Feature Archives

Chad Wernette

Sheridan’s Chad Wernette is part of another stout group of Modified drivers making the trip from Michigan for Super Nationals. He’s traveled to Boone every year since 2009 with car owner and cousin Brian Ritz and brother-in-law and crewman Mike Bohn. Their racing vacation is an opportunity to renew old friendships, catch up with what’s new on manufacturers’ row and get faster. “Making the main event would be an accomplishment. It’s what we’ve been working for,” said Wernette, who wheeled a new Rage car at Tri-City and Crystal after getting a late start to his season. “We haven’t gotten any wins yet this year but we’ve been close. We’re getting this car figured out.” Wernette raced at the Saturday Prelude. He’ll start on the pole in the 11th heat tonight. The no. 615 team heads home this weekend – they’ve got to be at work Monday morning – and put the wraps on 2017 at Crystal’s season-ending special. “We’ll end the season at the Great Lakes Nationals,” Wernette said. “Hopefully we’ll end on a $3,000 [Read More]

Rik Gropp

Rik Gropp of Lincoln, Neb., first raced at Super Nationals in 1988. He’s qualified for the Modified main event once, finishing seventh in 2003, and didn’t miss a trip to Boone from 1990 through 2011. “At my age, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be racing. I figured it was time to come back,” said Gropp, 59. “When you get older, you quit doing things like this. It was time to come back.” Most of his crew has been to Super Nationals as spectators and this will be the first time they’ve wrenched at America’s Racin’ Vacation. Gropp competes weekly at Eagle Raceway so they come well prepared for whatever Super Nationals throws at them. “We have a fast car,” said Gropp, who stayed in the points chase at Eagle until late in the season. “The competition there is pretty tough.” Now nicknamed Racing Relic, Gropp got his start in the sport in 1978 and has been in a Modified since 1988. Vermeer High Plains is his sole sponsor and car owner and he’s [Read More]

Modified, Stock Car qualifying begins at Boone

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 6) – Twenty Stock Car heats and 30 Modified heats set the stage for a pair of qualifying features in both divisions Wednesday at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. What’s ultimately at stake this evening at Boone Speedway are the front eight starting spots on the inside row of championship events Saturday. Defending champion Elijah Zevenbergen starts on the pole of the 17th Stock Car heat while 2016 champion Ricky Thornton Jr. starts last in the 23 Modified heat. Last-chance features decide the last six qualifiers for both Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod main events on Saturday.

Fett advances to front row start

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 5) – Another Algona driver will start on the front row in Saturday’s IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Northern SportMod main event. Colby Fett was promoted to the top spot in the second of two Tuesday night 25-lap qualifying features at Boone Speedway after Jake McBirnie failed post-race rear suspension inspection. Lining up behind Fett on the outside row will be Cory Rose of Boone, Dakota Sproul of Ellis, Kan., Shawn Harker of Nebraska City, Neb., Taylor Musselman of Urbandale, Rusty Montagne of North Sioux City, S.D., Gunnar Pike of South Bend, Neb., and Andrew Inman of Mason City. Cory started 18th, Pike 22nd. Inman advanced to the final transfer spot after Austin Svoboda was disqualified, also for failing rear suspension inspection. Fett had passed Sproul for the front spot on lap 16; McBirnie made his own pass for the lead on the white flag circuit and beat Fett to the checkers by half a car length. Rose and Harker both qualified for the third time in their respective [Read More]

Final front row spot goes to Irvine

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 5) – Benji Irvine will start his career fifth IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals Hobby Stock championship night start from the outside of the front row Saturday night. Irvine, from Oelwein, advanced to the outside pole position after Dustin Gulbrandson failed crate engine inspection following Tuesday’s qualifying feature. Avoca’s Corey Madden, another Super Nationals veteran, will make his seventh Saturday night start and line up behind Irvine. Also lining up on the outside row will be Jeff Ware of Columbus, Neb., Dustin Lynch of Boone, Shawn Slezak of Milligan, Neb., 24th starting Jamie Songer of Ankeny, 25th starting Tory Harazin of Redwood Falls, Minn., and Bryce Sommerfeld of Fort Dodge. Sommerfeld moved up a spot and into the show when Adam Armstrong was disqualified for illegal valve springs. Slezak and Songer are now four-time Super Nationals qualifiers. Ware and Lynch are in for the second time, Harazin and Sommerfeld both for the first. Feature results – 1. Benji Irvine, Oelwein; 2. Corey Madden, Avoca; 3. Jeff Ware, Columbus, Neb.; 4. Dustin Lynch, [Read More]

Dream comes true for qualifying feature winner Efkamp

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 5) – When Brian Efkamp takes the green flag for the final time in his racing career Saturday night, he’ll do so from the middle of the front row of the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s championship race for Northern SportMods. Efkamp, from Ankeny, won the first of two qualifying features during the Tuesday evening program at Boone Speedway. He had started sixth, took over the front spot when leader Justin Addison got into the back stretch wall, then held onto the point through a series of cautions that slowed the 25-lapper. Tyler Soppe of Sherrill and Tony Olson of Cedar Rapids headed the pursuit but had to settle for second and third, respectively. “I can’t believe it. This is just a dream come true,” Efkamp said during the post-race interview, admitting that his thoughts turned to family during caution periods and adding that winning the final race of his career on Saturday would be another dream come true. Efkamp was IMCA’s national Stock Car champion in 1989. He’ll [Read More]

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]