The Boone Speedway held one of the most unique races in the country on hot and steamy Saturday night with the running of the Hawkeye Challenge. It was one of those nights when many were checking the radar and with the recent heavy, heavy rains in Northwest, Iowa, we were all hoping that nothing like that would interfere with the racing at Boone. Nothing more than interesting clouds happened for the night however, and the 156 race cars checked in provided a full night of entertainment for the fans.
The Hawkeye Challenge race pitted six different classes against each other as they ran the track at the same time. Tyler Thompson would be the overall winner in that contest, wheeling his 305 winged sprint car. Dylan Thornton was the winner of the IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds, and Austin Bouzek took the checkers in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. Cam Reimers in the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods and Eric Knutson in the Sunoco Hobby Stocks captured back to back wins and it was Travis Stensland winning the IMCA Stealth STARS Mod Lites.
The Hawkeye Challenge race ran before the features and it was quite a sight to see with six different classes racing on the track at the same time. This race originated back in the earlier years of the Boone Speedway and was revived a few years back and is quite the sight to see as it is one of the most unique races in all of the country. Each weekly class had four participants, the point leader locked in and the other three filled in by earlier heat passing points. Only two 305 Sprints were on hand, Tyler Thompson, second generation racer as his dad Bob used to race, and Mike Houseman, Jr.,both out of Des Moines. The first driver to complete his required division's laps....Sprint 25, Modified 23, Mod Lite and SportMod 22, Stock Car 21, and Hobby Stock 20....would be the overall winner. Charlie Brown in the Mod Lite was leading overall until the final corner when Tyler Thompson in his 305 winged sprint made it to the checkers first. Other class winners were Jeremy Mills in the Modifieds, David Smith in Stock Cars, Hunter Longnecker in Northern SportMods, Curt Reed in the Hobby Stocks, and Charlie Brown in the Mod Lites.
Features kicked off with 15 laps of Mod Lite racing, presented by Carquest Auto, Truck & Farm.
Randy Bryan, who was racing in the Austin Gray machine, led the field for lap one, and then a caution flew. When the race returned to green, it was Cory Sonner taking over the top spot with Travis Stensland soon in tow. The two would battle it out for several laps before Stensland took over at the flagstand when lap nine went into the books. From there on out, it was all Stensland's race. He pulled away to a healthy lead in the closing laps to take his third win of the season. Cory Sonner finished a distant second. It was a close one for third and fourth, with seventeenth place starter Josh May winning out over Charlie Brown. Joe Glick completed the top five.
The Northern SportMods, presented by Elmquist Towing went 18 laps for their main event, and it was a thriller at the finish line.
Early leader of the race was Zander Keeland, Bakersfield, California native but at lap four, it was Dusty Lynch in the lead with Dusty Masolini charging hard behind him. Things got shook up a bit when two cautions flew close together, one at lap nine, and one at lap ten. When the race returned to green Lynch was still holding down the lead, but now it was Hunter Longnecker breathing down his neck, Masolini running third. Those three raced closely for several laps with Masolini taking the top spot on lap fourteen, then lap seventeen Longnecker was the leader. A caution would then fly sending the race into overtime, with a green, white, checkered finish. Cam Reimers had just made the pass into second place for the restart of the final run to the checkers, and as the race went green, Longnecker was holding Reimers off....until that final dash to the checkers as Reimers crossed the timing line 15/1000 seconds ahead of Longnecker to take the win. Masolini, Matt Avila, and Dusty Lynch completed the top five. Reimers took back to back wins, and scored his fourth feature win of the year.
The Modified 20 lap feature, presented by D & E Outside Services saw Webster City racer Greg Elliott the early leader, but by lap four, eighth place starter Dylan Thornton made a slider work to his advantage out of turn four and took command. From there on out it was all Thornton at the helm as he raced home to secure his first feature win of the year. A caution at lap seventeen bunched the field and took away Thornton's healthy lead, but it was no issue as he held off tenth place starter Jeremy Mills the final circuits to see the checkers first. Third place went to Ronn Lauritzen, Johnathon Logue came from fourteenth to finish fourth, and last week's winner Cory Sauerman started eleventh and rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Stock Car 20 lap feature, presented by Boone Moose Lodge, came to the track next.
Jason Vansickel led lap one, but before lap two was in the books, he was sent spinning when contact was made by second place runner Chad Everts. That would warrant Everts a "bad dog, no biscuit" black flag, sending him to the pits, but sending Vansickel to start at the rear. Nick Roberts would inherit the lead on the restart of the race which he would hold to the next yellow at lap nine. When racing action picked back up, the driver out of Trenton, Missouri, Austin Bouzek, who had been ripping the lip, was soon in second spot and targeting the leader. A slider didn't work for Bouzek at lap thirteen, but a lap later, he had established the lead and then went home to take the flying checkers and the win. Roberts took the runner up spot, Johnathon Logue came from eleventh spot to finish in third place, fourth was Alan VanGorp in one of his best runs of the season, and Jay Schmidt started seventeenth, and finished in fifth in a battered car after getting buffeted around earlier in the race. Bouzek, who has made Boone his weekly Saturday track this season, scored his second feature win of 2024.
The nightcap of the evening was 15 laps of Hobby Stock racing, presented by Pickett Salvage.
Andrew Burg survived being in the middle of Eric Knutson and Aron Fye to take the lead on lap two, but two laps later, it was Knutson in front. Then all eyes were on Mike Smith as he skillfully made his way to the front and chased down leader Knutson. It was a spirited final few laps as the two front runners pulled away from the rest of the field. Smith made a last corner ditch effort with an unsuccessful slider out of turn four, with Knutson holding off the charge to take the win. Smith had to be content with the runner up spot on this night. Following a distant third it was tenth place starter John Watson, fourth went to Hawkeye Challenge division winner Curt Reed, and Solomon Bennett was fifth. Knutson matched his win from last week, and scored his third feature win of the year.
It was a full night of good racing at Boone, as the show clicked off efficiently as usual. Next Saturday night, June 29, the Outlaw Mini Mods will join the five regular IMCA classes in their first appearance of the year.
Unbelievably heavy rain, mostly to our northwest, has left some tracks underwater, and some towns as well. Huset's Speedway just across the border in Brandon, South Dakota, near Sioux Falls, had a near disaster during their scheduled High Banks Nationals, when so much rain fell so quickly, leaving their campgrounds in an emergency situation in the early morning hours as knocks on the camper doors called for evacuation! We heard the people were all safe, but a look at some of the pictures we saw had many campers surrounded by water and no way to get out, and porta potties floating! The town of Spencer, Iowa is also underwater, and the Clay County Fair Speedway had to cancel their scheduled Midwest Madness tour for Monday due to the historic flooding. These are sad situations for these two places and we send our prayers as they deal with these unprecedented disasters.
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