McBirnie, Jerovetz, Avila, and Smith Take Salute to Veterans Victories in Boone

Hunting with Heroes Salute to Veterans Tour is a unique event. It started as one race and was run at the Kossuth County Speedway in Algona. Over the years, it has become a 3-race, 4-night tour. Wednesday night, they invaded the Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer; Thursday, they raced in Algona; and Saturday night, they wrapped things up at Iowa's Action Track, the Boone Speedway. Hunting with Heroes is a 501C3 non-profit organization that supports veterans through patriotism and outdoor pursuits in Lakota, Iowa. 

Drivers racing the Salute to Veterans themes included Joel Rust, Cody Thompson, and Jerry Flippo in the modifieds; Taylor Kuehl and Shelby Alves in the sport mods; Kevin Opeheim, Donavon Smith, and Jim Horejsi in the stock cars; and Mike Smith and Brandon Nielsen in the hobby stocks. The overall best Salute to Veterans car winner voted on by the veterans went to Stock Car driver Jim Horejsi of Marshall, Minn., with his Pearl Harbor salute. Modified drivers Joel Rust with his Air Force Air Superiority – The F15E Strike Eagles, Cody Thompson’s US Army wrap, and Jerry Flippo with “The American Dream is Worth the Fight” wrap. Joining the overall winner Horejsi in the Stock Car class were Kevin Opheim’s “A Flying Family” honoring two from his family who had served, and Donovan Smith saluted the American Sacrifice of the Fighting Sullivan Brothers.  SportMod wraps were Taylor Kuehl, with her Rosie the Riveter Revisited, and Shelby Alves honored pilot Jackie Cochran, the “Speed Queen.” Brandon Nielsen’s Hobby Stock and its US Navy Blue Angels theme and Mike Smith’s Hobby Stock honored the United States Marine Corps.

So my plan was to make it to one Salute to Veterans Tour event this year after missing out on it last year. My first Salute to Veterans Tour was in 2020, after race tracks opened back up from the pandemic. I made it to the Kossuth County Speedway. I returned to Algona in 2021 and to the Clay County Fair Speedway in 2022. Veterans were admitted free, received a meal and drink, a goodie bag and more. Every year, the events get better and better. 

A total of two hundred-one cars signed in to take on Iowa's Action Track for night 3 of the Salute to Veterans Tour presented by Performance Body & Parts. The night was sponsored by Winnebago. The pre-race ceremony was awesome to see, and the racing action was exciting all night long. The final checkered flag came out at 12:20 a.m. 

This year, at each of the three stops, there was one Salute to Veterans Tour Race of Champions event. Boone Speedway had the Modifieds Race of Champions 12-lap event. Joel Rust led the first lap before "Nitro" Nick Meyer took the top spot away on lap two. Meyer, one of the first drivers to support the Salute to Veterans scheme, managed to lead the final eleven laps to take the victory. Rust, Jeremy Mills, Cody Thompson, and Jake McBirnie rounded out the top five. 

The first regular feature of the night was the Carquest Auto, Truck, and Farm IMCA STARS Mod Lites 15-lap feature event. Austin Gray jumped out to the race lead quickly, but shortly after, the first lap was scored. Gray got a great restart as the battles behind him heated up until cautions on lap six, first for Dillon Bush off the top of turn two and then for Cory Sonner against the front-stretch wall in turn one. Gray went on to take the feature win, despite having to hold off late-race challenges from Charlie Brown. Bryan Zehm came home in third, Ben George was in fourth, and Josh May was in fifth. 

Next up was the Elmquist Towing IMCA Friesen Peformance Northern SportMods 20-lap feature event. The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods ran 20 laps for their feature. Matt Avila took full advantage of starting on the pole, grabbing the top spot, and pulling away. The battles behind Avila will be hot and heavy. The first caution came out on lap six for Chris Webb and Shelby Alves in turn three. Avila again pulled away until a caution bunched the field back up on lap 13. Two more cautions came out on lap 15 and lap 19. Avila remained strong through it all and went on to take his fourth feature win. Fenske held off thirteenth-place starter Cam Reimers for second, with Reimers in third. Kirk fell back to fourth, and eleventh-place starter Colby Fett fell to fifth.

