BOONE, Iowa – Jake McBirnie traveled to the sunny Southwest in February, looking forward to warm weather, having fun and doing a little racing.
He did all that and then some, kicking off a successful 2019 Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod campaign with the Arizona Tour title.
“Having success down there was great,” said McBirnie, who won three of the seven tour features. “The car was super fast.”
Those checkers came at Arizona Speedway, Central Arizona Speedway and in the finale at USA Raceway. McBirnie tied with Brady Bjella in the points race and got the title nod on the basis of those three victories.
“Our first win was on the second night of the tour. We changed stuff around and got better, and made a last-lap pass for the win,” he said. “The win at Casa Grande was big, then the next night we got caught up in a wreck at Canyon and still ended up sixth. We won the last race at Tucson and won the tour.”
He’d return home to win hometown Boone Speedway and Marshalltown Speedway track titles, as well as the E3 Spark Plugs Iowa State championship.
McBirnie ended his final season in the class with 16 feature wins. His resume will show 51 for his career when he moves up to the IMCA Modified class in 2020.
“We won the Hogan Memorial, hit a lot of big specials and did well. This is a super fun class and I like it a lot, but it’s time for a change,” he said. “I want to get better and feel I’m ready to make the move to the Modified.”
Starts 55 Wins 16 Additional Top Five’s 22
HIS CREW: Father Joe McBirnie, brother Kolby, Matt Harris, Justin Harris, Brett Warrick, Bruce Warrick and Jeremy Moore.
HIS SPONSORS: Pat Clemons, Arnold Motor Supply, Kline Concrete, Jerry Cunningham, BIRD, Boone Farmers Mutual, Hopkins Excavation, Gus’s Machine Shop, Timmy is my Homeboy, Kennedy’s Custom Quilting, Premier Fabrication & Powder Coating, FMC Masonry, Wright Flooring, Mark’s Floor Covering, Jones Boys, Branding Impressions, Wiebers Auto Body, Motorsports Warehouse, Saints Avenue Café, Yokes Rail House, Hilsabeck Window Cleaning, Catfish Hunter Erg Lindahl, Bob Brown, Cunningham Drywall, Kris and Buddy Moran and Shannon, Brad and Autumn Anderson, all of Boone; Bob Harris Enterprises of Ames; Tire Demon by Love Tap of Kelley; Dynamic Drivelines of Des Moines; Dirt Defender of Waxahachie, Texas; Wehrs Machine and Racing Products of Bangor, Wis.; Eibach Springs of Corona, Calif.; Speedshift TV; Pickett Salvage of Boxholm; Peak Decals of Nevada; CSI Shocks of Brownsburg, Ind.; Close Racing Supply of Eldred, Pa.; and Extreme Promotions of Middletown, Del.