Hobby Stock

Final night of racing at Kossuth County Speedway

By Greg Grabianowski Sports Editor ALGONA, Iowa (Aug. 22, 2024) – The final evening of exciting dirt track racing at the Kossuth County Speedway for 2024 took place on Aug. 22 wrapping up a crazy season that saw Mother Nature the only feature winner on seven different Thursday nights. The evening was also for the final night for track manager Ron Reefer as he announced after doing a great job at the oval for the past nine years that it was time for him to spend more time with his family and have more time to enjoy some of his outdoor hobbies. IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks were led to the flag stand by Brayton Kajewski and Joe Doran. Doran jumped out front after the first lap around the track and led the whole race until a late race surge by hard-charger Mike Smith gave the Lake City driver his fifth local feature win. Although Doran maintain the top spot early in the race, the battle for second place saw Jade Lange, Josh Sidles and Brandon [Read More]

2024 Super Nationals

Track champion VanHoff back at Boone to race with best of the best

CHOWCHILLA, Calif. (Aug. 26, 2024) – Emali VanHoff had no shortage of adjectives in describing the feeling when she turned her first laps at Boone Speedway last September. The young hotshoe from Chowchilla, Calif., returns to Iowa’s Action Track as a Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod track champion, looking for much better results at the 42nd annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. “Last year was my first year racing at Boone. It was exciting,” said VanHoff, 18 years old and previously a spectator at Super Nationals each year since 2020. “It was overwhelming, it was crazy and I was nervous. To experience Super Nationals and just experience it was awesome.” While her 2023 results weren’t enough to get her into the Saturday show … DNF’s in both heat races and mid-pack finishes in both ‘B’ features … the opportunity to race with the best had VanHoff counting down the days until this year’s Nationals. “I never thought in a million years that I’d be able to go to Boone and race with the best of the [Read More]

Hobby Stock

Mills, Swearingen, Fett, Nielsen earn Hancock County crowns

By Chad Meyer  BRITT, Iowa (Aug. 23, 2024) – Season championship night at Hancock County Speedway on Friday night was sponsored by Doug Studer Farms and KIOW 107.3 Radio.  In the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Jeremy Mills entered the night with a sizable point lead and was crowned the track champion. In the feature, he worked the top side repeatedly until he was able to get past Cody Knecht in the second half of the main. Knecht, who led the first half of the event, used a late-race caution to make one last attempt to get past Mills but had to settle for second. Kelly Shryock gained six spots to finish third ahead of Nick Meyer.  The closet point battle of the night was in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. Troy Swearingen entered the night with a three-point lead on Heath Tulp. Tulp led the entire feature and collected the trophy but had to fend off a charging Swearingen, who fell back several spots early in the race. Swearingen finished a close second and secured [Read More]

2024 Prelude to the Super Nationals

Off-track Super Nationals activities centered at NAPA Fan Zone

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 23, 2024) – The NAPA Racing Fan Zone is again the locale for many of the special off-track events during the week of the 42nd annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s at Boone Speedway. Located south of the main grandstand at Boone Speedway, the Fan Zone will be site of scheduled and perhaps some spontaneous activities beginning with the Sunday, Sept. 1 Prelude show and continuing through the Sept. 2-7 Super Nationals. “What’s new this year is the Tuesday afternoon Women in IMCA presented by NAPA and Dynamic Drivelines,” noted Carson Becker-Gramm, marketing integration and sponsorship director for IMCA. “Female drivers have played an important role in this organization for more than 40 years. There’s no better time than to recognize them, and maybe get an autograph or two, than during our biggest event.” All female drivers competing at Super Nationals will be invited to display their cars at the fan zone and sign autographs; NAPA will provide shirts they can sign and autograph for fans as well. More than a dozen [Read More]

Modified

Whisler wins Wednesday bout at Cottage Grove

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 21, 2024) – Eston Whisler, who was on the verge of victory at Cottage Grove Speedway earlier this month, was granted redemption in the fifth leg of the prestigious Midweek Mayhem Series. He earned his first win of the season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds after making the pass for the lead around the midway point and holding on to the coveted top spot after a late-race restart. The main event was a showcase of intense competition. Kevin Williamson set a rapid pace in the early stages but the race was far from decided. The pack remained close due to two cautions, and the tension escalated when Whisler began his impressive run on the bottom after a restart with eight complete. Whisler made the appropriate pass for the lead on lap 12 and took off from there. His hard work would be washed away due to a caution on the 22nd circuit. When things got back to full speed, Whisler, [Read More]

