Weekly Archives

Griffith finds his groove

By Jeremy Fox WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (May 31) – Ryan Griffith found his groove Saturday at Hamilton County Speedway. The result was his first win of the season at his hometown track. The Chalfant Plumbing and Neighbors Heating and Cooling IMCA Late Models 20 lap feature saw Al Johnson and then Jeremy Grady lead early before Todd Cooney took over. Cooney had pulled away until Griffith found a groove to his liking and chased him down just before the caution on lap 16. Griffith took the lead away from Cooney on restart and led to the checkers. Cooney, Jason Hahne, Darrel DeFrance and rookie John Emerson completed the top five. Adam Larson recorded his second local win of the season in the George White Chevrolet IMCA Modifieds. Aaron Benson bested a caution-slowed Conley’s Trucking IMCA Northern SportMod main event. After fixing a flat tire early on, Randy Embrey raced to the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock checkers. Matt Oberhelman won his career first Oberhelman Motorsports IMCA Sport Compact feature.

Theys tames IMCA Modified field at 141

By Greg Aregoni FRANCIS CREEK, Wis. (May 31) – Brad Theys tamed the 29-car IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified field Saturday at 141 Speedway. Russ Reinwald started on the pole and looked to contend for a trip to the winner’s circle before lap eight mechanical woes ended his chances. Mark Joski inherited the lead with Theys and Kyle Kudick in tow. A three-wide battle on lap 11 proved the game changer. Theys powered by the duo on the bottom and set sail. A final caution was all that slowed Theys in his dash to the checkered flag. He jetted away from the field over the final five laps to pick up his first IMCA win of the season. Mike Mullen charged through the field and passed Kudick late in the race for the runner-up position. R.M. VanPay and Jared Siefert rounded out the top five. Troy Muench also picked up his first win of the season, in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. Brian Bruechert was also a first-time winner in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods.

Spaulding ends absence from victory lane at Oshkosh

By Dave Panske OSHKOSH, Wis. (May 30) – Travis Spaulding moved into the top spot on lap nine and following a final caution on lap 11, settled in for a long run to the end of Friday’s Automotive Supply Company IMCA Modified feature at Oshkosh SpeedZone Raceway. Sean Jerovetz, Chris Engels, Brian Drexler and Eddie Muenster ran behind the leader to the finish. This win by Spaulding was his first here since Aug. 3, 2010. The Karl Chevrolet SportMods started off with Bernie Miller grabbing the lead and Cory Wegner, Brekken Kleinschmidt, Kevin Bethke and Jeff Schmuhl close behind. After a lap two caution, Bethke took the lead for one lap before Ryan Besaw took charge. A final caution on lap seven gave Colten Van Hierden a shot at the lead with Schmuhl, Besay and Steve Schneider behind. For the rest of the contest Van Hierden held off all challenges until lap 19, when Schmuhl was able to work into the top spot and drove to his first-ever feature win at the Speedzone. Besaw was [Read More]

Stanton wins Hobby Stock thriller at Marshalltown

By Jeremy Fox MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (May 30) – Eric Stanton was the winner in a 12-lap IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock thriller Friday evening at Marshalltown. Rookie Andy Hick led lap one. Just after the completion of that lap, Brice Udelhoven, Austin Luellen and Steve Fricke got together in turn two. Hick appeared to be no rookie as he got a great restart but Stanton chased him down and took the lead with one to go. Stanton went on to take the win while John Watson finished second. Hick, Gary Pfantz and last week’s winner Dustin Elliott finish third through fifth respectively. Adam Larson led the last 13 of 20 circuits in the IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified main. Jay Schmidt caught Donavon Smith late in the contest to earn the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers. Jenae Gustin won her second local Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods feature of the season, regaining the lead from Clint Luellen on the final circuit. David Moorman led start to finish in the Mach-1 Sport Compact main and Charlie Brown was [Read More]

Sellers gets first career win on emotional night at Independence

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (May 31) – Emotions were strong Saturday night at Independence Motor Speedway as those in attendance honored the memory of Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod driver Brandon Smith. A weekly competitor in Independence throughout his career, Smith died in an accident in his garage over the weekend. Outside front row starter Lucas Lundry took the lead at the on-set of the 15-lap feature. He distanced himself from the pack while Matt McCahen and Dakoda Sellers pursued. While the race was already under caution on lap nine, a fire erupted from Lundry’s brakes which forced him to an early exit. That left McCahen and Sellers on the front row for the ensuing restart. Sellers shot into the lead when racing resumed and led the final six laps to score the first win of his career. McCahen ran second head of Kevin Hurst. Luke Pestka took the lead in lapped traffic to drive to his first win of the year in the IMCA Late Model feature. Russell Hesse led early and was pressured by Sean Johnson [Read More]

