Feature Archives

Berry now one win from IMCA Dakota Classic Tour perfection

By Becca Pelkey MANDAN, N.D. (July 13, 2022) – Tom Berry Jr. is just 30 laps from unprecedented Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour perfection. Berry won his fifth Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature and $2,000 in as many nights Wednesday at Dacotah Speedway, matching Steve Arpin’s 5-for-5 tour in 2007. He’ll chase that record-breaking sixth win when the tour concludes Thursday at Mandan. “We’ve been good. I don’t know what else to say. We’ve been up here every night,” Berry said from victory lane. “Luck’s been on our side. I’ve got a lot of good help backing me and that makes it all go around.” “It was overall a good night. Now we’ve got one more night.” Hometown driver Shawn Strand led early from the pole with Berry moving quickly toward the front from his sixth starting spot. The 2019 tour and 2020 national champion Berry caught and passed Strand before a lap three caution regrouped the field. On the restart, Berry ran away with the lead, quickly putting cars a lap down. The [Read More]

Berry makes run at IMCA Dakota Tour record book tonight

By Becca Pelkey DICKINSON, N.D. (July 12, 2022) – Tom Berry Jr. will make his run at the Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour record book Wednesday night in Mandan. Berry won a fourth consecutive Friesen Performance IMCA Modified tour feature Tuesday at Southwest Speedway. Those checkers, good for $2,000, put him in position to match Steve Arpin’s perfect 5-for-5 tour campaign in 2007. Ricky Alvarado led the Modified field to green, but yellows came early and often and helped Berry move quickly through the field from his 10th starting spot. While battling to stay in the top spot, Alvarado had a mechanical failure and handed the lead over to Berry. Although cautions continued to slow the pace, Berry pulled away on each restart to win in front of the 11th starting Dakota Sproul, former national champion Jason Wolla, Eddie Belec and Tanner Black. Four different drivers, the most recent of them Ricky Thornton Jr. in both 2019 and 2020, had won three Modified features on tour since 2009. While Berry continued his string of perfection, consistent [Read More]

Berry three-peats, Speckman tops Stocks in IMCA Dakota Classic Tour at Williston Basin

By Becca Pelkey WILLISTON, N.D. (July 11, 2022) – Tom Berry Jr. went back-to-back-to-back and Matt Speckman went back to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2019 when the Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour traveled to Williston Basin Speedway on Monday night. Berry raced to a third $2,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win in as many tour starts. Speckman’s $1,000 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers were his career 89th in the division and earned him B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility as well. Entries again topped 90 with 13 states and Canada represented in the Modified main event. Veterans Ed Turnbull and Hank Berry started on the front row in the Modified feature. Turnbull led from the initial green flag as Lucas Lambreries, Ricky Alvarado and Berry tussled three-wide close behind him. Using the high line around the speedway, Berry grabbed the second position and quickly caught Turnbull. He took over the top spot on lap nine and pulled away from the field, dominating from that point to win [Read More]

Jaennette cashes in big with Tanner Pelster Memorial checkers

By Anthony Ainslie ALBION, Neb. (July 10, 2022) – Michael Jaennette hit all his marks following a late restart and cashed in big in the headline event at Sunday night’s Tanner Pelster Memorial. Jaennette led the distance of the 30-lap IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature at Boone County Raceway, earning $5,211 and an automatic starting berth in the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational. Fifty-seven Stock Cars representing five states vied at the second annual event. “This was career biggest payday, by far, in a Stock Car,” said Jaennette, running more than adrenaline than sleep after finishing second Saturday night at Boone Speedway and getting up early to get the car ready and on the road to Albion. “Our goal for this season was to make Paul Burger’s All-Star race and now we’ve done that.” “We started sixth and finished second in our heat,” added Jaennette, fourth in the inaugural memorial last year. “We were scrambling right before we went back out for the feature, scratching our heads looking for more speed. We changed [Read More]

Berry, Klein repeat IMCA Dakota Classic Tour wins at Nodak

By Becca Pelkey MINOT, N.D. (July 10, 2022) – Same story, different track. Tom Berry Jr. and Randy Klein were Sunday night Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Tour winners at Nodak Speedway, duplicating their checkered flag runs from Saturday’s opener at Jamestown. Berry, the 2019 tour and Minot track champion, collected his second $2,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified paycheck in as many nights while Klein scored another $1,000 IMCA Sunoco Stock Car victory in his first Nodak visit. Fifty-nine Modifieds and 34 Stock Cars saw tour action at The Playground of Power. “Minot has been good to me in the past,” Berry said. “A lot of people can get through (turns) one and two really well. Three and four are real hair pinny. I felt really comfortable there and was able to get grip off four and get super good runs.” Shawn Strand led the Modified field to the green flag and led early before Kollin Hibdon slipped by on lap four, bringing the fifth starting Berry with him. Berry stayed on Hibdon’s rear bumper and [Read More]

