Saturday marked the sixth and final day of the Speedway Motors IMCA Supernationals. Once again the week went by faster then a speeding bullet, but I'm sure everybody got their money's worth as the racing was top-notch all week long with a few minor exceptions. Once again I have to give props to the track crew from the Boone Speedway as they not only had the racing surface in tip-top shape, but they had to work extra hard on Monday and Friday as rain set in and slowed down the racing action.
Along with the four Supernationals features, four Race of Champions races were also run on Saturday. The first of those events would be the hobby stock race. Pole sitter Brandon Pruitt grabbed the top spot with long time racer Randy Embrey on his tail. The ten-car field got spread out by the halfway point of the ten lap race. Brandon Pruitt would take the win ahead of Andy Boeckman, Randy Embrey, Shannon Anderson, John Watson, Stac Schroeder, Chad Gentz, Dustin Larson, Brandon Taylor, and Michael Murphy.
The sportmod Race of Champions would be run immediately following the hobby stock race. National points leader Tyler Frye paced the field from the pole with Clint Luellen following closely at the conclusion of the first lap. Sixth-place starter Nate Chodur worked his way up to third by lap two before sneaking under Luellen for second on lap four before the caution waved. At this point, race leader Frye was sent back two spots after he was docked for jumping the original start. That put Chodur out front and Luellen ahead of Frye on the score sheet, but the double-file restart would keep all three bunched together. Frye wasted no time in disposing of Luellen for second and set his sights back on the top spot. With three laps to go Frye motored by Chodur on the top side to regain the lead and go on to take the win. Nate Chodur settled for second, Tad Reutzel was third, Eric Flander fourth, Clint Luellen fifth, Scott Davis sixth, Danny Dvorak seventh, Greg Sidles eighth, Shay Woods ninth, and Dylan Book rounded out the field.
After the last chance qualifiers for modifieds were run, it was now time for the modified Race of Champions. Jake Durbin and Clint Hatlestad sat on the front row with Hatlestad getting the jump to claim the lead. Hatlestad would extend his lead to nearly a straight away as he dominated the race and took home the win. Jake Durbin was second, Jordan Grabouski third, Jimmy Gustin fourth, Keith White fifth, Scott Olson sixth, Jim Cole seventh, Jonathon Thimmesch eighth, Scott Hogan ninth, Kevin Sustaire tenth, Chris Dawson eleventh, and Kevin Stoa twelfth.
The stock car Race of Champions would follow next as Ryan Rose and Brian Irvine set the pace for the ten-lap event. Irvine rocketed to the lead and was never seriously challenged as he picked up the win. Mike Nichols ducked under Rose for the second position on lap five and held on for the second place finish. Chad Palmer finished third, Jeremy Christians fourth, Jeff Mueller fifth, Ryan Rose sixth, Randy Brands seventh, Jason Ward eighth, Jason Schoenberger ninth, and Jeffrey Larson tenth.
The rest of the evening was now set for the four feature events. First up would be the hobby stocks as thirty cars would start in the now-traditional three-wide formation. Dustin Larson, Shannon Anderson, and Chad Krug sat on the front row for the thirty-lap race. Larson would get the advantage on the start and lead the pack with Robby Marsh and Anderson behind him. Inside row four starter Andy Wilkinson quickly moved up into the fourth position on lap five when he ducked under John Watson. The top eight strung out in single file until Wilkinson got under Anderson and overtook him for the third spot.
The caution flag waved on lap twelve, and when the green flag came back out Wilkinson powered by Marsh to snare the second position. Wilkinson continued to run the low groove as he tracked down Larson, and on lap sixteen he would make the pass for the lead. Shannon Anderson's bid for back-to-back Supernationals crowns ended when his car slowed atop turn three. He would coast his machine to the infield as the green flag remained out. John Watson challenged Robby Marsh for the third position the last couple of laps, but Marsh would prevail at the line. Andy Wilkinson, in his first season competing in IMCA, would take home the impressive win ahead of Dustin Larson, Robby Marsh, John Watson, and Michael Murphy. Josh Irvine would finish sixth after starting 22nd with Scott Lograsso finishing behind him in seventh after starting 26th.
Following Wilkinson's post-race celebration and photos, it was now time for the sport mod feature to hit the track. Once again thirty cars would line up three-wide and ten rows deep for a thirty-lap race. Defending national champion Jesse Sobbing was flanked by Scott Davis and Danny Dvorak on the front row. A caution flag would wave before the completion of the first lap, and during that caution Davis would exit the track to change a flat right front tire. He would tag the tail on the restart, but it would be rookie Eric Flander leading the first green flag lap. Brett Meyer and Jesse Sobbing would put the heat on Flander as they raced side by side behind him, waiting for an opportunity to sneak by. Those three drivers, along with RJ Merchant, put distance between them and the next group of competitors. Sobbing would run the cushion and get enough momentum to power by Flander for the lead on lap eight. Merchant would dive to the inside of Meyer to snag the third spot on lap twelve before another caution waved a lap later when defending Supernationals champion Mike Pruitt slowed.
Yet another caution would fly just past the halfway point of the race, and by that time Scott Davis had worked his way back near the top ten after his flat tire on the first lap. Unfortunately for Davis he would only advance one more spot by the time the checkered flag waved. Back up front, Brett Meyer utilized the inside line to take the lead away from Sobbing with twelve laps to go before pulling away. The final caution waved with seven laps remaining, and Sobbing would suffer the same luck as Davis had earlier as he exited to the work area with a flat tire. That moved Flander and Brandon Leeman to the first full row behind Meyer on the restart. Leeman would drop back during the closing laps allowing Randy Roberts, Nate Chodur, and Brett Moffitt to advance their way forward. When the checkered flag waved it would be Brett Meyer taking the win ahead of Eric Flander, Randy Roberts, Nate Chodur, and Brett Moffitt. Tyler Frye finished sixth while 28th starter Benji Legg finished seventh.
