By Jackson Braun
SOMERTON, Ariz. (January 18, 2020) – The start to Casey Arneson’s 2020 season took a turn for the better as the endcap to the Winter Nationals was dominated by the Fargo, North Dakota driver.
Arneson started the night off with a good draw and convincing heat race win. A pole start in the IMCA Modified feature event was beneficial to Arneson as he got the jump on the start and never looked back.
A few caution flags marred Arneson’s dominance, but the driver of the 2 machine was able to capitalize every single time and pull away. Jake O’Neil gave Arneson the biggest fight towards the win, as O’Neil was charging hard in the final laps while chasing a possible $5,000 bonus for winning 4 out of the 6 Winter Nationals features.
Ultimately, Arneson was able to hold O’Neil off to solidify the victory and claim the $1,222 prize. Tim Ward, Kollin Hibdon and RC Whitwell rounded out the Top 5. O’Neil claimed the Winter Nationals championship in the Modified division.
The IMCA Northern SportMods had a few struggles trying to complete their program but by the end a familiar face ended up in victory lane. Sioux City, Iowa’s Cody Thompson started the 20-lap contest in the 9th position but it did not take him long to get to the front.
Miles Morris and Wayne Dotson were early leaders, but Thompson lurked behind and eventually got around all of the obstacles. Throughout the race, Thompson was the only racer to clock a lap in underneath 20 seconds, with his fastest being a 19.781.
Ty Rogers, Chris Toth, Chase Alves and Taylor Kuehl completed the Top 5. Thompson earned his 3rd victory of the miniseries, which paired along nicely with his 2 second-place finishes. A disqualification on the first night took him out of the points battle, which went to Toth by 5 points over Morris.
Aaron Spangler looked strong in the IMCA Stock Cars during the whole of the Winter Nationals, but did not have enough to get the job done. That is, until the finale, which he was able to capitalize on mishaps of his fellow competitors to find his way to victory lane.
Spangler was ecstatic after claiming the win, having ran second at the Cocopah Speedway multiple times in the past in the IMCA Modified division. Now, he has finally earned his first win at the Speedway.
Going into the night, a tight battle for the points championship in the Stock Car division led to high tensions. Troy Jerovetz and Steffan Carey were racing hard for both position on the track and in the points, which led to a cut tire on Jerovetz’s machine. Carey was able to hold on to become points champion.
Carey, Chanse Hollatz, Jody York and Leslie Gill completed the Top 5 finishers behind Spangler in the 20-lap IMCA Stock Car contest.
Minnesota’s Tim Gonska came down to Arizona looking to get a jump start on his 2020 IMCA Hobby Stock points season. He came away with a dominating performance, with a fourth win added to his credit in another runaway performance.
Joshua Cordova also finished strong, as the local driver claimed the other two wins in the division and ran right behind Gonska every other night of the event. Brad King, Jim Robinson and Scott Tenney completed the Hobby Stock top 5 in Saturday’s race.
FEATURE RESULTS
IMCA Modifieds:
A Feature – 1. Casey Arneson, Fargo, N.D.; 2. Jake O’Neil, Tucson; 3. Tim Ward, Chandler; 4. Kollin Hibdon, Pahrump, Nev.; 5. R.C. Whitwell, Tucson; 6. Jason Noll, Peoria; 7. Zane DeVilbiss, Farmington, N.M.; 8. Marlyn Seidler, Underwood, N.D.; 9. Alex Stanford, Chowchilla, Calif.; 10. Joey Price, Great Falls, Mont.; 11. Mark Carrell, Redmond, Ore.; 12. John Parmeley, Phoenix; 13. Austin Kuehl, Cave Creek; 14. Spencer Wilson, Minot, N.D.; 15. Jeff Taylor, Cave City, Ark.; 16. Justen Yeager, Green River, Wyo.; 17. Michael Thing, Campo, Calif.; 18. Russell Allen, Brawley, Calif.; 19. Tyson Evans, Yuma; 20. Anthony Hofbauer, Huxley, Iowa; 21. Randy Havlik, Ankeny, Iowa; 22. Tom Berry, Newburg, N.D.; 23. Austin Kiefer, Pahrump, Nev.; 24. Bobby Horton, Yuma; 25. Lance Mari, Imperial, Calif.
B Feature 1 – 1. Whitwell; 2. J. Yeager; 3. Mari; 4. Allen; 5. Taylor; 6. Jeff Stafford Jr., Wittmann; 7. Beau Speicher, Fort Morgan, Col.; 8. Travis Mosley, Batesville, Ark.; 9. Steven Daffern, Brawley, Calif.; 10. Shawn LaRocque, Winnemucca, Nev.; 11. Marvin Mueller, Yuma; 12. Cody Parenteau, Lakeside, Calif.; 13. Chaz Baca, Mesa; DNS – Jerry Flippo, Bakersfield.
