CARS Pro Late Models Presented by Outlaw 1859 Vodka Delivers Primetime Action At CNS

Alexandra Purcell
15 hours ago
11 min read

August 1, 2026 - Dacono, CO

The heat was on at Colorado National Speedway on August 1st, 2026, as fans packed the grandstands for one of the biggest nights of the season. A huge thank-you goes out to everyone who braved the summer temperatures to cheer on the stars of the CARS Tour West Pro Late Models, along with our Grand American Modifieds, CTW Legends, and Bandoleros. As the highest level of stock car racing competing over the weekend, there was certainly no shortage of speed, side-by-side action, and unforgettable moments on the fastest short track in the West.

Whether you joined us at the speedway to watch our drivers do what they do best in person or tuned in online, this weekend delivered unforgettable action and made CNS the perfect place to spend a beautiful summer night. If you missed the CARS Tour action – or just want to relive it – get caught up below!

CTW Pro Late Models

Feature – 125 Laps

The No. 62 of Keelan Harvick jumped to the early lead, but the No. 23 of Jaron Giannini stayed glued to his bumper while the No. 22 of Buddy Shepherd worked past the No. 29H of Kevin Harvick for third. Giannini didn't wait long to make his move, slipping past Keelan Harvick for the lead before quickly pulling away. Behind them, Kevin Harvick tried to reclaim third while fending off the No. 55 of Hayden Plybon. Further back, the No. 17 of Taylor Mayhew battled the No. 3G of Wyatt Gardner for sixth, eventually completing the pass and dropping Gardner to eighth. The No. 9 of Ethan Ebert and the No. 100 of Weston Marthaler also put on a spirited fight for 10th, with Ebert holding the position. Twenty-one laps into the race, Giannini remained firmly in control as the leaders began catching slower traffic. Mayhew eventually worked past Plybon for fifth and set his sights on Kevin Harvick, though he still had ground to make up. By Lap 30, heavy lapped traffic had engulfed the leaders. Keelan Harvick cut Giannini's advantage to less than a second and a half, but every time Giannini found clean air, he stretched the gap once again.

A scheduled competition caution on Lap 45 erased Giannini's lead and reset the field. Giannini launched cleanly on the restart while Kevin Harvick immediately pressured his son for second. Mayhew lurked just behind, waiting for an opening. Keelan Harvick eventually shook free of the battle and turned his attention to Shepherd, but the fight behind Giannini allowed the leader to strengthen his advantage, but Kevin Harvick wasn't finished. Charging around the outside, he finally cleared Keelan Harvick and settled into second, beginning his pursuit of Giannini. Behind them, the battle from sixth on back heated up as Plybon held out against the No. 24D of Cody Dempster, the No. 48 of Mia Lovell, Gardner, and Ebert in a tightly packed group.

At the halfway point, Keelan Harvick rallied to challenge Shepherd for third once again, their battle allowing Mayhew to close in. Before the fight could fully develop, a single-car spin following contact brought out the caution on Lap 63. Giannini again controlled the restart, but this time Kevin Harvick quickly worked past Shepherd to reclaim second. Keelan Harvick settled into third while Mayhew held off repeated challenges from Dempster for fifth. Keelan Harvick and Shepherd continued trading third over the ensuing laps before Keelan Harvick finally secured the position. That left Shepherd and Mayhew to battle over fourth, with Mayhew eventually prevailing.

With 45 laps remaining, Kevin Harvick mounted his charge. Using the high lane through traffic, he steadily reeled Giannini in, cutting the lead to less than half a second by Lap 87. The leaders took different approaches through slower traffic, with Giannini hugging the bottom while Kevin Harvick found speed around the outside. Keelan Harvick also closed the gap as the top three compressed. Dempster eventually broke into the top five, bumping Shepherd from the leaderboard, while up front the battle for the lead reached its climax. Giannini repeatedly split lapped traffic three-wide with Kevin Harvick, but each encounter allowed the No. 29H to inch closer. With 18 laps remaining, Harvick had the deficit down to just .278 seconds.

Lap after lap, Kevin Harvick searched every lane for a way around, peeking low before carrying momentum around the outside. He finally drew alongside Giannini while navigating lapped traffic. A light tap to Giannini's rear bumper kept the battle alive, and one lap later – Lap 117 - Harvick completed the pass on the backstretch before sliding in front on the front straightaway. With five laps to go, Giannini made one final push, but Kevin Harvick had finally wrestled control of the race away. He pulled clear through the closing laps and took the checkered flag, with Giannini finishing second and Keelan Harvick completing the podium. Kevin Harvick collected the $7,500 prize.

