SELDEN, Kan. – They broke out the congratulatory banner and the bubbly Friday for Jason Rogers.
Rogers won his 100th career IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature on April 9, opening night of the Havoc on the Hi-Plains at Thomas County Speedway. The Selden, Kan., driver started that race 12th and beat rookie Tathan Burkhart to the checkers by not much more than the width of his bumper.
“I had a fast car. I knew the cautions needed to fall and they did,” said Rogers. “This was a big weight off my shoulders. Getting my 100th win was a goal of mine, especially after last year. If it could break last year, it broke.”
After winning just twice in all of 2020, Rogers won his first two starts of 2021 to reach the 100 career mark. He’s the 27th driver in division history, and the first from Kansas, to join the Century Wins Club.
Rogers caught the dirt track bug helping and watching friend Nate Schaben’s father Lennie race an IMCA Modified. He enjoyed a brief and successful career in a local bomber class before picking up his first IMCA Stock Car win in 2005.
“I was an adrenaline junkie, motorcycles, this and that. Racing cars around here was something I could do,” he said. “My first couple years in the Stock Car were not too successful. It was tough.”
Almost consistent, Rogers enjoyed a career-best season in 2015 with 20 feature wins, finishing third in the national point standings.
He’s now a 10-time track champion, with an Arizona Tour and Kansas State crown to his career credit as well.
“I’ve done a lot of travelling and right here locally we have a group of drivers that are really tough,” said Rogers, who drove Marty Barth-built cars through 2019 and starts his second season in a Sniper. “It’s tough to win in Western Kansas.”
The next win he’s looking forward to most is son B.J.’s first in an IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock. Rogers has also thought ahead six months to the premier event in all of dirt track racing, the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s.
“B.J. led most of the race and ended up second on Friday. I’ll be excited when he gets his first win,” Rogers said. “I still have a lot of goals myself. A Super Nationals win would be nice. I love traveling to big events and that would be a nice win for me.”