The D&E Outdoor Services IMCA Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds 30-lap feature event was up on the speedway. Hometown driver Jake McBirnie started on the pole and took full advantage; however, just after lap one was completed, the caution came out when Russ Dickerson spun in turn two, resulting in nowhere to go for Cayden Carter and Cody Thompson. McBirnie got a great restart and shot out to a full straight-away lead. McBirnie went on to take his fifth win by a lengthy margin over Tripp Gaylord, Zachary Madrid, Ethan Braaksma, and Jerry Flippo. 

Jay Schmidt grabbed the top spot early in the Boone Moose Lodge 104 IMCA Stock Cars 25-lap feature event. The first caution came out on lap one for Rod Richards in turn one. Schmidt held off Michael Jaennette and Troy Jerovetz on the restart and continued to lead until Kelly Shryock took the top spot away. Shryock looked to be the first-ever three-time Salute to Veterans winner in the same year. Shryock and Schmidt battled for the race lead until lap 15. The caution came out for Jeffrey Larson in turn two on lap 15. Shryock held off Schmidt and Troy Jerovetz off-initial, but Jerovetz took the top spot on lap 17. The final caution came out on lap 21 for Johnathon Logue on the back stretch. Jerovetz held off Tyler Pickett and Jake McBirnie to capture the checkers, his first in Boone this year. Pickett came home second, McBirnie in third, eleventh-place starter Devin Smith in fourth, and twentieth-place starter David Brandies in fifth.

The final feature of the night was the Pickett Salvage IMCA Hobby Stocks 20-lap feature event. It was the only feature that went from green to checkers. Fourth-place starter Solomon Bennett took the race lead from the drop of the green, with Will Smith following in second. Battles for third place were exciting and intense. In tenth place, Dylan Nelson took the top spot away from Bennett on lap nine, using the top side. Mike Smith and Brandon Nielsen worked their way through to challenge Nelson for the lead. Mike Smith dove under Nelson for the lead on lap 17, and Nielsen followed, taking second. Nielsen tried to get by Smith on the last lap but came up short at the finish line. Smith took the win, Nielsen in second, Nelson in third, Jay Sidles and Bennett in fourth and fifth, respectively. 

Next Saturday night at the Boone Speedway, the Saturday Night Weekly Racing Series continues on Elmquist Towing Night. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Mods, IMCA Hobby Stocks, and IMCA Mod Lites all take to Iowa's Action Track for the Weekly Series. The IMCA Sport Compacts will also make their Super Nationals Tune-up appearance. Pits Open at 4:30 p.m., Grandstands Open at 5:30 p.m., Hot Laps at 6 p.m., and Racing at 7 p.m. 

Grandstands are $15 for adults, youth (13–17) are $5, and kids (12 and under) are free. Pit passes are $30. You can catch all the racing action at the Boone Speedway in person or on IMCA.tv. 

Then the following Saturday, August 10th, Weekly Points Night. Season Championship Night is on August 17th, P1P Challenge for Modifieds and the Annual Watermelon Classic / Super Nationals Tune-Up on August 24th, and then Wild Rose Casino Prelude to the Super Nationals and IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals Fueled by Casey's August 31st–September 7th. 

For more information about the Boone Speedway check out BooneSpeedway.com or call (515) 987-1220 or check out the  Boone Speedway Facebook Page. 

Boone Speedway
Hunting with Heroes Salute to Veterans Tour presented by Performance Body & Parts
presented by Winnebago