Results

Kepner goes high for Path Valley win

By Frank Buhrman SPRING RUN, Pa. (Aug. 17, 2024) – Sometimes you just have to stand out in the crowd. The field for Saturday’s River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series feature at Path Valley Speedway was hugging the inside of the quarter-mile bullring, so Kruz Kepner went high, made the outside work and earned the checkered flag for the 25-lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car event. The six-year veteran worked hard to make his no. 19 ride work near the top of the high-banked oval, but it paid off, enabling him to slip past rookie Kyle Hart on lap 15. Hart was looking for his first PASS win in only his ninth start, but he couldn’t get his car through lapped traffic at the bottom. Nor, for that matter, could anyone else, except the winner, who took the checkered flag by 1.363 seconds. Drew Young passed Hart on the last lap to take second, with Hart finishing a career-best third. Jarrett Cavalet came from ninth starting to finish fourth, with Austin Greenland posting a PASS career-best fifth. The feature ran non-stop, taking [Read More]

Results

Harris saves best for last at Natural Bridge

By Jim Haines NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (Aug. 17, 2024) – On a very warm, humid summer race night Jerald Harris waited until three laps to go to sweep into the lead for his fourth Virginia Sprint Series win of the season. Saturday’s IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature at Natural Bridge Speedway was paced to the green with Chris Humblet and Dylan Shatzer on the front row as the flag waved. Shatzer went to the cushion and it was the quick way around as Harris was racing with Humblet. Harris got by and started to close in, but a quick caution for a stalled car tightened up the field went green. Shatzer stayed fast with Harris behind and Humblet, Daren Bolac and Caleb Harris staying close as the laps clicked off and the back of the field came up to the leaders. With three to go, Jerald Harris got a run on the outside and went to the front going into turn three, then charged the rest of the way to the checkered flag with Shatzer [Read More]

Results

Mahlberg does plenty of passing to get IMCA wins 99 and 100

DUNLAP, Iowa (Aug. 17, 2024) – Caine Mahlberg was plenty fast on both pavement and the dirt over the weekend. As a result, the Dunlap driver passed a total of 23 cars – that’s counting only those on the track and not the highway – in winning career 99th and 100th Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact features, at Crawford County Speedway on Friday and at Shelby County Speedway on Saturday. “Both nights I had car issues so I didn’t even know I was going to make it. I broke some studs, didn’t have any more and had to run home and get them off another car,” Mahlberg said. “I came late for both nights, didn’t run my heat and had to start in the back.” “I made it back just in time for the feature both nights.” Mahlberg hauled from ninth starting at Denison and from 16th at Harlan. “I was kind of thinking ‘Let’s just win tomorrow night and get it over with’ after Friday, but there were a lot of good cars there,” he said. “I really [Read More]

Hobby Stock

Champions crowned at Benton County Speedway

VINTON, Iowa (Aug. 18, 2024) – Season championship feature racing was held Sunday night at Benton County Speedway and track champions were crowned in six divisions at The Bullring. The best finish of the night came in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars presented by Christie Door Company.  John Oliver Jr. wrapped up the track title by taking the green flag in that 20-lapper, but he ran second for much of the event to Braden Richards. Richards protected the top side of the speedway while Oliver pressured throughout the entirety of the event. With Oliver inching closer in the low groove, Richards took the low side to deny his efforts in the final set of turns on the final lap. Richards drifted to the middle of the track exiting turn four, allowing Oliver to draw alongside the leader coming to the checkers. At the line, Richards held on by .018 of a second to earn his first win at The Bullring. Oliver ran second ahead of Kaden Reynolds and Kyle Olson. In the Friesen Performance IMCA [Read More]

Hobby Stock

Boone track titles to McBirnie, Smith, Smith, Masolini, Glick

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 19, 2024) – It was the Season Championship Saturday night at Boone Speedway, ending the 2024 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season at Iowa’s Action Track. Feature racing saw the top six in points locked in for the night and inverted for their start. The rest of the main event lineups were determined through heat races. Each division was brought to the frontstretch prior to their feature event, with out of car introductions. Each division had five laps added to their features. The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite 20-lap feature was up first. Ben George grabbed the lead when the race went green and it was to his liking. He led all 20 laps on his way in the caution-free event, for his fourth checkers of the year. Cory Sonner followed him most of the distance to take second place. Josh May finished a distant third. Joe Glick finished in seventh and sealed his track crown. The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods ran a 23-lap feature.   Most of the race was a two-car [Read More]