The Vault
1997 – IMCA MODIFIEDS: TO CLAIM OR NOT TO CLAIM?
Posted on: Monday December 2, 2024
(With the exploding popularity in recent years with the crate motors in IMCA, the number of IMCA modified motor claims has been nearly non-existent for many years. That was not the case in 1997. Check out this story I penned for Racing Review magazine. This story was part of my 2017 release “Life In The Past Lane – The Next Generation.” This book can be ordered through this website by clicking on the “books” tab. Enjoy!)
IMCA MODIFIEDS: TO CLAIM OR NOT TO CLAIM?
By Joe Verdegan
Reprinted from Racing Review magazine July 2, 1997
Currently no subject stirs emotions at area dirt tracks as much as the engine claim rule in the IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) modified division at the locally sanctioned raceways.
The claim rule, which has been in place since the IMCA modified was essentially “born” in Vinton, IA in 1979, works like this: Any driver finishing fifth on back in the main event can claim (purchase) one of the top four finishers in the feature event, provided they are running on the same lap as the fourth place finishing driver. The price? $325. This is not a misprint.
There are dire consequences should a driver refuse to surrender his or her powerplant. He or she is socked with a $1,000 fine and a 30 day suspension from all IMCA sanctioned tracks, or until the fine is paid.
A few weeks ago at Shawano Speedway, the above scenario took place. Pulaski’s Dean Stark claimed New London racer Dave Ritchie’s motor. Ritchie, who finished in the top four for the first time all season, wouldn’t give up his engine. So as a result he will be racing at a non-sanctioned track nearly three hours away, when he has a track which is practically in his backyard.
“Basically I’m being punished four finishing fourth,” Ritchie said. “It costs, on the average, between $2,500 and $4,500 dollars to field a motor in this class. I blew my main engine earlier in the year. This is my backup engine, so if I do give it up for a measly $325, it will still take me at least a month before I can scrape up enough dough to go racing again.”
The thinking behind the claim rule is to prevent one driver from pouring a ton of cash under the hood, thus potentially dominating the field. And what has happened lately is the grudge claims are taking place. A guy spins in front of you costing you the win? Claim him! The guy deliberately took you out the week before? Claim him! The driver took your motor last week? Claim him and get it back! Although locally, seldom do the drivers who claim engines ever run up front after the engine claim. This shows that it is not just mtoor, but chassis setup and driver skill as well. The total package.
“We don’t have the Hatfields and McCoy’s battling out here – at least not lately,” explained Luxemburg Tri-Star Speedway promoter Kelly Hafeman, who runs IMCA modifieds and stock cars during the Friday night program. “We’ve had grudge claims in the past, but we haven’t had any claims in the first seven nights of racing, and everyone here seems to get along fine.”
Luxemburg boasts one of the highest modified and stock car counts in the area, averaging nearly 40 modifieds per night, along with almost as many stock cars. Hafeman served as the Wisconsin representative on the IMCA Advisory board a few years ago, and credits IMCA’s refusal to give in to the “haves” rather than the “have nots” when it comes to keeping a lid on the escalating cost of racing. “At Luxemburg I would say the average motor costs between $1,200 and $3,000 tops. I could see where you may spend a little more at Shawano because of the bigger track,” Hafeman pointed out. “The mods and the stock cars have the highest car counts in the area, so you can’t tell me the rule doesn’t work.”
While Luxemburg hasn’t had any claims in the first seven weeks, Shawano has had a half dozen claims, with rumors floating around the pits about grudge or payback claims set to take place all season long.
With this in mind, the casual observer would think local engine builders would all be pro-IMCA. This is certainly not the case with Merle Childs of A.E.B. race engines in Shawano. Childs has been constructing IMCA modified motors to local drivers for more than ten years. “(The IMCA claim rule) is way too antique,” Childs said. “These guys haven’t got enough money to go through a half dozen engines in a year. That’s crazy. It’s hard to find the blocks. I put together late model motors that last these guys three to four seasons. With the money these guys are dumping into their modified chassis and motors, they’d be better off running late models. It just baffles me.”
Like most area drivers Childs favors an engine exchange instead of a straight up claim. “At least you go home with a motor, as opposed to having a hole under the hood.”
Hafeman strongly disagrees. “All an exchange would do is keep the costs going up, because that fear of losing a big investment would be gone. Everyone would wind up with big motors. Mod car counts would fall off, and street stock car counts would increase.”
Late last year there were rumblings about the locally sanctioned IMCA tracks (Antigo, Luxemburg, Shawano, Sturgeon Bay and Seymour) pitching the national sanctioning and “going it alone.” There was talk of a Wisconsin Modified Series that would encompass all dirt tracks that run modifieds. Supporters of such a plan say it could nearly double the amount of point fund money that is dished out at the end of the year, because state drivers would not have to compete with drivers in IMCA’s home state of Iowa, who can run up to four nights a week and possess a huge advantage when it comes to competing for the IMCA nationals points crown.
“It may look good on paper but people fail to realize just how much work that would be,” warned Hafeman. “You would basically have to give up a career to help administer the thing, someone who is reputable and experienced. It’s a lot more work than people think it is.”
In absorbing all of the above, consider this: is the IMCA modified car count healthy? The answer to that is a resounding YES. While rule changes have kept the local dirt late model car counts low in recent years, IMCA’s proverbial “We’re not changing anything” attitude has area promoters smiling at the pit money revenue generated.
Do the modifieds and stock cars put on a good show? Again, YES. I don’t know of any track running the sanction in the area that doesn’t have upwards of fifteen to twenty drivers who can win a main event on any given night.
IMCA’s claim rule is far from perfect. But if the car counts stay high and the racing is competitive, IMCA will likely be around Wisconsin tracks for quite some time.
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