It’s another special night at Antioch as Hogge races to 100th IMCA Modified win

ANTIOCH, Calif. (July 9, 2022) – Antioch Speedway had a special place in Bobby Hogge IV’s heart as the site of his first-ever Modified feature win. On Saturday night, it became the site of his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified career 100th victory. The Salinas speedster took the inside line from fifth starting to the front early in the 30-lap Hetrick Memorial main event, outrunning Troy Foulger to the $1,500 checkers. “It was a good night. It came at a special event with a good field of cars and at the track where I got my first Modified win, back when they ran NASCAR, in 1994,” said Hogge, the all-time wins leader at Antioch. “That first win also came at a big event and I got to race against my dad that night.” “We have a lot of time in at Antioch,” he added, “so it’s special to get my 100th IMCA win there.” The Saturday night victory was the sixth of the season for Hogge, who’d been runner-up to Foulger at the previous weekend’s $7,300 to win [Read More]

Berry is very good in IMCA Dakota Tour opener at Jamestown

By Becca Pelkey JAMESTOWN, N.D. (July 9, 2022) – Tom Berry Jr. raced his way back to a familiar locale on opening night of the Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Modified Tour Saturday at Jamestown Speedway. Hooked up and flying from the start of the 30-lapper for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Berry led every time around the oval in collecting the $2,000 checkers and his seventh Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying victory already this season. More than 50 IMCA Modified drivers traveled from across the United States and Canada to compete in the prestigious six-day tour. Drivers from 11 states and Saskatchewan made up the main event field. Former tour champion Berry, who’d previously raced out of North Dakota and already well acquainted with victory lane at Jamestown, didn’t take long to catch lapped traffic after each early restart. He was extra cautious passing each car, which allowed second place running and defending Jamestown race winner Kollin Hibdon to reel him in. A caution with two laps to go reset the field and Hibdon gave [Read More]

363 drivers complete online entry for 40th annual IMCA Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa (July 8, 2022)– Boone Speedway will be the place to be for the 40th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The pre-registration numbers already prove it. Just one week into online registration, a record 363 drivers from across the United States and Canada have already confirmed plans to compete at the Sept. 5-10 Super Nationals. That 1 p.m. CST total is 80 entries ahead of last year on this date. Those entries include 135 Modifieds, 102 Stock Cars, 74 Northern SportMods and 36 Hobby Stocks. “Pre-entry numbers are outstanding and despite the economy and other factors, not unexpected,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “We had anticipated many drivers and fans would want to be part of the 40th annual Super Nationals and entries thus far have proven that to be the case.” In addition to Iowa, pre-entered drivers are making the trek to Boone Speedway from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Modified drivers from 18 states [Read More]

It’ll be a classic: 33rd IMCA Dakota Tour starts Saturday at Jamestown

MANDAN, N.D. (July 6, 2022) – Guaranteed to be a classic, the 33rd annual Corral Sales IMCA Dakota Classic Modified Tour powered by Industrial Electric opens this Saturday at Jamestown Speedway. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds race for $2,000 to win, $300 to start and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility each night July 9 at Jamestown, July 10 at Nodak Speedway in Minot, July 11 at Williston Basin Speedway, July 12 at Southwest Speedway in Dickinson, and July 13 and 14 at Dacotah Speedway in Mandan. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars run for a top check of $1,200 at Jamestown and $1,000 to win the next five nights, plus $100 to start and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. IMCA and Hoosier Race Tire provide the $10,000 tour point fund, paying $6,500 to top 10 Modified drivers and $3,500 to top 10 Stock Car drivers. “The tour is just about ready to go,” noted Director John Gartner. “More than a dozen states and two Canadian provinces are now represented by the Modified entries and [Read More]

Abbey hoists Harcrow hardware at HO’T

WACO, Texas (July 2, 2022) – What turned out to be a pretty good holiday weekend for Jeffrey Abbey started at Heart O’ Texas Speedway’s Baby Blue Harcrow Memorial. Abbey led start to finish in Saturday’s 25-lap IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main event and went home with a $5,000 share of the purse, plus a $2,500 share of the drivers’ auction and lap money. “I ran Heart O’ Texas pretty regularly and won a lot of races in classes I’ve raced in there over the years,” Abbey said following his eighth checkers of 2022. “I just protected the bottom and did everything I could to hold Jason (Batt) and Dustin (Mooney) off.” Abbey had won both his heat races and the qualifying feature on Friday night, then lined up outside Mooney on the front row in Saturday’s big show. He stayed in front through multiple restarts with the last yellow flying with four laps left. Batt, the five-time and defending track champion at Waco, ran second from laps one through 24 and drove in deep [Read More]