Modified Archives

Baca finds that extra speed for first IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 11, 2024) – He’d been fast but obviously not as fast as he wanted to be during the first week of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals. So home state hero Chaz Baca made changes and raced to his first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win of 2024 Thursday night at Cocopah Speedway. The defending national and Shaw Race Cars Western Region champion started on the pole and led all 25 times around the track in taking the $1,000 checkers ahead of tough customers Ethan Braaksma, Jerry Flippo and Eddie Belec. “We were fast last week,” said Baca, who counted a runner-up finish to Braaksma among three top five finishes in those four starts. “This week we’re doing some different things with the setup and found some different speed.” “Hopefully we can get another one or two wins before this week is over,” added Baca, looking to defend national and regional crowns this season. Sixty-five Modifieds vied on night six of Winter Nationals, which saw another 200-plus IMCA car count at Cocopah. Dylan Thornton [Read More]

Braaksma schools IMCA Modified foes for second Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 10, 2024) – A driver who learned a lot last season taught his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified foes a thing or two Wednesday night at Cocopah Speedway. Ethan Braaksma raced to his second $1,000 IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win of the season, taking advantage of a late restart and leading the last six circuits in the 25-lap main event at Somerton. “It’s crazy,” Braaksma said. “We didn’t have a real good year last year. We learned a lot but we didn’t get any wins. The start of this season has been awesome. We’ve just got everything in place.” Braaksma had made his first visit to victory lane last Thursday, earning Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility with that W. He was chased to the checkers by Jan. 5 winner Jeremy Mills, Grey Ferrando and defending series champion Tim Ward on his way back to the winner’s circle. “Cocopah just fits my driving style,” he said. “There are a lot of guys here who have a chance to win so you’ve got to do well [Read More]

Hibdon returns to Cocopah’s victory lane, Winter Nationals win is IMCA first for Starry

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 6, 2024) – Kollin Hibdon turned his first competitive laps at Cocopah Speedway at the age of 14. Fast forward six years and the Nevada native returned to Somerton to win his career fourth IMCA.TV Winter Nationals main event. Hibdon got the lead following a late restart in a fast and furious battle with defending national king Chaz Baca and topped Saturday’s $1,000 to win Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature. “There was some pretty intense lapped traffic,” said Hibdon, newly Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligible with his 40thcareer win in the class. “I know this track pretty well. It’s always fun to come back here in the winter.” The front pair traded sliders in the waning laps before Hibdon got the lead for good with a nifty crossover move. Grey Ferrando, defending series champion Tim Ward and Jake Pike completed the top five. Hibdon will return to the Midwest again this season, loading up the trailer after the snow melts this spring to race out of North Dakota. Cameron Starry’s first-ever [Read More]

Mills ends streak of fifth place finishes with first IMCA.TV Winter Nationals win

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 5, 2024) – His streak of fifth place finishes came to an end Friday night, when Jeremy Mills topped the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Cocopah Speedway. The Iowa long tow, an IMCA.TV Winter Nationals regular the last three years, had placed fifth in four consecutive Somerton starts dating back to last January. He started on the pole and led all 25 laps in ending that streak despite the best efforts of Thursday winner Ethan Braaksma. “We’ve been coming here the last few years and I’ve finished second a couple times but had never won at Cocopah before,” said Mills, who earned $1,000 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility with his career 135th win in the division. “I’d finished fifth the last four features here. I was just trying to do better than that.” “It means a lot to be able to win at Cocopah,” he continued. “There are so many good cars here. It’s hard just to qualify out of the heat.” Braaksma worked his way up from fifth to [Read More]

34 years of great races, great racers, great memories: Gartner retires as IMCA Dakota Classic Tour director

MANDAN, N.D. (Dec. 21, 2023) – The idea for a traveling Modified series in his home state came while John Gartner was not far from the sand and surf at Daytona Beach. The founder, and director of the Dakota Classic Modified Tour since its inception, can now look back at 34 years of great racing, great racers and countless new friendships. “I never dreamed it would be this successful, but I always knew we had drivers who would support it and that we could always bank on the hospitality of fans in North Dakota,” said Gartner, after selling the long-running series to a governing group of promoters representing the tracks hosting tour events. “There are a lot of tours out there, and a lot of people have called us over the years asking us how we did it.” “For 34 years, we kept the same philosophy of a good payout, lots of contingency prizes and treating everyone fairly,” he continued. “And it worked.” Jamestown Speedway, Dacotah Speedway and Nodak Speedway are the longest-tenured tour tracks, [Read More]

