boonespeedway Archives

Improbable, unlikely, incredible! Donavon Smith is Stock Car king

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 13) – Donavon Smith had the best seat in the house to watch as the improbable became the incredible Sunday afternoon at Boone Speedway. A last-chance qualifier earlier in the day, Smith raced from 25th starting to take the lead with two laps left in the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s Stock Car main event. When those two laps were complete, Smith had a career-best $5,000 payday and career third Super Nationals championship to show for his day’s work behind the wheel. “We had showed up Sunday morning just hoping to make the main event. I had a streak going (a division record 13 consecutive Super Nationals starts) and that was really our only goal. It really weighed heavy on us,” Smith said. “After the last chance race, I was probably as laid back as I ever was.” After a Super Nationals record 207 cars vied for the 30 starting spots, Jared Siefert led much of the way, chased by Jesse Sobbing while Jeff Mueller and Ricky Thornton Jr. duked [Read More]

2020 Super Nationals in history book after extended run; record 207 Stock Cars at 38th annual event

BOONE, Iowa (Sept. 13) – Ricky Thornton Jr. raced to wins at the beginning and the end of a history-making week, Donavon Smith and Johnathon Logue became three-time champions while Nathan Ballard motored to his first title at the 2020 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s. In all, 834 cars – including 245 Modifieds and an event record 207 Stock Cars – saw action during a socially distanced week at Boone Speedway that also saw more than its share of rain and rescheduled race programs. The Sunday conclusion for what is always the biggest event on the IMCA schedule was the first for the Modifieds since 1996 and first-ever for the Stock Cars, Northern SportMods and Hobby Stocks. Thornton earned $3,000 when he repeated as Late Model champion on Labor Day, qualified for the Stock Car feature, won the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational on Friday and then became the first driver to win two championships at the same Super Nationals by running away from the rest of the field after midway of the [Read More]

Boone holds Season Championship night races

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 29) – Saturday was Season Championship night at Boone Speedway. The Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods ran 23 laps in their championship feature. Johnathon Logue had the track title wrapped up before he started the main event but he would also go on to dominate the feature as well, leading the entire race and winning comfortably ahead of the rest of the field. Jake McBirnie sat alongside new brother-in-law Tim Ward for the start of the IMCA Modified main. Ward had the track title wrapped up before the race began but it was a battle between the two for much of the race with McBirnie holding the upper hand. Ward’s challenge for the lead disappeared when he slipped off the rim of the track, losing several positions. As the race continued on, McBirnie pulled away and take the checkers well ahead of the competition. The IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars went 25 laps for their feature. David Smith and brother Donavon Smith finished one-two in this contest. It was David Smith’s first [Read More]

McBirnie posts first IMCA Modified victory at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 15) – The IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s are in sight, and the drivers are already prepping for the 38th annual event at Boone Speedway as 228 cars packed the pits on Saturday night that included an IMCA Sport Compact shakedown along with all of the regular divisions. Jake McBirnie grabbed the lead from Joel Bushore with a handful of laps in the books in the 20-lap main event for IMCA Modifieds. Just a lap later, it was 12th place starter Joel Rust who was challenging him for the lead. The two swapped the top spot back and forth for several laps until Rust suddenly pulled into the infield with mechanical issues. McBirnie then pulled away from the field and took his career-first win in the division well ahead of second place Nick Meyer. Bushore took third. The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts were in town for their Shakedown prior to Super Nationals. Mitchell Bunch and Jake Benischek put on a good battle as they fought for the lead. Benischek finally [Read More]

Thornton makes winning dash to Boone checkers

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 8) – Dylan Thornton prevailed in a 20-lap IMCA Modified feature decided by inches in a mad dash to the finish line that had the crowd on its feet Saturday at Boone Speedway. Three drivers provided most of the action upfront for much of the race as Joel Bushore, in a new ride after his rollover last week, led the field as the race went green. Thornton was quick to join in and then 14th place starter Jimmy Gustin joined in to make it a trio of fun. The closing laps saw the three drivers go at it in a spectacular dash to the finish line. Thornton had just enough momentum coming out of the final corner as the checkers unfurled, taking the win by inches over Gustin. Bushore finished a close third. Thornton, who is from California, is spending the summer back here in Iowa and, ironically enough, staying with second place finisher Gustin. The victory marked the first time Thornton has visited the winner’s circle at the speedway. Donavon Smith [Read More]

