Shute wins Boone season opener - track outwits Mother Nature

There wasn't much racing going on in the state of Iowa this past week. The cold and wet weather just seems to be planted on our racing state, and not wanting to move on.  However, the Boone Speedway, with it's great drainage system and farming crew, opted to try and outwit old Mother Nature and go ahead with their season opener on Saturday. We heard that Boone and the 34 Raceway down in southeastern Iowa, were the only Iowa tracks running on Saturday.  It wasn't until Friday that we learned of the decision that Boone was making some changes in their starting times, and although I am sure there were fans and even racers that did not like the early start times, or maybe didn't even KNOW about it, with a car count of 160 cars, the word must have gotten out.  The remainder of April will have those earlier start times---the pit gates opening at 2, grandstand at 3, hot laps at 4, and races at 5.

This was the opener for regular points racing, and all five divisions of cars were in competition. The Mod Lites got their first taste of racing at the track this year, as they were not on the docket for last week's Frostbuster.  They clicked their feature race off caution free, leaving little time for drivers to catch leader Andy Hennigar who led the entire race from the pole.  Josh May, who started in row six, gave it a shot in attempting to catch the leader, but fell short and had to settle for second.  Travis Stensland was third, fourth went to Bryan Zehm and Randy Bryan was fifth.

The IMCA SportMods came next and with 43 cars on hand, they had to run two B mains to pare down their starting field.  Clint Luellen and rookie Brandon Brinton took those wins.  Cody Knecht, who I believe runs regularly at the Algona Raceway, ventured "down south" and was looking determined to chalk up a win in the early going.  Boone's Eric Elliot was having none of that, as he was on the hunt.  At lap eight, a yellow flew, putting Elliott on the tail of leader Knecht.  Four laps later, Elliott made the pass for the lead, and he then pulled away for the win--making it a great start for his new season.  Joel Rust finished third, fourth was Geoff Olson and Ty Luellen was fifth.

Up next, the IMCA Modified 20-lap feature.  A B main was required for the mods too, with Jacob Murray scoring that one.  Todd Shute and Jon Snyder were the lucky recipients of the redraw, putting them on the front row at the start.  At the drop of the green, Shute was gone, having little trouble in pulling away from his competitors even with a couple of restart situations.  Jimmy Gustin took over second from Snyder with just a few laps remaining, but time ran out for any further advancement.  Shute took the easy win, Gustin was second and Snyder third.  Russ Dickerson made the biggest charge through the pack, coming from row eight and finishing in fourth.  Mike "Wahoo" Albertsen, Audubon, Iowa, finished in fifth.

The always entertaining IMCA Stock Cars ran their usual 18-lap feature.  Cory Bushnell did battle in trying to hold off Frostbuster winner Wayne Gifford and Lake City's Donavon Smith in the opening laps.  Enter Damon Murty, who by lap four moved into the runner up spot, coming from row five.  By lap seven, Murty, who has already scored several wins in his 2013 season, took over the lead from Bushnell.  Murty pulled the field, leaving Bushnell, who was fending off the battle behind him between Smith and Trent Murphy.  The checkers flew with Murty scoring the win, Bushnell held on to second, Trent Murphy came from row six to grab third.  Donavon Smith was scored in fourth, over fifth place Wayne Gifford.

Don't go home thinking the most exciting racing action is over by now.  The finale was the IMCA Hobby Stock's 12-lap feature.  This one was a dandy for the lead for most of those twelve laps between Austin Luellen, and Austin Hauswirth, another northwest Iowa driver who frequents the Algona Raceway.  Those two swapped the lead several times as they ran side-by-side in a great race. Luellen was able to make the last effort surge to the front as they came to the checkers, scoring a victory.  Hauswirth had to settle for second.  Third went to always competitive Shannon Anderson, defending IMCA Hobby Stock Champion, fourth place was Mike Pruitt, who has switched from the SportMod class, back in the hobbies, and Matthew Sorenson finished in fifth.  

The final checkered fell at 8:20 p.m., making for an early exit for fans and racers alike.  The racing action started right at 5 p.m. and had it not been for a couple of incidents, and subsequent clean up time, one being the high and spectacular roll of Jerry Hinton's SportMod in turn four, the program could have been completed even earlier.  We know these new starting times are a mixed bag of opinions, but for us who travel a good distance, it was nice to get home before 10 p.m.!  The track broke up in the corners, leaving a rut we especially noticed high in turn four, causing problems for all the classes. Do remember if you should contemplate making a trip to the Boone Speedway during the month of April, those early starting times will continue.  We hope for better weather in the coming weeks, so everyone can get their season's started, and we are all able to enjoy our racing fix in more comfortable environments!  Happy racing!