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[akahollywood]

 

2025-2026 INDIANA HOPRA RACING SCHEDULE

 

All races (except the Gobbler Endurance Challenge) will feature HOPRA Class Rules for Super Stock, Spec Racer, Spec Jet, Gravity, or CMPM classes. For more information, please see the HOPRA Rulebook.

 

The format for each class will be a one-minute round robin qualifying heat seeding four-minute mains*. You may win from any main. Entry fee: $11.00 for current HOPRA Members. $15.00 for Non-HOPRA Members.

 

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Race #1

Saturday, September 27th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY –CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 25th

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Race #3

Saturday, November 22nd

Annual Gary Lohkamp Memorial Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens: 8:00 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm

 

Race #4

Saturday, January 10th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Spec Racer (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY –Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30; Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Race #5

Saturday February 21st

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY –Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and Spec Jet classes until 11:00 am

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with *five-minute mains)

SJ racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately 2:30 pm)

Entry fee will be $21.00 for both Gravity and Spec Jet classes.

If you are racing Spec Jet only, the entry will be the regular 2025-2026 Indiana HOPRA fee.

 

Race #6

Saturday, March 14th

RED DRAGON RACEWAY –Spec Racer and Spec Jet (Bowman 4-lane) – Rob Merchant

Location: 1705 Boca Raton Blvd Kokomo IN 46902

Directions: https://maps.app.goo...FrhFZNbi2rU4Hs6

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. Spec Racer at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

Race #7

Saturday, April 11th

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & CMPM (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

 

[akahollywood]

To avoid a conflict with the Midwest Championships @ Lucky Bob's, we've changed the date of our March 2026 race hosted by Rob Merchant to the next Saturday, March 21st. Please make a note of the change and race on!

[akahollywood]

We kicked off our new season with a good turnout of 16 racers from Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois coming together at Tony McWilliams' HO racing complex on a warm, sunny Saturday in September. As usual, Tmac had the tracks and his facility in prime condition for a long day of racing action. Practice got underway for both of the day's classes: Super Stock on the tight Brystal Riverside road course and CMPM on the larger and faster Brystal Cobra road course. 

 

After 2-1/2 hours of practice, a great lunch was served up by the lovely Mrs. Tmac, which consisted of homemade Sloppy Joes, baked beans, fresh homemade slaw, and fresh cooked roasted carrots. Not only very tasty, but a bit more healthy for all concerned. Big thanks for that!  

 

Racing got underway right after the lunch break with the Super Stock 1-minute round-robin qualifier heats. When all was said and done, it was Tmac snagging TQ by just a lap over John LoPresto Jr. with John Woollard and Mike Thomas rounding out the top 4 for the SS A main. Here is the full SS Qualifier results:

 

Sixteen racers meant we'd have 4  four-minute mains and after the power went off for the final time in the A main, John Woollard was the big winner, followed by John Jr., Mike Thomas and Rob Merchant (from the B main). Here are the full SS Main results:

 

Next up, it was CMPM on the menacing Cobra. Several racers had a bit of trouble getting adjusted to the big CMPM power at first, but most quickly adjusted in the 1-minute Qualifier round-robin. Once again, Tmac led the way, followed by John Jr., Jason Fisher and a surprisingly fast Merrell Todd... these four would comprise the A Main. Here is the full CMPM Qualifier results:

 

After his big winner in SS, could John Woollard take the double class win for the day? He was looking pretty racing in the Qualifier finishing a strong 5th, so his chances were pretty good. Alas, it was not to be as a spun pinion derailed his hopes for a double win. Also, after being TQ in the Qualifier, Tmac had severe handling issues during the A main. John Jr. had a trouble-free run to take the top spot, followed by Jason Fisher, John Roe (from the C Main) and yours truly (from the B Main). Here is the full CMPM Main results:

 

All in all, it was a great day of racing and a fantastic way to kick-off the new season! Big thanks to our great host, Tmac, for all his efforts and special thanks to Mrs. Tmac for the great food and drinks to get us through the long day. Also, huge thanks to everyone who made it to the event, especially all those who travelled far and wide to join us for a fun, full day of racing action. 

 

Next race is t Merrell Todd's Jordan Raceway, here are the details:

Saturday, October 25^th

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

 

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Hope to see you all there!

 

Race on! 

 

[akahollywood]

The second race of the IN HOPRA Series 2025-26 is this Saturday! And, since HOPRA has approved the V3 ceramic magnets (as well as all the V3 L4 magnets), we're going to allow them to race starting with this race. 

