Newswire

Wilson stays sharp despite rainouts to win first IMCA Sprint Car national championship

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – A solid month of rain in Texas sent Chad Wilson out of state to keep his sprint car racing skills sharp, but probably not the way you’d expect. Wilson had raced his way to the top of the IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Car national point standings by winning the May 2 main event at Kennedale Speedway Park. Then the dark clouds moved in to stay and the North Richland Hills, Texas, pilot didn’t get back on the big dirt tracks until after the calendar had flipped over to June. “We had rain like crazy. We had like 11 rainouts and didn’t race for a solid month,” Wilson said. “I didn’t think I had a chance at the national championship so what I was doing was driving four hours to race radio controlled sprint cars in Lawton, Okla.” Using a hand control to accelerate, brake and steer a 1/10 scale sprinter kept the competitive fires stoked and Wilson was ready to resume what would prove to be a successful pursuit [Read More]

Van Straten streaks to national IMCA Stock Car championship

HORTONVILLE, Wis. – Travis Van Straten’s championship season is proof that hard work and patience pay off. So does a little luck. Thirty-four feature wins, including an incredible 11 straight checkers at Shawano Speedway, paved the way for Van Straten’s drive to the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car national crown. “A lot of times it seemed like someone upstairs wanted us to win this thing. There were definitely times when someone was watching over us,” said Van Straten, citing a main event won despite a loose wheel as one example. “There were nights when I had to ask myself ‘Is this really happening?’ usually I’m the guy who should have won but then something went wrong at the last minute.” There were few last-minute disappointments to speak of in 2015. Van Straten completed a rare Friday, Saturday, Sunday sweep at OshKosh SpeedZone Raceway, Shawano and Seymour Speedway in July, a month that saw him win eight of 11 outings. With the national points chase narrowed to a battle with five-time and defending champion Mike Nichols, the [Read More]

Brad Sites is best in Empire State Series finale, Eddie Sites captures third IMCA Modified tour title

KIRKWOOD, N.Y. (Oct. 30) – Brad Sites won his second Empire State Series feature of the season while his brother Eddie wrapped up a tour career third title with a runner-up finish Friday at Five Mile Point Speedway. The Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified win paid $400. Brad Sites started outside the front row, ran side-by-side with defending series champion James Cornell for six circuits and then motored away to the checkers. He built a sizable lead before the third and final caution came out late in the 20-lapper. “The track was nice, tacky and black, just the way my car likes it,” he said. I don’t think anyone had anything for us until after that last caution. I looked and there was Eddie, and I had to hold him off for the win.” Brad Sites’ first win this season came in May at Skyline Raceway; the Kirkwood checkers were his Empire State Series career fourth. Eddie Sites’ first two Empire State Series titles came in 2011 and 2012. Chris Fleming, the 2010 series champion, [Read More]

Seymour Speedway banquet set for Nov. 14

SEYMOUR, Wis. – The 32nd annual NEW DIRT awards banquet will be held on Saturday night, Nov. 14, at Doxbee’s Banquet and Buffet in Seymour. Cocktail hour will be from 5-6 p.m. Serving of the chicken and beef tips dinner starts at 6 p.m. with the awards program to follow. Top 10 drivers in each division this season at Seymour Speedway receive trophies. Rookies will be announced in each division as well. Free beer and a raffle follow the awards. Tickets are $25 each through the club meeting tonight (Monday, Nov. 2) at Doxbees. Tickets will be $30 per person after the meeting and until Nov. 10. No tickets will be sold at the door. Ticket requests can be directed to Dave Panske at PO Box 3021, Oshkosh, Wis., 54903, or by calling 920 231-1157. Tickets will be available at the meeting tonight.

Canyon’s Desert Classic pays IMCA Modified winner $5,000

PEORIA, Ariz. – The Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified win will be worth $5,000 at Canyon Speedway Park’s Desert Classic special. Set for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7, the Desert Classic is a qualifying event for the 2016 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot and pays a minimum of $300 to start. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods will race for $400 to win both nights. Entry fee for the Modifieds is $100. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and the grandstand opens at 5 p.m. both days. Hot laps are at 6 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m. Spectator admission is $18 for adults, $10 for kids ages 7-12 and free for ages six and under. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. More information is available at the www.canyonspeedwaypark.com website or by calling 602 258-7223.

