McBirnie Takes Home $1,000 on Eve of Destruction Friday Night at Boone

Featured, Hobby Stock, Northern SportMod, Results, Stock Car

Jake McBirnie celebrates in victory lane after winning the Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature on July 4 at Boone Speedway during the Eve of Destruction special. (Photo by Bruce Badgley-Motorsports Photography)

By Coty Mallicoat

BOONE, Iowa (Jul. 4, 2025) —  The Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars took center stage at Boone Speedway on Independence Day and Boone’s own Jake McBirnie continued his dominant form from the previous weekend. McBirnie, who doubled up on feature wins the week before, worked the high side to perfection and passed Jimmy Gustin for the lead.

From there, he began to check out, but Gustin didn’t go quietly. In the final two circuits, Gustin reeled McBirnie back in but couldn’t make the move. McBirnie held on to score the win and the $1,000 payday, his third win this year in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region. Gustin finished second, followed by Kevin Opheim.

Sachau Capitalizes Late to Win SportMod Feature

The Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods were the first division on track for their main event. Rookie Mike Smith jumped to the early race lead from the front row. Smith, already the Hawkeye Challenge overall champion, looked poised to grab the win after leading most of the race. But with just a few laps remaining, mechanical issues forced Smith to the pits while leading.

That handed the lead to 2023 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s champion Jake Sachau, who went unchallenged to the twin checkers. The win was Sachau’s sixth of the 2025 season and his first of the year at “Iowa’s Action Track.” He was followed by Willy Kirk in second and Gage Hilgenberg in third.

Wollenhaupt Breaks Through With First Career Hobby Stock Win

The Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks closed out the program and “Topless” Joe Doran led from the drop of the green flag, but the race was slowed by a series of caution flags. With five laps to go, race control declared single-file restarts for the remainder of the feature. That’s when Joe Wollenhaupt of Neola, made his move around Doran and pulled away from the field.

Minnesota’s Brandon Bombardo moved into second but couldn’t challenge the leader. Wollenhaupt claimed his first career IMCA Hobby Stock win in the B&B Racing Chassis Northern Region in front of a capacity crowd. Bombardo and Ben Newhouse rounded out the podium.

The entire night of racing was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Replay every lap with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available now for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

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