Center, Schultz race to Classic checkers at Arizona Speedway

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (May 24-25) – Eric Center outran his nephew while Brian Schultz raced from worst to first. Both earned $1,000 for Memorial Weekend IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature wins at Arizona Speedway’s John Morris Classic and earned berths on the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. Center collected the first win of his 31st racing season on opening night at Apache Junction. He’d started fifth in the Saturday show, was up to third before a lap five yellow and spent most of the 20-lapper running alone in the bottom groove with Guy Norton higher up on the oval. His nephew Cody Center made a late charge from 13th starting to second. Norton, Cody Graham and Anthony Madrid rounded out the top five. “This was a good race for the fans,” said Center, 51. “I competed with John and if his son didn’t win it I was honored that I could.” The ying of Schultz’s “ying and yang” weekend came early in Saturday’s feature when he lost his driveshaft while running in the top [Read More]

Full $30,000 driver contingency list posted on Thunderhill website

By Edward Anschutz STURGEON BAY, Wis. – A complete list of the $30,000 contingency program is now listed on Thunderhill Raceway’s website www.racethunderhill.com. It’s a fully detailed list for each division, sponsor, product and or corresponding dollar amount. To be eligible for the 2014 contingency prizes, no driver can miss more than three nights of racing the entire season and the must attend the season-ending banquet. With this Saturday only being the 3rd night of competition, everyone is still eligible. Palmer Johnson Yachts of Sturgeon Bay will be the sponsor this Saturday,May 31, for night number three. Palmer Johnson has been in business since 1918. They are an industry leader in designing and fabricating state of the art yachts. Troy Jerovetz leads the IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified standings with a one point advantage over cousin Sean Jerovetz. Shawn Havel holds the top spot in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars after his first feature win of the season. Havel holds a five point edge over defending champion Dave Bouche and former champ Charlie Kroll. In [Read More]

Dominick Bruns Memorial Challenge Cup Chase dates set

DANUBE, Minn. – The Dominick Bruns Memorial Challenge Cup Chase for IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars boasts a trio of $1,000 to win features at as many different Minnesota speedplants. Features on Saturday, June 7 at Jackson Speedway, Friday, July 18 at Murray County Speedway and Sunday, Aug. 10 at Redwood Speedway all pay a minimum of $100 to start. The top driver in point standings for the three nights earns a $1,000 share of the $2,000 series point fund and becomes eligible to qualify for the Sunoco Race Fuels Race of Champions during the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The runner-up in points earns $600 and third place in the standings is good for $400. IMCA driver Shaun Bruns and his wife Becky founded the Dominick Bruns Memorial Foundation in 2008 after losing their son to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The series point fund is generated by the sale of T-shirts and racing shirts by the foundation along with contributions from area sponsors. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstand [Read More]

Czarapata wins 100th Stock Car feature at Seymour

By Dave Panske SEYMOUR, Wis. (May 25) – Brandon Czarapata wrote his name in the IMCA history books with his 100th career feature win Sunday at Seymour Speedway. After Travis Springstroh led the opening lap of the Coors Light IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main, Czarapata made a quick move to the outside as the field ran three and four-wide. Czarapata rocketed from the 12th starting spot to the lead on lap 2 before the lone caution of the race appeared. Czarapata quickly took control after the restart and left little doubt who the winner would be, extending his lead to the finish. In addition to his career 100th sanctioned victory, the win was Czarapata’s third straight locally and 34th on the all-time list at Seymour. There was plenty of action for second as Kyle Frederick, John Heinz, Jeremy Wiitala, Springstroh and Rod Snellenberger double and tripled up behind Czarapata. After starting 16th, Barry Van Straten was in perfect rhythm and worked his way into the fray by lap 10. Over the final half of the [Read More]

Grabouski is latest, youngest with 100 Modified career wins

BEATRICE, Neb. (May 23) – A driver who’s proven himself on dirt ovals around the Midwest enjoyed a milestone win at his hometown track Friday night. Jordan Grabouski won the May 23 IMCA Xtreme Motor Sports Modified feature at Beatrice Speedway. The victory was his career 100th in the sanctioned class. “You have to race a lot to be able to accomplish something like this. It’s a lot of hard work and you have to have a lot of help from your family, your crew and sponsors,” said Grabouski, 25 years old and the youngest driver in division history to reach triple digit wins. “I love to race. I like going to the lake and I like playing golf, but racing is my passion. I wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t racing.” His first two Modified victories came during the 2006 season. Grabouski earned a personal single-season and division-best 29 checkers in winning the national championship in 2011. “I always want to set my goals really high but 100 Modified wins wasn’t something I ever [Read More]