Feature Archives

There’s no keeping up with Jones in race for Super Nationals Sport Compact crown

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 5) – After failing to qualify for the main event in his first IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s outing last September, Devin Jones returned to Boone Speedway with a chip on his shoulder. He went home with the championship trophy and a check for $250. “It’s almost unreal,” said Jones, who passed long-time leader Barry Taft on the backstretch with two circuits left in the 25-lapper and then led to the Tuesday night checkers. “It took me a while to find the right line but once I did, that’s where I was going.” Taft had started outside the third row, eked ahead briefly following an early restart and passed Mitchell Bielenberg for good just before midway. The 10th starting Jones was up to third by lap 15 and found himself running second when the 16th lap was scored. It was a two-car race for the crown with five laps left. “I kind of followed him for a bit before I thought ‘This was the lap,’” Jones said. “I passed [Read More]

Brandon Esparza

Phoenix, Ariz., driver Brandon Esparza makes more than his Super Nationals debut during Tuesday’s Sport Compact program at Boone. He’ll be racing for the first time in any class. Buddy and IMCA Modified driver John Parmeley built the car for Esparza, who was on the crew that came to Super Nationals last year. “I told him I was jealous and wanted to race, too,” Esparza said. “John built this car a couple months ago and when we picked it up I was thinking it was for someone else. Then John told me it was mine for Boone.” He’d practiced at ET Motorsports Park in his home state before getting in Sunday and Monday hot laps at Boone. “This is an inexpensive class to get started in. It’s been a fun experience,” said Esparza, particularly encouraged by his second hot lap outing. “I realize I’m a long shot but I want to have fun.” He’s already given thought to selling this car and applying the proceeds to an IMCA Hobby Stock next season.

Sport Compact champion crowned tonight

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 5) – The first champion of the 35th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s will be crowned this evening, as Sport Compacts take the Tuesday stage at Boone Speedway. A pair of qualifying features for Northern SportMods determine the front eight cars in both the middle and outside rows of Saturday’s championship night starting grid. A single qualifier for the Hobby Stocks sets the first eight cars on the outside row of the big show on Saturday. In addition to the Sport Compact program, heats, qualifying features and “B races for Hobby Stocks and Northern SportMods, hot laps are on the schedule for Modifieds and Stock Cars. Qualifying for both Mods and Stocks begins Wednesday. * The wrap on the opening night program at Super Nationals: 59 races totaling 515 laps were completed at 10:30 p.m.

Cook leads the way to Northern SportMod qualifying checkers

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 4) – At the end of 25 laps and seven lead changes, Doug Cook had a qualifying feature win and a pole position start on championship night to show for his Monday efforts at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Cook, from Algona, got the best of Mason City’s Nate Whitehurst in a back-and-forth Northern SportMod battle at Boone Speedway. Pole starter Matt Looft of Swea City was scored first through the first eight laps before Cook and Whitehurst swapped the lead each of the next five times around the oval. Whitehurst had the edge by a bumper at the end of lap 19 but Cook’s advantage was the same small distance on lap 20. He edged ahead from that point to get the win and coveted inside row one starting spot for Saturday’s main event. Lining up behind Cook and Whitehurst in that race will be fellow top eight finishers Brett Myer of Lytton, Lance Borgman of Beatrice, Neb., Doug Smith of Lanesboro, Mark Leiting of Lincoln, Neb., [Read More]

Restart keys Ballard’s qualifying feature win

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 4) – Nathan Ballard took advantage of a mid-race restart in winning the second of two Hobby Stock qualifying features on Monday, opening night of the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Ballard passed Jeff Anderson on the 13th of 25 circuits. The race ran caution-free the rest of the way and Ballard was able to get a bit of breathing room before taking the checkers ahead of Anderson, who had won a pair of Super Nationals titles at Boone Speedway during his storied Stock Car career. “This has to be one of my biggest career wins,” said Ballard, acknowledging both Anderson and his son Shannon, who was runner-up in the evening’s first qualifying feature. “We’ve had a heck of a car all year and it was my kind of track tonight.” The top eight finishers advance to the middle row of Saturday’s main event. Ballard, from Marengo, and Anderson, from Atlantic, were chased across the stripe by Cody Nielsen of Spencer, Chanse Hollatz of Clear Lake, Chad Lonneman of [Read More]