Quick Time: No. 62, Keelan Harvick

Feature: No. 29H, Kevin Harvick

CTW Legends

Dash A – 15 Laps ($500 to win)

The No. 15M of Danny Medina and the No. 32 of Cody Milan led the Legends to the green, quickly breaking away from the rest of the field. The No. 60 of Liam Hammond emerged in third after a brief but spirited battle with the No. 73 of Michael Markison, while the No. 17K of Marc Karashinski settled into fifth as the No. 27H of Brian Harlow searched for a way into the top five. Medina stayed glued to Milan's rear bumper, making his first serious bid for the lead on Lap 4 before falling back in line. He mounted another challenge on Lap 8 but again came up short. With slower traffic looming, Milan carefully picked his way through the pack while Medina closed the gap one final time. Despite the late pressure, Milan held on to claim the Dash victory, leading Medina and Hammond across the stripe.

Fast Dash – 20 Laps ($500 to win)

A dramatic opening lap brought out a red flag after a multi-car incident in Turn 1, which included one car rolling over. Safety crews responded quickly, all drivers were okay, and once the racing surface was cleared, the field returned to action. The No. 12H of Colton Hale took command on the restart with the No. 1 of Joey Lobue and the No. 15H of Rhylee Hutchins in pursuit. Another caution followed on Lap 3 after a single car spun and could not clear the racing surface.

Hale controlled the restart while the No. 18B of Brexton Busch worked underneath Lobue to take second. The No. 22E of Chris Eggleston climbed into fifth before advancing to fourth, bringing the No. 4W of Stuart Wilkerson with him. Meanwhile, the No. 5E of Eli Black surged back into the top five, quickly working past Wilkerson before setting his sights on the podium. Black challenged Lobue from both the inside and outside over the closing laps, briefly taking third before Lobue answered at the stripe to reclaim the position. Up front, Hale stayed in control from start to finish, leading Busch to the checkered flag.

Feature – 30 Laps

Hale wasted no time taking command when the green flag waved, leading Lobue and Busch while Eggleston and the No. 14 of Austin Steinke held onto the top five. Just three laps in, slight contact between two competitors in Turn 2 brought out the first caution. Then, just after the restart, another incident high in Turn 1 slowed the field once again. When racing resumed, Hale once again launched into the lead. Eggleston briefly grabbed second with help from the cars behind him, but Busch quickly fought his way back into the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Lobue slipped backward after being freight-trained by the No. 52 of Neil Dulin and Steinke, falling outside the top five.

By Lap 14, Hale had already caught lapped traffic, but Busch refused to let him escape, remaining tucked tightly behind the leader as they threaded their way through slower cars. Despite applying constant pressure, Busch couldn't find an opening to complete the pass. A caution with 10 laps remaining erased Hale's advantage after a car spun on the backstretch. Hale and Busch both chose the inside lane for the restart and again pulled away from the field, only for another caution to wave on Lap 24 after a car came to rest on the frontstretch.

The race resumed with six laps to go, but another incident on the backstretch brought out a red flag with just five laps remaining. Busch rocketed to the front on the ensuing restart, but his momentum stalled when he became trapped in the outside lane, allowing Dulin and Eggleston to surge past. Out front, Hale had Dulin filling his rearview mirror over the closing laps, but the leader never faltered. Hale crossed the stripe first, completing another clean sweep by winning both the Fast Dash and the Feature.

Quick Time: No. 12H, Colton Hale, 18.733

Fast Dash: No. 12H, Colton Hale

Dash A: No. 32, Cody Milan

Fast Feature: No. 12H, Colton Hale

Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds

Feature 1 – 25 Laps

The No. 32C of Chris Cox and the No. 9 of CJ Wilson led the field to green, but it was Cox who edged ahead at the stripe with Wilson tucked in behind. The No. 24 of Nathan Gasser settled into third, followed by the No. 69 of Forest Smith, while the No. 2 of Steven Rodenbaugh tried to fend off the No. 51 of Cade Fox on the outside. That battle came to an abrupt end on Lap 5 when contact sent Rodenbaugh spinning, bringing out the caution. Cox controlled the restart but couldn't shake the field, quickly coming under fire from Wilson and Forest Smith. In one sweeping move, Forest Smith powered past both Fox and Cox to seize the lead, though he immediately had to navigate slower traffic. Another caution on Lap 11 erased his advantage before it could grow.