 

Race #2 

Saturday, October 25th JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd 

 

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN 

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

 

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

[akahollywood]

The second race of the new season had another great turnout of 19 racers from Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky all converging on Merrell Todd's barn of treasures in the rolling hills of Martinsville. This was an extra special event for Merrell and everyone in attendance as it was held in celebration of Merrell's mom, Ardith Todd, who passed away earlier in the week at the age of 101 + 5 days. 
 
Practice for both classes, SS and Spec Racer, got underway on Merrell's challenging Jordan Raceway, which was prepared perfectly. While the majority of racers had been on this track before, we did have several racers who experienced the tricky chicanes (especially in the wicked red gutter lane) for the first time, including young Paul Sanders, grandson of Vaughn Montgomery, who did extremely well for his first time at an IN HOPRA event. 
 
After 2+ hours of practice, Merrell served up lunch that featured his special chili with all the fixings. And, as a bonus treat, Vaughn brought his wife's homemade brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Needless to say, everything was delicious and enjoyed by all the racers. 
 
Racing got going right after the lunch break with the Super Stock 1-minute round-robin qualifier. When all was said and done, Jason Fisher took top qualifier honors by one lap over John Woollard, followed closely by Ronnie Kendall and Phil Walleck, who was making his first IN HOPRA race in quite a while. Here's the full SS Qualifier results:

Nineteen racers meant we'd have 5 four-minute mains and when all was said and done, Tony "Tmac" McWilliams would take the top step of the podium, followed by Jason Fisher and John Roe. Here's the full SS mains results:



 
After a brief break, Spec Racer racing got underway with 18 racers (Mike Thomas had to leave due to another commitment). When the power went off for the final time in the 1-minute Qualifier Round-Robin, Tmac took top honors by a whopping 6 laps over Jason Fisher in second, with Phillip Stevens taking third and yours truly coming in fourth. Here's the full Spec Racer Qualifier results:

Could Tmac continue his dominance in the Mains or would someone else take the top spot? As it turned out, Tmac would continue to dominate and take the win with Jason once again coming in second, followed by yours truly. Here's the full results for the Spec Racer Mains:



 

It was a long, fun, full day of racing for everyone in attendance. Special thanks to Merrell for hosting the race and providing us with a great venue to race, not to mention the great food and drinks to enjoy. Special thanks also to Vaughn for bringing his wife's delicious brownies and cookies. And a shout out to those "boyzz from Illinozz", Jason, Ronnie and first-timer Bryan Voiles, for making the trek over to join us. Also, to Phillip Stevens for coming from Kentucky. And, as always, huge thanks to all the Indiana racers who join us on a regular basis.
 
The next race is the annual Gary Lohkamp Memorial Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge at Tmac's HO racing complex:
 

Race #3
Saturday, November 22^nd
Annual Gary Lohkamp Memorial Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge
RIVERSIDE RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens: 8:00 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm
 

[akahollywood]

The 24th Annual Gary Lohkamp Memorial Gobbler Endurance Challenge is in the books. Twelve racers made the trip to Tmac's HO racing complex to enjoy a day of racing, eating and storytelling... mostly tall tales of past events and how fast we all used to be. The array of food, drinks and sweet treats was amazing... a big thanks to all the wives who no doubt did the shopping and cooking that everyone enjoyed greatly. 

 

After a couple hours practicing with our own cars, the track power was turned off, and each of the four team captains drew names to form their teams. Then, each team got a short time to practice with the actual race cars, expertly prepared by Tmac. After practice, everyone filled their plates and their bellies with goodness from the buffet table. There was a short drivers meeting to remind everyone of the rules of engagement for the enduro and then it was time to get the party started!

 

The early racing was good with Team MFT and the Pink Rollers battling it out for the top spot, while the 3-Stars team was struggling with handling issues and the Dirt Trackers were just trying to maintain a good pace. The middle stages of the race saw all the teams just trying to stay consistent and get ready for the final push. In the final stage, it was a close race between Team MFT and the Pink Rollers for the win, while the 3-Stars team sorted out their handling issues to surge past a struggling Dirt Trackers team. In the end, the Pink Rollers nipped Team MFT by just 18 laps to take victory. And, 3-Stars whipped up on the Dirt Trackers to take third place. Here's the final results:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best wishes for a safe and satisfying holiday season

[akahollywood]

After a long layoff, the next IN HOPRA Series race is right around the corner... it's less than 2 weeks away!

 

Here's the scoop...

 

Race #4

Saturday, January 10th

COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Spec Racer (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

 

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30; Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Hope to see you there!

Race on!

[Jim Difalco]

Love the WKRP in Cincinnati T-shirt, a classic moment from an underrated show. 

