By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

BOONE, Iowa -- The white smoke billowed out of the car with one large puff.

When Corey Lagroon saw it, he was amazed.

"I was thinking it was about time I had some luck at this place," the modified driver from Salina said. "It was bad for that guy, but it was about time I had some luck up here."

That puff of smoke came when the leader of Lagroon's heat at the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa, saw his engine fail, and Lagroon was more than happy to pounce on the opportunity while running in second place.

He pulled into the lead and led the final lap and a half en route to winning the heat and grabbing one of the 30 spots in Friday night's A-main qualifier, where the top eight finishers would lock into Saturday night's feature -- no small feat in itself with more than 250 modifieds competing.

That bit of luck turned even bigger when Lagroon finished seventh in the A-main qualifier Friday night, advancing to Saturday night's feature in Boone for the first time in his career.

"We are in the show officially," Lagroon said after passing through the extensive tech lane successfully, just after midnight.

Lagroon's early days at the prestigious weeklong event started like many other drivers' trips to Boone -- with nothing but bad luck.

"I was hoping, but after my first lap in my heat race when I ended up off the track and didn't even get to turn two, I was thinking this was going to be a long weekend," Lagroon said. "Then I was down on points, and we were a day behind on getting the car tuned in. I'd never dream I was going to get in. Guys kept asking me if I was going to get in, and I'd tell them we hadn't been that good."

Until Thursday night. That's when he also qualified for Saturday's modified Race of Champions by finishing second in his heat. Those six heats were open only to track champions, drivers leading track points or past champions at the super nationals.

His second place finish in his heat secured a spot in Saturday's Race of Champions finale and began turning his luck.

On Friday, it came full circle with the puff of smoke that allowed him to win his heat race. He then drew the ninth-place starting spot for the 30-car feature.

Lagroon moved all the way up to fifth before a restart on lap 16, when he slipped back to eighth -- the final transfer spot.

"At the last few nights' features, they were only finishing 12 or 13 cars, and I wanted to make sure I was at least at the finish," Lagroon said.

Lagroon continued to work the lowest line possible, eventually working his way back to sixth place. He then had to avoid being spun out by the seventh-place car on the final lap, letting him by after easing off the gas to save the car from spinning. The move dropped him to seventh place, but good enough to make his first feature in Boone.

"When I got that last pretty good bump when I went into turn three, it turned me real sideways and I thought it was going to end right there," Lagroon said. "We were going to the checkered flag, and I kind of saved it and got back up.

"You get nervous the last few laps. I'll admit that. I'll guarantee that. Those last few laps, I thought all I have to do is stay here. Close to that transfer spot, it could go either way. But I was trying to drive my line and get in good."

Oberlin's David Murray Jr. kept his chances of making Saturday's feature alive with one of the best races he's put together this week in Iowa. Murray, in his eight-lap B-main Friday night, was running near the front before falling back to seventh.

He rallied during the final few laps to pull out a win by passing the leader coming out of turn four.

"When I went back to seventh, I thought, 'Geez, I'm going the wrong way this time,' " Murray said. "I had to try something else, and it started working pretty good down there. Then we whittled our way back to the front. But it's a tough race track."

Russell's Marty Clark found that out the hard way in his heat race Friday. Clark was running in the middle of the pack when a car got loose below him and slid up. The car running along the outside of him tagged the backstretch wall at the same time and bolted down toward him, trapping him in the middle.

The car that hit the wall went under Clark's car, forcing the Russell driver's car into the air as it jumped over the front of the other car. He was able to save the car from rolling, but it ended his trip to Boone.

"It's just like golf," Clark said about racing in Iowa. "It's frustrating."