It was Elmquist Towing & Recovery night at the Boone Speedway on Saturday where six classes took to the track for a full night of racing action. It was another hot Iowa summer night that saw history made when young Mike Smith found his way to Victory Lane, marking his 100th career win in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks. Tim Ward returned to the winner's circle when he won the IMCA Friesen Performance Modified feature, and Devin Smith got the win in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars. Randy Havlik got his first win at Boone in the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMod class, Austin Gray repeated his win from last week in the IMCA Stealth STARS Mod Lites, and visiting class on the night, the IMCA Mach-1 Sport Compacts saw Cristian Grady take the win.
The Mod Lite 15 lap feature, presented by Carquest Auto, Truck, & Farm was first on the track for their main event of the evening.
William Nobles led the troops through the first three laps until eighth place starter Ben George snatched it away on lap four. Meanwhile, Austin Gray had been making his way through the field from tenth starting spot and on lap five, flew around George to take over the lead. From there on out, it was Gray's race as he pulled away from the field to take the comfortable win as the checkers flew. Bryan Zehm took the runner up spot, coming from ninth place, third went to Ben George, pole sitter Jon Braathun was fourth, and Tracen Glick completed the top five. Gray got his second win of the year in repeating his victory from last week.
The Northern SportMod 18 lap feature, presented by Elmquist Towing, had problems getting the first lap in the books. Before the initial first lap was scored, there was a big pile up of cars coming out of corner three. This eliminated six cars, and took some time to clear the track. The second attempt to start the race got as far as turn one when another incident took place taking out two more race cars. The third time was the charm and the race finally got underway with Kenser Ellis grabbing the lead for lap one. Ellis was still leading when yet another yellow flag flew on lap two. Randy Havlik was hot on the leader's tail when the race went green and soon had the lead. Havlik then took command of the race which continued caution free, and pulled away from the field. Havlik put his first SportMod feature win in the books after previously racing in the Modified class in years past. Logan Veloz, Colona, Illinois made his trip worthwhile, racing from eleventh starting spot, to finish in second place. Dusty Lynch took third place, Brett Thomas started twenty-second and finished in fourth, and Ryan Leeman was fifth.
The IMCA Modified 20 lap feature, presented by D & E Outside services came to the track next.
Jimmy Gustin started fourth, snatched the lead as the race went green, with visitor Jesse Patterson, Marana, Arizona sniffing at his heels. Patterson grabbed the lead on lap three, only to have Gustin come right back to the lead as he made the topside his own. Gustin, who was no doubt hoping to match his Stock Car win from the previous night at Marshalltown, continued to lead through cautions at lap five and another at lap nine. When the race restarted after the caution at lap nine, he had Izac Mallicoat and seventh place starter Tim Ward right behind him, and ready to change things up. The restart was not Gustin's friend, and when lap ten went into the books, it was Ward leading and Mallicoat in second, Gustin falling to third. The race then would continue to the checkers caution free as Ward and Mallicoat flew around the rim of the track. Ward, defending Super Nationals champion, took the flying checkers to secure his win, his first at the track in 2024. Mallicoat finished in the runner up spot, eleventh place starter and last week's winner, Jake McBirnie got around Gustin in the closing laps as they went third and fourth respectively, and Owen Barnhill, the Florida native who has called Iowa, and Super 8's his home for the summer, rounded out the top five.
The IMCA Sport Compacts were in the house last night for a tune up for their upcoming Super Nationals run. They ran a 15 lap feature.
Gilbert Aldapt, Sioux City, Iowa went from starting fourth and into the lead on lap one. Seventh place starter Cristian Grady was soon into second place and beginning to pressure the leader. Aldapt seemed to lose power coming out of turn two, and Grady got by him to take over the top spot on lap nine. After his falter, Aldapt regained his momentum and soon got back to second place. The only caution of the race came at lap twelve, with Grady still holding down the top spot. It was no issue for him on the restart and he kept hold of the lead the rest of the way to the checkers to take the win. Aldapt held on to score second, third place went to Kolby Sabin, Amana, Iowa's Spencer Roggentien took fourth, and ninth place starter Jake Paysen, Wall Lake, Iowa was fifth.
The IMCA 20 lap feature for Stock Cars, presented by Boone Moose Lodge came to the track next, and for much of the race it was looking like an Indiana racer was going to be going to Victory Lane. Sheldon Oberle, Battle Ground, Indiana grabbed the lead from the pole as the race went green. Sixth place starter Doug Smith was soon chasing him as he ran second. Oberle was still leading with just two laps to go when Smith made a bit of contact with Oberle, causing him to spin, and bringing out a caution. This knocked both Oberle and Smith out of the game, handing the race lead over to brother and twelfth place starter Devin Smith when the race restarted. Smith then held on to the top spot the final circuits to the checkers and scored the win, his second of the season. Another Smith brother, David Smith, came from eighth starting spot to take second place, third went to last week's winner Troy Jerovetz who had started tenth, fourth was ninth place starter Buck Schafroth, and Tyler Pickett raced his way from sixteenth to finish in fifth.
Finale of the evening was 15 laps of Hobby Stock feature racing, presented by Pickett Salvage.
Christian Cook, Coon Rapids, Iowa started on the pole and grabbed the immediate lead when the race went green. On lap four, some contact coming out of corner four made for mayhem on the frontstretch, Cook took a tumble, and the race was red flagged. Cook was okay, but his night was over. When the race restarted, Seth Janssen had the lead but it didn't take long until Mike Smith, who had restarted in fourth place, took to the outside going down the backstretch, and had the lead on lap five. It was all but over then. Smith pulled away from the field as the rest of the race continued to the checkers caution free, and took his record setting 100th IMCA Hobby Stock win. Janssen took second, third went to Keith Burg, fourth to Eric Knutson, and Tom Killen was fifth. It was a big party in Victory Lane as the Smith Clan, 100th win banner and all, celebrated Mike Smith's win. It took less than five years for the now 20 year old to get the milestone after his first racing debut in 2019.
There were many new faces last night at the track, as drivers show up to test the waters for the upcoming Super Nationals which is in less than four weeks. The Indiana Stock Car driver, Sheldon Oberle was one of those. We understand that he may be just one of two IMCA Stock Car registered drivers from the state of Indiana....the other being Ricky Thornton, Jr. Two Wisconsin Modifieds racers were also in the house....Cody Apfelbeck and Will Garceau, and Justin Kinderknecht from Salina, Kansas was racing in the Stock Car class.
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