By Ben Deatherage
BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 1, 2025) — The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites hosted the first Big Dance of the 2025 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s with a 30-lap feature at Boone Speedway, made up after rain washed out Sunday night’s program. Illinois’ Jon Padilla, a two-time Illinois State and Corn Belt Clash champion, finally broke through for his first career Super Nationals crown after finishing runner-up the last three years.
Brandon Freeburg of Illinois led the opening circuits before cautions at laps eight and 14 slowed the pace. New York’s Joe Isabell pressured hard, while fellow contenders Dillon Raffurty — a two-time Super Nationals champion — and 2023 winner Ronnie Choate lurked close. Disaster struck on the lap-14 restart when all three were collected in a crash, reshuffling the order.
On the next restart, Riley Clem and Austin Gray dueled fiercely for second, giving Freeburg room to check out up front. But Padilla used the final restart on lap 18 to surge into contention, then made his move with a criss-cross pass on lap 21. Once in front, Padilla checked out and cruised to the landmark win.
Freeburg held on for a career-best second-place finish in the Big Dance, with Gray taking third to match his best Super Nationals result, also earned in 2022. Clem charged from 18th to fourth, and four-time and reigning national champion Dillon Raffurty recovered from the earlier incident to complete the top five.
Rounding out the top 10 were two-time Mod Lites of Arkansas champion Bryce Vowan in sixth, Missourians Dylan Naeger and Justin Raffurty in seventh and eighth, 2025 IMCA TV Winter Nationals winner Josh May in ninth, and Ben George in tenth.
The race featured several big movers through the field, with three drivers advancing 15 positions apiece — Texans Kevin Carl and Scott Jordan, along with New Yorker Jacob Dupra.
Raffurty Rules Mod Lite Race of Champions
The Stealth Racing Race of Champions went 12 laps, with Blake Gonzales leading the first circuit. From there, four-time and reigning national champion Dillon Raffurty took control on lap two and dominated the distance to capture his third career Race of Champions victory.
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.