8/17/2024
Boone Speedway
Track Titles to McBirnie, Smith, Smith, Masolini, and Glick.
It was the Season Championship Saturday night at the Boone Speedway ending the 2024 regular season. Feature racing saw the top six in points locked in for the night and inverted for their start. The rest of the main event lineups were determined through heat races. Each class was brought to the frontstretch prior to their feature event, with out of car introductions. Each class had five laps added to their features.
The IMCA Stealth STARS Mod Lite 20 lap feature, presented by Carquest Auto, Truck and Farm was up first. Ben George grabbed the lead when the race went green, and it was to his liking. He would lead all 20 laps on his way to the caution free event, for his fourth checkers of the year. Cory Sonner would follow him most of the distance to take second place. Josh May finished a distant third, fourth went to Garrett Barber, and Jaxon Carr started eleventh, and finished fifth. Track Champion Joe Glick finished in seventh and sealed his track crown.
The IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMods ran a 23 lap feature, presented by Elmquist Towing.
Most of the race was a two car battle up front between Dusty Lynch and Hunter Longnecker. The two raced side by side, lap after lap. Three yellows and subsequent restarts did not change up the two that kept battling each other as the race neared its conclusion. However, a fourth and final yellow at lap 20, did change things up as on the restart, Matt Avila who had been running third, made his way into second place behind Lynch and then Longnecker made a slide work for him on the final lap, and got by both Avila and Lynch to get to the checkers first...sealing his win. Avila finished as the runner up, Cory Pestotnik got by Lynch in the closing moments to take third, fourth going to Lynch, and Randy Havlik came from twelfth starting spot to take fifth. Longnecker took his first feature win of the year. Track Champion was Dusty Masolini...going back to back for the title.
The IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds ran 25 laps, presented by D & E Outside Services.
Johnathon Logue started on the outside front row and took command, Izac Mallicoat, polesitter, taking over second place. Point leader Jake McBirnie made his way to the front of the pack by lap eight and the three broke away from the field. McBirnie was able to get the lead just before the halfway point of the race, Mallicoat getting by Logue to take over second place. Then at lap twenty, an unfortunate incident occured when a lap car got in the leaders way, and contact was made. A yellow flew, and before McBirnie was able to get moving, he was deemed involved, and it put him out of the running. This put young Izac Mallicoat to the point position for the restart. Four more yellows would fly before the conclusion of the race but Mallicoat skillfully held his lead the rest of the way to the checkers and the win...his first in the Modified class at Boone. Jimmy Gustin took the runner up spot. Austin Kuehl, Cave Creek, Arizona visitor came from twenty-second starting spot to take third, Jaxon Saathoff, Beatrice, Nebraska also advanced through the field well, starting eighteenth and taking fourth. Veteran racer Russ Dickerson completed the top five. McBirnie is the Track Champion for 2024, by only having to take the green to secure his title.
The IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, presented by Boone Moose Lodge, ran a 25 lap main event.
Devin Smith and Josh Daniels sat on the front row for the start of the race. Daniels grabbed the lead but just a mere four laps later, it was Smith taking over. Smith didn't let five cautions after that bother him on restarts, as he took off easily to hold the lead. In the final laps, Smith pulled away from the rest of the field and took the easy win....his second of the year at the Speedway. Following a distant second was Tyler Pickett, third was brother David Smith, Josh Daniels was fourth, and another brother, Donavon Smith was fifth. David Smith is the 2024 Track Champion in the Stock Cars.
The feature racing ended with the 20 lap IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stock feature, presented by Pickett Salvage.
Braden Gifford started on the outside front row and immediately took command. Meanwhile, point leader Mike Smith, who started sixth, was quick to snake his way up to the front, and by lap four, had the lead. The rest of the race was all Smith's as he smoothly ran the track on his way to the win in the race that went flag to flag. John Watson finished a distant runner up with Eric Knutson a close third. Solomon Bennett and Seth Butler rounded out the top five. Smith is the 2024 Track Champion with six regular season wins at the track.
A season awards ceremony was held in the infield after the races, honoring the top drivers in their divisions.
The regular season has come to a conclusion, but next Saturday night, August will be a Super National's Tune Up, P1P Challenge, John Logue First Time Winners race for SportMods, and the Watermelon Classic. The IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars, Northern SportMods, Hobby Stocks, and Mod Lites will be in action. Grandstands open at 5:30, Hot laps at 6 and racing at 7.
Photo Credit: Motorsports Photography
Article Credit: Joyce Eisele
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