Aug 22, 2023

5280 Pit Lighting Short Track Sizzler Delivers At CNS

August 19th, 2023 (Dacono, CO)

Not even Mother Nature could put a damper on things at Colorado National Speedway on August 19th, 2023. Tight racing was the name of the game in all divisions against a backdrop of dark clouds and bright cloud-to-cloud lightning as the night carried on. As always, fans who weathered the storm (quite literally) got a kick out of the Pro Trucks, Late Models, Pure Stocks and Trains to cap things off as our drivers put their best foot forward to outrun the competition.

American Flag - Colorado National Speedway

Matco Tools Pro Trucks

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 88S of Brad Skufca and the No. 85 of Jeff Walbaum showed the way to the green flag out of Turn 4. Walbaum snagged the lead for the first lap with a pass on the outside, while the pack jostled for position two- and three-wide behind him. The No. 50, driven by Tyler Wiggans, made it his personal mission to dethrone Walbaum from the lead, completing the pass on Lap 3 while Skufca lost speed and found himself in fourth. To add insult to injury, Skufca and the No. 71 of Tim Duvall made contact, although they were able to keep their race trucks under them and continued under green. Wiggans opened a comfortable lead on Walbaum and didn’t look back, crossing the line first.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 08 machine of Krystal Faulkingham snagged the lead away from the No. 16 of Travis Roe, while the No. 7 of Adam Deines stalked her for the top spot. The No. 33 of Tyler Davis settled into fourth after Roe plummeted through the pack, while Deines worked on Faulkingham for the lead. On Lap 7, he made it work, leaving Faulkingham to fend off Davis for the runner-up position. Faulkingham forced Davis to the apron, causing him to spin out and throwing a caution. Deines started beside Davis as Faulkingham was sent to the rear. Deines got the advantage and led to the checkered flag.

Feature – 30 Laps

Faulkingham’s No. 08 started on the front row beside the No. 16 of Roe, and the latter took advantage of a slow start to get out front in a hurry. The No. 43 of Kody Vanderwal shot past Faulkingham as she fell back, left to fend off the No. 11 of Steve Johnson for third. Vanderwal held down second place and kept Roe in his sights, who stretched his lead without breaking a sweat. Then, Johnson snapped sideways and tagged the No. 50 of Wiggans, but the race stayed green and Vanderwal continued to chip at Roe’s lead. Davis put this No. 33 truck right on Deines for third and made short work of the No. 7 machine. Up front, Vanderwal reeled Roe in, slowing both trucks in the battle and allowing Davis to close the distance. In short order, he threw his truck to the inside lane and took second away from Vanderwal, then entered a bumper lock with Roe for first. Lapped traffic stalled Roe, finally giving Davis the advantage he was looking for as the two galloped side-by-side down the back stretch. It literally came right down to the line, with the No. 33 of Davis scoring the win by mere inches over Roe in a photo finish.

Quick Time: No. 33 Tyler Davis 17.130

Feature: No. 33 Tyler Davis

Fast Dash: No. 7 Adam Deines

Dash: No. 50 Tyler Wiggans

GTI Services Late Models

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 48 of Mikey Blackard couldn’t shake the No. 58 of Bryce Weinmaster at the drop of the green flag, but the former eventually got to the front of the field. The No. 18 of Casey Wiggans, meanwhile, set out after the frontrunners, taking fourth away from the No. 96 of Jeremy Jackson in short order while Weinmaster divebombed Blackard for the lead. Trading the top position back and forth eventually culminated in Blackard spinning out and causing a yellow. This put Weinmaster and Del Trantham’s No. 19 up front for the restart, but it wasn’t long before Wiggans put his nose into the fight for first. He got by with ease, taking first away from Weinmaster on the backstretch of the last lap and winning the Dash.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Rick Smith threw his No. 31 out front in a hurry, tailed by the No. 21G of Mike Gallegos and the No. 15 of Michael Hannah vying for second place. The No. 99 of Tessa Marine got past Gallegos for third and began working on the leaders, although Gallegos mounted a charge and kept Marine within range. Hannah gathered his race car and attempted to mount a charge on Smith up front on the final lap, but Smith would not be denied on his way to the Fast Dash win.

