BOONE, Iowa — There have been a number of drivers at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s who have been pulling double duty this week.
One colorful entry who has done so is Peyton Taylor.
The Batesville, Ark., traveler pilots both an IMCA Sunoco Stock Car with a Stroker Ace theme and a Friesen Performance IMCA Modified.
“We’re just excited to have the Slim Chickens Cadillac Chassis here and the Acre Trader Lethal Chassis here too,” commented Taylor. “It’s a lot to do two cars. Not many people do it, but the ones that do know what it takes.”
Taylor has made the Modified Big Dance once, finishing 26th in 2018.
“If we could make both shows, that would be such a big win for our program. We’ve had a strong year this season and feel like we are coming in with our guns loaded and ready,” he said. “We’ve spent a couple of weeks prepping for this. Jordan, my wife, his wife, Cody, Lexi, my son, and all the gang back at Andrews Autosport has given us everything we need to come here.”
Taylor has accomplished five wins in his campaign this year, starting with a February sweep of the Winter Nationals weekend at Milton, Fla.’s Southern Raceway and another modified checkered at Batesville Motor Speedway. He also has two Stock Car triumphs at I-30 Speedway and Batesville.
“We are going to try and win the show, but you know what they say, ‘If you can’t win the show, then be the show,’” he said. “Our year has been great. We’ve had some solid runs, but we’ve had a few hiccups. We had a monkey on our back for a little while, but we shook him off. We prep every race like it’s the biggest one we are going to run.”
Superman Winebarger punches ticket to Stock Car dance
One down, one to go.
On Wednesday night at Boone Speedway, Collen Winebarger became the first Oregon driver to qualify for the Stock Car Big Dance at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s.
The Corbett racer is pulling double duty at this year’s event and next looks to qualify for the modified finale on Saturday night.
“Our goal here always starts pretty simple,” Winebarger commented. “You’ve got to get into the race first. You hope that you hit draws good, have a good car, have good speed, get into the race and reevaluate. Getting the stock car in was cool. Now we need to work on the modified.”
Winebarger qualified for last year’s modified dance and finished 21st. He was also 12th in the B & B Racing Chassis Stock Car All-Star Invitational.
Although his year has seen a limited amount of runs, Collen has picked up four various wins.
Modified triumphs have come at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks, Ore.; Lebanon, Ore.’s Willamette Speedway; and Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
He also has gotten Stock Car wins at Willamette and Sunset.
“This year has been busy and quick. We didn’t race for a while because there was so much rain in the spring and summer,” he said. “When we did start racing, it was two or three days a week with stock cars, modifieds and late models. It’s been successful, and we won some big races.”
Late exit doesn’t deter Nelson
Wednesday’s first IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s qualifying feature for modifieds was a heartbreaker for Jordy Nelson.
The Marysville, Kan., veteran led the first 10 laps then finished 24th after running in a transfer spot until late in the race.
He would try again on Thursday in the hope of making the Championship Night dance.
Still, Nelson said, “It’s been a fun week so far. We haven’t drawn very good all week. Last night we were in a spot to get into the show but we had the left rear tire go down with seven to go.”
He’s a three-time qualifier at Boone Speedway, with a career best finish of 18th in 2004.
“We’ve been pretty quick all this year,” he said. “We had some DNFs that didn’t help us in points. We have picked up some two wins at Beatrice, which has been good.”
Murty roaring again at Super Nationals
One of the most accomplished of the young lions in IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing is Dallon Murty.
The Chelsea, Iowa, teenager is looking to equal the rare feat of qualifying for three championship events at the same IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s event.
He was 26th in the STARS Mod Lite dance on Sunday, won his stock car qualifier (and later the pole start) on Wednesday and won his modified heat race on Thursday. He’ll take to the track again tonight looking for a berth in the Modified Championship show.
“It’s been the best of both worlds so far,” commented Murty. “The stock car went really well by winning the heat and the qualifier. The modified hasn’t been that great so hopefully we can qualify tonight. In the mod lite we were really good on Saturday night, but we were terrible in the dance.
“Overall, it’s been a fun week.”
Murty is the defending stock car champion of the Super Nationals. He has 24 wins, with two of them coming at Boone Speedway this year. Those triumphs came on April 9 and Aug. 27.
“This year has been wild. We’ve been doing double duty most nights,” he said. “We got this new Modified and it’s a big learning curve for us. It hasn’t been the best year for us but we are still having fun so it’s still worth it.”