Feature Archives

Brandon Nielsen of Spencer, celebrates in victory lane after winning the Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stock Qualifier 3 on Sept. 2 during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s at Boone Speedway. (Photo by Byron Fichter Fotography)

Van Der Wilt and Nielsen Capture Tuesday Hobby Stock Qualifiers at Super Nationals

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 2, 2025) — Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks ran two 25-lap qualifiers Tuesday night at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, with the top eight finishers from each race advancing to Saturday’s Big Dance at Boone Speedway. Corey Van Der Wilt dominated Qualifier 2, which set the middle row, while Brandon Nielsen prevailed in a thriller to win Qualifier 3, which set the outside row. In Qualifier 2, Van Der Wilt who hails from Lynnville, the 2023 Marshalltown Speedway champion, set the tone early and survived cautions on laps four, 12, and 20. Each time, he checked out on the restart and controlled the pace, cruising to a flag-to-flag win. Austin Jahnz charged forward from 12th to finish second, with Dustin Filloon third. Dylan Bell crossed in fourth, followed by 2024 IMCA TV Winter Nationals champion Cody Williams. Hunter Ferrell, the 2023 New Mexico State champion, stormed through the field from 27th to sixth. Two-time South Dakota State champion Joel Magee made a 19th-to-seventh run, and Mitchell McNeill [Read More]

Heckart and Bannister Capture Monday SportMod Super Nationals Qualifiers

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 1, 2025) — Tyler Heckart captured Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod Qualifier 1 on Monday night at Boone Speedway during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The 25-lap feature locked eight drivers into the inside row of Saturday’s Big Dance. Michael Johnson, a 2019 Bakersfield Speedway champion originally from California and now living in Minnesota, and Kamdyn Haggard battled hard on the opening lap before Johnson claimed the lead on lap three. Hunter Poston slipped past Johnson the next time around, but Johnson clawed back to the front on the sixth circuit. By lap 10, North Dakota’s Nathan Speten, the 2024 IMCA TV Winter Nationals champion, had reeled in the leaders and powered to the point, appearing to be the man to beat. Speten’s charge ended with heartbreak when he stalled during a lap-13 caution, handing Poston the top spot once again. Two-time Beatrice Speedway champion Tyler Nerud took advantage on the next restart, only to suffer mechanical issues that ended his night. Johnson momentarily led again [Read More]

Sobbing Scores First Career Super Nationals Crown in Late Models

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 1, 2025) — The Sunoco IMCA Late Models took center stage Monday night at Boone Speedway with a 50-lap Big Dance during the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. When the checkers flew, Malvern’s Jesse Sobbing parked the Shane Hoeft-owned no. 99 in victory lane for his first career Super Nationals title. The opening laps saw Zach Zeitner, the reigning Crawford County and Shelby County Speedway champion, and Jesse Bodin battle hard for control, with Bodin briefly edging ahead on lap two. Sobbing, a two-time Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod National champion, powered into the lead on lap five. Zeitner stayed close, taking several looks on the inside before cautions on laps seven and 17 slowed the field. C.J. Horn, the 2023 34 Raceway track champion, joined the fight, but once the race strung out, Sobbing pulled away. A lap-26 restart gave Zeitner another shot at the top spot, but Sobbing held firm and stretched the advantage again. Cody Thompson, driving the Wayne Becker and Billy Rogers-owned no. [Read More]

Padilla Finally Breaks Through in Super Nationals Mod Lite Big Dance

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 1, 2025) — The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites hosted the first Big Dance of the 2025 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s with a 30-lap feature at Boone Speedway, made up after rain washed out Sunday night’s program. Illinois’ Jon Padilla, a two-time Illinois State and Corn Belt Clash champion, finally broke through for his first career Super Nationals crown after finishing runner-up the last three years. Brandon Freeburg of Illinois led the opening circuits before cautions at laps eight and 14 slowed the pace. New York’s Joe Isabell pressured hard, while fellow contenders Dillon Raffurty — a two-time Super Nationals champion — and 2023 winner Ronnie Choate lurked close. Disaster struck on the lap-14 restart when all three were collected in a crash, reshuffling the order. On the next restart, Riley Clem and Austin Gray dueled fiercely for second, giving Freeburg room to check out up front. But Padilla used the final restart on lap 18 to surge into contention, then made his move with [Read More]

Super Nationals Mod Lite Qualifier Goes to Choate Before Rain Washes Out Night

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 31, 2025) — The Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites brought another strong field to Boone Speedway for Qualifier 3 at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. It was the last chance to qualify, with 25 laps on the line and the top 10 finishers securing spots in the outside row of the Big Dance. Kaden Cochran took the lead on lap one in the Cory Sonner-owned no. 47X. Cochran, originally from California and now based in Missouri, paced the field while 2023 Super Nationals winner Ronnie Choate of Tennessee and 2025 track champion Austin Gray began reeling him in. Their battle for position let Cochran briefly pull away until Choate used the inside lane to grab the lead on lap nine. Once the leaders hit lapped traffic, Choate slipped away and built a commanding advantage before a lap-18 caution slowed the field. Choate, who started fifth and hails from Cookeville, Tennessee, was strong on the restart and again after a late caution set up a green-white-checkered [Read More]