$100,000 in contingencies awarded to IMCA drivers in 2023

VINTON, Iowa (Dec. 21, 2023) – Their on-track accomplishments earned IMCA drivers some $100,000 worth of contingency awards in 2023. “The combination of sign-up programs, and programs with individual and unique requirements continue to benefit IMCA drivers at a record pace,” noted IMCA Marketing Integration and Sponsorship Director Carson Becker-Gramm. “I strongly encourage award recipients to take advantage of these programs, and to continue their support of the businesses that support IMCA.” Awards were presented at the IMCA national banquet or mailed earlier in December from the IMCA home office. The following contingency awards were not necessarily determined by actual regional finish, but by either driver sign-up sheets or other unique requirements. All awards are product certificates or product unless otherwise noted. Any questions about contingency programs or awards can be directed to Marketing Integration and Sponsorship Director Carson Becker-Gramm at cbgramm@imca.com. Aero Race Wheels $25 to each Modified, Stock Car, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod, Southern SportMod, Mod Lite and Sport Compact state champion. AFCO GM frame replacement kits to Modified national champion Chaz Baca and [Read More]

IMCA.TV Winter Nationals start 2024 season at Cocopah

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Dec. 21, 2023) – The start of the 2024 Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season takes five IMCA divisions and several hundred drivers from across the U.S. and Canada to Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway for eight January dates. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods race for $1,000 to win, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $500 to win and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts for $275 to win each night of the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals at the Somerton speed plant. Race nights are Wednesday through Saturday Jan. 3-6 and 10-13. Pit gates open at noon each day and racing starts at 4 p.m. Pit passes are $35. While each Modified winner becomes eligible to qualify for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational and each Stock Car winner earns eligibility for the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational, there’s plenty more at stake for drivers who can dominate those divisions. The Superior Fuel Cells Challenge pays $25,000 to the Modified driver winning all eight features, $15,000 for seven feature wins [Read More]

Sale of Dakota Classic Modified Tour announced

MANDAN, N.D. (Dec. 5, 2023) – Dakota Classic Modified Tour owner John Gartner has agreed to sell the long-time running series to a promoters’ governing group that represents the six tracks currently hosting the tour. The tour for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars will be held during the previously agreed upon dates next July starting with Jamestown Speedway on Saturday, July 6; Nodak Speedway in Minot on Sunday, July 7; Estevan Motor Speedway on Monday, July 8; Williston Basin Speedway on Tuesday, July 9; Southwest Speedway in Dickinson on Wednesday, July 10; and Dacotah Speedway in Mandan on Thursday, July 11. No significant changes are planned to be made with tour payouts, fees or procedures. The governing group will be selecting a tour director/promoter at some point in the future. The new governing board members and promoters of each track state that that “Words cannot do enough to describe our gratitude to John for his commitment to this tour over the years. This tour would not exist without him. As we move [Read More]

Pearce proves up to IMCA Modified test with Western Region rookie of the year award

OAKLEY, Calif. (Nov. 30, 2023) – Andrew Pearce graduated to a Friesen Performance IMCA Modified in January, months before picking up his diploma from Independence High School. He’d pass all his tests in the new division, winning five features and rookie of the year honors in IMCA’s Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Pearce would travel to 17 different tracks, making 50 of his 52 starts at 15 different speed plants in his home region while earned Merced Speedway and California state crowns. “We didn’t have any goals when we started the season at Cocopah’s IMCA.TV Winter Nationals. We just wanted to learn and be competitive. We had some sponsors step up so we were able to do that,” said Pearce, 18 years old and from Oakley, Calif. “We just felt it was time to move up from a Northern SportMod and it was quite a confidence booster to be able to be consistent and start racing for wins.” Modified career win number one came on May 12 at Ocean Speedway. Pearce collected four checkers at [Read More]

Competition at Batesville sparks Taylor in IMCA Modified Central Region rookie race

CABOT, Ark. (Nov. 30, 2023) – The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division proved to be tailor-made for Garrett Taylor. The Cabot, Ark., driver started his racing career in the class this season, racing weekly with the Saturday night stars at Batesville Motor Speedway and earning the Jet Racing Central Region rookie of the year award. “I’ve been going to races since I was learning to walk,” said Taylor, now 20 years old and an apprentice electrician by trade. “My dad Stacy raced a late model. We were looking at getting a race car and decided this class would suit us, so I jumped right into an IMCA Modified.” He got in three races last fall and returned to the track this spring in a 2019 GRT by Cadillac Chassis purchased out of Denver. “I really enjoyed the competition at Batesville. I got to race against some of the best Modified drivers in IMCA on a weekly basis,” Taylor said, “and I got to learn by watching them.” He’d log 16 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing [Read More]