Sports

The return of the Pro Late Model Tour headlines Summer Thunder action this Sunday, July 23, at Benton County Speedway. The first-year tour made its inaugural stop earlier this season at The Bullring and is set to return in a $1,500-to-win, $250-to-start event Sunday. There is no entry fee. IMCA Weekly Racing will complement the return of the Late Models as Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds presented by Beaty Excavating, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars presented by Christie Door Company, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods presented by Houdek Auto Center, IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks presented by Vermedahl Logistics, Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts presented by iHeart Radio and INEX Legends presented by Legends.

Brayton Carter brought his ‘A’ game back to Benton County Speedway. As a result, he took $2,000 home to Oskaloosa. Carter reeled in cousin Dylan VanWyk, took the lead just after midway and outran Taylor Kuehl and hard chargers Matt Avila and Tony Olson in winning the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature, the nightcap for Sunday’s ninth annual Urbana Five Memorial special.

Guess WHO will be in Vinton on Sunday night? As part of the Urbana 5 Night at the Benton County Speedway, Herky will be at the track from 5-7 PM. This event is sponsored by the Bullring Lil Racer Car Club! Get your picture taken with Herky, or maybe your shirt autographed!GO HAWKS!

The Urbana Five Memorial has always been one of the biggest events of the year at Benton County Speedway. This year’s edition promises to be the biggest yet. The ninth annual event, which honors the memory of five area youth who lost their lives in a traffic accident just a few miles north of Vinton in 2015, will boast increased purses across the board this Sunday, July 16 at The Bullring.

(Be sure to hit the arrows on the photo to see ALL the photos that accompany this story!) It took Lukas Rick a little longer than normal to get there, but by night’s end he again stood victorious in victory lane at Benton County Speedway.  With Sunday’s win, the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact driver accomplished something that had only been done once 44 years ago at The Bullring.

Although Santa doesn’t arrive for another few months,  kids in attendance will have some mid-summer Christmas cheer this Sunday at Benton County Speedway. Kids’ Christmas in July is on tap July 9 and will feature kids’ power wheel races, plus a number of prize giveaways for the youth in attendance at The Bullring. The IMCA Weekly Racing season continues Sunday night in all divisions, as well.

Christmas in July is coming to the Bullring Lil Racer Car Club this Sunday night! The first 65 kids that come by the clubhouse and register will receive a Christmas stocking and another gift. Santa may make his appearance also! There will also be some ladies' gifts to randomly hand out so be sure to stop by on your way to the grandstands!

He was just 18 at the time, but the motorcycle enthusiast made plans to compete on the Benton County race track. The first motorcycle race on the track was held on Sunday afternoon, July 5, 1953, sponsored by the fair board as part of their 4th of July celebration. Bob Kimm had been riding motorcycles since he was old enough to get a license. A first-year novice racer, he took part in that event, sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association.

 Cody Wehrle was the top 360 Sprint during an appearance by the Sprint Invaders July 2 at Benton County Speedway. Wehrle raced from the second row and into the runner-up spot two laps into the 25-lapper and chased leader Bret Tripplett until caution slowed action on lap 11. On the restart, Wehlre made his bid for the lead and drove away to victory.

Welcome back Lil Racers! It's been a couple of weeks since we have seen each other at the Bullring! Stop by and register for FREE at the clubhouse and get your prize numbers for our prize drawings. We have FREE racing flags, FREE juice pouches, FREE stuffed animals, and FREE freezer pops available. Stop and visit with “George the Giraffe” and g