Ward, Shute, Smith are big winners at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (Aug. 1) – Another special night of racing Saturday at Boone Speedway featured both the Watermelon Classic, with watermelons awarded to heat and feature winners and the sixth annual P1 Promotions Modified Challenge. The IMCA Modified feature went 30 laps, paid $1,200 and was a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifier. Tim Ward and Richie Gustin had a good battle going until Gustin was suddenly off power while leading just after lap 18 was in the books. This gave Ward back the lead, which he kept the remainder of the way to the checkers and the win. He finished comfortably ahead of Ethan Dotson and Jake McBirnie. Modifieds qualified for the Challenge race through timing, heats, and passing points. The top 12 then drew for their starting spots for the 15-lap prestigious event. Cody Laney and Shute were the front row starters. Laney immediately had the lead as the race went green with fourth place starter Kyle Brown and Todd Shute hot on his tail. Brown made the pass into the [Read More]

Watermelon Classic set for Saturday at Boone Speedway

BOONE, Iowa – IMCA Modified drivers have two chances to win $1,000 at Saturday’s Watermelon Classic at Boone Speedway. Along with the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot-qualifying feature on Aug. 1, there’s $1,000 at stake in the 12-car P1 Promotions Modified Challenge. That field will be determined by group time trials and passing points, with the winner receiving a unique trophy from Legends Custom Decals, the high point driver receiving a wrap from Capital and the fast time driver getting a drive shaft from Dynamic Drivelines. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars race for $1,000 to win their feature, with IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks and Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods both racing for $500 to win. The event is draw/redraw, heat winners get watermelons and different position bonuses and incentives will be given. Hot laps are at 6 p.m. and racing starts at 7 p.m. Spectator admission is $20 for adults, $5 for students ages 13-17 and free for kids ages 12 and under. The Watermelon Classic will be broadcast by IMCA.TV.

Logue is perfect Saturday at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (July 25) – Johnathon Logue made it a perfect night Saturday, following his Hawkeye Challenge victory with the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod checkers at Boone Speedway. Logue had topped the Hawkeye Challenge, which featured cars from each weekly division running a specified number (20-25) number of laps. With that $1,000 win already in hand, Logue drove from the 11th starting spot to catch leader Hunter Longnecker in the Northern SportMod main. The two ran side-by-side for several laps until Logue made the pass for the lead on lap 11. He kept the top spot the remainder of the way to the checkers and the win, his third at Boone this season. Longnecker kept the runner-up spot and Dustin Lynch was third. Tim Ward collected his first local IMCA Modified feature win of the season while Jay Schmidt prevailed in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature for the second time. Mike Smith also raced to his second Boone Speedway checkers of 2020 in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock main.

Shryock scores IMCA Modified feature win at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (July 18) – Kelly Shryock stated in victory lane that it had been a long time coming to get a feature win at Boone Speedway, but at the end of Saturday’s 20-lap feature for IMCA Modifieds, that is just what he did. Shryock had to fend off some tough competition close behind him much of the race as Randy Havlik, Paul Nagle and Collen Winebarger jousted for position. Nagle made the move around Randy Havlik in the closing laps as they finished second and third, respectively. Winebarger would take fourth place and fellow Oregonian Grey Ferrando took fifth.The 20-lap IMCA Sunoco Stock Car feature was a nail biter right down to the final moments. Devin Smith finally broke from the pack and began to catch up with frontrunners Justin Nehring and Jay Schmidt. He did so with just a few laps remaining, and with the help of a lapped car on the final circuit, dove low and stuck it to sneak around both Nehring and Schmidt and beat both to the checkers. [Read More]

Ryerson races to first win of season at Boone

By Joyce Eisele BOONE, Iowa (July 4) – It was a happy Chad Ryerson in his post race interview after winning the 18-lap Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod contest Saturday at Boone Speedway. Ryerson started sixth and took over the top spot at lap nine but had a lot of close company coming at him hot and heavy in the likes of Doug Smith and Johnathon Logue. Smith and Logue tussled back and forth for the second position and Ryerson was content to let them do so as he raced to the win, his first at Boone this season. Logue finished a close second with Smith in third. Twelfth place starter Adam Birck finished fourth and Robert Moore was fifth. Another first time winner came out of the IMCA Modifieds as Randy Havlik took the checkers in just his second night in the car. Havlik overtook Joel Bushore to put win number one in the books. Bushore held the runner-up position while Jake McBirnie took third. The race went caution-free. The final race of the night was the 20-lap [Read More]