By Ben Deatherage
BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 9, 2026) — Adam Armstrong capitalized on last-lap drama to capture a wild outside-lane qualifier Wednesday, while Dylan Van Wyk held off two-time defending champion Jake Sachau in the middle-lane qualifier as Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod qualifying continued at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s.
The 25-lap middle-lane qualifier was completed Tuesday before weather halted the program. The outside-lane qualifier was pushed to Wednesday morning, with the top eight from each earning starting spots in Saturday’s Big Dance.
Kansas’ Austin Carter, grabbed the early lead in the outside-lane qualifier while Hunter Poston and Armstrong fought for second.
Armstrong, the 2019 Beatrice Speedway track champion and 2016 Harris Clash winner, secured the runner-up spot on lap six and quickly went after Carter. He worked his way ahead the following circuit, but a caution negated the pass and returned defending Kansas State champion Carter to the lead.
Armstrong again challenged when racing resumed, but Carter kept him at bay.
Cautions on laps 13 and 16 kept the field bunched before Brayton Carter began making his presence felt on the top side.
The defending National champion ripped around the high side and appeared to take the lead on lap 20, only to have another caution wipe out the pass.
Brayton Carter, who won the Harris Clash for the second time in his career earlier this season, went back to work on the restart, but the defending Kansas State champ maintained the advantage.
Another caution with two laps remaining was followed by one more yellow, setting up a green-white-checkered finish and a three-way shootout between the two Carters and Armstrong.
Brayton Carter used the high side to surge into the lead as the field raced toward the white flag, but he got too high in turn four and made contact with the wall.
Beatrice, Neb.’s Armstrong seized the opportunity, slipping underneath Brayton Carter and racing to the checkered flag for the victory after starting fourth. He will start on the pole of the outside lane on Saturday night.
Austin Carter won the race to the line for second, while 2017 National Rookie of the Year and three-time Dawson County Raceway track champion Jacob Olmstead of Nebraska finished third.
Brayton Carter advanced from ninth to finish fourth, followed by 2022 Illinois State and three-time Quincy Raceways track champion Adam Birck of Missouri, who climbed from 12th to fifth.
Two-time Harris Clash winner Cam Reimers charged from 18th to sixth, 2009 Karl Kustoms IMCA Modified Super Nationals champion Randy Havlik finished seventh, and Poston claimed the eighth and final transfer position.
Robby Rosselli, the three-time North Dakota State champion and two-time Tougher Than Dirt Tour champion, was the hard charger, rallying from an earlier spin and a 28th-place starting position to finish ninth, one spot shy of transferring.
Two-time defending Benton County Speedway track champion Kyle Olson led the opening circuit of the middle-lane qualifier before a red flag on the backstretch brought the field to a stop after one lap.
Van Wyk took advantage on the restart and moved into the lead.
The Oskaloosa, Iowa, driver, a two-time defending CJ Speedway track champion who also captured the 34 Raceway track title last season, began to establish himself out front.
Sachau methodically reeled in Van Wyk as the leaders worked through traffic. The two-time defending Super Nationals champion closed on the leader and began applying pressure before a caution with eight laps remaining set up a battle for the victory.
Van Wyk and Sachau traded sliders following the restart, but Van Wyk successfully answered each challenge and held on to score the qualifier victory after starting fifth, earning the pole position in the middle lane of Saturday’s Big Dance.
Sachau finished second, with Nebraska’s Jonathan Jensen third and early leader Kyle Olson fourth.
2012 South Dakota State champion Geoff Olson advanced from 11th to fifth, while defending Wisconsin State and two-time reigning 141 Speedway track champion Coy Vlies charged from 17th to sixth.
Five-time defending Illinois State and East Moline Speedway track champion Jarett Franzen was seventh, while Blake Andrews secured the eighth and final transfer position.
171 Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMods were on hand for the program.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Advantage Racing TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $25.99/month. And don’t miss Season 3 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
Beatrice, Neb.’s Adam Armstrong celebrates in the NAPA Fan Zone after winning the outside-lane Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern SportMod qualifier during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s at Boone Speedway on Sept. 9. Armstrong started fourth and made the winning move on the final lap to earn the pole position in the outside lane of Saturday’s Big Dance. (Photo by Byron Fichter Fotography)