[akahollywood]

After an extended layoff, the IN HOPRA Series roared back to life on a blustery day at Tony "Tmac"  McWilliams' HO racing complex in Middletown. Fortunately, the climate inside was nice and comfortable for all 19 racers from IN, IL and MI who turned out for this event. Shout out to those "Boyzzz from ILLlNoizzzz" and "Shauntel & the Johns" for joining us for all the racing action and fun. Also a big thanks to the large contingent of Kokomo racers who also joined the racing fun. As usual, Tmac and company had the tracks prepped perfectly, thanks in part to the efforts of the Woollard gang. 

 

Practice got underway on both tracks - Super Stock on the big, bad Cobra track and Spec Racer on the challenging Riverside track. And the pit area was buzzing with varied amounts of thrashing, tweaking and tuning. Super Stock lap times were impressive with several getting into the 2.5s, which is impressive on the big Cobra. Spec Racer lap times on the tight Riverside were equally impressive with a few dipping into the 1.9s. A bit after 12 noon, practice was called and lunch was served, which was a delicious taco bar buffet, courtesy of Mrs. Tmac. Something very notable about this lunch, it was the first time a certain John Roe was seen actually loading up a plate and eating at a race! 

 

After lunch, it was time to get racing underway. First up was the Super Stock 1-minute round-robin Qualifier on the Cobra. To say it was fast and furious would be an understatement. In the end, Shauntel took TQ followed by Jason, John Jr. and Tmac. Here's the full SS Qualifier results:

Nineteen racers meant there would be four Mains. In the "D" Main, Merrell Todd took top honors and finished overall in 9th place, while Mike Thomas took the top spot in the "C" Main and 10th place overall. Coming from the bottom of the "B" Main, Rob Merchant had an impressive run to take the top spot and would end up 2nd overall. In the "A" Main, John Jr. took 1st place followed by Jason Fisher and Shauntel Sather, who were separated by just one lap. Unfortunately, Tmac suffered gear issues after sustaining marshal damage. Here's the full SS Mains results:

 

After a brief break for all the racers to catch their collective breath, it was time for Spec Racer on the challenging Riverside bullring of a road course where one "off" could cost you a lap. Just like the SS Qualifier, Shauntel took TQ once again, followed by John Jr. Tmac and Tim Woollard, who squeaked out 4th by just a few sections over Jason. Here's the full SR Qualifier results:

Once again, 19 racers meant there would be 4 SR Mains. And, once again, Merrell took top honors in the "D" Main, while the "C" Main saw great runs by both John Roe and especially Rob, who would take 1st place overall and John in 4th overall. Also, having a good run was Ronnie Kendall who ended up 5th overall. In the "B" Main, John Woollard dodged many crashes to take the top spot and 2nd place overall, followed by Brent VanSickel and Jason Fisher who were separated by just 3 sections at the finish. The "A" Main saw Tmac lead the way and finish 4th overall, while Shauntel and John Jr. got caught up in too many off track excursions and Tim Woollard had gear issues. Here's the full Spec Racer Mains results:

 

 

Thanks to everyone who came to race and have fun!

 

Next up is our annual combo event with the Midwest HO Series. 

 

Race #5

Saturday February 21st

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY –Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and Spec Jet classes until 11:00 am

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with *five-minute mains)

SJ racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately 2:30 pm)

Entry fee will be $21.00 for both Gravity and Spec Jet classes.

If you are racing Spec Jet only, the entry will be the regular 2025-2026 Indiana HOPRA fee.

 

[akahollywood]

Our biggest event of the season - just 2 weeks away!

 

Saturday February 21st

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY –Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

 

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

 

Track Opens @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and Spec Jet classes until 11:00 am

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with *five-minute mains)

SJ racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately 2:30 pm)

 

Entry fee will be $21.00 for both Gravity and Spec Jet classes.

If you are racing Spec Jet only, the entry will be the regular 2025-2026 Indiana HOPRA fee.

 

Hope to see you there! 

[akahollywood]

Our biggest event of the season is this Saturday!

 

Saturday February 21st

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series

 

COBRA RACEWAY –Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY –Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

 

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

 

Track Opens @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and Spec Jet classes until 11:00 am

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with *five-minute mains)

SJ racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately 2:30 pm)

 

Entry fee will be $21.00 for both Gravity and Spec Jet classes.

If you are racing Spec Jet only, the entry will be the regular 2025-2026 Indiana HOPRA fee.

 

Hope to see you there! 

