PRICE, Utah — After his dad talked to some of the “big names” in IMCA, Payce Herrera made a name for himself in an IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock.
The Carbon High School sophomore hotshoed his way to 24 feature wins and national and B & B Racing Chassis Southern Region rookie of the year honors, as well as the coveted Junior National Championship.
“We weren’t even planning to race a Hobby Stock this season,” said Herrera, whose father and crew chief J.R. was thinking more along the lines of an IMCA Sunoco Stock Car or Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod. “Then he talked to Chad Wehrs and some of the big-name drivers and they all recommended a Hobby Stock.”
Those guys with the names you know clearly knew what they were talking about as the 16-year-old from Price scored Diamond Mountain Speedway and Utah State championships, while finishing eighth in national point standings and second in his region.
“We set a goal at the end of last year to run for national rookie of the year. We hoped to get one or two track championships but didn’t know about the state, because we didn’t know how much we were going to race,” Herrera said. “All our goals were set on running for national rookie. We didn’t have any intention on running for top 10 national or even going for Junior National.”
Herrera had racked up 14 Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact wins during the 2022 season, then split time between an open class at hometown Desert Thunder Raceway, the hobbies and the 4-cylinder class last year.
He followed an ambitious 2024 schedule and the improvement was obvious: After winning just one of his first 15 starts, Herrera topped 11 of his next 20 starts, and 12 of his last 17 outings.
A pair of six-race win streaks, from July 19-Aug. 23 and from Sept. 13-27, cemented rookie and Junior National Champion crowns.
“I raced Cocopah, Casa Grande, Deuce of Clubs and Mohave Valley in Arizona, I went to Sweetwater Speedway in Wyoming and all of our Utah tracks, Desert Thunder Diamond Mountain and Millard County, then Marshalltown and Boone,” he said. “There’s always room for improvement and I felt that the more we traveled, the more seat time I got and the different surfaces I raced on helped me in my racing program.”
All that time behind the wheel also helped Herrera recognize what changes needed to be made with his setup and how best to communicate that to his dad.
“We were able to accomplish a lot this season and what I’m most proud of is the wins. Everywhere we went we were able to win, which was difficult,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished as a Utah team. I feel there are people that look down on the racing here but there’s some great racing here. There are some really fast guys who race here.”
One hundred and 79 drivers contended for national Hobby Stock rookie of the year while 546 drivers ages 18 and under vied for Junior National Champion honors.
Herrera is the second Utah driver in three years to win the national rookie prize and the first from Utah to earn Junior National Champion. Top 10 finishing drivers in those point standings all receive $500 scholarships applicable toward the first year of their post-high school educations.