Olson scores another pole start with second win at Super Nationals

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 4) – Matt Olson led all 25 laps of the first Hobby Stock qualifying feature Monday at Boone Speedway. As a result, he’ll start on the pole for a second race on championship night Saturday at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Olson, the pride of Franklin, Minn., ran ahead of Eric Stanton past midway, before three-time Super Nationals champion Shannon Anderson took over the runner-up spot. Anderson, from Des Moines, had made his way up from 13th starting and while he got close, he was never able to get to the front. “I was just thinking don’t miss my marks and stay calm,” Olson said during post-race tech. “Starting on the pole for both the race of champions and the feature is something I never dreamed of doing.” Lining up behind Olson and Anderson on the inside row of Saturday’s main event will be Stanton, from Carlisle, Aaron Rudolph of Grand Junction, Eric Cross of Salina, Kan., 19th starting Brandon Nielsen of Spencer, 25th starting Sal Hernandez of [Read More]

Veteran Brothers

Brothers Malik and Keeran Sampson are both Super Nationals veterans, Malik as a driver, Keeran as a spectator. This year, both Worthington, Minn., hotshoes are running for starting spots in Saturday’s big Hobby Stock dance. Malik has qualified for the main event in three of his four previous trips to Boone, with a career best finish of seventh last year. “I like the atmosphere here. Super Nationals is fun and it’s challenging. I start to get nervous about three weeks beforehand,” he said. “This year I asked Keeran why he didn’t bring his car along. He was going to be buying a pit pass, anyway.” “I ran hot laps yesterday,” said Keeran, acknowledging that Boone was a different track than what he was used to. “Any time you go up against this many cars you never know what’s going to happen but I’m looking forward to racing here.” He also wouldn’t mind matching the accomplishment of neighbor to the south Elijah Zevenbergen and win a Super Nationals championship in his first competitive visit to Boone.

Martin gets job done, takes title at IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Nationals

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (Sept. 3) – Jason Martin has had a restless night or two following previous IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Nationals. He’ll have sweet dreams about the 2017 event. Martin led all but the first two laps in winning the fifth annual Sprint Nationals Sunday at Eagle Raceway. The victory came along with a $2,500 check. “I’ll tell you what, a lot of people say that the track owes you because you’ve been there in situations like this and something happens, but I don’t think that Eagle Raceway owes me anything,” said Martin, who had been knocked out of the lead at earlier Nationals by a flat tire or mechanical problems. “I just keep coming back and doing the best that I can. We did the exact same thing that we’ve done the last three or four years and finally got the job done.” 2015 champion John Carney ran second to Martin in their Friday qualifier and again in the big show. Jake Ita Memorial winner Kevin Ramey, 12th starting Jake Bubak and [Read More]

Long tow from NY

Long tow Allison Pierce made the 970-mile trip from Corning, N.Y., to make her Super Nationals debut during the Labor Day program. A rookie in the sanctioned Hobby Stock division, she brought 11 years of racing experience into the IMCA class, in go-karts, front wheel drives and street stocks. “We decided to come to Super Nationals at the beginning of the year. My dad came out with Brad Smith last year and they had a lot of fun,” Pierce said. “This is a pretty cool place. We went out for practice Sunday and loved the track.” She likes both the economics and competitiveness of the division. Pierce works at a sheet metal shop and does much of the work on her car. “My dad came with me this year. He raced a street stock from 1994-2001 and he’s helped me the whole time I’ve raced,” Pierce said. “He’s been right there and given me pointers.”

Green flag flies for Super Nationals XXXV

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 4) – Hot laps are underway on the first day of the 35th annual IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The Labor Day program at Boone Speedway begins with qualifying heats for the Stephenville Starter Race of Champions for the Hobby Stocks and BSB Manufacturing Race of Champions for Northern SportMods. Qualifiers for both RoC’s will head to the fan zone to determine where they’ll start in their respective Saturday event. The starting fields for two 25-lap qualifying features will be determined by 14 Hobby Stock heats. Twenty heats and the final 25-lap qualifier of the night are on tap for the Northern SportMods. “B” races for the Hobbies, a “B” qualifier and “C” races for the SportMods, and Modified, Sport Compact and Stock Car hot laps complete the card. *** Top two finishers in each of the five Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod race of champions heats advanced to Saturday shows. Three former race winners are in the Hobby Stock RoC. Lining up from first through 10th [Read More]