The spectacle that is the Super Nationals is over. 2013 was just as crazy as ever, with over 800 cars on hand, but what a fun time! We will try and hit on just a few of the highlights that WE know of, but ask anyone that attended and I'm sure they will have other tales to tell.
One big bonus this year was NO rain. Well, not to speak of anyway. One night we had a few sprinkles that popped up smack dab over Boone, Iowa but a quick, very quick, farming session which probably delayed things no more than ten minutes, took care of that, and then it was back to racing. Still, the nights were all late. Much was due to that yellow rag flying often and a few red flag situations as well.
Monday there was a complete show for.the IMCA Deery Brothers Late Models. No stranger to a winner's circle, Jeff Aikey put his familiar #77 back into victory lane, taking home the hardware and the Super National's Championship prize for the third time. Ray Guss, Jr. was second followed by Justin Kay, Todd Cooney, and Joel Callahan. Racing ended at 1:45 a.m.
Tuesday, the IMCA Sport Compacts had a record 63 entrants and ran their complete show. The winner was Jacob Ellithorpe, the driver out of Maquoketa, Iowa who also set a record by being a repeat winner from last year's Super Nationals. No one could catch Ellithorpe....not even the Chandler gang. Nathan Chandler, Brad Chandler and Merv Chandler finished second, third and fourth. Mitch Bolton completed the top five. The 25-lap feature went flag to flag....unlike any other feature race during the six-day run. Racing ended at 1:04 a.m.
Wednesday was the first day for the IMCA Modifieds. You can tell by the size of the crowd that this is what most come to see. The ground pounding Modifieds were often in the "push the cush" mode as announcers Jerry VanSickle, Ryan Clark and Chet Christner would often exclaim. It's always great to see the cars that come from far and wide. An example of that was heat 28 when there were seven states plus Canada represented in the 8-car heat. The "Hillbilly wrecker" (Boone's version utilized with a John Deere tractor) was busy most every night, damage done to a lot of cars over the course of the six-nights, but as far as we heard, no injury to a driver. The races concluded on this night at 1:50 a.m.
Thursday dawned another scorching day. This was the hottest Super Nationals we can ever recall in all of our 26 years in attendance. Often, it is winter coat nights, but not this year as even in the wee hours of the morning, some people were even sans a sweatshirt. The day was deemed "Throwback Thursday" and people were encouraged to wear their oldest racing attire. Even the officials donned vintage shirts ranging from the early 90's on. Several former Super Nationals Modified champions were on hand to greet fans in the Fan Zone tent out behind the grandstand. Those we saw were Wayne Larson, Randy Havlik, Todd Shute, Wayne Graybeal, Ron Pople, Kevin Stoa, and last year's winner Jeff Taylor. Racing ended at 2:08 a.m.
Friday, we saw one of the best races ever in the All-Star Invitational 30-lap feature. We were not the only ones that we heard saying the same thing! After the pomp and circumstances preparation, the drivers voted into the prestigious event strapped into their cars and saluted the crowd in a three-wide parade lap, each driver holding their respective state flag plus a Canadian flag flown by Aaron Turnbull. Todd Shute quickly got to the front from his middle of the fifth row starting position. The closing laps saw him and Chris Abelson duking it out lap after lap in one of the most exciting conclusions we have ever witnessed! Shute was the victor of this one at the end of the 30 laps. An emotional Shute exclaimed in victory lane that, "I hope you enjoyed it, 'cause it was fun where I was sitting"! The racing finished up at 2:51 a.m.
Then it was Saturday! Time flew quickly even with the late nights. There was final last chance qualifying for the Modifieds plus the Race of Champion features for the four classes. The Hobby Stock winner was veteran Randy Embrey, SportMod winner was Bobby Anders, Stock Car winner was Donavon Smith and Modified winner was Dustin Smith.
The first of the Super National championship features was the Hobby Stocks. Brandon Pruitt led this one all 30-laps from the pole; start to finish. Chris Luloff made a late race pass on David Rieks as they went second and third. Fourth was veteran Bill Bonnett and Cory Ganson came from the last row to finish fifth.
