The 30th annual IMCA Super Nationals has come and gone. Each year we say there are memorable happenings, and this year was no different. Six days/nights/mornings of racing was action packed with over 870 (we heard the count was 872) different race cars participating. And there was RAIN! In a drought year, and when does it rain? Super Nationals! The jet dryer also "gave up the ghost" on the first day of racing, leaving the John Deere's to get the job done. They did. Midwest ingenuity also came into play. With an infield a muddy mess, bales of straw/hay were strewn about, and it was good to go. I'm not sure that anywhere else could have pulled the whole show off, but happen it did,--- at Boone. Below is what we recall happening during the week---but with little sleep and being tired, hope we didn't get things mixed up!
Monday was WET. It rained a couple of times before hot laps ever got started at about 6:45 instead of the scheduled 2 p.m. The jet dryer attempted to rid the track of the water, but a puff of smoke, a few flames and that was all she wrote. So, out came the trusty John Deere's and they finally got the track ready for racing. The first heat race took to the track at 7:30 p.m.--4 1/2 hours later than the scheduled time for racing to begin. The only thing not run as scheduled was the qualifying heats for the SportMod Race of Champions, which was pushed to day #2.
Monday's headliner was the Deery Brothers Late Model show. Michael Murphy, Jr. took the win in this one--being crowned the first Super National's Champion of the week. Jason Utter led the earlier portion of the 50-lapper, but Murphy chopped through the field from starting 22nd, to tag in behind the leader. Utter broke at lap 34, handing the lead to Murphy, who retained it to the checkers. Andy Eckrich had a great run, taking second place after having to tag the field at one point. Third went to veteran Jeff Aikey, fourth was "Ironman" Darrel DeFrance, and Ray Guss, Jr. took fifth.
After qualifying was completed for the Hobby Stocks and the Northern SportMods, it was one LONG night of racing---ending at 5:50 a.m. We watched the sun rising as we headed to our motel and when we walked in, breakfast was being served! A couple of hours of sleep, and we were heading back over to the track.
Night #2 had the second Super Nationals Champion crowned when a full show of IMCA Sport Compacts took to the track. Fifty-five of the front wheel drive cars competed. They ran a 25-lap A main and the winner was Jake Ellithorpe from Delmar, Iowa. He took the top spot late in the race, passing Brad Chandler, who was scored as the runner up. Third went to Mick Rykhus, fourth was Tyler Whalen and fifth was Cameron Meyer.
Night #2 found us heading out a bit early when the winds picked up and we heard that storms were looming nearby. There were a few consolation races remaining, which we did understand got in. The campers were really having to "batten down the hatches" and it was tricky walking trying to avoid all of the blowing debris as we headed to our vehicle about 1:15 a.m.
Back at it for Night #3 and the first running of the A modifieds---which is always an anticipated event. Qualifying for Saturday night's Big Dance continued for the Stock Cars, SportMods and Hobby Stocks and the first for the Modifieds. Racing wound up about 1:12 a.m. and we headed quickly to our motel for some much needed "Zzzzs"!
Night #4 found us being chased by a storm back to our motel at the conclusion of the night's racing AGAIN! I must say, as the Modified qualiftying feature was on the track, it was an absolutely awesome sight with the cars on the track and the lightning flashing to the northwest! No doubt, the Xsan pay-per-view crew with IMCA on Demand that were filming all week long, were getting a bit nervous from some of their high perches when the rumbles and lightning flashes grew closer and more numerous!
It rained pretty good overnight and Friday morning, the dawning of Night #5, found it wet, wet, wet! There was another round of pretty good winds that blew through after midnight and even hail fell. The track was very wet and shiny but out came the "green machines" again and after more of Boone's famous "farming" rounds, racing began only 37 minutes late of the scheduled time. This was after the straw bales were broken open and spread about in the infield to soak up the sloppy mess and even a fresh coat of bright white paint was applied to the tires buried low in the corners of the track.
Tonight, the IMCA Stock Cars concluded their final qualifying for the Big Dance and the Modifieds had another qualifying A main to fill in the outside starting row. Tonight was also the All Star Invitational for the Modifieds. These drivers had all been voted into the race by the fans after qualifying for a ballot by winning a Fast Shaft's qualifying race. Driver's from all regions were in this race and it was a pretty sight to see them display their state flag flying during the parade lap. Jordan Grabouski--or Grabo as he is often called--took the checkers in this one, but hot on his heels and giving it all he had in a late race charge was Mark Elliott. Elliott had to settle for the runner up spot. Racing wound up about 1:38 a.m. and it was quickly back to the motel to catch some winks.