Feature – 30 Laps

Hot off a successful Fast Dash, Smith’s No. 31 led Hannah’s No. 15 to the line for the LM Feature. Hannah didn’t let him go without a fight, going side-by-side for the lead up front, leaving the No. 99 of Marine to hold down third. Smith finally shook Hannah on Lap 3 to settle comfortably into the lead. Gallegos picked up right where he left of, too, pressuring Marine for her third-place position. The field filed out single file about halfway through the Feature, making it difficult for Gallegos to find his way into P3, and another challenge presented itself for the leaders in the form of heavy lapped traffic. Smith had opened up half a straightaway on Hannah for the lead by the time a caution was called for the No. 30 of Jeremiah Hill, which blew a tire and found the Turn 3 wall with force. The restart put Smith and Hannah together on the front row, and Smith wasted no time in getting back out front. Gallegos set out after Hannah for P2, keeping him busy while Smith lunged ahead of the pack and swept the Feature win.

Quick Time: No. 15 Michael Hannah 17.343

Feature: No. 31 Rick Smith

Fast Dash: No. 31 Rick Smith

Dash: No. 18 Casey Wiggans

Rock ‘N’ Roll Brewery Pure Stocks

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 99 of rookie Dillon Meigs led Lap 1, barely clearing the No. 02 of Chan Raley for the honor. The No. 7X of Dustin Camp spun after some close two-by-two racing, sideways into the infield while the track stayed green. The No. 78 of Mark Bremkamp followed suit just a few laps later, but cleared the racing surface. Meigs and Raley gained distance on the rest of the field, while a three-way battle for third shaped up between the No. 56 of John Ranum, the No. 13 of Isaac Slinker and the No. 41G of Chris Galvin. Slinker took the position, as Meigs shot across the line for the Dash win.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Mahkrysta Hilton, piloting the No. OH7X in place of her sister, Aubrei, pressured the No. 22 of AJ Hill for the top spot right away. Hill found himself on the wrong end of a freight train headed toward the front, as he was passed Hilton’s No. OH7X, Ronald Burnett’s No. 3, Isaac Almaswari’s No. 8 and Austin Richards’ No. 8A in short order. Up front, Hilton settled into the lead with a single-file pack behind her. Almaswari was forced to defend third against Richards, but hung onto it at the line as the checkered flag flew over Hilton in first.

Feature – 25 Laps

Twenty race cars followed the No. 8 of Almaswari and the No. 3 of Burnett to the green flag. Almaswari shot to the top of the board, bringing the No. 8A of Richards along with him. The No. 06 of Scott Johnson spun early but was able to clear the racing surface. Hilton’s No. OH7X defended fifth place against the No. 6 of Ben Hendricks, while up front, Richards was finally able to shake Almaswari and take over the top spot. On a mission, Hilton clawed her way into third and reeled in Almaswari, wearing out the latter’s bumper as she searched for an opportunity to complete the pass. Together, Almaswari and Hilton began to close the distance that Richards had laid down between them, although lapped traffic suddenly became a factor and complicated things further. The No. 22 of Hill took fourth away from Burnett as the leaders navigated traffic. Then, an apparent mechanical issue felled the No. OH7X machine, forcing Hilton to yank the car close to the wall with just two laps to go, ending her hopes of capping her night with a Feature win. All said and done, Almaswari drove a clean race and earned the Feature victory.

Quick Time: No. OH7X Mahkrysta Hilton 19.943

Feature: No. 8 Isaac Almaswari

Fast Dash: No. OH7X Mahkrysta Hilton

Dash: No. 99 Dillon Meigs

Witthar Racing Trains

Feature – 8 Laps

The No. 01 Dukes of Hazzard took the lead right away, while the No. 80HD SNAFU shot into third early. The No. 86 Last Call train nudged Dukes of Hazzard high, almost unfurling into a wreck, allowing SNAFU to gain ground. Last Call took over the lead, pulling away from SNAFU and the No. 3 Anger Management train. Anger Management tried to get to the inside of SNAFU, but couldn’t get around. No. 86, Last Call, pulled away for the win.