Kay joins rare company with repeat IMCA national, Deery Series titles

WHEATLAND, Iowa – Justin Kay won 24 feature events, his third straight IMCA Late Model national championship and his second straight Deery Brothers Summer Series crown this season. And none of those accomplishments even got a mention as his highlight of 2015. Kay and his wife Megan became parents to daughter Kayleigh, born on April 30 … just three days after the start of the weekly point season. “Being a parent is fun,” said Kay, enjoying more nights at home with now six-month-old Kayleigh. “She’s figured out how to get up on all fours and is ready to start crawling.” After some small steps – and his only DNF of the season – early on, the Wheatland, Iowa, driver hit the track running. He won 17 of just 29 weekly starts and seven of 17 Deery Series features “We were going to go to the first few races and see how things played out,” said Kay, who didn’t have defending any of his 2014 titles in mind at the time. “We kept winning so we [Read More]

Official 2015 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National Point Standings

Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds – 1. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa, 1,236; 2. Zane DeVilbiss, Farmington, N.M., 1,224; 3. Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, Ariz., 1,220; 4. Keith White, Little River Academy, Texas, 1,201; 5. Justin Jones, Bemidji, Minn., 1,191; 6. J.D. Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa, 1,188; 7. Jimmy Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa, 1,187; 8. Nick Roberts, Des Moines, Iowa, 1,186 (12 40-point feature wins); 9. Clint Hatlestad, Glencoe, Minn., 1,186 (9 40-point feature wins); 10. Jeremiah Hurst, Dubuque, Iowa, 1,184; 11. Keith Jack Lamphere, Monroeton, Pa., 1,180; 12. Brandon Beckendorf, Danube, Minn., 1,179; 13. Dylan Sherfick, WaKeeney, Kan., 1,166; 14. Troy Cordes, Dunkerton, Iowa, 1,163; 15. Regan Tafoya, Farmington, N.M., 1,162; 16. Kelly Shryock, Fertile, Iowa, 1,160; 17. Josh McGaha, Abilene, Texas, 1,158; 18. Michael Densberger, Lincoln, Neb., 1,152; 19. Rob VanMil, Barnesville, Minn., 1,149; 20. Eddie Belec, Lakewood, Colo., 1,145. IMCA Eagle Motorsports RaceSaver Sprint Cars – 1. Chad Wilson, North Richland Hills, Texas, 805; 2. Michael Haggenbottom, Levittown, Pa., 771; 3. Brandon Allen, St. Peter, Minn., 765; 4. Zach Newlin, Millerstown, Pa., 764; 5. Marcus Thomas, [Read More]

Las Vegas rolls out red carpet for Duel In The Desert

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The biggest IMCA event of the season west of the Mississippi is on the schedule Nov. 11-14 when Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts the 18th annual Duel In The Desert. Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds run for $7,777 to win and a minimum of $777 to start their Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying main event Saturday night on the half-mile Dirt Track. Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods chase a $1,777 top check that evening. Modified qualifying features pay $777 to win and SportMod qualifiers pay $500 to win on Thursday and Friday. “A Duel record 330 drivers competed at Las Vegas last year and it appears we’ll be at or above that number in 2015,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “The locale, the venue, the racing and the purse all combine to make the Duel In The Desert the largest IMCA event on the West Coast.” In addition to Nevada, Modified pre-entries have already been received from drivers who will travel from Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, [Read More]

602 crate seal deadline extended to Jan. 1, 2019

VINTON, Iowa – The deadline requiring GM 602 crate engines used in sanctioned competition to have mandatory IMCA seals has been extended to Jan. 1, 2019. IMCA rules for 2013-2015 had stated all GM 602s must have IMCA seals after Jan. 1, 2016. The rule will be amended with the release of the 2016 IMCA divisional rules on November. The amended rule will require that any GM 602 crate engine with a GM production date after Jan. 1, 2016 must have the IMCA cable seals. “We will allow GM 602 crate engines with a production date prior to Jan.1, 2016 to not have IMCA cable seals,” said IMCA President Brett Root. “The GM production tag on the side of the engine block is key. When we made the original announcement we thought a three-year period was appropriate. These engines are lasting longer than that, which is a good problem for IMCA racers to have.” “The prior IMCA rule and wording failed in two ways,” added Root. “We failed to attach the GM production tag to [Read More]

Abbey ends on high note with Southern Challenge checkers

ABILENE, Texas (Oct. 18) – After putting his Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified in victory lane, Dean Abbey put $3,000 in the bank. Abbey took the lead from Josh McGaha after midway at Abilene Speedway’s Ryan Bard Memorial Southern Challenge and led to the end of the Sunday headliner. He’d started the 30-lapper from inside row two. “We knew we had a good car. I just tried to stay close to him (McGaha),” Abbey said. “He was good but he finally slid up just high enough and left me enough room to get by.” After a complete restart, the race saw just one caution. Abbey had one lapped car behind him and was coming up on another coming to the checkers. McGaha, a former race winner and now four-time track champion at Abilene, was the runner-up. Charles Brewer, Chris Elliott and Fred Wojtek completed the top five. “We wanted to end our Modified season on a high note,” said Abbey, who’d won the Southern SportMod feature at Abilene in 2011 and is already on the [Read More]