FARMINGTON, N.M. — Instead of racing for a regional championship himself this season, Zane DeVilbiss will help crown one.
The long-time and much-accomplished driver owns DeVilbiss Racing Chassis, new title sponsor of the Eastern Region for IMCA Modifieds.
“We started talking to IMCA about getting more involved with them eight or nine months ago,” explained DeVilbiss. “We have been building modified chassis for 17 years now and have cars in more than 20 states. Becoming a regional title sponsor is a good way for us to get our name out to a lot of potential customers and in a part of the country that is both relatively new for us and a new opportunity.”
Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds running weekly in Florida, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania are in the DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Eastern Region. Points earned in the recently completed Clash on the Coast, and in the upcoming NY-Penn Series will also figure toward Eastern region standings.
The champion earns a $2,500 share of the $6,000 point fund to be paid to top 10 drivers in the region this season. All drivers will be required to display two DeVilbiss Racing Chassis logos on their car to be eligible for point fund shares.
DeVilbiss started building race cars in 2006 and has three IMCA national championships to his credit as a manufacturer: His own modified titles in 2010 and 2014, and Jesse Baldwin’s Southern SportMod crown in 2015.
“This is definitely a new role for me, for sure,” said DeVilbiss, also a seven-time champion of IMCA’s Western Region, the winner of 200 features during his modified career and a top notch stock car wheelman as well. “We built a very good relationship with Larry Shaw over the years we were racing for regional and national championships, and I look forward to the new friendships we’ll make as title sponsors in the Eastern Region.”
More than 100 DeVilbiss Racing Chassis Modifieds have made their way from Farmington, N.M., to tracks around the country. DeVilbiss began building and selling Southern SportMods in 2010, Northern SportMods in 2018, stock cars in 2019 and hobby stocks last year.
“Zane knows as well as any driver the amount of effort that goes into winning one of our regional championships. It’s fitting that he’ll help us recognize drivers doing so in the Eastern Region,” said Carson Becker-Gramm, marketing integration and sponsorship director for IMCA. “We look forward to working with DeVilbiss Racing Chassis this season and well into the future.”