8/6/2022
Boone Speedway
Gustin back in Victory Lane
It was a warm one at the Boone Speedway on Saturday night, where the IMCA Sport Compacts joined in the fun, along with the regular weekly classes.
Jimmy Gustin returned to Victory Lane after a long absence in the IMCA Friesen Performance Modifieds. Johnathon Logue returned to the winner's circle in the IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, and Braden Richards took his second feature win of the season in the IMCA Friesen Performance Northern SportMod class. Riley Christensen got win number one when he took checkers in the IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks, it was Joe Glick winning the IMCA STARS Mod Lite feature, and the IMCA MACH-1 Sport Compact win went to Kolby Sabin. The 2-person Cruisers completed their season at Boone Speedway, and the Tag Team Belt went to Max Allen and Michael Miller.
Feature racing kicked off with the STARS Mod Lites running their 15 lap main event. Joe Glick took the win by holding off the challenges of Joel Huggins in a close one at the finish line. Following a ways behind in third was Austin Gray. Bryan Zeyhm was fourth, and early leader Ben George came home in fifth. This was Glick's second win of the year.
The IMCA Northern SportMods 18 lap feature was plagued with yellows, which seemed at times to come every one or two laps.
Jeremiah Reed was the opening laps leader, but on lap three, it was Camden Vincent as captain of the ship. Reed would weather through four more yellows before Braden Richards, who had been pressuring the leader lap after lap, was finally able to make the pass for the lead with just two laps remaining. Richards would also have to withstand a caution and subsequent restart in a green-white-checkered finish. He was able to do so and snagged his second win of the 2022 in this, his rookie year in the SportMod division.
Following second place Vincent across the line was St. Joseph, Missouri's Tim Eaton, who started twelfth, and finished in third. Fourth went to early leader Jeremiah Reed, and completing the top five was Dusty Masolini.
It was a crowd-pleasing win in the IMCA Modified 20 lap main event when Jimmy Gustin saw the checkers first. Gustin, who started ninth, took the lead from Adam Hommerding, visiting Lake Havasu City, Arizona racer, just before the halfway mark of the event.
As the race wore on, Gustin had some heavy hitters breathing down his neck in the likes of Tim Ward, Jake McBirnie, Nick Roberts, and Russ Dickerson who were duking it out behind him for position. However, as the checkers flew, it was Gustin taking the win. Ward, McBirnie, Roberts, and Dickerson filled out second through fifth respectively.
Gustin exclaimed in his Victory Lane interview, that it had been a long time in coming....his first win since June of 2020.
The IMCA Sport Compacts got their Super Nationals Shake Down run as they joined the other IMCA classes last night. They ran a 15 lap feature event.
Kolby Sabin started ninth, took the lead on lap three and drove away. He finished far ahead of second place Tyler Fiebelkorn, who was successful in fending off the advances of third place Jacob Walding. Matt Miller started eleventh and took fourth, and it was Tayla Lange taking fifth place.
The IMCA Stock Cars had their own caution plagued 20 lap feature event, but in the end it was Johnathon Logue standing in Victory Lane after he got to the front on lap eight, and held on to claim the win.
Josh Daniels, who had just come off his Salute to Veterans win, worked the bottom of the track and finished as the runner up after starting back in eighteenth. Early leader Brandon Williams took third, fourth was seventeenth place starter David Smith, and Mike Vondrak, Galva, Iowa was fifth.
The night cap was 15 laps of IMCA Hobby Stock racing, and they went flag to flag. Riley Christensen saw his first win, as he led all but a brief moment to capture his first ever win at the Speedway. Chad Rigby was the one challenging Christensen for much of the race. He was able to take the lead for just a fleeting moment, and had to settle for second place. Third went to Matt McDonald, John Watson was fourth, and Solomon Bennett was fifth.
Next Saturday night, August 13 will be another night of weekly series racing. Gates open at 4:30, hot laps are 5, and racing starts at 6.
Photo Credit: Motorsports Photography
Article Credit: Joyce Eisele