Smith Charges From 30th to SportMod Victory at Boone

Feature, Hobby Stock, Mod Lite, Modified, News, Northern SportMod, Stock Car

Lake City, Iowa’s Mike Smith celebrates his Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod victory Aug. 22 at Boone Speedway after accepting a back-row challenge and racing from 30th to first. The win was his 14th of the 2026 season and fifth at Boone. (Photo by Icon Images Photography)

By Jane Burd

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 22, 2026) — Mike Smith turned a back-row challenge into a trip to victory lane Saturday night at Boone Speedway, charging from 30th starting to win the 20-lap Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod feature.

Smith, from Lake City, was originally scheduled to start on the pole but accepted a back-row challenge offered by Johnathon Logue and instead lined up last in the 30-car field.

Randy Havlik appeared headed for victory lane before Smith completed his charge through the field and powered past him for the lead on lap 18. Smith stayed in front the rest of the way for his 14th victory of the season and fifth at Boone Speedway.

Havlik settled for second, Dusty Masolini was third, and Will Wolf advanced 10 positions to finish fourth. Gage Hilgenberg rounded out the top five.

Will Smith Wins Hobby Stock Battle

Will Smith and Corey VanDerwilt battled throughout the 20-lap Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock feature, with lapped traffic adding another element to their fight for the lead.

Smith, also from Lake City, ultimately prevailed when the checkered flag flew, earning his 13th B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region victory of 2026. Six of those wins have come at Boone Speedway.

VanDerwilt finished second, Braden Gifford was third, Eric Knutson took fourth, and Joey Young completed the top five.

May Makes Lap 15 Move for Fifth Boone Victory

Bryan Zehm paced the early stages of the Stealth Racing IMCA Mod Lite feature before Josh May made his move to the front.

May, from Des Moines, took command on lap 15 and remained there through the checkered flag, collecting his eighth victory of the current campaign and fifth at Boone Speedway.

Zehm finished second and Austin Gray was third. Landon Elliott advanced five positions to finish fourth, with Colby Oberembt rounding out the top five.

Sauerman Holds Off Pressure for First Modified Win of 2026

Cory Sauerman led all 25 laps of the IMCA Modified feature but had plenty of pressure behind him throughout the event.

The Johnston driver remained in command while Jake McBirnie, Todd Shute and Jeremy Mills exchanged positions in the battle behind him. Several cautions gave the field opportunities to challenge Sauerman, but he remained strong on each restart and took the checkered flag for his first Razor Chassis North Central Region victory of the season.

McBirnie finished second, Mills was third, Shute took fourth, and Chase Weimer completed the top five.

David Smith Goes Flag-to-Flag in Stock Car Feature

David Smith completed a big night for the Smith family by leading all 25 circuits of the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature.

The Lake City driver faced pressure from Jimmy Gustin and Josh Daniels but never relinquished the top spot, taking the checkered flag for his fourth EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region victory of 2026 and third at Boone Speedway.

Daniels finished second, Gustin was third, Hunter Smith took fourth, and Blake Lehman rounded out the top five.

The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

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