B Feature 2 – 1. Stanford; 2. Seidler; 3. Kuehl; 4. Wilson; 5. Parmeley; 6. Darrell Hughes II, Manteca, Calif.; 7. Braxton Yeager, Green River, Wyo.; 8. Nate Warren, Phoenix; 9. Kelsie Foley, Tucson; 10. Jon Walton, Chula Vista, Calif.; 11. Kent Rosevear, Yuma; 12. Mike Lerwill, Lakeside, Calif.; 13. Bill Miller, Yuma; DNS – Mike Magee, Palisade, Col.
IMCA Northern SportMods:
A Feature – 1. Cody Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa; 2. Ty Rogers, Yuma; 3. Chris Toth, Holtville, Calif.; 4. Chase Alves, Casa Grande; 5. Taylor Kuehl, Cave Creek; 6. Miles Morris, Yuma; 7. Bill Lundock, Fort Morgan, Col.; 8. Chris Theodore, Coweta, Okla.; 9. David Pitt, Rock Springs, Wyo.; 10. Cody Daffern, Brawley, Calif.; 11. Justin Brierley, Yuma; 12. Brock Rogers, Yuma; 13. Manny Baldiviez, Yuma; 14. Wayne Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif.; 15. Jimmy Davy, Yuma; 16. Javier Navarro, Yuma; 17. Slade Pitt, Rock Springs, Wyo.; 18. Kyle Salo, Peoria; 19. Mike Wells, Pahrump, Nev.; 20. Camron Spangler, Dove Creek, Col.; 21. Shelby Frye, Casa Grande; 22. Brian Carey, Aztec, N.M.; 23. Ron Schreiner, Tucson.
IMCA Stock Cars:
A Feature – 1. Aaron Spangler, Dove Creek, Col.; 2. Steffan Carey, Bloomfield, N.M.; 3. Chanse Hollatz, Clear Lake, Iowa; 4. Jody York, Lubbock, Tex.; 5. Leslie Gill, Odessa, Tex.; 6. Troy Jerovetz, Iowa Falls, Iowa; 7. Cody Center, Mesa; 8. J.C. Parmeley, Phoenix; 9. Tony Hill, Cortez, Col.; 10. Andy Altenburg, Truman, Minn.; 11. Loren DeArmond, Lemoore, Calif.; 12. Gene Henrie, Cedar City, Utah; 13. Jake Smith, Delta, Utah; 14. Raymond Doyle, Chandler; 15. Brock Hamilton, Hanford, Calif.; 16. Wayne Dotson, Bakersfield, Calif.; 17. Austin Daffern, Brawley, Calif.
IMCA Hobby Stocks:
A Feature – 1. Tim Gonska, Brainerd, Minn.; 2. Joshua Cordova, Somerton; 3. Brad King, Minot, N.D.; 4. Jim Robinson, Yuma; 5. Scott Tenney, Yuma; 6. Jason Duggins, Farmington, N.M.; 7. Jason Beshears, Yuma; 8. Jason Penny, Yuma; 9. Oscar Duarte, Yuma; 10. Francisco Cordova, Somerton; 11. David Callis, Yuma; 12. Jeffrey Callis, Yuma; DNS – Andy Pearce, Fillmore, Utah.
Final 2020 Winter Nationals Top 10 Point Standings
IMCA Modifieds
1. 0 Jake O’Neil, 230; 2. 96T R.C. Whitwell, 210; 3. 2 Casey Arneson, 194; 4. 5T Jeff Taylor, 193; 5. 4TW Tim Ward, 191; 6. 48K Kollin Hibdon, 185; 7. 11X Tom Berry, 180; 8. 77X Austin Kuehl, 170; 9. 7S Marlyn Seidler, 169; 10. 19SB Lance Mari, 167.
IMCA Northern SportMods
1. 57CT Chris Toth, 220; 2. 3 Miles Morris, 215; 3. 25C Cody Thompson, 198; 4. 77B Manny Baldiviez, 197; 5. 1S Shelby Frye, 196; 6. 8T Ty Rogers, 195; 7. 2K Taylor Kuehl, 190; 8. 28 David Pitt, 174; 9. 216 Camron Spangler, 169; 10. 144 Jimmy Davy, 162.
IMCA Stock Cars
1. 3C Steffan Carey, 227; 2. ZERO1 Troy Jerovetz, 224; 3. 2H Gene Henrie, 213; 4. 16 Aaron Spangler, 213; 5. 6 Chanse Hollatz, 199; 6. 007 Tony Hill, 196; 7. 00X Andy Altenburg, 188; 8. 57 Brendon LaBatte, 181; 9. 47 Jake Smith, 174; 10. 7 Nuggett Shupe, 157.
IMCA Hobby Stocks
1. 5G Tim Gonska, 237; 2. 04J Joshua Cordova, 233; 3. 43 Brad King, 224; 4. 21T Scott Tenney, 217; 5. 64 Jason Beshears, 204; 6. 33 Jason Duggins, 200; 7. 98 Jason Penny, 198; 8. 31 Jim Robinson, 191; 9. 04 Francisco Cordova, 182; 10. 171 Andy Pearce, 175.