Saturday July 27th, 2024

IMCA MODIFIEDS

presented by D&E Outdoor Services

A Feature (30 Laps) : 1.  82 Jake McBirnie (Boone); 2. 77T Tripp Gaylord (Lakewood, Colo.); 3. 5ZM Zachary Madrid (Boone); 4. 111 Ethan Braaksma (Newton0; 5. 13 Jerry Flippo (Bakersfield, Calif.); 6. 11 Izac Mallicoat (Boone); 7. 48K Kollin Hibdon (Fargo, N.D.); 8. 10 Jeremy Mills (Clear Lake); 9. 5B Brandon Beckendorf (Danube, Minn.); 10. 27 Timothy Allerdings (Prescott Valley, Ariz.); 11. 28T Trevor Fitz (Camarillo, Calif.); 12. 1 Eric Barnes (Colona, Ill.); 13. 19 Jimmy Gustin (Marshalltown); 14. 17 Cory Sauerman (Johnston); 15. 3 Kelly Shryock (Fertile); 16. 28R Russ Dickerson (Boone); 17. 69 Johnathon Logue (Logansport); 18. 24B Owen Barnhill (Milton, Fla.); 19. 26J Joel Rust (Grundy Center); 20. 4TW Tim Ward (Harcourt); 21. 11X Tom Berry Jr. (Logansport); 22. 23K Kaden Cochrun (Ridgeway, Mo.); 23. 5 Todd Shute (Norwalk); 24. 25C Cody Thompson (Sioux City); 25. 33Z Cayden Carter (Oskaloosa); DNS 7R Ethan Robey (Ames). 

B Feature 1 (10 Laps) : 1. Cochrun; 2. Logue; 3. Barnhill; 4. 5R Tad Reutzel (Burt); 5. 12LF Jonathan Mawhinney (Las Vegas, Nev.); 6. 7SX Todd Stinehart (Waseca, Minn.); 7. 10K Ronn Lauritzen (La Porte City); 8. 7DX Dustin Wilwert (Dubuque); 9. 7 Danny Fye (Boxholm); 10. 58 Dennis Pittman (Jamaica); 11. 164 Brandon Leeman (Roland); 12. 47 Jason Hyerdall (Shakopee, Minn.); 13. 7D Dave Finstad (Welcome, Minn.); 14. 87 Joel Bushore (Boone); DNS 7R Ethan Robey (Ames); DNS 2B Robert Moore (Maxwell). 

B Feature 2 (10 Laps) : 1. Fitz; 2. Rust; 3. Shryock; 4. 2 Nick Meyer (Whittemore); 5. 5L Cody Laney (Torrance, Calif.); 6. Sauerman; 7. 33Y Bryson Yeager (Green River, Wy.); 8. 33BY Braxton Yeager (Green River, Wy.); 9. 05 Paul Nagle (Nevada); 10. 69N Cory Wray (Trenton, Mo.); 11. 17W Dan Wagner (Sioux City); 12. 28 James Reichart (Indianola); 13. 7S David Solberg (Larned, Kan.); 14. 8 Griffin Taylor (Mooresville, N.C.); DNS 88 Matt Crafton (Mooresville, N.C.); DNS 19G Richie Gustin (Gilman). 

Heat 1 (8 Laps) : 1. Shute; 2. Mills; 3. Jimmy Gustin; 4. Reutzel; 5. Stinehart; 6. Robey; 7. Hyerdall; 8. Moore; 9. Bushore. 
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Flippo; 2. Allerdings; 3. Barnes; 4. Braxton Yeager; 5. Wray; 6. Bryson Yeager; 7. Taylor; 8. Laney; 9. Solberg. 

Heat 3 (8 Laps ): 1. Braaksma; 2. Madrid; 3. Thompson; 4. Cochrun; 5. Mawhinney; 6. Wilert; 7. Lauritzen; 8. Finstad.

Heat 4 (8 Laps) : 1. Beckendorf; 2. Dickerson; 3. Ward; 4. Fitz; 5. Shryock; 6. Nagle; 7. Wagner; 8. Crafton.
Heat 5 (8 Laps) : 1. Mallicoat; 2. Gaylord; 3. Carter; 4. Barnhill; 5. Logue; 6. Pittman; 7. Leeman; 8. Fye. 

Heat 6 (8 Laps ): 1. Hibdon; 2. McBirnie; 3. Berry; 4. Rust; 5. Meyer; 6. Sauerman; 7. Reichart; 8. Richie Gustin. 

Salute to Veterans Race of Champions (12 Laps) : 1.  Meyer; 2. Rust; 3. Mills; 4. Thompson; 5. McBirnie; 6. Flippo; 7. Shryock; 8. Beckendorf; 9. Braaksma; 10. Logue; 11. Stinehart; 12. Reutzel; 13. Laney; 14. Shute; 15. Ward. 

