Track announcer Jerry Vansickel dubbed IMCA stock car driver Dallon Murty as “The Game Changer.” At just 15 years old, he sits atop the points standings at a pair of Iowa tracks — Benton County Speedway in Vinton and Marshalltown Speedway.
“The name fits me well,” said Murty, of Chelsea, Iowa. “I’m not your average driver. I’m usually the youngest in the field, by far. My driving style is different, too. I try to be smooth and drive the car in as straight as possible.”
Murty leads the IMCA Iowa state points by a whopping 172 markers — over his father, Damon Murty, the 2018 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals stock car champion.
“Last year, in my rookie IMCA season, my dad taught me everything he could about driving,” Murty said. “My dad told me every driver is different. Seat time teaches a driver what they are comfortable with.”
Based on Murty’s results, it seems he has gotten quite comfortable with how to steer a stock car. Now he can work with his father as a teammate rather than just as a student.
“This year, [my father and I] can bounce ideas off of each other,” said Murty. “I understand how to communicate with him about what I am feeling when driving the car.”
Dallon Murty also competes for the IMCA junior national championship. Its rewards include a $500 scholarship for drivers 13 to 18 years old. His father took a few nights off to help his son vie for that crown, too.
As we enter September, the duo now prepares for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals.
“I didn’t make the big show last year,” Murty said. “My dad has made it to the A-main quite a few times. He told me the 30-car, three-wide start is like nothing else in racing. I’m hoping I get to experience that this year.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
