The
International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is currently the oldest active
auto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
sanctioning body in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. IMCA is currently headquartered in
Vinton, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,257 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,299 housing units, of which 2,187 were occupied....
, and features several classes and divisions of weekly racing in six geographical regions of the United States. The IMCA championships are held annually at the IMCA Supernationals at
Boone SpeedwayBoone Speedway is a 1/4-mile high-banked dirt oval raceway located in Boone, Iowa. Races are held on Saturday nights sanctioned by the IMCA. Regular events include modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks, SportMods, dwarf cars, and four-cylinder front-wheel-drive cars.-SuperNationals:During the first...
in
Boone, IowaBoone is a city in and the county seat of Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area', which encompasses all of Boone County. This micropolitan statistical area, along with the 'Ames, Iowa Metropolitan...
.
History
Sloan, a native of
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, was instrumental in establishing the IMCA and ran more races than all other promoters in the United States combined, all under IMCA sanction. After Sloan's death in 1937 his son, John Sloan, continued to manage the IMCA. Under John Sloan’s leadership, IMCA continued to grow and held its first
Late modelA "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
race on November 9, 1947, in
Lubbock, TexasLubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. In the late 1970s, Keith Knaack introduced the IMCA Modified division. In 1996, Kathy Root bought IMCA from Kathryn and Karolyn Knaack.
Classes of cars sectioned by the IMCA
- IMCA Modified
IMCA Modified is the top division sanctioned by the International Motor Contest Association. The series began in 1979.The car bodies are a hybrid of an open wheel car and a stock car. The front tires have no body around them like an open wheel car, and the back wheels have a body around them like a...
- ModifiedModified stock car racing, also known as Modified racing or simply Modified, is one of the oldest types of racing in the United States, dating back to the days of the post-World War II coupes. The name for modified racing cars come from the fact that they are not stock but, rather, modified...
race cars with open wheels in the front and closed wheels in the back
- IMCA Latemodel – full-bodied late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
race cars
- IMCA Sprint Car – traditional non-winged and winged sprint cars
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....
- IMCA Stockcar – full-bodied production stock cars
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
- IMCA Hobby Stock – 8-cylinder rear wheel drive entry-level division
- IMCA Northern Sportmod – same as modifieds but with smaller engines and more restrictive rules
- IMCA Southern Sportmod - Similar to Modified but with full GM Metric Frame
- IMCA Sport Compact
IMCA Sport Compacts is IMCA's entry level class of racecars. It is found at IMCA tracks around the United States.-History:The series was formed in 2006, when six tracks ran the series. A seventh track was added in 2007.-Cars:...
- 4-cylinder front wheel drive stock cars
Trivia
The 1963 and 1964 IMCA champion, driver
Dick HutchersonDick Hutcherson was an American businessman and a former stock car racer. A native of Keokuk, Iowa, Hutcherson drove in NASCAR competition from 1964 to 1967. In 1965 he finished second in the overall NASCAR Drivers Championship and had nine wins...
, was not eligible for the
1965 NASCAR Grand National Series Rookie of the YearThe NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
, which he won nine times and finished second in the standings, it was given to
Sam McQuaggSamuel "Sam" McQuagg was an American former NASCAR Rookie of the Year driver. He died of cancer on January 3, 2009 at the age of 73...
. NASCAR's rookie standards have since changed to being based only on the Sprint Cup Series.