Ryan Clark

Labor Day Weekend special on tap Saturday at Dodge City

By Lonnie Wheatley DODGE CITY, Kan. – The penultimate round of 2018 championship chase action atop the 3/8-mile Dodge City Raceway Park clay oval in southwest Kansas is set for this Saturday night, Sept. 1. Saturday’s Labor Day Weekend special card at the state-of-the-art facility includes a full card of Precise Racing Products DCRP Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA SportMods, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Racing action goes green at 7:30 p.m. Thus far in 2018, a total of 185 different racers have competed in at least one round championship chase action at Dodge City with 31 different competitors making their way to victory lane in 46 overall features. This past weekend’s tilt offered up four first-time winners on the season with only IMCA Hobby Stocker Duane Wahrman making a return visit to the winner’s circle after his fourth triumph of the year. Several championship battles continue to hang in the balance with only the sixth annual Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event on Saturday, Sept. 15 remaining on the regular season following [Read More]

Sept. 1 Prelude at Boone precedes IMCA Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa – The hottest ticket in town on Saturday, Sept. 1 will be for the Wild Rose Casino & Resort Prelude to the IMCA Super Nationals presented by Mediacom at Boone Speedway. IMCA Modifieds race for $1,000 to win and a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot berth that evening. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars chase a $500 top check, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods race for $400 to win and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks race for $250 to win. IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National and Iowa State points will be awarded, as will Side Biter Chassis North Central Region points for Modifieds, EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region points for Stock Cars and Big Daddy Race Cars Northern Region points for Hobby Stocks. Pit gates open at 2 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 3 p.m. Hot laps are at 4 p.m. with racing at 5 p.m. Grandstand admission is $20 for adults and $10 for youth ages 13-17. Pit passes are $30.

Nichols keeps clicking, collects career 500th IMCA Stock Car win

HARLAN, Iowa – Mike Nichols started racing 20-some years ago with aspirations that didn’t go much further than simply winning a heat race. On Sunday, the overachiever raced to his career 500th IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature victory during Dawson County Raceway’s Connie Jewett Memorial. “Somewhere in early, mid-July, things were clicking pretty good for us and I started thinking that we might be able to get to 500 wins this year,” Nichols said. “I didn’t want to get close and then have it lingering over us all winter.” The Aug. 26 win at the Lexington, Neb., oval was his 39th of the season and came in a stellar field that included David Murray Jr., IMCA’s all-time single division leader with 550 career Modified checkers. Just the second driver in IMCA history to reach the 500 win mark, Nichols used a word of his own making – ironical – to describe having to pass Murray to accomplish the feat. “After my 99th, 199th, 299th and 399th wins, we won the next night out,” he said. “After [Read More]

Ward tops 100 win mark with twinbill sweep at I-96

IONIA, Mich. – The track where A.J. Ward started his racing career became the track where he won his career 100th and 101st IMCA Modified features. Ward, from Ionia, Mich., became the 54th driver in division history, and just the second IMCA Modified driver this season to reach the 100-win mark, topping both scheduled and make-up features on Aug. 26 at I-96 Speedway. “I started racing here in a street stock. It’s good to be able to get my 100th win at my home track,” he said. “With the rainouts we’ve had it looked like I might not have a chance to get it here but everything worked out.” Ward’s 19th and 20th wins of the season came in his 36th and 37th starts, after back-to-back runner-up finishes at Tri-City Motor Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway. It was the third time he’d won two features on the same night. His checkers in the opener came after a back-and-forth battle with Brenten DeYoung. Myron DeYoung, another Michigan member of the 100-win club, challenged in the nightcap [Read More]

Championship Night, Fan Appreciation Friday at US 36 Raceway

OSBORN, Mo. – US 36 Raceway crowns champions in three IMCA divisions during Fan Appreciation Night this Friday, Aug. 31. Final points races of the season are on the schedule for IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods. Matt Richards has already clinched the unofficial IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car title at Osborn. General admission for adults is $10 with kids 12 years of age and under getting in free to grandstands. Prices have been rolled back to $1 for hot dogs, pop and water and $2 for adult beverages. There will also be prizes for best Halloween costumes worn by adults and kids.

