Five first-time kings, first-ever queen in IMCA’s championship class of 2007

VINTON, Iowa (Oct. 2) – Five first-time kings and a first-ever queen join a pair of three-time titlists in IMCA’s 2007 national championship class.

Jared Siefert of Green Bay, Wis., topped the Modified standings, Jesse Smith of Mankato, Minn., ruled the Sprint Cars and Jeff Turner of Kaufman, Texas, paced the Jeff’s Performance Southern SportMods.

Chris Abelson of Sioux City led the way in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and Luke Wanninger of Jefferson reigned in the Hobby Stocks. Jena Barthelmes of Marion raced her way into the history book as IMCA’s first female national champion, and as the first Sport Compact national champion.

Mike Nichols of Harlan added a third Stock Car trophy to his collection. Darrel DeFrance of Marshalltown had wrapped up his third career Late Model crown in late August.

The winner of a dozen features during the season, Siefert earned his first SuperFlow North Central Region crown and was also the only Modified driver to win titles at three local tracks this season, at car-rich Shawano Speedway, Seymour Speedway and Luxemburg Speedway.

One feature win, consistent finishes throughout the season and the Arlington Raceway title paved the way for Smith’s championship.

Turner racked up 20 feature wins, along with the crowns at Kennedale Speedway Park and for Wednesday programs at Grand Prairie Speedway in winning the Southern SportMod championship. He was also 11th in the national Stock Car point standings.

Abelson won 26 times enroute to the Northern SportMod championship. The track champion at Buena Vista Raceway and Park Jefferson Speedway, he’s also the first IMCA driver to win both the national title and rookie of the year award in the same season since Hobby Stocker Kris Walker of Oskaloosa accomplished the feat in 2001.

Wanninger posted 21 feature wins on the season, along with the first-ever Jet Racing Northern Region prize and track championships at BVR and Marshalltown Speedway.

Barthelmes, a 19-time winner, was track champion at Benton County Speedway and Hamilton County Speedway.

Nichols prevailed in the closest contest, by one point over Rod Snellenberger of Pulaski, Wis. Also champion in 2002 and 2004, Nichols scored 27 feature wins this year, along with the Jet Racing Northern Region and Stuart Speedway and Winston Speedway crowns.

Joining Siefert as first-time SuperFlow regional champions were national runner-up Chris Alcorn of Lincoln, Neb., Central; Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas, South Central; Dale Caswell, Central Square, N.Y., Eastern; and Shawn Zelenka, Surprise, Ariz., Western.

Alcorn won 18 features and was champion at Eagle Raceway and US 30 Speedway. Bragg had 10 wins and topped points at Boyd Raceway and Kennedale.

Caswell paced the points at Caprara’s Can-Am Motorsports Park and picked up 31 wins. Zelenka was a nine-time winner, with titles at Prescott Valley Raceway and the West Valley Speedway Winter Series to his credit.

Benji Kirkpatrick of Elm Mott, Texas, collected 21 checkers and the Destroyer Chassis Southern Stock Car Region hardware. He was track champion at Heart O’ Texas Speedway and Texas Thunder Speedway.

Temple, Texas, hotshoe Nathan Sodek nabbed Destroyer Chassis regional honors for the Hobby Stocks. Sodek was a 17-time winner and first in point standings at Abilene Speedway and Heart O’ Texas.

Joining Abelson as national rookies of the year were Dillon Smith of Waco, Texas, Modifieds; Adam Larson of Ames, Late Models; Troy Manteufel of St. Peter, Minn., Sprint Cars; Zach Hamilton of Farmington, N.M., Southern SportMods; Donavon Smith of Lake City, Stock Cars; and Bryan Sewell of Seagoville, Texas, Hobby Stocks.

Top Modified regional rookies were Smith in the South Central; Jason Czarapata of Pulaski, Wis., North Central; Roger Flinn III of Ionia, Mich., Eastern; Chase Hansen of Myton, Utah, Western; and Mark Zorn of Russell, Kan., Central.

Donavon Smith led Northern region Stock Car rookie standings; Jimmy Gore of Forney, Texas, paced the Southern region rookie ranks.

Sewell set the bar for the Hobby Stocks in the South while Northern region ROY honors went to Corey J. Cruzan of Maxwell, Neb.

Local track officials have until Oct. 29 to notify the IMCA home office of any corrections to Modified, Sprint Car, SportMod, Stock Car, Hobby Stock and Sport Compact race results that affect their top 15 point standings before they are declared official. Late Model standings became official on Sept. 24.

