
By Joyce Eisele
BOONE, Iowa (June 29, 2024) – It was a full night of racing entertainment for the fans at Boone Speedway on Saturday night, with 183 cars packing the pits.
Repeat wins went to Jake McBirnie in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Matt Avila in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, and Travis Stensland in the Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites.
First-time winners were Jeff Mueller in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars and Andrew Burg in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks.
Things got off to a great start with the flag-to-flag running of the 15 lap feature for Mod Lites.
Polesitter Jamie Bailey led the opening lap but Cliff Barber took over when lap two went into the books. By lap eight, it was eighth place starter Stensland who was captain of the ship. When Stensland got the lead, he drove off from the rest of the field and scored the easy win. Barber was a distant runner up, followed by Austin Gray in third.
It was 18 laps of Northern Sport Mod racing next.
Zander Kelland, the Bakersfield, Calif., racer who is spending his summer racing in the area, took the lead as the race went green. He was soon pestered left and right by Jessiah Taylor, Avila and Brett Thomas.
Avila, who started 10th, took the lead coming out of turn four as lap six was scored. Avila was about to enter big lap traffic at lap 13 but the yellow flag waved when a couple of cars got together in the corner, and while under the yellow, second place runner Brett Thomas exited into the pits, putting him out of the running.
Three more yellows flew, one that would put the race into “overtime” with a green, white, checkered finish, with Avila still at the helm.
The final circuits were no issue for Avila as he took the comfortable win, scoring his third of the season. Seventh place starter Chris Burke was second and third went to early leader Kelland.
It was 20 laps of Modified feature racing next. That race was marred by five yellows before the checkers flew.
Greg Elliott was the early leader but Brandon Leeman was soon up to challenge. Then McBirnie, who started 10th, made his presence known and started pressuring them both.
A perfect slide out of turn four as lap seven was scored and McBirnie took over. McBirnie never gave up that top spot, weathering three more cautions, the final one that put this race into overtime as well with a green, white, checkered finish, as he snagged his third feature win off the season.
Jimmy Gustin tried his best to run down the leader but to no avail and had to settle for second. Third went to ninth place starter Paul Nagle.
The IMCA Stock Cars, The Class Too Tough To Tame, saw their 20-lap feature go caution-free.
Mueller started on the pole, took immediately to his preferred line on the bottom of the track, stayed there, and went home with his first win of the year at Boone. Troy Jerovetz started 10th and chased Mueller from a distance for much of the race to score second place. Third went to Kyle Everts.
The finale of the evening, 15 laps of Hobby Stock racing, also went flag-to-flag.
Keith Burg took the lead when the race went green with his dad Andrew soon on his tail. By lap seven, Andrew Burg was leading the race, Keith Burg had exited the track Daniel Smith was now in second place and 11th place starter Eric Knutson was in third and looking for more.
With just three laps remaining, Knutson was running second and trying to reel in the leader. He closed in on the final run to the checkers but to no avail as Burg held on to snag his first feature win of the year. Knutson finished a close second and third went to Mike Smith.

Andrew Burg led from lap seven to the checkers Saturday night to earn his first IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock victory of the season at Iowa’s Action Track. (Photo by Bruce Badgley, Motorsports Photography)
Next up at the speedway will be the annual Fourth of July Eve of Destruction. Gates open at 6 p.m. and racing is at 7:30 p.m. for the IMCA Stock Cars and Northern SportMods, who will be running for IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing National, regional, and state points, but not track points. Fans will also be entertained by a rollover contest, pit bike race and trailer races, along with a huge fireworks show.
Then on Saturday, July 6 it will be another weekly series of racing with all IMCA divisions in action.
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