(06-07-2014 Dacono, CO) On an unseasonably chilly June night at CNS the fans that braved the cold weather were treated to hot action on the track as Chad Cowan won the 40 lap Late Model Feature, Justin Case made a late race pass in the GAMs, David Johnson took the Mod Coupes, and fan favorite “Big” Al Duran won a thrilling Figure 8 feature.
South Philly Cheesesteak Late Models #7 Ethan Penrod and #3 Wade Grove paced the field for a 40 lap Late Model feature event and when the green flag flew it was Penrod who jumped out to an early lead. #76 Chad Cowan who started in the 2nd row began to pressure Penrod for the lead and on lap 7 finally made his move to take the top spot.
A crash in turn 3 involving #72 Gary Cagle, #67 Stephanie Brown, #97 Adam Gastineau, and #27 Wendi Lewis slowed the event and while there were no injuries there was a lot of twisted metal and disappointed drivers.
When the race resumed it was Cowan, Penrod and #99 Nick Brinlee holding the top 3 spots at the halfway point of the race.
The race became “follow the leader” style and not even points leader #8 Jeff Walbaum was able to make a charge for the lead as he held down the 4th spot.
As the race proceeded Cowan began to build a 4 car length lead on the field which proved to be too much for the rest of the drivers as Cowan cruised to his first win of the 2014 season. Penrod finished a strong 2nd place and Walbaum was able to sneak passed Brinlee for the 3rd spot. Brinlee settled for 4th while #88 David Rothrock took home the final spot in the top 5.
#76 Chad Cowan celebrates in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
With the win Chad Cowen trails Jeff Walbaum by just a mere 9 points in the 2014 championship standings.
FEATURE WINNER: #76 Chad Cowan FAST DASH: #8 Jeff Walbaum DASH: #75 Emilio Abeyta QUICK TIME: #76 Chad Cowan 17.496
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds A 30 lap Grand American Modified feature event would prove to be exciting as 4 cars battled for the lead throughout the first third of the event. #22 Darren Robertson, #24 Tim Holm, #58 Kyle Ray, and #48 Ed Vecchiarelli Jr. were all racing in a tight pack thrilling the CNS fans.
By the halfway point in the race #44 Justin Case had joined the battle for the lead and now it was a 5 car battle.
Versatile driver Kyle Ray made his move around Robertson to take the lead with just 14 laps remaining. But now it was Justin Case who has already won 2 feature events that was pressuring Ray for the lead.
With just 3 laps to go it appeared that Ray slowed just enough going into turn 3 that it allowed the 44 car to get by and take the lead and ultimately the win. Ray settled for 2nd, Robertson 3rd, and #0 Ron O’Neil was 4th.
Case has now won 3 of the 4 Grand American Modified events this season and has a 15 point lead of Ron O’Neil in 2nd place in the standings.
FEATURE WINNER: #44 Justin Case FAST DASH: #24 Tim Holm DASH: #55 Dean-O Olson QUICK TIME: #48 Ed Vecchiarelli Jr. 17.187
CARC Mod Coupes Just 9 Mod Coupes started the feature event and all eyes were on #3 Kyle Ray who had set a new track record in the coupe dash with a blisteringly quick 15.266. Not surprisingly Ray moved to the front of the field by lap 3 of the feature event. Ray built a near second lead on the entire field but that’s when disaster struck. Ray’s drive shaft broke heading down the back straight ending his chance at the sweep. But even worse was the giant gouge the drive shaft made in the track which officials did their best to fill.
After a long delay for track repairs #5 Jason Bunt and #29 David Johnson put on a great battle to the finish. Bunt had the slight advantage but on the final corner of the final lap Jason got a bit loose and allowed Johnson to steal the win. Bunt settled for 2nd place, while #12 Jamie Bubak finished 3rd. Super Stock driver Michael Cox took 4th in his #48 coupe and #33 Chet Graham was 5th.
Art’s Septic Figure 8s
Action all over the track in the Figure 8 feature at CNS (Starr photo)
A full field of 17 Figure 8s showed up at CNS and #03 Luke Zike and #23 “Big” Al Duran won their respective dash races. Big Al would have to start 11th in the feature but it didn’t take him long to work his way to the front. However, he wasn’t alone as both #52 Jared Wall and #50 Justin Mackeachie had also made their way up front and were pressuring Duran for the lead.
The 3 leaders did a masterful job navigating the “X” generating a gasps from the crowd.
Big Al Duran navigates the X on route to victory at CNS (Starr photo)
While Big Al had led almost the entire race Mackeachie made a late race push and was right on Duran’s bumper. as the two leaders approached a lapped car Duran went low into turn 3 and Mackeachie went high. With all three cars side-by-side Mackeachie spun allowing Duran to cruise the well deserved win. Wall finished 2nd , #17 Harry Livermore Jr was 3rd, #97 Adam Gastineau was 4th and the final top 5 spot went to #9 Brent Cave.
Big Al Duran in winner’s circle at CNS. (Starr photo)
OFFICIAL FINISHING ORDER
Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 76 Chad Cowan Gering, NE 2. 7 Ethan Penrod Thornton, CO 3. 8 Jeff Walbaum Brighton, CO 4. 99 Nick Brinlee Broomfield, CO 5. 88 David Rothrock (R) 6. 3 Wade Grove Thornton, CO 7. 31 Derek Smith Longmont, CO 8. 75 Emilio Abeyta (R) 9. 33 Christopher Buskirk (R) Bayard, NE 10. 27 Wendi Lewis Johnstown, CO 11. 30 Jan Oxley Ft. Lupton, CO 12. 29 Rayshawn Carter Commerce City, CO 13. 28 Alan Carter Commerce City, CO 14. 97 Adam Gastineau 15. 67 Stephanie Brown Littleton, CO 16. 72 Gary Cagle Fort Collins, CO 17. 44 Greg Lee (R) Parker, CO
Grand American Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 44 Justin Case Brighton CO 2. 58 Kyle Ray (R) 3. 22 Darren Robertson 4. 0 Ron O’Neil 5. 24 Tim Holm Greeley, CO 6. 66 John Seely Parker, CO 7. 18 Ed Vecchiarelli Sr Brighton, CO 8. 13 Darin Clark (R) 9. 48 Ed Vecchiarelli Jr 10. 5 Nathan Gasser Thornton, CO 11. 55 Dean-O Olson Canon City, CO
Mod Coupe Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 29 David Johnson Denver CO 2. 5 Jason Bunt 3. 12 Jaime Bubak Arvada, CO 4. 48 Mike Cox (R) Englewood, CO 5. 33 Chet Graham Kiowa 6. 6 Matt Venable 7. 24 Chad Guilford Highlands Ranch CO 8. 3 Kyle Ray (R) Littleton, CO 9. 43 Matt Pierce
Figure 8 Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 23 Al Duran Lakewood CO 2. 52 Jared Wall Commerce City, CO 3. 17 Harry Livermore Jr Denver, CO 4. 97 Adam Gastineau Aurora CO 5. 9 Brent Cave 6. 89 Eddie Garcia 7. 15 Jereme Wall 8. 66 John Martello Denver, CO 9. 00 James Naranjo Denver, CO 10. 50 Justin McKeachie Aurora CO 11. 11 Joe Gastineau Denver, CO 12. 10 Frank Gastineau Denver, CO 13. 81 Dave Smith Englewood, CO 14. 71 Tyler Dowler(R) Englewood, CO DNS 03 Luke Zike Arvada, CO DNS 44 Buddy Hohn Jr. Denver, CO