IMCA STOCK CARS

presented by Boone Moose Lodge 104

A Feature (25 Laps) : 1.  01 Troy Jerovetz (Iowa Falls); 2. 5A Tyler Pickett (Boone); 3. 82 Jake McBirnie (Boone); 4. 81 Devin Smith (Lake City); 5. 71K David Brandies (Wilton); 6. 77M Jeff Mueller (Boone); 7. 21 Jim Horejsi (Marshall, Minn.); 8. 6 Chanse Hollatz (Clear Lake); 9. 92 Buck Schafroth (Orient); 10. 35 Donavon Smith (Lake City); 11. 8 David Smith (Lake City); 12. 25J Josh Daniels (Carlisle); 13. 44K Kevin Opheim (Mason City); 14. 3S Bryan Snell (Coon Rapids); 15. 57H Daniel Hagen (Grimes); 16. 93 Michael Jaennette (Kellogg); 17. 19A Alan Van Gorp (Des Moines); 18. 14B Austin Bouzek (Trenton, Mo.); 19. 1 Kaden Reynolds (Cedar Rapids); 20. 69 Johnathon Logue (Logansport); 21. 23HR Rod Richards (Madrid); 22. 23 Cody Gustoff (Scranton); 23. 19J Jay Schmidt (Tama); 24. 3 Kelly Shryock (Fertile); 25. 7L Jeffrey Larson (Reading, Minn.); 26. 89K Taylor Kuehl (Cave Creek, Ariz.); 27. 81D Scott Davis (Lenox). 

B Feature 1 (10 Laps) : 1. Snell; 2. Gustoff; 3. Daniels; 4. Donavon Smith; 5. 3T Terry Dulin (Cedar Rapids); 6. M16 Ron Meyer (Norco, Calif.); 7. Bouzek; 8. Davis; 9. 12 Josiah Moulds (Urbandale); 10. 7C Blake Cole (Nashua); 11. 16 Jeff Byers Jr (Milo); 12. 18 Tyler Nelsen (Lohrville); 13. 52 Jerry Williams (Des Moines); DNS 32JR Aaron Benz (Humboldt). 

B Feature 2 (10 Laps) : 1. Brandies; 2. Hagen; 3. Opheim; 4. 4A Chase Alves (Sioux Falls, S.D.) 5. 60 Clayton Deppe (Kellogg); 6. 90.5 Tommy Fain (Abilene, Texas); 7. 57B Ryan Diatte (Gilroy, Calif.); 8. 57 Jerry Gifford (Boone); 9. 12D Doug Smith (Lake City); 10. 95 Bo Eads (Trenton, Mo.); 11. 77C Craig Carslon (Madrid); 12. 29V Brett Vanderheiden (Earlham); 13. 37E Jason Vansickel (Webster City). 

Heat 1 (8 Laps) : 1. Devin Smith; 2. Mueller; 3. David Smith; 4. Daniels; 5. Donavon Smith; 6. Davis; 7. Cole; 8. Bouzek. 
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Schmidt; 2. Jerovetz; 3. Van Gorp; 4. Hagen; 5. Alves; 6. Fain; 7. Diatte; 8. Vansickel. 

Heat 3 (8 Laps ): 1. Pickett; 2. Schafroth; 3. Richards; 4. Nelsen; 5. Gustoff; 6. Williams; 7. Moulds; 8. Benz. 

Heat 4 (8 Laps) : 1. Jaennette; 2. Logue; 3. Kuehl; 4. Deppe; 5. Carlson; 6. Eads; 7. Vanderheiden. 
Heat 5 (8 Laps) : 1. Shryock; 2. Reynolds; 3. Horejsi; 4. Snell; 5. Meyer; 6. Dulin; 7. Byers Jr. 

Heat 6 (8 Laps ): 1. McBirnie; 2. Larson; 3. Hollatz; 4. Opheim; 5. Brandies; 6. Gifford; 7. Doug Smith. 

