We got our first races of the season in for two IMCA Frostbuster. The first night....and a chilly one it was, was at the High Banks of the Marshalltown Speedway on Friday. Saturday found us at the Boone Speedway for an early start time for the second Frostbuster.
Marshalltown Speedway held its first race of the season on Friday night with the running of its Frostbuster. Thursday was to have been night #1 of the Frostbuster series, but predicted below freezing temperatures, forced the cancellation of that race night. Many in attendance of Friday night's race would have said Frostbuster was a fitting name for Night #2 as well, as the strong south winds made it more than a bit chilly. It still brought out the race cars however, as 166 swelled the pits.
The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds were running for $1,000, and the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars were seeking a $750 payday. Those two winners also were eligible to qualify for Fast Shafts and B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitationals.
The IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods, and Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts ran for $500 each.
First on the track were the IMCA Northern SportMods, running a 20 lap feature event. Alec Fett and Brayton Carter put on a good battle for the lead in the early laps, with Fett having the upperhand. A yellow at lap seven and subsequent restart, saw Carter overtake the leader and take command of the race.
Fett continued to chase Carter the remainder of the race, but to no avail, as Carter swept home to the comfortable win. Following second place Fett in third place was hometown favorite, Jenae Gustin who had started in eight position. Malone, Wisconsin's Timothy Warner started eleventh and took fourth, and Dorchester, Nebraska's Trevor Noonan drove from sixteenth starting spot, to round out the top five positions.
The IMCA Stock Cars, "The Class too Tough to Tame" ran a 25 lap A main. It was no contest as Tom Berry, Jr. jumped to the lead on lap one, after starting sixth. Berry pulled away from the field until Troy Jerovetz closed in at the halfway point, but could not overtake the leader. Berry crossed first under the checkered flag, with Jerovetz taking second. Dan Mackenthun, Hamburg, Minnesota crossed in third place, Johnathan Logue was fourth, and Cole Czarneski, Denmark, Wisconsin racer was fifth. However, a post race inspection deemed that Berry and Logue had rule infractions, and both were disqualified. This handed the win over to Troy Jerovetz. Mackenthun was awarded second place, Czarneski took third, Buck Schafroth, who started twentieth, was fourth, and David Brandies was fifth.
Tim Ward, the Arizona native who now calls Harcourt, Iowa home, was the class of the field in the IMCA Modified 25 lap feature event. Ward passed lap one leader Jimmy Gustin on lap two, and never looked back. Ward captured the Frostbuster $1,000 win, finishing well ahead of second place, Todd Shute. Gustin held third place, holding back fourth place Jeff Aikey. Jake McBirnie completed the top five.
It was the "Flying Fireman", Kellogg, Iowa's Calvin Dhondt capturing the victory in the IMCA Hobby Stock 20 lap feature. Dhondt started fourth, and quickly caught leader Eric Knutson. Dhondt snatched the lead on lap five, only to have Knutson come right back and have the lead on lap six. The two ran tightly, sometimes going side-by-side until Dhondt took the lead for good on lap thirteen, and then took it home to the checkers. Knutson had to be content with the runner up spot. Third went to Scott Herron, Brainard, Minnesota, fourth was Blake Luininberg, Reading, Minnesota, and Bedford, Iowa's Luke Ramsey raced from sixteenth starting spot, to capture fifth place.
The night cap was 15 laps of IMCA Sport Compact racing. Blake Driscol took home the $500 and the win in this contest. He had to hold off the hard charging of Kolby Sabin in the closing laps, but Sabin had to settle for second on this night. Newton, Wisconsin's Adam Broehm took third, fourth went to Josh Barnes, and James Riske, Newton, Wisconsin, was fifth.
Next week there are two nights of racing scheduled for the Marshalltown Speedway as they run both Thursday and Friday night. It will be the two night special for IMCA Stock Cars as they vie for $5,000 in the running for the King of the High Banks.
Thursday, April 13 will be the first night for Stock Car qualifying with full shows for the IMCA Modifieds, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks, and Sport Compacts. Then on Friday, April 14, the Dirt Trucks will also join in the fun. There will be a practice night on Wednesday, April 12. The green flag drops both race nights at 7:30.
We headed to the Boone Speedway on Saturday where they kicked off their 2023 racing season with race #2 of the IMCA Frostbuster specials, that saw 161 racing machines checked into the pits. Early start times prevailed with hot laps at 4, and racing at 5.
The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds, Sunoco Stock Cars, Friesen Performance Northern SportMods, and Sunoco Hobby Stocks were in competition.
The Northern SportMods kicked off the feature racing with the running of their 20 lap main event.
Brayton Carter started second on the lineup grid, and immediately grabbed the lead when the race went green. Carter had the field covered as he would go on to lead all laps on his way to victory. Taylor Kuehl, last year's Frostbuster winner, had to be content with the runner up position this year. Cam Reimers came home in third place after starting eleventh. Beatrice, Nebraska driver, Adam Armstrong started twelfth, and finished fourth, and thirteenth place starter, Braden Richards, completed the top five.
Carter won the first night of the Frostbuster series on Friday at the Marshalltown Speedway, and earned the double bonus payout of $1,000 for tonight's win.
Tim Ward won the Modified 25 lap A Main, and he too earned the double bonus of $2,000 after his win at the Marshalltown Frostbuster Friday. Ward started seventh, and worked his way to the lead with fifteen laps in the books after a dandy battle with Johnathon Logue and Todd Shute....haymakers being thrown. The final laps of the race found Ward pulling away, and scoring his second win in as many days. Shute took second place, Jimmy Gustin was third, and Jerry Flippo, the Bakersfield, California native who now calls Clear Lake, Iowa home, came from fourteenth to nab fourth place. Cory Sauerman drove his machine from fourteenth to score a fifth place finish. Ward also won the 2022 Frostbuster at the track. I also note that ironically enough, the top three finishers in the Modifieds were the same for both nights!
The IMCA Stock Cars, came to the track next for 25 laps of feature racing, and for the third time of the night, a repeat winner from Frostbuster #1 the previous night, grabbed the double bonus payout.
Josh Daniels led the race through lap twelve but Troy Jerovetz by this time had raced his way from twelfth, into the runner position. A well-timed yellow and subsequent restart was just what Jerovetz had hoped for. On the restart, Jerovetz was able to nose under leader Daniels in turn two, and take over the number one spot. In the closing laps, Jerovetz drove off and finished under the checkers a comfortable distance ahead of Daniels who took second. Third was Tom Berry, who tried to make the topside work where very few opted to venture, fourth was Minnesota racer Dan Mackenthun in his brightly wrapped hotrod, and Jay Schmidt was fifth. Jerovetz went home with $1,500 for his repeat 2023 Frostbuster wins.
The night's racing ended with the 20 lap IMCA Hobby Stock feature. Mike Smith started sixth, and had the lead by lap one after a called back restart for a pileup in corner four worked to his advantage. Smith never looked back from there as he sailed home to the win. Curt Reed took second after starting tenth, third went to Bedford, Iowa's Luke Ramsey, fourth was Chad Rigby, and John Watson came all the way from eighteenth, to finish fifth. Mike Smith repeated his Frostbuster win from 2022.
Next Saturday night, April 15, will be opening points night at the speedway. Pits open at 3:30, Grandstand at 4:30, Hot Laps at 5, and racing at 6. Modifieds, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks, and STARS Mod Lites will are on the program.
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