Jeff Reay became the first Michigan driver since 1995 to win the IMCA national modified championship. It did not come easy, though.
Jeff’s location in the IMCA Eastern Region put him at a disadvantage. He battled Jeremy Mills, of Clear Lake, Iowa, who competed in the IMCA North Central Region. The Eastern Region had far less races than the North Central Region as the season wound down, limiting opportunities to earn points. Determined to win, Jeff hauled 9 hours from his Portland, Michigan, home to Woodhull Raceway in New York.
At a track unfamiliar to him, Jeff finished second. The next night, Jeremy raced at Redwood Speedway and won the feature. However, when IMCA tallied the final points, Jeff beat Jeremy, 1015 points to 1013.
“Though winning a national championship was something I always wanted to do, I was not paying attention to points this season — I was racing and having fun,” Jeff says. “Then, halfway through the season, my crew chief, Tyler Henry, said, ‘You better pay attention to the national points — you’re up there.’ That’s when we decided to make a run for it.”
At that point, Jeff had won seven straight features, with victories at Crystal Motor Speedway, I-96 Speedway and Mt. Pleasant Speedway. The team then changed its approach. Led by car owner Greg Bower (pictured), the crew consisting of Jeff’s father, David; Tyler Henry, Lee Parkhouse and Thomas Heniser stepped it up, too.
“The crew rose to the challenge of going for the championship,” Jeff says. “I told them I would rather be consistent every night than be fast for one night. We worked on the car every single night of the season. Our maintenance was double-checked; tires were perfectly prepared; caster, camber and steering were precise.”
Reay even visited the team’s shock builder, Jimmy Walimaki, nearly every week to ensure the team’s Bilstein shocks were always ready to go.
“The crew put the work in at the shop,” Jeff says. “When I sat behind the wheel at the track, I knew the car was where it needed to be. Driver confidence accounts for 25% to 30% of a team’s success. It’s a great feeling to know your crew made the car ready for that success.”
Jeff Reay finished with 14 wins; IMCA National, State and Eastern Region titles; and two track championships (Crystal and I-96). Jeff remembers the last time a Michigander won the IMCA national title, Rick Stout, in 1995.
“When I was four and five years old, I watched Rick race against my dad, who was a Michigan Modified Association champion himself,” Jeff says. “Thirty years later, and I’m there in the record books with Rick. I’m proud to represent Michigan with him. Us being the only two drivers from Michigan to win the IMCA National modified championship — that’s pretty special.”
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Corrected who visited who in regard to shock rebuilding (2025-11-18).
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.
