Newswire

Field set for Harris Auto Racing Race of Champions

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 8) – Two-time winner Dustin Smith heads the list of qualifiers for Saturday’s Harris Auto Racing Race of Champions. Smith, from Lake City and the 2013 and 2015 race winner, is one of a dozen Modified drivers who topped Friday heats and will advance to the final day show at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. First-time qualifiers are Vern Jackson of Waterloo, Josh Ruby of Lakota, Anthony Roth of Columbus, Neb., Johnny Scott of Cameron, Mo., Kyle Strickler of Mooresville, N.C., and Bob Moore of Sioux City. Mike Van Genderen of Newton, Joel Rust of Grundy Center and Mike Jergens of Plover are all second time qualifiers. Ryan McDaniel of Olivehurst, Calif., qualifier for the third time and Todd Shute of Des Moines makes his career sixth Harris RoC start. * William Gould of Calera, Okla., starts on the pole for tonight’s Fast Shafts All-Star Modified Invitational, with Clay Money of Penokee, Kan., and Dean Abbey of Roanoke, Texas, completing the front row. Will Ward of Cobleskill, N.Y., [Read More]

Inman races from flat to first

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 7) – It’s been a few years, but Todd Inman proved he could wheel his way to victory lane at Boone Speedway and the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. Inman, from Ankeny, restarted at the back of the field after cutting a tire on the first lap of Thursday’s first Stock Car qualifying feature. He steadily worked his way toward the front and into the top three during a long green flag run, took over the second spot following a lap 17 restart, then got the lead with two laps to go. “It’s been a long time since I’ve qualified,” said Inman, who resumed racing late last season and has made a handful of starts this year in a car owned by cousin Chris Palmer. “It feels awesome.” Inman made the Stock Car main event one time previously, in 2005. He’s also made three Late Model and a pair of Modified shows. Marcus Fagan of Adair ended in second and Jerry Schipper of Dike was third. Defending Modified champion [Read More]

Gustin, Dripps are super in Thursday Modified qualifiers

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 7) – Two Modified drivers who definitely know their way around Boone Speedway won IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s qualifying features Thursday night. 2010 champion Jimmy Gustin of Marshalltown led all 25 times around the track in the first qualifier, which ran green to checkers after a caution on the initial start. Reinbeck’s Corey Dripps caught Jonathan Snyder for the lead on lap 17 in the nightcap, then held off Kelly Shryock of Fertile following a late restart to win by less than a car length. Ryan Ruter of Clear Lake and Josh Most of Red Oak settled into second and third early on behind Gustin, who put three lapped cars ahead of his closest pursuit. Paul Stone of Winton, Calif., ran fourth most of the way and finished in the final qualifying spot. “It’s pretty awesome,” Gustin said after punching his ticket to the Saturday night championship event for the 11th time. “I got lucky, got a jump, stayed in the right part of the track and got [Read More]

Deery Series checkers give Cooney his career third Super Nationals crown

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 7) – Todd Cooney’s fortunes turned around again Thursday night, at a race track that hasn’t always treated him well. Cooney led all 50 laps of the Deery Brothers Summer Series main event at Boone Speedway, earning $3,110 along with his career third IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Late Model championship. “Tonight was unbelievable. We had a yellow with about 20 to go and I looked up at the leader board and thought I had a shot,” said Cooney, also the winner of 2006 and 2008 crowns. “The first (championship) is still the best because I’d never run well at Boone. That was a dream come true. The second and third ones were sweet, too.” Cooney had been in the hunt at Boone two years ago before dropping out with mechanical issues with a dozen laps to go. Jeff Aikey then prevailed in an epic battle with Justin Kay and Richie Gustin. Gustin was in the running again this year after winning his ‘B’ feature and starting 14th. He [Read More]

Friday Schedule of Events

DRIVERS MEETING – 1 pm TRACK PREP FIRST RACE – 2 pm MODIFIED ALL-STAR HOT LAPS 8 – MODIFIED HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP 10 – MODIFIED HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP (Thursday Modified Top 8 Qualifiers to Fan Zone) 10 – MODIFIED HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP(Thursday Stock Car Top 8 Qualifiers to Fan Zone) 12 – MODIFIED ROC HEATS (6 laps) TRACK PREP (Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational drivers to Fan Zone) 10 – STOCK CAR HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP (Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational Autograph Session in Fan Zone) 10 – STOCK CAR HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP 5 – STOCK CAR ROC HEATS (8 laps) TRACK PREP MODIFIED ALL STAR INVITATIONAL “A” (30 laps) TRACK PREP 2 – STOCK CAR B’s (8 laps) STOCK CAR “A1” (25 laps) STOCK CAR “A2” (25 laps) TRACK PREP 2 – STOCK CAR B’s (8 laps) MODIFIED “A1” (25 laps) MODIFIED “A2” (25 laps) 7 – MODIFIED B’s (8 laps)

