Strickler topped the abbreviated feature, shortened because of time and threatening weather conditions. His victory puts the North Carolina driver at the front of the inside row for Saturday’s main event at Boone Speedway.

Thursday’s top eight finishers represented five different states.

Lining up behind Strickler in the big show will be Jay Noteboom, Jeff Taylor, Dylan Smith, Ricky Alvarado, Cale Sponsler, Zane DeVilbiss and Michael Reichart.

Noteboom has now made the main event eight times, Sponsler four and Taylor twice.

First-time qualifiers are Strickler, Smith, Alvarado, DeVilbiss and Reichart.

Drivers from 13 different states won Modified heat races on Thursday night to advance to the qualifier.

Feature results – 1. Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, N.C.; 2. Jay Noteboom, Hinton; 3. Jeff Taylor, Cave City, Ark.; 4. Dylan Smith, Osceola, Neb.; 5. Ricky Alvarado, Delta, Colo.; 6. Cale Sponsler, Grimes; 7. Zane DeVilbiss, Farmington, N.M.; 8. Michael Reichart, Des Moines; 9. Charley Brown, Maxwell, Neb.; 10. Mark Patterson, Abilene, Texas; 11. Kevin Stoa,
 Albert Lea, Minn.; 12. Jordy Nelson, Marysville, Kan.; 13. Larry Hood, Bakersfield, Calif.; 14. Mike Van Genderen, Newton; 15. Shawn Kilgore, New Franken, Wis.; 16. Patrick Flannagan, Cedar Rapids; 17. Blake Peeler, Trimble, Mo.; 18. Chad Andersen, Omaha, Neb.; 19. Dan Charles, Basehor, Kan.; 20. Kelly Lyons, Boone; 21. Jay Matthias, DePere,
Wis; 22. Tyler Prochaska, Iowa Falls; 23. Josh Ruby, Lakota; 24. Lonnie Heap, Media, Ill.; 25. Wade Cross, Phillips, Neb.; 26. Kenny Neu, Oakley, Calif.; 27. Greg Dinsmore, Kerrville, Texas; 28. Cory Wray, Jamesport, Mo.; 29. Jacob Anson, Albion, Neb.; 30. Jeremy Frenier, Fort Morgan, Colo.

One other former champion is in the field of 30. Brian Blessington, Super Nationals king in 2001, will start ninth.

The top eight finishers advance to the middle row of Saturday’s main event.

1997 and 1998 RoC winner Johnny Saathoff topped his heat while 2005 winner Kevin Stoa qualified by finishing second in his.

Other heat winners were Jake Durbin, Mark Elliott, Michael Smith, Brad Pounds and Jeremy Mills. Joining Stoa as runners-up were Jesse Richter, Jeremy Frenier, Jordan Grabouski, Dylan Smith and Todd Shute.

Saathoff will make his career ninth RoC start, Stoa his sixth and Shute his fourth.

Two-time qualifiers are Durbin, Elliott and Grabouski. Richter, Michael Smith, Frenier, Pounds, Dylan Smith and Mills are all first-timers.

Together, David Murray Jr., Mike Nichols, Shannon Anderson and Jesse Sobbing own more than 1,000 sanctioned feature wins … plus a dozen national championships, 15 regional crowns, two Super Nationals titles and 26 main event appearances at America’s Racin’ Vacation.

This is the fifth straight year Super Nationals has topped the 800 entry mark. The previous car count record of 843 was set last year.

Czarapata ended a Modified foray and returned to the division on a part-time basis last season. He’s a 24-time feature winner thus far in 2012 and has already won his Thursday heat, after running second to Mike Nichols in his heat and wrecking in his Wednesday “B” feature.

“We get close to 30 Stock Cars a night in Wisconsin,” said Czarapata. “The quality of competition at our home tracks is pretty high. There are a lot of fast cars.”

Czarapata is a seven-time main event qualifier at Super Nationals. He was second in the 2006 race and fifth in 2001, 2002 and 2009.

From Winton, Calif., Stone and his wife Jill were enroute to Boone Speedway with both his and Bobby Hogge IV’s Modified in the trailer.

What happened next can be summed up with these words of advice from Stone: “If you’re going to break down, don’t do it on a Saturday night before a holiday.”

After the trailer broke down on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Stone had to wait until parts stores opened up on Tuesday morning, then had to build and replace an axle.

The Stones resumed the trek to Boone, slowed again by a flat tire in Wyoming and made even more memorable by which state they were traveling through at sunrise or sunset before getting to the track late Wednesday.

After unloading and getting both cars to tech, a quick call was made to Lee Chase to get the graphics done on the Stone ride.

Stone was operating on 42 straight hours of no sleep before starting the 29^th heat race. The story would be better if he and Hogge, who was in the 30^th heat, had better finishes but that was not the case.

“The heat was terrible,” said Stone, who could still manage a smile. “We’re hoping for better things on Thursday.”

*

One more travel tidbit from Stone: It is exactly 1,998 miles from his home to Boone Speedway.

That accomplishment by Ronn Lauritzen comes after less than six full seasons in the class and despite a dustup early in Wednesday’s qualifier that left him with a bent left rear wheel and wondering if he’d be able to stay in the race.

“Just to make it into the main event at Super Nationals was one of my goals. “Of course I want to win it but I’m going to be happy regardless of how I finish.”

He ended the qualifier in fifth, working his way patiently toward the front after starting 18^th.

“I figured I’d run the first half of the race and see what happened,” Lauritzen said. “Everything worked out for us.”

Lauritzen crewed for Ed Thomas for 15-plus years and had raced motocross and 4-wheelers before wheeling a Thomas car part-time.

He has a career-best five feature wins in his fifth Modified season.

He woke up Thursday morning feeling pretty good about a lot of things, including his chances in Saturday’s big dance.

Blochlinger led much of the way in the 2010 event before a shattered left rear brake rotor ended his night. He’ll be on the pole this year after leading the opening night qualifier wire to wire.

“When I took the white flag I was hoping everything on the car would hold together for one more lap,” said Blochlinger. “When I took the checkered flag it was a feeling of relief.”

He had drawn the pole start for the qualifier after winning the 22^nd heat. Josh Most ran second most of the way and Troy Cordes stuck his nose in a couple times, but the night clearly belonged to Blochlinger.

“I left here two years ago thinking I might not get another chance to win Super Nationals,” he said. “It turned out to be a twice in a lifetime thing.”

Blochlinger will spend the rest of the week watching races and “nutting and bolting it” to help his fellow BMS drivers make the show.

The top two finishers from each of six Harris RoC heats advance to the Saturday feature at Boone Speedway. That event pays $1,000 to win plus lap money.

Defending and two-time race winner is Jimmy Gustin.

The front eight starters in the middle row of Saturday main events will be determined for both the Modifieds and the Stock Cars.