CARS Tour West Debut An Absolute Smash Hit At CNS

Alexandra Purcell
Jul 29
10 min read

July 26, 2025 ~ Dacono, CO

Colorado National Speedway is always buzzing on Saturday nights, but the debut of the CARS Tour West on July 26^th, 2025 cranked things at the fastest short track in the West up even more. Not only did we have incredible car counts across all our divisions, we packed in a full house of fans who gathered to watch the CARS Tour – headlined by NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick himself - and the MMI Legends. Not to be outdone, CNS’s own Figure 8s and Super Stocks put on adrenaline-fueled shows of their own, rounding out a night for the history books.

We’ve got you covered with a recap of everything that went down on Saturday night, so keep on reading to get caught up.

Kevin & Keelan Harvick with Colorado National Speedway Ownership Group

What is the Spears CARS Tour West?

Just a couple years ago, in 2023, NASCAR Legends Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Justin Marks acquired the CARS Tour with the objective to revive local short track racing around the nation. Earnhardt took the lead on the East Coast, while Harvick spearheaded efforts to jumpstart things in the West. With events like the Sprint Car Spectacular and Legend Invasion making national headlines, Colorado National Speedway landed square on the CARS radar for 2025.

In the fall of 2024, CARS Tour Co-Owner Tim Huddleston approached CNS Promoter Jim Nordhougen with the idea of bringing the Tour to Colorado. Nordhougen wasted no time in flying to California to meet with Huddleston and Harvick – and thus, the July Super Late Model event was conceived, as was the forthcoming Legend Cars Midseason Championship event on August 14^th and 15^th.

The rest is – as they say – history. CNS fans turned out by the thousands and packed the house for one of the best Super Late Model races in recent memory. Harvick stayed for over 3 hours after the race to make sure that fans young and old got selfies and autographs, and memories were made that are sure to last a lifetime. Short track racing is back in the American West in a very big way, and Colorado National Speedway is proud to be at the heart of the revival.

CARS Tour West Super Late Models

Feature – 125 Laps

A pair of familiar faces led the CARS field to green. Michael Scott laid down the fastest lap in qualifying, piloting his No. 82 machine to a 16.025-second lap (using the high line of course), starting alongside the No. 08 of Jace Hansen. Hansen lunged into the lead as soon as he dropped the hammer, while the No. 16 of Jacob Gomes fended off a charge from the No. 3C of Cassidy Hinds for third place. Kevin Harvick’s No. 29H faded outside the top five as he fell in behind the No. 61 of Matt Martinez. Up front, Scott pursued Hansen, edging into the high line as he tried to gain the advantage, but as the rest of the field stretched out single file, Scott, too, fell in line. Just as Scott began to pick up enough speed to pass Hansen, a caution waved as a single car slowed in Turn 4, bringing the field back together. Hansen and Gomes took the green next to each other this time; Gomes took the top spot while the No. 14 of Chris Clyne took over P4 from Hinds. As Hinds fired back and tried to take the position back, Harvick entered the conversation. He took advantage of Hinds’ battle with Clyne, overtaking Hinds as he muscled his way into P4. Up front, Scott had lost his grip on the top two, unable to make any ground, at least for now.

Hansen had the opposite view of things – he cut into Gomes’ lead and closed the gap. On Lap 28, he settled into the lowermost lane and took the battle to Gomes’ doors, racing side-by-side for a few tense laps as Scott filled their mirrors. Hansen claimed the lead, followed by Scott as Gomes faded to third. Unfortunately, before their battle could shape into more than a nose-to-tail chase, the leaders made contact. Scott’s right-side wheels climbed the Turn 3 wall as his No. 82 machine tipped over onto its roof when both he and Hansen came to a rest. Thankfully, both drivers were ok, and Gomes inherited the lead after a break in the action to address the incident.

Gomes took the lead, under fire from the No. 22S of Buddy Shepherd, who quietly entered the top five after starting in the sixth row. Another minor multicar incident slowed the field under caution. Gomes again took the lead at the drop of the green; Shepherd worked the upper lane, finding enough speed to get by several cars and make a pass at Gomes up front. He couldn’t quite find the drive off to complete the overtake – until he finally found his groove and slingshot himself into the lead. Now well ahead of the pack, Shepherd buckled down and set sail, ditching the rest of the leaders.

At the halfway point, lapped traffic became a steady obstacle for the leaders. Before it could become too much of a problem, a caution waved on Lap 78, neutralizing Shepherd’s lead. After sorting out the running order, Shepherd restarted alongside the No. 12 of Bruce Yackey while Harvick stalked them both. However, Shepherd had a harder time ditching the field like he had on prior restarts. A few laps later, a yellow flag waved for a single car spinout, setting the stage for Shepherd and Harvick to start alongside each other. While Shepherd got the jump, Harvick powered back on the high side and launched into the lead. He couldn’t shake Shepherd, though, and the leaders stayed side-by-side lap after lap. Finally, Shepherd got the upper hand in the battle and began to put Harvick behind him. Harvick ran the same line as Shepherd, both finding speed, but Harvick could not cut the distance. The leaders were once again faced with lapped traffic, allowing Brian Yackey’s No. 22Y to finally chip away at Gomes’ grip on P3.