 

IMCA NORTHERN SPORT MODS

presented by Elmquist Towing

A Feature (20 Laps) : 1.  2X Matt Avila (Boone); 2. 21R Cole Fenske (Waukee); 3. 21 Cam Reimers (Kelley); 4. 86W Willy Kirk (Sloan); 5. 00 Colby Fett (Algona); 6. 43LV Logan Veloz (Colona, Ill.); 7. 2K Taylor Kuehl (Cave Creek, Ariz.); 8. 24T Tony Steffensmeier (Madison Lake, Minn.); 9. 181 Charlie Stevens (Algona); 10. 93 Hunter Longnecker (Woodward); 11. R31 Ryan Leeman (Roland); 12. 5J Jacob Tacheny (Burt); 13. 62 Cory Pestotnik (Boone); 14. 5 Dustin Lynch (Boone); 15. 84 Camdan Vincent (Nevada); 16. 13V Curtis Veber (Polk City); 17. 08 Alex Fett (Burt); 18. 8K Dusty Masolini (Des Moines); 19. 26 Jason Carney (Boone); 20. 8 Tom Lathrop (Ottumwa); 21. 18J Josalyn Elmquist (Boone); 22. 193 Jessiah Taylor (Boone); 23. 53 Logan Anderson (Eddyville); 24. 3Z Randy Havlik (Ankeny); 25. 3W Chris Webb (Roland); 26. 17C Shane Paris (Muscatine); 27. 1S Shelby Alves (Sioux Falls, S.D.).

B Feature 1 (10 Laps) : 1. Masolini; 2. Pestotnik; 3. Webb; 4. Veber; 5. 17 Kyle Free (Ogden); 6. 2G Geoff Olson (Sioux City); 7. 30 Kenser Ellis (Ankeny); 8. 54 Eddie Ingram (Kansas City, Kan.); 9. 27K Zander Keeland (Bakersfield, Calif.); 10. Lynch; 11. Alves; 12.7M Steve McLaughlin (Newton); 13. 01 Brayton Carter (Oskaloosa). 

B Feature 2 (10 Laps) : 1. Paris; 2. Alec Fett; 3. Anderson; 4. 88N Nate Albrant (Clear Lake); 5. 4 Gage Hilgenberg (Waukee); 6. 28B Curt Smeins (Dike); 7. 9J Jeremiah Reed (Otho); 8. 35JR Justin Becker (Bernard); 9. 64 Drew Fett (Thompson); 10. 22A Shawn Albers (Wellsburg); 11. MR31 Mike Rutherford (Des Moines); 12. 01s Hunter Smith (Fort Morgan, Colo.); 13. 26B Bryan Johnson (Roland). 

Heat 1 (8 Laps) : 1. Kirk; 2. Kuehl 3. Reimers; 4. Veber; 5. Masolini; 6. Keeland; 7. Pestotnik; 8. Lynch.
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Avila; 2. Taylor; 3. Stevens; 4. Alec Fett; 5. Paris; 6. Anderson; 7. Reed; 8. Albers. 

Heat 3 (8 Laps ): 1. Colby Fett; 2. Tacheny; 3. Longnecker; 4. Webb; 5. Alves; 6. Olson; 7. Carter. 

Heat 4 (8 Laps) : 1. Vincent; 2. Carney; 3. Lathrop; 4. Albrant; 5. Smeins; 6. Drew Fett; 7. Becker. 
Heat 5 (8 Laps) : 1. Havlik; 2. Veloz; 3. Elmquist; 4. Free; 5. Ellis; 6. McLaughlin; 7. Ingram. 

Heat 6 (8 Laps ): 1. Fenske; 2. Leeman; 3. Steffensmeier; 4. Smith; 5. Hilgenberg; 6. Rutherford; 7. Johnson. 

IMCA HOBBY STOCKS

presented by Pickett Salvage

A Feature (20 Laps) : 1.  22X Mike Smith (Lake City); 2. T8 Brandon Nielsen (Spencer); 3. 13N Dylan Nelson (Adel); 4. 99X Josh Sidles (Emmetsburg); 5. 11B Solomon Bennett (Minburn); 6. 12K Eric Knutson (Slater); 7. 31 Will Smith (Lake City); 8. 4W John Watson (Des Moines); 9. 7B Eric Stanton (Carlisle); 10. 21X Joe Doran (Paton); 11. 83X Justin Frederick (Cleghorn); 12. 49J James Johnson (Cherokee); 13. 22B Braden Gifford (Boone); 14. 14B Keith Burg (Adel); 15.  72 Joey Young (Indianola); 16. 22W Wayne Gifford (Boone); 17. 22 Seth Butler (Glidden); 18. 00 Cody Hubbell (Rolfe); 19. A24 Nicholas Adams (Emmetsburg); 20. 8F Aron Fye (Alden); 21. 2M Mitchell McNeill (Jamaica); 22. 59 Daniel Pittman (Jamaica); 23. 8 Clayton Sogge (State Center); 24. 85 Seth Janssen (Ogden); 25. 1K Tom Killen Jr (Des Moines); 26. 78B Andrew Burg (Adel). 

