In First Season, IMCA Stock Car Points Captivate Crystal & Mt Pleasant Speedway
Jonesville, MI - The start of the 2026 season was filled with anticipation for a brand-new division at Mount Pleasant Speedway and Crystal Motor Speedway. Over the winter, both tracks announced the addition of IMCA Stock Cars to their weekly lineup of competition, bringing the popular Midwest division to Michigan race fans for the first time as a weekly show.
On Friday night, Mount Pleasant Speedway welcomed the IMCA Stock Cars to the track and the top three in the Championship Standings were separated by just 15 points at the end of the night. Rob Brillhart, Kenny Dittenber, and Chris Stahl were the three drivers who attended 100% of the IMCA Stock Car races on the calendar in 2026.
After the August 7th show, Mt Pleasant Speedway announced that the final show remaining on the IMCA Stock Car schedule for Friday, August 28th, was cancelled. A post on the Mt Pleasant Speedway Facebook page said that the Friday, August 7th show was the "final night for IMCA Stock Cars at Mt Pleasant Speedway", making it unclear if the division will return in 2027.
Brillhart ends the season at the top of the Championship Standings by just nine points over Dittenber. Brillhart brought home a pair of feature wins this season, along with nine top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in all 10 starts. Meanwhile, Dittenber also hauled in a pair of wins, but had seven top-fives and 10 top-10s. Finally, Stahl grabbed a feature win this season with six top-five finishes.
In total, 27 cars raced at Mt Pleasant Speedway in 2026, but just seven drivers competed in 50% or more of the races.
Meanwhile, Crystal Motor Speedway has just two nights left that award Championship Points, including this Saturday night. Longtime competitor, Gary Vandermark holds just a three-point lead over Joel Field, a five-point advantage over Zayden Buskirk, and a 10-point lead over Dittenber.
Weekly A-Feature points at Crystal Motor Speedway award 40 points to win, with each subsequent position worth one fewer point back to 24th place, which awards 17 points. So, mathematically, Rob Brillhart, Myles Spencer, and Kaden Harrison are in the fight as well with two nights remaining, but they'd need a lot of help.
Vandermark is the only one in the top five to make a trip to victory lane this season. Seven different drivers have earned feature wins, with only Mike Vandermark, Jr and Mike Lynn earning more than one. Gary Vandermark's championship lead is intact thanks in part to his eight top-five finishes this season, the best in the division. Field joins him with nine top-10 finishes, but Field has one less feature start than Vandermark and no wins, making his three-point disadvantage even more impressive.
Further back, Buskirk sits with seven top-10s and five top-five finishes. Kenny Dittenber, who sits fifth in IMCA Northern Region Rookie of the Year points, is fourth in Crystal Motor Speedway standings with seven top-10s and three top-fives.
This Saturday night and next Saturday, August 29th are the final two chances for someone to overtake Gary Vandermark atop the IMCA Stock Car standings at Crystal. For more information, visit CrystalMotorSpeedway.com.
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