The IMCA Northern SportMod feature was also 30-laps. Yellows plagued this contest but Carter VanDenBerg had no trouble in keeping his lead from start to finish and took the championship by a comfortable margin. Doug Smith finished a distant second, followed by Clint Luellen (who came from row five) Brett Lowry, and Kyle Prauner.
The 30-lap IMCA Stock Car feature saw the track change as the groove moved to mid-track part way through. Mike Nichols was looking strong as he took the lead by lap one from starting in row four and Jay Schmidt followed him through the mass of cars from his fifth row start, to take second. Much of the race was the #63 of Nichols with the #19J of Schmidt in that running order with the #33C of Brandon Czarapata running a distant third. Things really tightened up when a yellow flew at lap 20 and on the restart, Czarapata was able to get the advantage and take over the lead. Brian Irvine was now in the hunt as well and Donavon Smith was looking for a top five finish as he ran fourth, Schmidt having dropped to fifth. When a yellow flew at lap 28, it set the scene for a green-white-checkered shoot out. Nichols was the bad luck guy when he had to exit with mechanical issues, sending him out the quest for a top finish. When racing resumed, Irvine slipped off the top of turn three, also out of the game, but Czarapata had no issues in taking home the win and the Super Nationals crown. Jay Schmidt worked his way back to the runner up spot, Damon Murty came from starting back in row six to claim third place, fourth was Beatrice, Nebraska driver Kyle Vanover, and Donavon Smith completed the top five.
The grand finale was the 40-lap main event for the IMCA Modifieds. The guy claiming the pole position for their 3-wide start was first timer Ricky Thornton, Jr. from Chandler, Arizona. Dylan Smith from Osceola, Nebraska started in the middle and outside front row starter was Sioux City's Chris Mills. Chris Mills got the advantage when the green fell, and Dylan Smith tucked in behind as he ran second. Smith was able to take over the lead with ten laps remaining, and Texas driver Keith White and local Ames, Iowa racer Jon Snyder were not done in their pursuit of the golden ring as they ran second and third. This race also would find a green-white-checkered shoot out when a yellow flew at lap 38. Smith wasn't to be denied though and maintained his lead, and taking the win. Snyder got around White as they went second and third. Wisconsinite Shawn Kilgore came from row five to finish fourth and Boone's own Kelly Lyons finished in fifth.
We were more than happy that so many of our local weekly track racers made their respective "Big Dance". From the Marshalltown Speedway, Boone Speedway, and Southern Iowa Speedway, they were well represented. Congratulations to those that I can remember, and forgive me for those I may have missed. It is not intentional. Bill Bonnett, Austin Luellen, and Shannon Anderson in the IMCA Hobby Stocks. In the SportMod division, winner Carter VanDenBerg did the local racing scene proud and took home the crown. He was joined in their feature by Clint Luellen, Brett Lowry, Eric Elliott, Geoff Olson, Eric Flander, Johnathon Logue, Tim Love, Jerry Hinton and Paul Nagle. In the IMCA Stock Cars, Jay Schmidt gave it a shot but fell just short, claiming second place. Also in the feature were Damon Murty, Nathan Wood, Bob Daniels, Wayne Gifford, Jason Cook, Todd Reitzler, Trent Murphy, Steve Meyer and Michael Jaennette. There was no lack of locals in the Modified feature either. Jon Snyder gave it a shot for the win in the feature but fell short and took second. Also racing was Kelly Lyons, Kyle Brown, Jacob Murray, Matthew Meinecke, Scott Davis, Adam Larson and Jimmy Gustin.
So ended another marathon Super Nationals at the Boone Speedway. We had a great time. Not only was the racing great, but it made it all the more enjoyable by seeing old friends, some but once a year at the Super Nationals, and making new ones from across the United States, and sharing the times with them all. Regular weekly Boone announcer Jerry VanSickle was joined for the Super Nationals gig by Ryan Clark and Chet Christner. They kept the crowd informed and well entertained through out the entire six-day run.
You can find more detailed information about the racing at www.raceboone.com and www.imca.com.
Our racing season isn't quite over yet with a few more races we have on the horizon. Next up for us will be the Southern Iowa Speedway this Wednesday night, September 11, as they continue their regular season of racing. Happy racing!
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