All champions and top rookie drivers will be recognized during their national IMCA awards banquet Nov. 24 in Lincoln, Neb.

National IMCA Modified Standings
1. Jared Siefert, Green Bay, Wis. 1,247
2. Chris Alcorn, Lincoln, Neb. 1,243
3. David Murray Jr., Oberlin, Kan. 1,238
4. Justin Auringer, Waterloo, Iowa 1,222
5. Jimmy Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa 1,220
6. Chris Bragg, Springtown, Texas 1,214
7. Lonnie Schriner, Red Cloud, Neb. 1,213
8. Eric Dailey, Armstrong, Iowa 1,210
9. Dale Caswell, Central Square, N.Y. 1,209
10. P.J. Egbert, Copperas Cove, Texas 1,197
11. Sean Lias, Westfield, Pa. 1,192
12. Shawn Zelenka, Surprise, Ariz. 1,190
13. Corey Lagroon, Salina, Kan. 1,184
14. Kevan Cook, Constantia, N.Y. 1,183
15. Benji LaCrosse, Luxemburg, Wis. 1,182
16. George Fronsman, Surprise, Ariz. 1,180
17. William (Pat) McGuire, Belton, Texas 1,179
18. Marlyn Seidler, Underwood, N.D. 1,176
19. Yancy Shepard, Smithville, Mo. 1,156
20. Vern Jackson, Waterloo, Iowa 1,152

National IMCA KSE Racing Products Sprint Car Standings
1. Jesse Smith, Mankato, Minn. 776
2. Curt Lund, Redwood Falls, Minn. 759
3. Jennifer M. Eriksen, Burnsville, Minn. 744
4. Brett Allen, Kasota, Minn. 736
5. Jason Tostenson, Gaylord, Minn. 721
6. Bruce Allen, Mankato, Minn. 713
7. Keith Beckler, Litchfield, Minn. 709
8. Troy Manteufel, St. Peter, Minn. 702
9. Dwain Wilmes, Kasota, Minn. 691
10. Brandon Allen, St. Peter, Minn. 689
11. Mike Sargent, Cleveland, Minn. 684
12. Luther Roberts, Mankato, Minn. 673
13. Shannon Eriksen, Lakeville, Minn. 668
14. Dan Menk, Franklin, Minn. 644
15. Richard Smith, Mankato, Minn. 634
16. Dan Grams, Gaylord, Minn. 551
17. Neil Stevens, Bingham Lake, Minn. 540
18. Billy Johnson, St. Peter, Minn. 535
19. Nate Laugen, Lake Mills, Iowa 190
20. Sidney Denzer, LeSueur, Minn. 153

National Jeff’s Performance Southern SportMod Standings
1. Jeff Turner, Kaufman, Texas 1,230
2. Keith White, Academy, Texas 1,221
3. Kenneth Graves, Tahoka, Texas 1,149
4. Duain Pritchett, Combine, Texas 1,146
5. Tim Eaves, Shreveport, La. 1,143
6. Scotty Wallace, Lorenzo, Texas 1,139
7. Kevin Green, Robinson, Texas 1,097
8. Gabe Tucker, Carbon, Texas 1,090
9. Dustin Sprouse, Dallas, Texas 1,087
10. Ryan Bard, Farmington, N.M. 1,084
11. Chase Jupe, West, Texas 1,077
12. T.J. Green, Robinson, Texas 1,058
13. Dillon Smith, Waco, Texas 1,053
14. Zach Hamilton, Farmington, N.M. 1,039
15. Eric Tomlinson, Waco, Texas 1,013
16. David Cory Riley, Wolfforth, Texas 1,008
17. Shad Stevens, Troy, Texas 1,007
18. Sid Kiphen, Gatesville, Texas 1,003
19. Robert Black, Waco, Texas 987
20. Justin Shaw, Sweetwater, Texas 972

National Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod Standings
1. Chris Abelson, Sioux City, Iowa 1,226
2. Tim L. Jorgenson, DePere, Wis. 1,191
3. Eugene Gregorich, Kewaunee, Wis. 1,186
4. Danny Dvorak, Vinton, Iowa 1,168
5. Tracy Wassenberg, Shawano, Wis. 1,164
6. Kevin Sather, Ankeny, Iowa 1,161
7. Jimmy May, DeSoto, Iowa 1,138
8. Austin Kaplan, Ankeny, Iowa 1,132
9. Fred Schimmels, Van Meter, Iowa 1,126
10. Tony Olson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1,123
11. Harvey Vande Weerd, Granville, Iowa 1,120
12. Brett Meyer, Ames, Iowa 1,103
13. Eric Arneson, Coleman, Wis. 1,103
14. R.J. Merchant, Sioux City, Iowa 1,100
15. Matt Oreskovich, Clintonville, Wis. 1,085
16. Les Lundquist, Sioux City, Iowa 1,073
17. Marcus Yarie, Wausau, Wis. 1,072
18. Matthew Marrant, Excelsior Springs, Mo. 1,067
19. Josh May, DeSoto, Iowa 1,061
20. Jeff DuBois, Luxemburg, Wis. 1,036

National IMCA Sunoco Stock Car Standings
1. Mike Nichols, Harlan, Iowa 1,228
2. Rod Snellenberger, Pulaski, Wis. 1,227
3. David Smith, Lake City, Iowa 1,222
4. Cory Struckhoff, Kensington, Kan. 1,209
5. Benji Kirkpatrick, Elm Mott, Texas 1,206
6. Kevin Opheim, Mason City, Iowa 1,192
7. Donavon Smith, Lake City, Iowa 1,192
8. Dustin Smith, Lake City, Iowa 1,177
9. Duain Pritchett, Combine, Texas 1,175
10. Jason Gore, Forney, Texas 1,172
11. Jeff Turner, Kaufman, Texas 1,169
12. Josh Hudson, Kensington, Kan. 1,168
13. Dan Michonski, Marion, Wis. 1,165
14. Kevin Sustaire, Emory, Texas 1,163
15. Gregory A. Gretz, Kewaunee, Wis. 1,157
16. Dan Mackenthun , Hamburg, Minn. 1,155
17. Kyle Frederick, Gillett, Wis. 1,154
18. Steve Jackson, Polk City, Iowa 1,154
19. Shaun Bruns, Danube, Minn. 1,149
20. Brian Blessington, Breda, Iowa 1,147

National IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock Standings
1. Luke Wanninger, Jefferson, Iowa 1,231
2. Nathan Sodek, Temple, Texas 1,203
3. Allen Montgomery, Rhome, Texas 1,198
4. Jim Buss, Blue Hill, Neb. 1,195
5. Jerry Hudson, Kensington, Kan. 1,192
6. B.J. Dauer, Marquette, Kan. 1,185
7. Devin Smith, Lake City, Iowa 1,160
8. Kyle Bond, Kearney, Neb. 1,152
9. Chris Ater, Fort Worth, Texas 1,151
10. Trent Murphy, Jefferson, Iowa 1,143
11. Charles Cosper, Belton, Texas 1,141
12. Bryan Snell, Coon Rapids, Iowa 1,138
13. Josh Irvine, Oelwein, Iowa 1,135
14. Rod Grother, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1,126
15. Bryan Sewell, Seagoville, Texas 1,114
16. Doug Smith, Lake City, Iowa 1,112
17. Aaron Koch, Cambridge, Neb. 1,112
18. Mike Shriver, Hastings, Neb. 1,103
19. David DeGrave, Luxemburg, Wis. 1,101
20. Austin Davis, Benkelman, Neb. 1,091

National IMCA Sport Compact Standings
1. Jena Barthelmes, Marion, Iowa 1,101
2. Gary Peiffer, Troy Mills, Iowa 775
3. Dan R. Rhiley, Bennington, Neb. 767
4. Richard White, Omaha, Neb. 743
5. Doug Laughridge, Garrison, Iowa 720
6. Jeremy Heim, Marion, Iowa 690
7. Kyle Schamp, Ashland, Neb. 660
8. Jack Prall III, Union, Neb. 638
9. Joseph Goodenbour, Garrison, Iowa 624
10. Justin Busboom, Lincoln, Neb. 597
11. Neil Nabholz, Waterloo, Iowa 552
12. Jason Tadlock, Omaha, Neb. 537
13. Amanda Rhiley, Blair, Neb. 528
14. Jake Sells, LaVista, Neb. 525
15. Dylan Petersen, Harlan, Iowa 515
16. Mike Mitchell, Fairfax, Iowa 514
17. Michael Rice, Elmwood, Neb. 513
18. Terry Romick, Exira, Iowa 508
19. Melanie Stone, Winton, Calif. 504
20. Maynard Kinnersley, Gretna, Neb. 496