Thornton Flies In Central Arizona Mod Finale
Written by I Dig SportsCASA GRANDE, Ariz. The final night of the Pitt Stop Motorsports IMCATV Western Nationals at Central Arizona Raceway maintained the steady car count with 226 on hand.
That number happened to be the average per night for the first year of the event at Casa Grande.
The modified main was a dramatic duel between front row starting Dylan Thornton and Brandon Beckendorf. It was 25 laps of two modifieds racing each other and dealing with traffic.
Thornton was the leader the entire distance with a gap measured in feet more than car lengths. Beckendorf tried inside and outside moves but settled for second and Troy Morris finished third.
The stock car main was all Shelby Williams with a large lead while well back three drivers raced for second. Todd Heinrich prevailed to finish second ahead of Bo Partain.
Northern sport mod action was another win for Robbie Thome with a last lap slider nearly changing the outcome.
Thome took the lead on lap four, using the bottom of turn one to take over. Things went smoothly for Thome until a late yellow created an opportunity.
Heading into turn three for the final lap, Cole Suckow was on the bottom and threw a slider at Thome.
The move created hope for Suckow but Thome kept the lead off of turn four to collect the win. Suckow was second and Kaden Woodie was third.
Riley Clem won the mod lite main and Dillon Richards made it eight wins out of nine mains in the hobby stock division.
The events were broadcast live on IMCA.tv.
The 2026 Western Nationals will return to Central Arizona Raceway running Jan. 6-17