Our racing vacation got kicked off yesterday at the Boone Speedway....and what a way to start! Good racing all night long, the track provided some great racing action with close finishes, and by the end of the night, it was slick from top to bottom. The sixth annual Prelude to the Super Nationals kicked things off in top fashion.
There was a record breaking 412 cars tuning up for the 38th Annual IMCA Super Nationals starting on Labor Day, and for the first time, the IMCA Sport Compacts were included, joining the Modifieds, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, and Hobby Stocks.
Forty-seven heat races and twenty-two B's later, and it was time for the five main events of the night....or should I say, early morning.
Feature racing kicked off with the 25 lap IMCA Northern SportMod A main. Guy Ahlwardt, Antioch, California snatched the lead away from track champion Johnathon Logue, who had led from the start, on lap fifteen. Then with three laps remaining, Rocky Caudle took his turn as the leader. A caution at lap twenty-three tightened the field for the restart with Ahlwardt running second and fifteenth place starter Brayton Carter setting in third. It was a frantic dash to the finish line as the three came out of corner four, with Caudle holding off Carter by 8/1000th of a second to take the checkers. Ahlwardt took third, Nate Whitehurst was fourth, and Johnathon Logue rounding out the top five. There were ninety-six Northern SportMods in competition over the night.
The IMCA Sport Compacts were on the docket for their inaugural Prelude appearance. They ran a 20 lap feature that found Durant, Iowa's Jake Benischek take the dominating win. Benischek powered to the lead from his seventh starting spot by lap two, and never looked back. Trent Orwig, Ottumwa, Iowa trailed a distant second, Mitchell Bunch, Des Moines, was the hard charger, coming from twenty-fourth starting spot, to finish third, Drake Bohlmeyer, Beatrice, Nebraska was fourth, and Danny Vanderveen, Sioux City, was fifth. Benischek followed up his previous night's win at the Marshalltown Speedway, that set a record pay-off of $1,100, with another win. Look for him to be a favorite for the Super Nationals. Twenty-four Sport Compacts were in the house.
One hundred twenty IMCA Modifieds were on hand for competition, and standing in victory lane at the end of their 25 lap feature was Susanville, California's Riley Simmons. Simmons became the first driver to win the Modified Prelude from out of state. Simmons led from the drop of the green, in the race that went flag to flag. Jake McBirnie chased Simmons the entire distance, but finished a distant runner up. Tim Ward took third, Cody Laney, Torrence, California finished fourth, and defending Super Nationals Champion Ethan Dotson was fifth. The race was also a Fast Shafts All-Star ballot qualifier for 2021, and paid $1,000 to win.
The IMCA Stock Cars followed up with another caution free contest in their 25 lapper. The cream came to the top in all the features, with few cautions. Five drivers put on quite a show up front for the fans in this one. Two Wisconsin racers, Jeremy Christians and Brandon Czarapata, both former IMCA Super National champions, were joined by Iowans David Smith, Kelly Shryock, and Ricky Thornton in a real barn burner. David Smith came out on top of the battle, scoring the win over Christians in second place. Last year's Prelude winner, Kelly Shryock started eleventh and finished third, and Czarapata and Thornton rounded out the top five. Ninety-three stock cars competed in the class.
Wayne Gifford had not been having such a hot year in the IMCA Hobby Stock class after stepping down from his previous Stock Car ride, but he finally found victory lane for the first time at the speedway in 2020. Gifford was impressive, working himself from sixteenth starting spot and into the lead at lap seventeen of the the 25 lap event. The final circuits saw Gifford pull away to take a comfortable win. Polesitter Dylan Nelson finished second, third went to sixth place starter Eric Knutson, Hays, Kansas racer Tathan Burkhart started thirteenth and finished fourth, and Zach Ankrum, Sioux City, was fifth. Gifford bested the other seventy-eight cars in competition on the night.
Labor Day, we begin our week of Super Nationals racing at the Boone Speedway. By the looks of the drivers already here, it just could be another record breaker. Drivers, many who were not able to race in their own home state, or had limited racing due to the Covid pandemic, appear hungry for their fix. Here's to a great, safe, and fun up coming racin' vacation. Hope to see some of you there....if we can recognize each other behind masks. Let's go racing!
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