Weekly tracks represented

Drivers who support their weekly track(s) are well represented in starting fields for both Hobby Stock and Northern SportMod main events. The same goes for Wednesday night qualifiers for both the Modified and Stock Car main events. Hobby Stock drivers had a combined 759 starts, the Northern SportMod drivers 749. Totals for first-night Modified and Stock Car qualifiers were 202 and 205, respectively. “The weekly racer has always been and will always been the focus of this organization,” IMCA President Brett Root said. “It’s appropriate that they are recognized at our biggest event.” * Mike Nichols is just as good at winning at Rochambeau as he is at parking his Stock Car in victory lane. Nichols prevailed in the second rock, paper, scissors session to earn the pole start in Saturday’s main event. Lining up second through eighth on the inside row will be Cayden Carter, Dustin Larson, Travis Barker, Donavon Smith, Justin Temeyer, Damon Murty and Brandon Czarapata.

Eric Tomlinson

Eric Tomlinson will look to regain the momentum be brought from Texas to Super Nationals when Modified qualifying resumes tonight. The Waco hotshoe capped off his run to the Heart O’ Texas track title with the win on championship night at his hometown track. “We let a good race get away (on Wednesday) when we pulled off after half a lap after starting outside front row,” he said. “But we have more chances.” Tomlinson won three times at HO’T, racing with the likes of long-time friend Kevin Green and former national champion William Gould, and topped three of his four starts at Cotton Bowl Speedway. He’s raced a Modified since 2009 and won a “B” feature in his first visit to Boone last year. “I like the atmosphere and the people here. This is truly a racing vacation,” he said. “Ideally, we want to win Super Nationals. We don’t go anywhere to run second, but making the show here is an impressive feat in its own.”

Ashley Schaaf

Ashley Schaaf made her Modified debut at Super Nationals in 2015. She’s been learning and getting faster ever since. From Lincoln, Neb., and a Beatrice Speedway regular, Schaaf is doubling as driver and crew until her father Dennis gets to Boone on Friday. “Super Nationals has been a good learning experience for me. There are no slow cars here. It’s awesome to race with them,” said Schaaf. “My idols are now my rivals. Hopefully I’ll be able to run up front with them some day.” She lists grandfather Dennis Schaaf (who also raced in the no. 95), Jimmy Gustin, Mark Noble and Kelly Shryock among her favorite drivers. Schaaf has battled handling issues over 30-odd starts in her 2009 TRE Chassis this season. When she’s at the track by herself – Schaaf, incidentally, travels to weekly shows and specials in Nebraska and adjoining states with an open trailer – she’ll ask fellow drivers for advice or make a call home or to a friend in North Carolina who is crew chief for a Late Model [Read More]

Nick Meyer

To borrow from the intro to Wide World of Sports, Nick Meyer’s season has ranged from the agony of two wrecked race cars to the thrill of qualifying for the Super Nationals Modified main event. In just his 16th night in the car he bought midway through the year, Meyer ran second to veteran Ricky Stephan in Wednesday’s first qualifying feature at Boone Speedway. “We met and exceeded all our goals and it was only he first day of qualifying,” said the Whittemore driver, now hoping to raise the bar again for the big show on Saturday. “I never expected to qualify into the ‘A’ feature, especially on the first night.” “The way this car sets up, it does what we always tried to get the SportMod to do,” he added. “I feel more confident driving this car than I ever did driving a SportMod.” Meyer cut a swath through his Northern SportMod competition but two wrecks over the course of just four days forced him to decide between buying another SportMod or making the [Read More]

Deery Series headlines Thursday Super Nationals schedule

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 7) – Cayden Carter looks to make history on Thursday, night four of the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, while Jeff Aikey looks to add to his legacy. The Deery Brothers Summer Series headlines the program at Boone Speedway this evening. Already qualified for Modified and Stock Car main events, Carter looks to qualify for a third championship event by making the Late Model grid. Aikey, meanwhile, aims to run his record string of Late Model championships to five and career total to seven. Qualifying continues for both Modifieds and Stock Cars, with the top four finishers in each of two features for the two divisions advancing to the middle row of their respective Saturday championship events.