8/24/2019
Boone Speedway
Season Championship wins to Rust, Smith, Logue, Watson, and Kennedy. Five track champions also crowned.
The regular racing season came to a close on Saturday night at the Boone Speedway, with season championship night. Five track champions were also crowned in the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Northern SportMods, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and the Mod Lite classes. The drivers that had perfect attendance at the track were locked into their feature events, with Last Chance Qualifiers run to complete their starting line ups. Driver introductions were made on the frontstretch, allowing the fans to show their appreciation to the drivers for their efforts all year long.
Only three points separated Randy Bryan and Mike Kennedy as they went into the final night of points racing in the My Race Pass Mod Lite division, making it the closest contested track championship of the night. Bryan started on the pole for the 20 lap feature, and Kennedy along side. Kennedy took the immediate lead, and Bryan fell in behind him. This would be the story for the entire race as Mike Kennedy took the checkers first, Bryan taking second place. Sixth place starter Joe Glick was third, fourth went to Joel Huggins, and Bryan Zehm was fifth. This was Kennedy's second feature win of the season. Randy Bryan held the points lead and is the 2019 track champion.
Jake McBirnie held a thirty-two point lead over Cory Pestotnik going into the final go around of the season in the Elmquist IMCA Northern SportMod twenty-three lap feature. McBirnie shot to the lead as the race went green and continued to hold it through three early cautions. When the yellow flew on lap ten, Johnathon Logue had now moved from his sixth starting spot to run third and on the restart made the move into second and began to hound leader McBirnie. His persistence paid off a handful of laps later when he made the pass at the flag stand to take over the top spot. He would then keep it the rest of the way to the checkers and the win. Cory Pestotnik came home in second place, McBirnie finished third, Dusty Masolini took fourth, and Dustin Lynch was fifth. Logue snagged his fourth win of the year. Jake McBirnie is the 2019 track champion.
The Pickett Salvage IMCA Hobby Stocks had an eight point separation between Aaron Rudolph and John Watson for their 20 lap A main. Rudolph held the upper hand on lap one, but by lap two, John Watson had the lead. From there on, he would hold it to the flying checkers and the win in the caution free race. Shaun Wirtz took second, and Rudolph was third. Seth Butler and Curt Reed completed the top five. Watson won for the third time at the track this season. Aaron Rudolph is the 2019 track champion.
Sixteen points separated Scott Davis and Donavon Smith before the Arnold Motor Supply IMCA Stock Car twenty-three lap feature. Smith would lead this one from start to finish to take the checkers. Drivers behind him were battling it out for position through much of the race, with Josh Daniels taking the runner up spot. Devin Smith finished third after starting in ninth spot, Jay Schmidt took fourth place, and David Smith started tenth and finished in fifth place. This was Smith's fourth victory of the year. Scott Davis, with a seventh place finish took the track title.
It was no contest for the track championship in the Snap-on Tools IMCA Modified class. Jimmy Gustin held a whopping 109 point lead, and had the track title wrapped up. Gustin did lead the twenty-five lap race through lap six when a caution flew, but then exited the track content to have no further wear and tear on his hot rod. This handed the lead over to Al Wolfgram until Joel Rust came calling and took over the top spot just a lap later. After Rust got the lead, he pulled away and scored the comfortable win. Al Wolfgram held the runner up spot, Tim Ward was third, Mike VanGenderen raced from twelfth starting spot to finish in fourth, and Randy Havlik started eleventh and finished fifth.
Next Saturday, August 31, is the Prelude to the Super Nationals when drivers arriving early for the 37th running of the IMCA Super Nationals come to test the waters of the Boone Speedway. Then starting on Labor Day Monday, September 2, it will be six straight days of racing for the annual Super Nationals extravaganza.
Article Credit: Joyce Eisele
