Richard Jordan Memorial capped off Southwest Speedway 2023 season
Sep. 11—DICKINSON — Southwest Speedway concluded the 2023 IMCA season with the 6th annual Richard Jordan Memorial, a two-day event that featured all local classes. The event was sponsored by Kuntz Sandblasting.
Hailey Jordan, the daughter of the beloved and legendary racer Richard Jordan, participated in the event. She made her return to the dirt track after rolling her race car in mid-June. She expressed some nerves but an even greater eagerness to be back in the heat of it all and for all those who came out, paying respect to her father's name.
"[This event] is the absolute best," Hailey Jordan said. "It is definitely bittersweet for sure, but I am so happy that I can still be here racing. In a way, still continuing that legacy... It's been an absolute blast. I have the best support system and crew, so I am super grateful for everyone I have around me."
Jordan began her racing career at the age of 16, racing in the WISSOTA street stock class alongside her father. She now competes in the IMCA stock car class, which has its own set of rules and typically has racers cautiously hugging turns due to their slippery nature. In the A features, Jordan finished 10th on day one, moving up a position, and ninth on day two.
IMCA Stock Car
On the first day of the event on Saturday, there was one occurrence that saw two IMCA stock cars collide during the heats. Jordan Binstock (#175), who has two wins during the season and was the point winner during the regular season, was hit by Michael Swallers (#11) at the driver's side fender panel. The collision kept Binstock from finishing the heat, but he and his pit crew got to work, and he competed in the main feature for an 8th place finish, moving up five positions.
Mike Hagen (27X), a Williston native racer, took first place in the main event, followed by Jason Storbakken (16). They started in the second and third positions, respectively. Jamestown's Scott Gartner (0) also moved up a position to take the bronze in the feature. Gartner showcased smart but also daring maneuvering in his heat race to move up two places for a second-place finish.
"The beginning of the race, we took the green, and when going into the corner, a couple of cars got bent out of shape, and I diamonded the corner. I started fourth and came out in second," Gartner said. "When you diamond, you have to go from the top and then switch down to the bottom to get momentum through the corner, and you're basically shortcutting the corner. It is dangerous because if there is a guy on the bottom, you could potentially run into him."
Gartner did not return on Sunday, but Storbakken came back and took first place in the A feature. Alex Braun (#11B) was the best Dickinson racer on Sunday, finishing fourth.
IMCA Modified
In the IMCA modified class, Richardton local star racer Zach Frederick (#5F) had a good two days of racing. After finishing first in his heat on Saturday, he would also win the feature, with Marlyn Seidler (#7), who also won his heat, following. They two would switch on Sunday, with Seidler capturing first place in the main over Frederick. Quentin Kinzley (#24Q) of Bismarck took the bronze on both days.
Hettinger's Randy Burwick (#2R) fell short of a top 3 finish on both days but made an impressive run on Sunday, moving from 10th to 5th place in the feature. On Saturday, he finished 7th.
The first-day main race featured four Dickinson racers in Travis Tooley (#15), finishing 5th, Caden Roberts (#14), moving up two positions for a 6th place finish, Josh Carson (#7C) took 8th after starting in 11th position, and Jordan Braun (#8B), who moved down from 9th to 10th place.
Sunday only had two Dickinson natives listed in the A feature, but only Braun would place, with Carson not at the starting line at the time of the race. Braun improved from the day before, this time starting in the 7th position and finishing in 6th.
Before either of the two main races, Frederick stated that he was pursuing first place, all while enjoying some time behind the wheel before the season came to a close. It's worth noting that the Dickinson dirt track will have one final event this weekend for the Night of Destruction, featuring trailer race, beater and UTV races. Despite weather-related challenges that persisted throughout this season, each race received resounding applause from dedicated fans.
"We started up front and ended up front, so that is good," Frederick said. "With the rain, we were worried about the track, but it turned out pretty good."