BOONE, Iowa — Sunoco IMCA Hobby Stocks ran two 25-lap qualifiers Tuesday night at the Speedway Motors IMCA Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s, with the top eight finishers from each race advancing to Saturday’s Big Dance at Boone Speedway.
Corey Van Der Wilt dominated Qualifier 2, which set the middle row, while Brandon Nielsen prevailed in a thriller to win Qualifier 3, which set the outside row.
In Qualifier 2, Van Der Wilt, the 2023 Marshalltown Speedway champion, set the tone early and survived cautions on laps four, 12, and 20.
Each time, he checked out on the restart and controlled the pace, cruising to a flag-to-flag win.
Austin Jahnz charged forward from 12th to finish second, with Dustin Filloon third. Dylan Bell crossed in fourth, followed by 2024 IMCA TV Winter Nationals champion Cody Williams.
Hunter Ferrell, the 2023 New Mexico State champion, stormed through the field from 27th to sixth.
Two-time South Dakota State champion Joel Magee made a 19th-to-seventh run, and Mitchell McNeill took the final transfer spot in eighth after Bradly Graham was disqualified from fifth for an exhaust infraction.
Qualifier 3 saw five-time Hancock County Speedway champion Nielsen fend off a late-race frenzy for the win.
Nielsen led the opening lap before surrendering the top spot to Braden Gifford, but he roared back to reclaim the lead on lap four and built a comfortable advantage until a lap-14 caution tightened the field.
2022 Super Nationals champion Zach Olmstead and reigning Murray County and Worthington Speedway champion Blake Luinenburg turned up the heat, pressuring Nielsen in the final laps.
The trio went three-wide down the backstretch on lap 23, with Luinenburg leading at the line. Nielsen countered with a fierce final-lap drive, reclaiming the lead and holding off Olmstead and Luinenburg to seal the victory.
Justin Frederick finished fourth, with Adam Hensel in fifth. Briar Kriegel edged Joe Wollenhaupt by just 0.001 seconds for sixth, while Rusty Bates was awarded the eighth and final transfer spot after original fifth-place finisher Cory Probst was disqualified for a shock infraction in post-race tech.
Earlier in the night, Luinenburg captured the Stephenville Starter and Electric Race of Champions, marking his first career triumph in the event, before coming back to finish third in the qualifier.
166 IMCA Hobby Stocks were on tap for the night’s program.
The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV. Catch the replay with a monthly IMCA TV Replay Subscription for $24.99/month, and don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.
