By Ben Deatherage
BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 30, 2025) — A massive 87-car field of Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites kicked off qualifying at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Saturday night at Boone Speedway featured two 25-lap qualifiers to set the inside and middle rows of Sunday’s Big Dance. Nevada, Iowa’s Garrett Barber and Metamora, Illinois native Brandon Freeburg came out on top to lock themselves into the front of the grid, with the top 10 finishers from each qualifier advancing.
In Qualifier 1, Jaxon Carr jumped to the early lead in the Mike Kennedy-owned no. 55. Carr and Dan Keltner pulled away before Arkansas’ Blake Wilson — the 2023 Arkansas State champion and 2024 Mod Lite of Arkansas Series champion — challenged on a restart, only for his move to be negated by caution. Keltner then took charge on lap eight and began to pull away.
The race was slowed by multiple yellows, including two red flags. As the laps wound down, Carr reeled Keltner back in, setting up a late charge. On the green-white-checkered finish, Barber surged from sixth starting spot, pulling off a breathtaking run out of turn four to edge Keltner by just 0.003 seconds at the line.
Keltner settled for second while Wilson took third. New Yorker Joe Isabell ran fourth and Carr finished fifth. Missouri motorist Dylan Naeger charged from 17th to sixth, followed by 2022 Corn Belt Clash champion Randy Bryan. R.J. Gonzales of Illinois finished eighth, 2023 Indiana State champion Alex Eischeid stormed from 25th to ninth, and Texan Scott Jordan rounded out the top 10.
Qualifier 2 belonged to Illinois’ Brandon Freeburg, who made the most of a special call-up to drive the Troy Naeger/Robbie Jakoubek-owned no. 171. Running a limited schedule in 2025, Freeburg powered to the front early and never flinched.
Tennessee’s Jaedon McDowell — the reigning Tennessee Mod Lite Racing Association champion and Sugar Bowl winner — pressed hard in the middle stages. He grabbed the lead on lap 18, only for Freeburg to take it back in traffic a lap later. With lapped cars in play, Freeburg made the decisive move and held off McDowell by 0.029 seconds at the stripe.
Four-time reigning national champion and two-time Super Nationals winner Dillon Raffurty stormed from 17th to third. Two-time Illinois State and Corn Belt Clash champion Jon Padilla climbed from 25th to finish fourth. Josh May, the 2025 IMCA TV Winter Nationals champion, crossed in fifth.
Bryan Zehm finished sixth, Missouri’s Justin Raffurty took seventh, Ben George was eighth, Illinois’ Corey Stephenson ninth, and Kevin Carl of Texas completed the top 10.
The event was streamed live on IMCA TV. Watch the replay with a monthly Replay Subscription for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
Nevada, Iowa’s Garrett Barber earned the win in the first Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lite qualifying feature on Aug. 30 at Boone Speedway during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Barber edged Dan Keltner by a razor-thin 0.003 seconds in a thrilling finish. (Photo by Byron Fichter Fotography)