Snyder Salute set for Sept. 1-2 at Southern Oregon Speedway

By Don Martin II WHITE CITY, Ore. – It’s time once again for the second annual R. Charles Snyder Salute for IMCA Modifieds at Southern Oregon Speedway. The two-race weekend will again feature the IMCA Modifieds with a $5,000 to win, Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot-qualifying prize being offered on Sunday, Sept. 2. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars will compete Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 1 and 2. The format calls for two sets of heat races for both Modified and SportMod divisions on Saturday that will score finishing points and passing points to determine the drivers who make the main event on Sunday and who will end up in ‘B’ and ‘C’ features. The top eight point runners in the heat races will redraw for their main event starting positions. As an added bonus, Saturday will also have an invitational event for both classes that will offer prize money. The top 3-5 finishers in the first set of heat races will automatically make it into that race. This format was chosen [Read More]

Main event qualifiers in 5 divisions get replica door panels, hoods from Five1seven Designs

BOONE, Iowa – Qualifiers for main events in five of the divisions featured over the course of the Sept. 3-8 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s take home special souvenirs from the 36th annual event. Five1seven Designs gives replica door panels to Modified and Northern SportMod qualifiers while Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Sport Compact qualifiers all receive replica hoods. Replica door panels measure 10” tall by 23” long while hoods are 12” by 16.” Awards will be made specific to each division and display the Super Nationals logo along with the word Qualifier. They’ll be presented to Sport Compact drivers on Tuesday and to drivers in the other four divisions as they qualify. This is the seventh year Five1seven Designs has given qualifier awards.

Hope For The Warriors check presentation during Saturday Super Nationals program

BOONE, Iowa – Representatives of Hope For The Warriors will be in attendance and the center of attention during the Saturday race program at the upcoming IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Ankeny-based Casey’s General Store, the presenting sponsor for Super Nationals, donates $10 for each heat race won by a Modified, Late Model, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod or Sport Compact driver displaying a Casey’s decal between Sept. 3 and Sept. 7. IMCA matches the amount given by Casey’s. Officials from both Casey’s and IMCA will present a check for approximately $5,000 to Hope For The Warriors in front of the flagstand during a break in the Saturday race program. A national nonprofit organization founded in 2006, Hope For The Warriors assists post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty. The official convenience store of IMCA, Casey’s has supported Hope For The Warriors with previous fundraisers, including donations at Super Nationals every year since 2013.

Entries still accepted for Super Nationals, Prelude open to all registered drivers at Boone Sept. 1

BOONE, Iowa – Entries are still being accepted for the six divisions competing at the Sept. 3-8 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Modified, Stock Car, Northern SportMod, Hobby Stock, Late Model and Sport Compact competitors can go to the IMCA or Boone Speedway websites to enter. All Modified, Stock Car, Northern SportMod and Hobby Stock drivers in attendance at Boone Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 1 can compete in that evening’s Prelude.

RaceSaver Nationals pre-entries come from 14 states

EAGLE, Neb. – Fourteen states are represented by the 117 drivers pre-entered for the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 RaceSaver Nationals at Eagle Raceway. The winner of Sunday’s main event for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars goes home with a minimum of $2,500, plus a bonus of as much as $1,500, $30 for each of as many as 50 sanctioned starts going into the holiday weekend. Qualifying features on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 both pay $700 to win while the top prize for Saturday’s Jake Ita Memorial race is $1,000. Taking the green in Sunday’s big show pays a minimum of $1,250. The first non-qualifier in the ‘B’ feature on Sunday gets $1,000 and the 20th place finisher gets $500 from IMCA.TV. A minimum of $450 will be paid to each driver starting a race each day. Drivers now entered for the sixth annual RaceSaver Nationals include: Gene Ackland, Martell; Brandon Allen, St. Peter, Minn.; Bruce Allen, Mankato, Minn.; Justin Allen, Gaylord, Minn.; Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, S.D.; Ethan Barrow, Bloomington, Ind.; Brett Becker, Odessa, Texas; Tom Belsky, [Read More]