 

 

[akahollywood]

Here are the results from IN HOPRA Series Race #5. Huge thanks to everyone who made the trip to Tony McWilliams' race palace! Also huge thanks to all involved with making the delicious food and drinks for our lunch!

 

 

 

Next race:

 

Race #6

Saturday, March 21st

RED DRAGON RACEWAY – Spec Racer and Spec Jet (Bowman 4-lane) – Rob Merchant

Location: 1705 Boca Raton Blvd Kokomo IN 46902

Directions: https://maps.app.goo...FrhFZNbi2rU4Hs6

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. Spec Racer at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after

[akahollywood]

Here are the results from IN HOPRA Series Race #6. Huge thanks to everyone who made the trip to Rob Merchant's race palace in Kokomo!  Also huge thanks to Brent VanSickel and family for the delicious food and drinks for our lunch!

 

Next race - the last event of the season: 

 

Race #7

Saturday, April 11th

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & CMPM (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

[akahollywood]

The last race of the season is just 1 week away!

 

We'll be at Merrell's country hideaway in the hills near Martinsville racing on the tricky Jordan Raceway. I've attached the updated season points standing so you can see where you stand going into this final race.

 

Season awards will be handed out after the checkered flag falls. Don't miss it!

 

 

[akahollywood]

The last race event of IN HOPRA Series 2025-26 season came to an exciting end at Merrell Todd's Jordan Raceway yesterday. Going into the final race, one of those Boyzz from Illinoizz, Jason Fisher, had an 11-point lead over John Woollard in Super Stock and a slim 6-point margin over Tony "Tmac" McWilliams in the Overall standings, while Tmac had a 7-point lead over Jason in the Support (Spec Racer, CMPM, Spec Jet, Gravity) race standings. 

 

As always, Merrell had the track and ever-growing pit area in great shape, ready and waiting for all the racers to enjoy. Track power came on promptly at 9:30 for a combined 2-1/2 hour practice for CMPM and Super Stock and all the racers took full advantage of the opportunity. When the clock struck 12 noon, track power was shut off and a hearty lunch featuring Merrell's famous chili with all the fixings was served, along with homemade peanut butter cookies courtesy of Merrell, plus a special bonus of homemade chocolate chip cookies and a chocolate brownie/marshmallow/fudge dessert courtesy of Vaughn Montgomery.

 

Previously, it had been agreed to race the CMPM class first to accommodate the schedule of one of our racers, and since we had a good crowd on hand, the 1-minute Qualifier round-robin for CMPM got going promptly at 12:30 or so. However, only 13 of the 16 racers on hand took part in this class. When the track power shut off after the final round, Jason had the top spot by 8 laps over second place Tmac and 10 laps over third place John Roe. Here is the full CMPM Qualifier:

In the 4-minute Mains, Jason continued his dominance with a blistering 332 lap result. Yours truly came back from a terrible performance in the Qualifier to take 2ne place, followed by a great run from Merrell to take 3rd place. Here is the full CMPM Mains results:

Next up was Super Stock and all 16 racers were set to battle for the top spot in this class. Going into this final SS race of the season, Jason held a 12-point lead over second place, John Woollard, followed by Tmac and yours truly. Unfortunately for John, this was going to be a race he'd probably rather forget with an uncharacteristic ill-handling car and only managed to finish mid-pack in the Qualifier. Meanwhile, Jason managed to edge yours truly by one lap to take the win. Here's the complete SS Qualifier results:

In the final SS Mains of the season, I'm happy to report I had a really good run to finally get a win (first of the season) by 10 laps over John Roe, while Jason came home in third place. Several of the usual top contenders like Tmac, Rob Merchant, Brent VanSickel and especially John Woollard had some bad luck in this final race of the season. Here's the full SS Mains results:

 

After a semi-quick tabulation of the final points for Super Stock, the Support Race and Overall, it was Jason Fisher making a clean sweep to take first place in all three! Huge congratulations to Jason for such an accomplishment, especially considering he's only been HO racing since 2024! Congrats also to Tony "Tmac" McWilliams for taking 2nd place in all three categories. Here are all the final points standings: 

 

As another IN HOPRA Series season comes to an end, I'd like to thank all the racers who've joined the racing fun throughout the year as well as the track owners, Merrell, Rob and especially Tmac, for hosting us at their facilities, providing excellent, well-prepared tracks and great food and refreshments. Without them, none of this would be possible. 

 

Now, as many look forward to the 51st annual HOPRA National Championships to be held at Lucky Bob's Raceway in Milwaukee, June 22-27, I wish everyone all the best and look forward to another IN HOPRA Series starting in September. Have a great summer of 2026!

 

Race on, 

Dave Lehr