Saturday was the long awaited "Big Dance" day. The final qualifying for the Modifieds filled out the 33 car starting field. But before that, there were Race of Champions crowned in the Hobby Stocks, SportMods, Stock Cars and Modified classes. Those winners were Adam Armstrong from Filley, Nebraska in the Hobby Stock division, making him the first non-Iowa ROC winner in the class. John Watson who had another dominating year at the Boone Speedway in 2012, finished as the runner up. Another Nebraskan followed up with a win in the SportMod Race of Champions when James Kleinheksel stole the show by out distancing Geoff Olson out of Sioux City. Lake City, Iowa's Donavon Smith finally scored a Race of Champions victory for Iowa by taking the win in the IMCA Stock Car class. Dustin Larson from Minnesota finished second. The Modified division winner was a second time winner when Kevin Stoa put his #98 across the finish line first, ahead of Arkport, New York racer Michael Smith.
The first Big Dance was for the IMCA Hobby Stocks. Their 30-lap event went flag to flag and Shannon Anderson dominated this one. He won his second Super Nationals Championship in the division, never being really challenged. Brandon Pruitt got around Heath Tulp in the waning laps as they finished second and third in that order. Fourth went to Chuck Madden and fifth was Devin Smith. We understood that it was announced that Anderson will be moving up to the IMCA Stock Car division in 2013....following in his father Jeff Anderson's footsteps.
Next up was the Northern SportMods for their A main. This feature was not as fortunate to go caution free as several yellow flags were unfurled. However, it too was dominated by young driver Nick Roberts who ran the race as the leader the entire 30-laps in a flawless run to the win. Jesse Sobbing, the very successful driver out of Glenwood, Iowa, took second over "The General" Troy Jerovetz out of Green Bay, Wisconsin in third. Fourth went to Boone's own Cory Rose and Doug Cook from Algona, Iowa completed the top five. Roberts, at age sixteen, became the youngest Super Nationals Champion in any division.
The Class too Tough to Tame, the IMCA Stock Cars now awaited their main event. They also ran for 30-laps This turned into a shoot out between two cars---Donavon Smith and Chad Palmer. Palmer led much of the race with Smith dogging him the entire way. Smith made his move with about eight laps remaining, taking over the top spot and beating Palmer to the finish line for the win. Third went to Trent Murphy who came out out the three-wide row five starting line up, fourth was Dan Mackenthun and Shawn Havel from Wisconsin finished fifth.
After driver introductions and a trip around the track for them saluting the crowd from the back of pickup trucks, the drivers strapped themselves in and readied for 40-laps of dirt pounding racing. Front row starters who had qualified for that position by winning their A mains on previous nights, were Brandon Blochlinger, Kyle "The Highside Tickler" Strickler, and Boone's own Joel Bushore. Strickler and Blochlinger fought it out for the top spot in the early laps but it was soon the #5xx car of Jeff "The Animal" Taylor from Cave City, Arkansas fighting his way up to tag in behind leader Blochlinger. They were pretty much freight training around the topside of the track as laps were ticking off. It was a surge with two laps remaining that pushed Taylor to the lead; as he kept it to cross under the double checkers first, just ahead of Blochlinger in second. Third went to Strickler, fourth was Brandon Beckendorf from Danube, Minnesota and Waterloo's JD Auringer came home in fifth.
When we started our week on Labor Day by watching it rain and sitting through the delay of waiting for the track to be in racing condition, it seemed a long way off for Saturday's final. Then we endured more rain, plus wind, lightning, and even hail. Boone Speedway pulled off the six-night show, even with all the things Mother Nature threw at them. We looked back at the end of Saturday night and cannot believe how quickly the time passed. We say congratulations to all the winners and to ALL the drivers who came and participated-- a big THANK YOU. We thoroughly enjoyed our 25th straight year at the Super Nationals in Boone---and making it even more special was getting to share it with family, friends and fans we see but once a year during our "Racin Vacation" Racing family is the best. Happy racing!
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