Ward and Mills Modified Wins at Boone’s Double Down Prelude

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 30, 2025) — A total of 157 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified drivers were on hand at Boone Speedway for the NAPA Auto Parts Double Down Prelude, where Tim Ward and Jeremy Mills picked up feature wins. In the first 25-lapper, Jimmy Gustin and Jeff Larson went toe-to-toe early, swapping sliders until Ward charged forward from 12th. The 2023 Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s champion seized command on lap 13, and after multiple cautions, he checked out to record his fifth straight Prelude win. It was Ward’s second Razor Chassis North Central Region triumph this season, both coming at Boone. Larson, the 2021 National champion, ran second in the P.J. Kostenbader-owned no. B1, Gustin finished third, Brandon Schmitt was fourth in the Jack Jones-provided no. 20, and Joel Rust charged from 28th to fifth. The second feature belonged to Mills, Boone’s 2025 track champion. Mills set the early pace, then survived traffic and a late charge from 2022 Super Nationals winner Cody Laney to claim his seventh win [Read More]

Barber, Freeburg Win Boone Mod Lite Super Nationals Qualifiers in Photo Finishes

By Ben Deatherage BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 30, 2025) — A massive 87-car field of Stealth Racing IMCA STARS Mod Lites kicked off qualifying at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Saturday night at Boone Speedway featured two 25-lap qualifiers to set the inside and middle rows of Sunday’s Big Dance. Nevada, Iowa’s Garrett Barber and Metamora, Illinois native Brandon Freeburg came out on top to lock themselves into the front of the grid, with the top 10 finishers from each qualifier advancing. In Qualifier 1, Jaxon Carr jumped to the early lead in the Mike Kennedy-owned no. 55. Carr and Dan Keltner pulled away before Arkansas’ Blake Wilson — the 2023 Arkansas State champion and 2024 Mod Lite of Arkansas Series champion — challenged on a restart, only for his move to be negated by caution. Keltner then took charge on lap eight and began to pull away. The race was slowed by multiple yellows, including two red flags. As the laps wound down, Carr reeled Keltner back in, setting up a late [Read More]

Prelude, Super Nationals start times adjusted

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 29, 2025) – Due to the increased number of early registrations, officials have elected to move up the daily start times for the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. The change will be in effect for all eight days of Super Nationals, including this weekend’s NAPA Auto Parts Prelude to the Super Nationals. All times that were previously published will now be moved up one hour. This includes ticket gate, pit gate, registration/check-in and start times. All event times have been updated on each day’s schedule listing on the MyRacePass app under IMCA Super Nationals.

Braaksma Repeats in Rage 40 at Fayette County

By Ben Deatherage WEST UNION, Iowa (Aug. 23, 2025) — Ethan Braaksma of Newton topped the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified Rage 40 at Fayette County Speedway, pocketing $2,000 for his second straight win in the 40-lap special. The defending race winner added to an already impressive season with his 12th victory of 2025, 10 of them in the Razor Chassis North Central Region. Ryan Maitland jumped to the lead at the drop of the green and paced the opening circuits until a lap-seven caution bunched the field. On the restart, Spencer Diercks powered around the high side to take over on lap eight, while Braaksma worked his way into second by lap 12 aboard the Danny Meier and Trent Guest-owned no. 111. By lap 15, Braaksma was reeling in Diercks, and one lap later he used the top groove to take command. Lapped traffic came into play on lap 19, but Braaksma had no trouble slicing through before another yellow slowed the pace. On the restart, the two-time defending Dakota Tour and reigning IMCA TV Winnter [Read More]

1,156 pre-entries a new Super Nationals record

BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 29, 2025) – If pre-registration trends are any indication, the 43rd annual Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s may be one for the record book. It actually already is. By the time pre-registration closed Thursday night at midnight, an impressive 1,156 drivers from 33 states, Canada and Australia reserved their place to compete on IMCA Racing’s biggest stage at Boone Speedway Aug. 30-Sept. 6. This year’s pre-entry numbers bested last year’s then-record 1,061 early registrations by nearly 100 drivers. Leading registration numbers were the Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, which established a new pre-entry best 302 drivers for the Class Too Tough To Tame. Other new highs were set in the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods with 203 pre-entries, Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks with 185 and Stealth Racing STARS IMCA Mod Lites with 93. Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds narrowly missed a pre-entry record, with 254 entering early. Their pre-entry best was 263 in 2022. Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact pre-entries totaled 95, one shy of that division record, which was set in 2023. Sunoco [Read More]