AAA Service Does It Right On Saturday Night At CNS

August 26th, 2023 (Dacono, CO)

Cooler weather didn’t keep fans or drivers away from the action at Colorado National Speedway on Saturday, August 26th, 2023 – in fact, it provided the perfect backdrop for a night of clean, thrilling, professional racing. Super Stocks delivered on drama, Super Late Models made good use of 40 green-flag laps, the Grand American Modifieds hit the track with a vengeance, and the Demo X completed the night with sparks flying. The season continues to wind down, but there’s still plenty of racing to be had, so if you missed out on Saturday, head on out for affordable, exciting family fun before we put a cap on our season and crown our champions.

Coloradoan Car Club - Colorado National Speedway

Bella Flooring America Super Late Models

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 84 of Matt Zwingelberg rallied back after losing the first circuit to the No. 29 of Matt Brunker, who was under pressure from the No. 12 of Bruce Yackey. As Zwingelberg showed the way, Brunker and Ethan Hunter’s No. 37 battled it out for the second spot. Yackey tried to use the outside lane to his advantage, dragging Hunter along with him as they both passed Brunker, who was glued to the inside lane. The pack filtered into a single file line behind Zwingelberg, although second place was hotly contested between Yackey and Hunter, with Yackey claiming the spot right at the line.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Cody Dempster threw his No. 24 machine out ahead on the first lap, barely leading over the No. 89 of Zach Morris. Morris fell into the orbit of the No. 82 machine, piloted by Michael Scott, who fought him hard for second place. Then, a multicar incident caused a yellow just two laps in. Once they got up to speed under green again, Dempster had to defend the lead against Scott, while Brett Yackey’s No. 32 entered the mix. Dempster checked out, leading Scott and Yackey across the line.

Feature – 40 Laps

While Kyle Ray and the No. 58 machine charged into the lead, Brett Yackey slotted in behind Morris for third, while Dempster showed his car had speed once again and challenged Michael Scott for fourth. Scott quickly found his groove and shot around Brett Yackey for third, although he couldn’t put much distance down before he was challenged again, appearing to struggle with the handling of his car in Turn 4. Meanwhile, Ray was able to settle into a comfortable lead, ditching the pack as Morris tried to find the perfect line to reel him in. Brett Yackey and Dempster went at each other for fourth. The former made the pass and tried to catch Scott, who was trying to find his way around the track in the uppermost lane. That left the inside open for Yackey, who traded paint with Dempster for a few laps before settling out. Up front, Ray continued to lead, although Morris wouldn’t let him off the hook so easy. Lapped cars created an obstacle course for the leaders about halfway through, although Ray was able to maintain a seven car-length lead over Morris.

Meanwhile, the familiar No. 12 of Bruce Yackey, who started deep in the pack, was able to muscle his way around the No. 3C driven by Cassidy Hinds for sixth. Toward the front, Brett Yackey looked to the inside of Scott’s bright yellow machine, their battle mirrored as Morris tried to reel in Ray. Scott was able to hold onto it. By this time, Morris had cut Ray’s lead to just three car-lengths, thanks in part to lapped traffic, eventually catching him for the top spot. In a bumper lock, Morris attempted to find his way around, although he lost ground, and Brett Yackey used impeding traffic as a barrier to put Scott behind him. Ray fended off Morris, meanwhile, leading a clean green-to-checkered flag race for his second feature win of the 2023 season.

Quick Time: No. 58, Kyle Ray, 15.969

Dash: No. 84, Matt Zwingelberg

Fast Dash: No. 24, Cody Dempster

Feature: No. 58, Kyle Ray

Sunoco Race Fuel Grand American Modifieds

Dash – 10 Laps

It appeared that Lap 1 belonged to Damian Lockhart, No. 55, but that was before the No. 52 of Jared Wall caught him and led – until a multicar wreck slowed the field under yellow. The restart was more of the same, with Wall out front and Lockhart tailing him. Travis Rudolph threw the No. 22 around Jereme Wall’s No. 15 for fourth. The top five filed out like a freight train, letting Jared Wall get away cleanly and lead to the Dash win.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Chris Cox’s No. 49 showed muscle right at the drop of the green flag. He pulled the No. 69 of Forest Smith along with him, who quickly captured the lead. The No. 13S of Jordan Smith and Kyle Clegg’s No. 51 were locked in a battle for third, until Clegg came out ahead. Then, Clegg almost took it three wide for the lead, putting Smith and Cox in his rearview in one fell swoop as he showed the way. Smith tried to cut the distance but ran out of laps, chasing Clegg across the line for the win.

