The 29th annual IMCA Super Nationals has come and gone. Yes, it's been more than a week ago, and yes, this is late getting posted. Seems it is taking us longer and longer to get caught up on things when we are gone, let alone catching up on rest!
We had a great time though. It was our 24th straight attendance---all of the Super Nationals that have been held at the Boone Speedway. How they have grown and changed from a four-day show back then starting on Wednesday, to now the spectacular six-day affair. Back on that 1988 championship night, it was also September 10th but with a car count much less then in 2011. A note I ran across in looking back for the Friday night show was 96 modifieds, 11 late models and 31 stock cars. Only three classes were competing at that time. Drivers I found that participated back in 1988 and were racing still in the 2011 Super Nationals were Darrel DeFrance, Jeff Aikey and Craig Jacobs all in the IMCA late models and in the IMCA stock car class, Don Killen and Tony Bass. Chris Jensen ran in the stock car class back in 1988 and was in the hobby stock division this year. Merv Chandler, Denny Pittman and Rich Smith were modified participants in 1988 and while Pittman and Smith remained as modified racers (Smith having been in all 29 runnings) Merv Chandler was a 2011 Sport Compact driver.
Monday night started off with the crowning of the first IMCA Super National Champion of 2011 when the 50-lap Deery Brothers IMCA Late Model feature went to Colby Springsteen. Springsteen won his first ever Deery Brothers race that night and what a special one it was for him. Springsteen ran near the front much of the race but an unfortunate incident for the two front runners gave him the opportunity to garner that win. The #1st car of Justin Reed had held the lead until lap 40 when he lost his drive shaft just past the flagstand and second-running Terry Neal could not avoid running over it. With both drivers out of the race, Springsteen soon made the pass on Kevin Sather on the restart and then drove home to the victory.
On Tuesday, September 6, the second Super Nationals Champion was crowned. It was the first-ever IMCA Sport Compact show at the Super Nationals with a full show that night. Forty-nine of the little front-wheel wonders participated. Some people were calling it the "Bumble Bee Nationals" with their distinctive sound! We do not often see this class during the season but when we do, it is often two family names that we hear....the Chandler's and the Whalen's. They were well represented at Boone as we counted seven of them running and all making the A main championship race. The first Sport Compact Super Nationals Champion was Nate Chandler from Norway, Iowa. Brad Chandler (who I believe is a brother, but not for sure) finished second and had to push the winning car off the track after the awards ceremony as the winner had expired his motor.
By the time Saturday rolled around, only last chance races were needed in the modifieds to fill in the final nine cars in their big A main. All other classes had completed their qualifying events the previous days. The IMCA Hobby Stock 30-lap A main was run first. The race through lap 23 was being dominated by Andy Boeckman and Devin Smith as they jousted for position. A little bit too much jousting cost either of them the chance for the win as they both were out of the race at that point, when contact was made. The third place runner, Cody Nielsen inherited the lead on the restart then and motored home to the victory. Nielsen, a rookie in the division this year, is from Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Next came the 30-lap IMCA SportMod feature which proved to be a thriller at the finish. Scott Davis prevailed after having led the previous ten laps but it was Jesse Sobbing who made a tremendous charge as the checkers flew, only to come up a bit short. Scott Davis, who lists his home as Madrid, Iowa, is now a Super National's winner in two divisions, having previously taken a championship in the IMCA Stock Car class.
The 30-lap IMCA stock car feature was absolutely dominated by winner Sean Johnson. Johnson, from Independence, Iowa led all laps and was only briefly challenged by second place finisher Jeff Anderson before pulling away for the win.
Then it was time for the IMCA Modified Big Dance. The three-wide start had Richie Gustin, J. D. Auringer, and Joel Bushore sitting on the front row. Gustin shot to the lead and remained there throughout the 40-lap race, taking the win. A challenge by older half-brother Jimmy Gustin (last year's Super National winner) was looking to present an interesting scenario, but a mechanical issue suddenly found him leaving the track. Richie Gustin, Gilman, Iowa took the 2011 Super National's championship with second place going to Mike VanGenderen, Newton, Iowa, third to Darin Duffy, Hazelton, Iowa, fourth to J. D. Auringer out of Waterloo, Iowa and rounding out the all-Iowa top five was Armstrong, Iowa's Eric Dailey.
Part of the enjoyment of the Super Nationals for us each year is not only the racing, but meeting up with racer/racing friends we see there each year. Also the interesting things that happen. I was shocked when a gentleman sitting beside me turned out to be none other than the very first IMCA Modified Super National's champion back in 1983---Mike Schulte. He gave an insight of just how much the program has changed since that time back in 1983. That race was held on August 10-11, a Saturday and Sunday, at the quarter-mile then called Vinton Speedway in Vinton, Iowa. Interesting to learn that it was 100-laps. There were 43 cars participating with drivers from five states - Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and Missouri. It was scheduled to be a starting field of 30 cars, but since 38 cars were still running by feature time, they aligned all in the lineup--19 rows of cars that stretched from turn one, back through turn four, for the introductions. Schulte out distanced Jack Mitchell and Merv Chandler. As mentioned earlier, Merv Chandler participated in the 2011 Super Nationals in the Sport Compact division.
We saw great spirit and resilience in the racing this year as well--from stock car driver Steve Meyer taking a nasty barrel roll down the frontstretch and destroying his car, only to go back home to Grundy Center, pull out his old car, and bring it back to Boone. Not only did he race, but he made the feature event on Saturday night. Then there was the spectacular AND scary, utter destruction of Texas driver, Keith White's modified on Friday night. He was nudged into the frontstretch wall and went airborne. We saw the battered chassis later in the pits and knowing that he immediately got out of that destroyed race car and jumped into his stock car to race in the qualifying A main that night, is really unbelievable.
Congratulations to all of the 2011 Super Nationals champions and a big thank you to ALL the racers who put a show on for the fans. The last we heard was a total car count of 822---38 late models, 49 sport compacts, 137 hobby stocks, 186 sportmods, 171 stock cars and 241 modifieds. Guest announcers on the mic along with regular announcer Johnnie Tharp were Ryan Clark, Vinton, Iowa who is a fellow Positively Racing blogger, and long-distance traveler Chet Christner who made it all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada to put in some long marathon calls for the fans. Thanks to both of those "extras" for the great job. Mother Nature blessed us for the entire six days as the weather was the best we can ever remember. The temperatures were nearly ideal and not one drop of rain fell!
Up next for us will be the Havoc on the Highbanks at the Marshalltown Speedway next Friday and Saturday, September 23-24. The following weekend will find us heading out to Beatrice, Nebraska for their annual October Fest races scheduled for Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1. More information for both of these races can be found at www.marshalltownspeedway.com and www.beatricespeedway.com. There are also other races scheduled in the upcoming weeks in our area and you can check those at www.positivelyracing.com under the "calendar" tab at the top of the page. The season will soon be coming to a halt, so us die-hard race fans all need to get out and support the sport we all love. Until next time, happy racing!
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