After another track prep and modified hot lap session, the stock cars made their way to the track for their thirty-car feature for thirty laps. Dustin Smith, Chad Palmer, and Steve Meyer were on the front row. Surprisingly it would be Palmer from the middle racing to the lead when the green flag dropped. Mike Nichols, who started in the middle of row three, worked his way into fourth by lap two. Smith would start to close the gap to race leader Palmer while Nichols worked to the inside of Meyer for third. The yellow flag was displayed as Damon Murty came to an abrupt stop exiting turn four. The field had to scatter to avoid hitting Murty as he stopped in the middle of the wide racing surface. On the restart Palmer would push up in turn two, allowing Dustin Smith to assume the top spot. Palmer would fall back to fourth, and Nichols who was running third would fall back even further as his car slowed before he got it back moving. Palmer appeared to gather things back up as he moved back up into the third spot around Josh Daniels, but both drivers went backwards as Palmer pushed up the track again and contact was made.
Smith would suffer the same fate as Palmer had earlier when his machine pushed up the race track, opening the door for Wisconsin's Jeremy Christians to steal the lead away. Another caution came out on lap sixteen, bunching the field back up. When racing resumed Smith would not get a good restart, which opened the door for Michael Bruns and Jamie Colwell to sneak by under him. Palmer would later motor by Smith on the outside for the fourth spot, pushing Smith back to fifth. Colwell looked to be on the charge as he passed Bruns on the inside for the runner up spot, but Colwell's luck would take a turn for the worse as he spun in turn two to bring out the caution. Another caution came out with six laps remaining, but that did not stop Jeremy Christians from taking home his first Supernationals crown as he picked up the win. Dustin Smith rebounded to take second, Donovan Smith was third, Marcus Fagen finished fourth, and Michael Bruns rounded out the top five after starting twentieth. Trent Murphy finished sixth after starting 29th on the grid while outside front row starter Steve Meyer followed in seventh.
The end of the stock car race marked the time that most of the people had waited all week to see: the modified feature. Thirty-three drivers bested a field of over 270 that made their way to the Boone Speedway for the week. After introducing the drivers as they walked across the stage, each row would then be paraded around the track in the back of Karl Chevrolet pickups to wave to the fans. Kevin Stoa, Jimmy Gustin, and Clint Hatlestad won their respective features throughout the week to earn the front row.
When the green flag dropped on the forty-lap feature, it was Kevin Stoa racing to the lead with Brandon Blochlinger following in his tire tracks. By lap three perhaps the surprise of the race saw G.W. Egbert quickly advance from his middle of row six starting spot up into the top five. Stoa's lead would be cut short as he slowed down the backstretch and exited the track in turn three, handing the lead over to Blochlinger on lap nine. Another surprise of the race would be Luke Wanninger. Wanninger, a rookie this season in the modified division, had started outside row five and had pounded the cushion to make his way up to third at this point. He made short work of Hatlestad as he climbed into the runner up spot as he set his sights on Blochlinger up front. The two front runners separated from the pack as they would put on a show for the fans with Wanninger trying to pull even on the inside of Blochlinger.
Meanwhile middle front row starter Jimmy Gustin, who faded to around eighth in the opening laps, was quietly working his way back towards the front as he found himself fourth after passing Egbert on the low side. Gustin continued to climb back up the ladder as he passed Hatlestad for third. The only caution of the race came with a mere eight laps to go, giving both fans and the drivers time to relax after all that exciting action thus far. It was Egbert that brought out the caution when he spun in turn four after running sixth.
Jimmy Gustin took advantage of the restart as he passed Wanninger for second. Wanninger would push up the track and fall back to around seventh, opening the door for Johnny Saathoff to make his way up to third. As Gustin looked to reel in Blochlinger up front, the race leader would push up the track in turn three and go over the banking and exit the track. No yellow was thrown as he safely made his way out of harms way, but that gave the lead to Gustin with Saathoff a ways back in second. From there Gustin would cruise home to his first Supernationals victory as he celebrated in victory lane. Johnny Saathoff would finish second, Todd Shute was third after starting eighteenth, Scott Olson fourth, and Nick Deal had a great run to finish fifth after starting 23rd.
The modified feature brought the close of the IMCA Supernationals. There was a lot of good, close racing this year in my opinion. That is what the fans pay to see, and once again I have to give a huge pop to the track prep crew for their long hours of working on the track. I'm sure it's a thankless job despite the announcer's doing their part to thank them. I'm sure they'll rest easy the next couple of days after their long week of work.
I also want to thank a couple of other people. First, I'd like to thank Brett Root and the staff at IMCA for their hospitality. It always makes me feel a little bit special when I show up to an event and a person of their stature knows who I am and call me by name as I sign in. I also want to again thank Jim Zimmerline for offering his extra laptop to me throughout the week. I hadn't planned on having a computer to type my blogs during the week and was just going to type them when I got home. But he found me Wednesday and offered his laptop to me, and for that I am grateful. Jim was taking pictures from both the infield and the catwalk throughout the week, so be sure to take a look at www.zippsphotos.com when you get a chance.
It's time to rest up from a long week of racing. Next weekend provided a plethora of races to choose from, and at this point I am undecided of my plans. In case you may not know of all the choices, here are the ones I am considering:
Marshalltown Speedway - Havoc on the Highbanks, including the Hawkeye Dirt Tour for modifieds
34 Raceway (Burlington)- Pepsi USA Nationals for IMCA Deery Brothers late models season finale
Fairmont (MN) Raceway - Shryock Memorial
Shelby County Speedway (Harlan) - Tiny Lund Memorial
- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!
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