on both Tuesday and Wednesday – were Dallon Murty (Stock Car), Ricky Thornton Jr. (Modified) and Zack Forster (Mod Lite). To see a full breakdown of Wednesday night’s results, click here to see the Box Score. To see the event points standings, click HERE. Alves of Casa Grande, Ariz., took the lead on the second lap [Read More]

Quick to see potential with IMCA, Raffurty is first STARS Mod Lite national champion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dillon Raffurty saw the potential for himself and for the division when IMCA sanctioning of the STARS Mod Lites was announced late last year. He quickly lived up to that potential, winning 28 times and becoming the first national champion crowned in the division. “You can’t ask much more than to win the national championship,” said the Kansas City, Mo., star, who drove a homebuilt car most of the season and incredibly finished outside the top five just once in 37 starts. “It’s always cool to win points, especially when you do it in a car you built. That makes it even more special.” “I knew I would like the IMCA point structure and being able to race anywhere in the country for points,” added Raffurty, the winner at eight different tracks in four states and KMJ Performance Missouri State champ. “We had a lot of fun going to different places and racing against a lot of different drivers.” He was an 11-time winner and champion at home track Valley Speedway, [Read More]

Eleven drivers cash in on Night One of 24th annual Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Nov. 9) – The opening night of the 24th annual Karl Chevrolet Duel in the Desert is in the books with 11 drivers punching their tickets to Friday and Saturday night championship features. Four classes got started on Qualifying Night One as IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods, IMCA STARS Mod Lites and IMCA Modifieds ran heat races and qualifying features at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. To see a full breakdown of Tuesday night’s results, click here to see the Box Score. The first feature of the night was in the Stock Car division, with Dallon Murty of Chelsea, Iowa, and Zane DeVilbiss of Farmington, N.M., fighting for the win. Following multiple exchanges of the top spot, Murty took the victory off the final corner by .014 seconds with the two side-by-side. The Stock Car division was dominated by the Murty family in feature No. 2, as Damon Murty, Dallon’s father, commanded the race for an easy win in the second of two features in the class. [Read More]