The No. 17, driven by Holly Clark, now had sole possession of fifth place after a long battle from a ninth-row starting position. She got a hook into Gomes and demoted him, putting herself into P4 with the No. 12 of Bruce Yackey in hot pursuit. Up front, Harvick renewed his efforts to bring Shepherd to heel, but as the white flag loomed, he ran out of time to make something stick. It would be Shepherd across the line first after the incredible battle, with Harvick earning a hard-fought runner-up result. Brian Yackey was the highest-finishing CNS regular in third, while Clark and Bruce Yackey came home in the top five.

Quick Time: No. 82, Michael Scott, 16.025

Feature: No. 22S, Buddy Shepherd

MMI CARS Tour West Legends

B-Main – 20 Laps

There was plenty of incentive to succeed in the MMI Legends B-Main – the top four finishers would transfer to the night’s A-Main for a shot at the generous $1,000 purse made possible by Bryant Heating and Cooling. Madilyn Lange guided her No. 21 to take the green alongside the No. 17K of Marc Karashinski on the front row. The field settled into a one-lane freight train for a few laps, but the No. 19 of Dominic Moss stepped out of line to overtake Karashinski for P2. He set out after Lange as the field once again spread out. Just eight laps in, Lange had caught the tail end of the field, and soon found herself in the thick of traffic. While she was able to navigate all of lapped traffic, it allowed Moss to close the gap. Lange continued to lead right to the checkers, completing a perfect drive to finish first. She was followed by Moss, the No. 97 of Billy Blevins, and Karashinski, all transfers to the A-Main.

A-Main – 30 Scheduled Laps; 12 Completed

The No. 51R of Brenden Ruzbarsky launched into the lead with the No. 17S of Sean Salazar in tow and the No. 17M of Taylor Mayhew not far behind. Ruzbarsky defended the top spot against a charge from Salazar, but before he could set sail, a multicar incident unfolded in Turn 4, halting the action. The race resumed on Lap 8 with Salazar and Mayhew on the front row – but, again, a chain reaction caused several race cars to stack up in Turn 2, once again halting the race. Several competitors retired due to damage. Because the race was advancing on the 30-minute time limit, it was reduced to a green-white-checkered finish and a single file restart with Salazar leading the line. Ruzbarsky and Mayhew battled hard for P2 while Salazar completed the final lap with the competition securely in his rearview.

Quick Time: No. 51R, Brenden Ruzbarsky, 18.587

B-Main: No. 21, Madilyn Lange

A-Main: No. 17S, Sean Salazar

Pueblo Bank & Trust Super Stocks

Feature – 25 Laps

A whopping 31 Super Stocks flashed under the green flag, headed by the No. 4 of Chris Jordan and the No. 7 of David Robinson. Robinson claimed an early lead, leaving the No. 97 of Kyle Stidham and the No. 23 of Jordan Abeyta to fight for second place behind them. Suddenly, the No. 49 of Chris Cox emerged as a contender, fighting his way from his fifth-place starting position to second in just a few laps. He made short work of Robinson, too, and Stidham followed him through, forcing Robinson to P3.

Having started sixth, the No. 9 of Brent Cave followed Cox’s example, chasing him down as the leaders began to catch lapped traffic on Lap 12. Cave picked off Abeyta while Cox led Stidham through a minefield of lapped traffic. This allowed Cave to gain on Stidham as Robinson continued to fade through the field. Cox, meanwhile, was squeezed by a lapped car, losing some real estate to Stidham and Cave. Just as Stidham was about to make his move, a caution waved over a single car incident. Cox retained his lead on the restart as the rest of the pack unfolded into three-wide chaos. Everyone managed to keep their race cars under them as Cave assumed P2. With just two laps left, Cave just about wore out Cox’s rear bumper. Cave pulled past Cox, but just barely – and Cox replied with a crossover move that didn’t stick. It would be Cave ahead at the line to win. We love seeing such good, clean racing, especially with so many cars on track for the second week in a row, so hats off to our SS competitors!

Quick Time: No. 9, Brent Cave, 19.710

Feature: No. 9, Brent Cave

Exhaust Pros Northglenn Figure 8s

Feature – 20 Scheduled Laps; 19 Completed

Jared Wall took advantage of a squirrelly start by polesitter Keith Swenson, putting his No. 52 in the lead as the No. 67D of Swenson faltered. Already, a three-wide battle unfolded for P3 between the No. 20 of Isaiah Proctor, the No. 18 of Dennis Stepanich, and the No. 15 of Jereme Wall. Jereme Wall readily swung past all of them, inserting himself into P2 and lunging after his brother Jared Wall. By Lap 5, Jereme had Jared, setting sail. Stepanich also shot past Jared Wall, taking control of second. Halfway through the race, Jereme Wall began to catch slower traffic, but not to lap them – he encountered them in The X, swerving dangerously around them as he continued to lay distance on the rest of the field. Though he had to ease off the throttle to avoid slamming into crossroads traffic. Unfortunately, before the race could conclude naturally, a fire erupted under the hood of Proctor’s race car, triggering an immediate red flag and end to the race. Jereme Wall again captured the win.

Quick Time: No. 15, Jereme Wall, 27.371

Feature: No. 15, Jereme Wall

We’re so proud to call the inaugural CARS Tour event a success. We could not have done it without the drivers who traveled from states away to compete, nor could we have pulled it off without support from our regulars, our track crews, partners, employees – and, of course, the fans. It was a pleasure to host Harvick and the rest, and we look forward to more races with them in the future. We could not have scripted a better race, and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for the CARS Tour and CNS!

And speaking of touring series, we’re welcoming the Outlaw Figure 8s back on August 2^nd. Grab your advance tickets here!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

CARS Tour West Super Late Model - 125 Laps