The Mod Lites saw Travis Stensland holding off Bryan Zehm in the early go around of the race. Zehm had scooted quickly up through the pack from starting thirteenth and tagging the tail of the leader Stensland by lap three. Josh May joined in the frey and he was soon dueling it out with Zehm for that runner up position. May was able to get to the lead by lap nine and Stensland and Zehm were now battling it out. Some contact was made which sent Stensland many positions behind; Zehm taking over the runner up spot. The chase to the checkers was won by Josh May, who took surprisingly his very first win of the season at Boone, and Zehm held second place. Mike Morrill finished in third, Randy Bryan was fourth and David Schmalzried finished off the top five.
The 305 Sprints were on the program for the first time at Boone last night. We understand the class asked to come so we were more than a little surprised to find only six cars making an appearance. Keith Carlberg from Stratford suffered mechanical issues and never made a lap on the track. Matt Stephenson shot to the lead at the drop of the green from his outside front row starting spot. He would never relinquish it as he took the checkers in the 10-lap feature. Mike Philben from Grimes was the runner up, followed by Eddie Evans in third, who lists his residence as Marysville, Washington. Fourth went to Iowa Falls racer, Bob Hildreth, son of veteran Stock Car and current SportMod driver Bill Hildreth, and Dalton Ryder from Webster City took fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMods came next. Jerry Hinton and Daniel Tasler raced closely up front for several laps late in the race. Tasler, who had started ninth on the grid, had worked his way through traffic, passing Tom Lathrop for second by lap eleven. As laps wound down, Hinton and Tasler raced side-by-side, sometimes passing the start/finish line in a near photo finish. Tasler eventually got the advantage with Hinton still challenging when the yellow came out after they took the white flag. The race was yellow/checkered and Tasler declared the winner; Hinton taking second. Third place went to Eric Elliott who came from twelfth starting place, fourth was Tara Longnecker who has been looking good as of late in her new ride, and Brandon Williams, who had won the previous night in Marshalltown, was scored in fifth. This was Tasler's third win of the season.
The IMCA Modified feature had a strange turn of events when a yellow came out at lap three. Leader Robert Avery lost the handle in turn one and second place Matthew Meinecke made contact, but continued on. Jon Snyder also hit Avery as he sat on the track taking him out of the contest and to the pits. With Avery out, Meinecke took over the point, but damage would then force him to the pits as well before the green flew. Kyle Brown then became the guy at the front when the race restarted----and Jimmy Gustin had made it to second from starting tenth. Gustin took the helm the following lap and pulled off into the sunset and took the win easily. Kyle Brown finished in second, well ahead of third place finisher Joel Bushore. Fourth went to Russ Dickerson who had to regroup from a spin on lap one that brought out the caution when he was tagged by another car. Todd Shute, who we understand was running a crate motor last night, came from twelfth, to finish fifth. Gustin went back-to-back for wins after taking the checkers last week....his third of the regular season plus scoring the Frostbuster victory.
One of the racers on a hot streak as of late is Jay Schmidt. Schmidt took the lead at lap two and drove off from the field. Meanwhile behind him the cars were going four wide for second through fifth. The race was definitely behind the leader as he cruised along unhampered. The closing laps for that second place was intense with Josh Daniels fending off Trent Murphy and Jerry Gifford holding back brother Wayne Gifford. On the white flag lap, Murphy had surged to second ahead of Daniels but at the checkers, it was Wayne Gifford scooting to take second at the flagstand. Murphy was third, fourth went to Josh Daniels and Jerry Gifford fell to fifth. The Stock Cars do always seem to provide for an exciting race---though sometimes not for the win! This was Schmidt's third win at the track this year. He has been on a roll as of late after bringing out his new Harris ride.
The evening ended with the 12-lap Hobby Stock A main. I did say there have been some drivers on a streak lately and it continued in this one. Matt McAtee appeared to be well on his way to the win, leading from the drop of the green and pulling away from his competition. Enter the caution for debris at lap eight and who should be in second but Shannon Anderson. On the restart, the two would go at it, McAtee holding the advantage....until a lap to go. Anderson took the point and raced home to the checkers flying, McAtee taking second. Third was Eric Stanton who had started along side the winner in row six, fourth was Matt McDonald and Aaron Rudolph rounded out the top five. Anderson, who won two features last week, the make up and the regular night's feature, now has a total of five wins at Boone this year.
Attention fans! A special announcement was made near the end of the show last night. Next week will be a fan appreciation night and grandstand admission for July 6 will be FREE. The 305 Sprints are scheduled to be on the docket again and there will be water fun activities for the youngsters.
The next Speedway program will be the 7th Annual Eve of Destruction on the 4th of July. There will be all sorts of fun things happening on and off the track. There will be boat trailer races, car jumps and other death defying feats on the track. A redneck slip 'n slide is planned for grandstand side as well. The IMCA SportMods are the only races for this night. There will also be a huge fireworks display sponsored by the city of Boone.
There are a plethora of races coming up this holiday week. Seek out a race to attend at the track of your choice and support our great sport. Happy racing....and Happy 4th of July!
