Week number two of the IMCA Winter Nationals at the Central Arizona Raceway began on Wednesday night, January 28th and three first time winners found victory lane in racing action conducted on the three eighth mile oval. Ethan Braaksma, Trevor Noonan and Joel Magee were all first time winners here this year while Cameron Starry continued his strong run with his third win of the series so far.
One hundred and seventy drivers signed in to race in what is now a four division program through the conclusion of the series on Saturday night. Typically the Modified division looses about twenty to twenty five drivers from the first to the second week and that was the situation again this year with sixty five signing in to race on Wednesday. The Sport Mods and Stock Cars generally hold pretty consistent from week one to week two although last year the Stock Cars had their largest car counts for the second week of the series but that is not the case so far this year. The Hobby Stock numbers have been down from start to the present in 2026 and that continued. It should be pointed out though that thirty drivers signed in to race on Wednesday night that hadn't been here at all for week one so there is different look so far to week two fields.
The format would remain the same for the conclusion of the series with drivers drawing for their starting positions in heat races and the top fourteen automatically making the feature which guarantees heat race winners a starting spot in the mains plus the highest passing points drivers to make up the top fourteen. Everyone else runs a B Feature with twenty six drivers starting the main events except for the Hobby Stocks were everyone running gets to be in the feature.
The series is in a nice rhythm now with one class hot lapping each night to get the track ready and then the green flag drops, generally somewhere between 3:45 pm and 4 pm. The only stoppage is for track prep before the last set of B Features and then its straight through to the conclusion with the show, depending on yellow flags etc, normally concluding somewhere around 8:30 pm.
The lineup for the Modified feature, which was first up, looked to be serving up a two car battle between Braaksma and Dylan Thornton who would start in the first and second rows of the main and for much of the contest, that was indeed how it played out.
However, late in the race, there would be a couple of other drivers that would insert themselves in the battle and down the wire, it was a four car battle for the win.
Braaksma led early with Thornton moving to second behind him and riding in close formation. Kollin Hibdon, who moved from eighth to fourth on the opening lap was also a factor with Jonathan Mawhinney and Brandon Beckendorf next in line. Chaz Baca Jr, considered a factor in the outcome, was instead in the infield early with mechanical issues.
Braaksma continued to lead but Thornton moved in close and was making some preliminary moves for a strike in the final few laps when the yellow waved for the first time with just four laps remaining.
The restart, as restarts often do, completely changed things with both Hibdon and Beckendorf putting a strong challenge on Thornton and Braaksma used that opportunity to pull away from the field. Hibdon threw the first slider but then Beckendorf was able to get past both drivers and he closed rapidly on Braaksma on the last couple laps. One late charge came up just short as Braaksma won by a half car length, or .036 seconds. Thornton was able to hold off Hibdon by a half length for third with Mawhinney rounding out the top five. Only four drivers didn't finish in the quick race.
The nonstop Stock Car feature saw Starry and Jordan Zillmer trade the lead back and forth before Starry assumed control. Starry took the early lead from the outside of row one with Zillmer, Bo Partain and Payce Herrera close behind. Starry was running the low line and Zillmer was the first to find the top side groove.
Once he moved to the cushion, he began to quickly close on the leader and on lap seven, he buzzed past Starry on the front stretch to take over the point. Curt Lund, Kaden Woodie and Shelby Williams moved into the top five at this point.
Zillmer continued to lead but he started to struggle just a bit in the corners, having to back down on entry and losing a little speed and Starry saw this, dropped down a groove and was able to squeeze past Zillmer to retake the lead on lap thirteen. After that ,Starry began to pull away as Zillmer was taking much heat from drivers behind him looking to pass.
While Starry was gone and drove on for the win, there was quite a scramble on the final two laps as Zillmer couldn't fight off all the challengers with Lund getting past him for second and then Woodie and Partain on the final lap as well. All but two starters were still around to take the checkered flag.
The Sport Mod feature got off to a rocky start as while Mike Goodwin took the initial lead, only one lap was completed before a collision on the front chute saw Chad Dolan jump the wheel of another competitor and take a hard flip in front of the crowd. He was OK but the car was clearly not.
Two more laps were made before the yellow flew for a spin with Herrera moving into second at this point. The final seventeen laps, however, would go green to checkers with Bud Martini moving into second and then three laps later, passing Goodwin to take over the lead.
However, Martini soon had a challenge to his lead as Trevor Noonan, who started ninth and one row behind Martini, moved in to challenge for the top spot. Using the higher line on the track, he was able to drive past Martini on lap eleven and then quickly pulled away from the field. The top three in fact, really got stretched out from the field, all riding comfortably in their positions.
They would finish in that order with Tyler Johnson and Herrera completing the top five. All drivers finished on the lead lap but there were eight in the infield by the time the checkers flew.
A mechanical issue greatly affected the outcome of the Hobby Stock feature that saw seventeen drivers take the green. Austin Jahnz started on the pole and took the early lead with Zach Bierman following in his tire tracks and Morgan Olmstead moving into third.
One lap ten a grinding two car collision took place in turn one that produced a red flag as Wesson Edwards-Miller took a hard hit that shook him up. He walked to the ambulance with some assistance and the race was able to continue.
Joel Magee had moved past Bierman into second as the first half dozen or so drivers were lined up in tight order, all rolling the high groove around the track. Suddenly, in turn four on lap thirteen, Jahnz's car started smoking badly, he immediately lost power and the field drove past him. He was able to limp to the infield but that incident gave Magee the opportunity to take over the lead.
The last seven laps were a two car battle with Bierman pushing hard in the corners, trying to get a run at Magee but he just couldn't get the momentum he needed and Magee would keep him at bay and drive on for the win. Nick Biggs had a strong run to finish third with Tyler Thompson and Olmstead completing the top five.
All four classes will be back in action on Thursday night as the IMCA Winter Nationals continues.
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