Forest Smith and Fox shared the front row for the restart, trading the lead for a lap before Forest Smith regained the advantage. With seven laps remaining, he continued to pace the field while Cox battled his way back into the top five. A final caution on Lap 18, caused by a single car stopping on the apron, set up one last restart. Forest Smith and Fox resumed their duel, but once again Forest Smith proved too strong, pulling away over the closing laps. Driving his hand-controlled Modified, Forest Smith took the checkered flag, capping off another impressive victory.

Feature 2 – 30 Laps

The No. 89 of Jacob Smith launched into the lead with the No. 55 of Damian Lockhart and Wilson lined up behind him. Jacob Smith established himself at the front early, but Wilson's challenge faded after just a few laps as he began losing ground, allowing the No. 68 of Wyatt Dent to move into second while Fox climbed to third.

Fox steadily reeled in the leader and finally made his move on Lap 16. The two made slight contact before Fox dove to the inside, trapping Jacob Smith in the outside groove and completing the pass. As Jacob Smith slipped backward, Dent advanced into second with Forest Smith following close behind. With five laps remaining, Fox had stretched his advantage to more than two seconds, then expanded it to over three as the race wound down. Unchallenged over the closing circuits, Fox cruised to the victory, leading Dent and Forest Smith across the finish line.

Quick Time: No. 51, Cade Fox, 17.552

Feature 1: No. 69, Forest Smith

Feature 2: No. 51, Cade Fox

Puzzle Effect Bandoleros

At CNS, the Bandoleros division showcases the youngest racers on the track - some just eight years old! The pint-sized drivers cut their teeth at 30 to 50 mph on a shortened course that loops through Turns 1 and 2 of the “big” track before diving into the infield and circling back around. Like the drivers themselves, the races may be small, but they pack a punch, and they’re a vital part of the CNS family.

Bandit Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 35 of Maverick Arechiga led the field through the opening circuit with the No. 28P of Hayden Powers close behind. Arechiga continued to pace the field as the leaders quickly encountered lapped traffic, using it to his advantage to strengthen his lead. Behind him, the No. 28 of Chandler Gasser, Powers, and the No. 3 of Logan Torrez worked through traffic in search of clean racetrack. Late in the race, an incident reshuffled the running order, allowing Torrez to move up in the closing laps. At the checkered flag, Arechiga secured the Dash victory, with Torrez finishing second and the No. 27 of Logan Harlow completing the podium.

Outlaw Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 95J of Jaxon Muhler faced an early challenge from the No. 23M of Izaak Mead as the pair battled for the lead on the opening lap. Muhler eventually slipped backward, surrendering second to the No. 44 of Emersyn Weitzel. On the restart, Mead resumed control with Weitzel in pursuit and the No. 12 of Blake Martinez settling into third. Mead remained unchallenged through lapped traffic, driving away to take the Outlaw Dash victory.

Bandit Feature – 12 Laps

The No. 3 of Logan Torrez jumped to the early lead, weaving through slower traffic over the opening laps. Arechiga steadily worked his way forward and soon began challenging for second, while the No. 7M of Christian Martinez initially stayed in the hunt before both Powers and Gasser worked past him. Up front, Arechiga sliced through lapped traffic to briefly take the lead, but Powers followed him through and mounted a charge of his own. After a frantic finish, Powers emerged with the victory, while Arechiga finished second and Torrez completed the podium.

Outlaw Feature – 12 Laps

Trouble at the start brought out a caution before the opening lap could be completed. When racing resumed, Willey and the No. 24 of Ayva Snyder briefly broke free of the pack, but Mead quickly charged to the front and took control of the race. Mead wasted little time building a comfortable advantage over Snyder, while Willey slipped back to fourth. From there, Mead was untouchable, pulling away from the field and leading every remaining lap to score the Outlaw Feature victory.

Outlaw Dash: No. 23M, Izaak Mead

Outlaw Feature: No. 23M, Izaak Mead

Bandit Dash: No. 35, Maverick Arechiga

Bandit Feature: No. 28, Hayden Powers

CNS can’t thank our fans, supporters, employees, drivers, crews, and the CARS Tour crew enough for a fantastic night of racing. It’s always a pleasure to host such a wonderful division, and we love welcoming them back every year. This was just night two of a three-day party, and was – by far – the highlight of our week!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

CARS Tour West Pro Late Model - 125 Laps