There was a big crowd on hand Saturday night at the Boone Speedway and 152 race cars filled the pits. The youngsters were having a blast with the carnival atmosphere----playing games, winning prizes, and Ditzy the Clown there making balloon animals and painting faces. It was also Zylstra Harley Davidson Night and many were observed drooling over the cool bikes on display. All but one of the five classes had to run B mains and by the end of the evening, two drivers went home with their very first wins at the speedway. It was also a big old full moon night! More on that later.
The Mod Lites were the only class not having to run a B main. Joe Glick took the lead when the green fell, but Terry Brown was quickly up to challenge him by lap four. Brown hounded Glick until he was able to make the pass on the backstretch, and was scored the leader at lap ten. Brown kept the lead the rest of the way, and took the win. Glick held on to second place, Bryan Zehm came from eleventh starting spot to take third, fourth was Joel Keenan, and point leader James May rounded out the top five. The race went flag to flag. This was Brown's fifth win at Boone this year.
There were 33 IMCA Northern SportMods, thus requiring a B main to complete the 24-car feature's starting grid. Johnathon Logue came home with the win in that consolation. Shawn Albers, Wellsburg, Iowa driver, jumped to the immediate lead and was still holding it down after the third yellow at just lap two. Lynn Brockett was on his tail by then, and running third was Ben Kates. Kates had hurried through the pack from his eleventh starting spot and he was ready to challenge the two front runners when the race got back underway. At lap nine, Kates took the lead and a couple of laps later, he had the bright blue #82 of Jake McBirnie to contend with. The closing laps were a shoot out between Kates and McBirnie but Kates held steadfast to his lead, and took the win. McBirnie had to be content with the runner up spot, Albers held on to take third, Brockett was fourth and Tim Love rounded out the top five. This was the fifth win for Kates in the season.
Thirty-seven Hobby Stocks called for two B mains to round out their starting line up for the 12-lap feature. Marengo, Iowa's Jacob Keiser and Storm Lake's Justin Nehring took those wins. Just as the race was initially started, the #6 of Bryan Keeney ran head on into the concrete wall in turn two and no lap was scored. It was a hard sudden stop, but he was okay. When the race did get started, Seth Janssen claimed the lead. By lap four, he had Cody Gustoff pestering him. From there on to the checkers, the two drivers duked it out. They ran many laps side-by-side, but Gustoff was never able to pull off the pass. Janssen claimed the win, Gustoff scored in second. Third was Tyler Pickett who had started eleventh, fourth went to Eric Stanton who started twelfth, and point leader John Watson completed the top five. This was Seth Janssen's first career win and he celebrated by taking the checkered flag in a backward victory lap. He was also the twelfth different winner in the Hobby Stock class at the track this year.
The IMCA Modified's had 30 cars on hand, also requiring a B main. Jimmy Gustin won it. In the 20-lap feature, it was a no go situation as veteran Lloyd Henderson and John Logue ended up tangled at the top of turn three before a lap was scored. The front row was Tyler Prochaska and Kyle Krampe, and Krampe nabbed the lead when the race went green. Prochaska tucked into second place, and Joel Bushore took third. Those three drivers put on the show up front for the fans, as they jockeyed for position, each of the three at one time or another, claiming the top spot. A caution flew at lap fourteen when Randy Havlik's car shut down at the top of turn two, and on the restart it was still Krampe in the lead, Bushore and Prochaska in second and third. The closing laps had a bit of a shake up behind the leader, but it was Krampe maintaining his lead and scoring the win. Prochaska took the runner up spot, Scott Davis made a late race charge to finish third, as did Russ Dickerson in fourth. Bushore fell back in the final couple of circuits, and held on for a fifth place finish. This was Krampe's first ever win in the Modified division. He made the eleventh different winner in the Modified class in the 2014 season.
The IMCA Stock Cars ran their usual 18-lap feature. After their B main, won by Don Vis, the starting 24 car field was set. This one had the opening lap called back too, as Ty Hill was spun in lap two, bringing out a yellow. The early portion of the race was led by Scott Bailey as he was content in the captain's seat as the competition behind him fought three and four-wide. After a restart for a caution at lap three, Bailey still held the lead and sitting second was eighth place starter Trent Murphy, Eric Brown was third and tenth place starter Jay Schmidt was waiting in the wings for the green to drop again. It didn't take long for Schmidt to get his Black Betty ride to the lead, He overtook Bailey on the backstretch before lap five was scored, taking over the point position. Another yellow at lap six, took Brown out of contention when he had to check up to avoid hitting a stopped car sitting in turn three. He was penalized for stopping on the track under a yellow, sending him to restart at the back of the pack. A couple of laps later, Bailey was also out of the running when his car expired. The race for the lead was between Schmidt and Murphy, Schmidt running the high line, Murphy choosing the lower. Murphy pulled off the pass in the closing laps, and as the white flag was flying, contact was made when Murphy pulled up in front Schmidt at the flagstand, possibly with a tire going down, as he then was off pace and Schmidt took the lead. Schmidt led the final lap, and took the flying checkers and the win. Robert Stofer finished second after running in third for half the race, third went to Donavon Smith, Jerry Gifford was fourth, and Murphy hung on to finish fifth. Schmidt won for the fourth time this year at the track.
There seemed to be many things going on last night during the races,----cars shutting down, blown motors, cars rolling (the 77C of Craig Carlson rolled over the bank between turns three and four during the heat, but was able to start the Main) mechanical woes, and a good number of yellow flags as well as a number of black flags flown for "questionable driving". As we left the track and headed toward home, we noticed the bright, full moon shining! We will blame those issues on the curse of the full moon!
There are just three weeks of regular season racing remaining at Boone. Hard to imagine that the season is winding down at most tracks in our area. Try and take in some of those races remaining and support the sport we all love.....dirt track racing!
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