B Feature 1 (10 Laps) : 1. Keith Burg; 2. Fye; 3. 3Z Zach Hemmingsen (Marne); 4. 51X Dustin Filloon (Tama); 5. 81DD Daniel Davis (Lenox); 6. 91 Chris Krug (Emmtsburg); 7. 17S Evan Schettler (Adrian, Minn.); 8. 69 Calvin Dhondt (Kellogg); 9. Butler; DNS 00A Mike Agan (Altoona); DNS 28 Jay Sidles (Emmetburg). 

B Feature 2 (10 Laps) : 1. Frederick; 2. Hubbell; 3. 12M Matt McDonald (Scranton); 4. 27 Jason Kohl (Missouri Valley); 5. 12T Tanner Jones (Grand Island, Neb.); 6. 51V Josh Vancannon (Ogden); 7. Adams; 8. 01 Micah Lavrenz (Burt); 9. 59JR Chad Rickett Jr (Marshalltown); 10. 2P Brent Peterson (Des Moines); DNS 18A Aaron Elliott (Boone). 

Heat 1 (8 Laps) : 1. Knutson; 2. Young; 3. Will Smith; 4. Killen; 5. Stanton; 6. Keith Burg; 7. Hemmingsen; 8. Dhondt; 9. Filloon; 10. Butler; 11. Jay Sidles. 
Heat 2 (8 Laps) : 1. Braden Gifford; 2. Bennnett; 3. McNeill; 4. Pittman; 5. Sogge; 6. Rickett; 7. Elliott; 8. Frederick; 9. Lavrenz; 10. Peterson; DNS Adams. 
Heat 3 (8 Laps ): 1. Nelson; 2. Doran; 3. Nielsen; 4. Watson; 5. Wayne Gifford; 6. Fye; 7. Davis; 8. Schettler; 9. Krug; 10. Agan. 

Heat 4 (8 Laps) : 1. Mike Smith; 2. Josh Sidles; 3. Janssen; 4. Andrew Burg; 5. Johnson; 6. McDonald; 7. Jones; 8. Vancannon; 9. Hubbell; 10. Kohl. 

IMCA STARS MOD LITES

presented by Carquest Auto, Truck and Farm

A Feature (15 Laps): 1. 48G Austin Gray (Story City); 2. 82 Charlie Brown (Nevada); 3. 46Z Bryan Zehm (Ames); 4. 4G Ben George (Altoona); 5. 99 Josh May (Des Moines); 6. 3G Joe Glick (Madrid); 7. 4 Cliff Barber (Nevada); 8. 21 Scott Bailey (Carlisle); 9. 55 Jaxon Carr (Des Moines); 10. 8N William Nobles (West Des Moines); 11. 9 Garrison Anderson (Huxley); 12. 5G Tracen Glick (Madrid); 13. 19DD Derek Foster (Maxwell); 14. 14 Bryan Compart (Madrid); 15. 89 Travis Stensland (Nevada); 16. 1ST Cory Sonner (Polk City); 17. 96 Dillon Bush (Milo); 18. 9XL Collin Anderson (Huxley); 19. 2 Jason Toppenberg (Ames); 20. 2G Grant Anderson (Huxley). 

Heat 1 (6 Laps) : 1. Brown; 2. Zehm; 3. Sonner; 4. Bush; 5. Toppenberg; 6. Compart; 7. Scott Bailey; 8. Carr; 9. Grant Anderson; 10. Tracen Glick. 
Heat 2 (6 Laps) : 1. George; 2. Gray; 3. May; 4. Joe Glick; 5. Stensland; 6. Garrison Anderson; 7. Nobles; 8. Foster; 9. Barber; 10. Colin Anderson.