5/2/2026
Arlington Raceway
2026 Season Opener sponsored by Hess Technology
The 46th season started off great with great racing action in every class at the Arlington Raceway. Chad Volk had his car dialed in and took the lead from his 2nd row start to lead the entire Jack Pines Resort IMCA Hobby feature. Cory Probst who had started from his 10th place start to battle Volk but fell victim to a yellow flag which put him in the back of the pack on a restart. Volk was able to maintain the lead for the remainder of the race as Taylor Manderfield and Ben Davis each tried diligently to catch Volk. Manderfield held onto 2nd while Davis fell back a few spots when hardcharging Brad Jones who started in 19th place moved through the field passing 14 cars to end up5th place. The 38B of Brad Becker won the best appearing car contest for the Jack Pines Resort IMCA Hobby class.
The Coors Light IMCA Sport Compact feature went green to checkered with Gary Schumacher taking the lead on the 2nd lap from his 3rd row start and remained the leader throughout the race to win the race. Brandon Hartmann took 2nd and Alan Lahr took 3rd place. Dale Gatton won the best appearing car contest in the class.
Karl Hewitt Jr. dominated the Olson Snowplowing & Lawn Care Outlaw Hobby feature as he led from start to finish. Mark Oestreich was in 2nd until a restart occurred after Mike Vogt went into a spin cycle on lap 8 causing a caution flag. On the restart, Kris Flewelling maneuvered around Oestreich to take 2nd place from his but he wasn’t able to catch Hewitt as he settled for 2nd place ahead of Oestreich. Hewitt was a double winner as he also won the best appearing car contest in the class. M
Eric Larson led the entire distance of the Arlington State Bank IMCA No Sport Modified feature from his pole position start to pick up the first feature of the year. Blake Luienenburg moved up from his 3rd row start to gain on Larson but couldn’t get around him and settled for 2nd head of Broddy Enter. Joey Reimers won the best appearing car contest in the class.
The Rice Companies IMCA RaceSaver Sprint feature saw two different leaders. The first was Owen Graf but he was slowed down when a caution came out from a spinning car in turn #2. On the restart Matt Johnson was able to get around Graf and the two stayed in those positions for the remaining ten laps with Johnson taking the win. Trevor Serbus took 3rd and Bill Johnson took 4th place. Bill Johnson also won the best appearing car contest in the class.
The Ottomotive Tire & Repair feature went green to checkered without incident, Chad Porter led the first lap but Brandon Beckendorf had his sights on the front of the pack and by the second time around he took over the the race. On the 4th lap, Clint Hatlestatd powered through the field and got around Porter to try and gain on Beckendorf but he settled for 2nd behind Beckendorf. Porter took 3rd. The winner of the best appearing car contest in this class was JJ Reimers.
The B&B Racing Chassis IMCA Stock Car feature saw 25 cars begin the race with only one caution throughout the race and that was at the beginning which put Dakota Robinson in the pit area. After the start, the race went flag to flag for 20 laps with Josh Larson at the helm the entire distance. Trent Loverude and Broddy Enter were both new to the class and started 2nd and 3rd, Loverude powered around Enter in turn 2 to gain a spot but Larson had his grip on the bottom side dominated track and was able to hold off the field behind him. With only 5 laps to go, Dan Mackenthun who started 5th had himself in between the top 4 cars trading spots and was able to get around Loverude in turn 2 to gain 2nd place. Larson had too much for him and went on to take the checkered flag first to win the first feature of the year. Matt Looft driving the B&B Racing Chassis car won the best appearing car contest in the class with the 6-7 car.
Submitted By: Susan Allen
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