Feature – 30 Laps

The Smith brothers, Jacob in the No. 89 and Jordan the No. 13S, commanded the front row for the drop of the green flag. Clegg snuck into third place and began hunting Jordan Smith for second, easily taking the spot away and lighting out after Jacob Smith up front. Using the No. 89 like a weapon, Jacob Smith sliced in front of Clegg, but the latter took it side-by-side for the top spot and claimed it after fighting tooth and nail. Cox entered the mix, putting pressure on Jordan Smith for third place, while Clegg got away with the race lead. The No. 8 of Benjamin Stanley spun to the infield at the halfway mark, but the race stayed green. Cox got by Jordan Smith, while Clegg put some distance down and kept a comfortable lead, although Cox began to cut the distance on the two leaders, matching pace with Jacob Smith as he tried to get to him. With six to go, the leaders caught the tail end of the field, narrowing the gaps between the frontrunners, although it wasn’t enough to keep Clegg from climbing the fence in celebration after his Feature win… and his Fast Dash win… and the night’s Quick Time!

Quick Time: No. 51, Kyle Clegg, 17.032

Dash: No. 52, Jared Wall

Fast Dash: No. 51, Kyle Clegg

Feature: No. 51, Kyle Clegg

Pueblo Bank & Trust Super Stocks

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Cox – running double duty in the No. 49 – passed the No. M60 of Morris Christner for the lead, finding himself under pressure of Jordan Abeyta’s blue No. 23 right away, almost going three-wide for the lead. Fourth went to the No. 11W of Scott Long after a brief battle with the No. 3 of Michael Cox, while Abeyta kept working on Chris Cox up front. Abeyta led Cox at the line, chasing his race car as it ran wide in Turns 2 and 4. Abeyta thought he checked out with a comfortable lead, but Cox threw the No. 49 back in the mix and swapped to the inside lane and brought it side-by-side with Abeyta once again. It was a drag race to the finish – and Cox snagged the win right at the start/finish line.

Feature – 20 Laps (Scheduled 25 Laps)

Leading Lap 1, the No. 21 of Chris Nelson fended off the No. 82 of Ian Clark, while Chris Cox picked up right where he left off after the Fast Dash and charged through the field after starting in the rear. The No. 62 of Amber Giles spun out, but stayed clean – until she unfortunately spun a second time just one lap later, with the No. 90 of Alex Rodriguez, the No. 9 of Brent Cave and the No. 23 of Abeyta involved and taking damage. All drivers gathered their cars back under them and continued on. Clark used his bumper to intimidate Nelson up front, causing both race cars to get loose and opening the door for the No. 97 of Kyle Stidham to take second. Another multicar incident involving the No. 3 of Michael Cox and Clark, stalling and causing a yellow flag. Cave briefly pulled off the track to the attention of his crew before returning. Chris Cox, having started in the rear, found his way to the front row for the restart, taking Nelson neck-and-neck until chaos unfolded once again.

Stidham was pinched up the track by Rodriguez, slamming the wall and scattering parts and necessitating a red flag while track crews attended to the debris. On the restart, Chris Cox leaped out front, putting Nelson into the clutches of Abeyta. Then, the No. M60 of Christner tapped Nelson, sending him for a neat spin. Cave slammed into Christner, bowing the front end of his point-leading No. 9 machine quite severely. Cox restarted next to Long’s No. 11W, and while Cox found the lead, Abeyta passed Long to challenge him in short order. Nelson’s no. 21 spun out again, sweeping points leader Brent Cave into the mess and causing a yellow. Chris Cox now had to defend his lead against Abeyta up front once more, taking it side-by-side as they continued their competition from the Fast Dash. Long didn’t let them get away, though, trading a bit of paint with Abeyta. Then, Rodriguez contacted Abeyta and spun the latter race car out, and both drivers were sent to the rear for their involvement.

As the race was nearing its time limit, five laps were cut off per officials, and the race became a green-white-checkered finish. Chris Cox had to fend off Long on the front row, something he did with a bit of difficulty. However, Chris Cox would not be denied, and went on to win the Feature just barely over Long. Abeyta would finish sixth, followed by Rodriguez in seventh.