August 17, 2022
Saturday night at CNS started out hot, but as the track plunged into darkness the temperatures dropped with the sun. Even so, the on-track action stayed hot throughout the entire night as fans enjoyed affordable family fun for the 47th running of CNS’s iconic Challenge Cup, a historic event here at CNS since its inception in 1975. Fans were treated to free exclusive event posters and an autograph session that allowed them the fantastic opportunity to connect one-on-one with friendly, generous drivers from the SLM division. a short rain shower couldn’t put a damper on the action for the Challenge Cup, which was interrupted during a short deluge, during which fans were treated to fireworks and the Super Stock race to make sure the track was dry and safe for the SLM division before allowing them to continue.
Pueblo Bank & Trust Super Stocks
Dash – 10 Laps
A wild race ensued for the SS Dash, which saw the No. 21 of Chris Nelson battling a loose race car and fending off charges from the No. 99 of Sam Messerli for the lead. On the last lap, Nelson’s No. 21 dove to the inside with Messerli’s No. 99 settling in on the outside. Messerli tapped Nelson heading to the checkered flag, causing Nelson’s race car to swing wide on his way to the Dash win. He crossed the finish line in first, keeping his race car in control until after the checkered flag, when he spun out on the front stretch. Didn’t matter – a win is a win!
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
Chris Cox’s No. 49 machine set the pace for the SS Fast Dash race. With three laps left, the No. 3 of Mike Cox and the No. 98 of Natalie Wilson made heavy contact in Turn 3 after a four-way battle for fifth place. The No. 23 of Jordan Abeyta was also damaged in the incident, which resulted in a red flag while track crews addressed debris and rocks in Turn 3, while all drivers walked away safely. Chris Cox’s No. 49 once again slipped into the lead on the restart, while the No. 9 of Brent Cave brought home second.
Feature – 25 Laps
It’s not often that the SS and SLM divisions are seen on track at the same time, but that’s exactly what fans were treated to at CNS on Saturday night, as the SS Feature was moved ahead of its scheduled time so the race cars could both help dry the track for the latter half of the Challenge Cup and give the fans a show while they were at it. The No. 4 of Chris Jordan and the No. 15 of Jereme Wall fought side-by-side for the first position while the field fanned out two-by-two behind them right off the bat, with minor contact occurring throughout the field, but the skilled drivers held it together and kept it green. The race for the lead was three-wide for a few laps, but Wall’s No. 15 slipped ahead after a hard-fought battle, while the No. 11W of Scott Long slipped into second.
Meanwhile, a battle for third shaped up between the No. 1NE of Troy Witthar and the No. 49 of Chris Cox. They closed on second place, culminating in a three-wide race, forcing Jordan Abeyta’s No. 23 to back out, giving second to Cox’s No. 49. With four laps left, the No. 21 of Nelson was turned in Turn 4, causing a caution. Cox’s No. 49 and Wall’s No. 15 led out front, while Abeyta’s No. 23 lurked and waited for the chance to lunge at the lead. The two touched, causing Wall’s No. 15 to get loose, but he held onto it as they passed the line. Cox’s No. 49 was the victor.
Feature: No. 49, Chris Cox
Fast Dash: No. 49, Chris Cox
Dash: No. 21, Chris Nelson
Quick Time: No. 49, Chris Cox 19.574
Elite Diesel Service Figure 8s
Dash – 12 Laps
The No. 74 of Sam Faus got out front for the F8 Dash in a hurry, but spun out from the lead, opening the door for the No. D67 of Keith Swenson. Faus’s No. 74 rejoined at the back of the field, while the pack battled three wide through the F8 course’s many turns. With five laps left, the No. 78 Kayla Martinez stalled at the entrance to Pit Road, forcing a yellow flag and bunching the field back up. On the restart, the No. D67 of Swenson and the No. 08 of Travis Sanders fought side-by-side, but Sanders swung the No. 08 high and completed the pass. A caution occurred with three laps left when the No. 3 of Joe Prante got into the wall in Turn 2. When the race restarted, Swenson guided his No. D67 back out front and capture the F8 Dash race.
Feature – 20 Laps
The F8 Feature provided thrilling, clean racing throughout. The No. 67 of Kaleigh Swenson jumped out front for the F8 Feature race. However, on the first lap, the No. 52 of Jared Wall and the No. 64 of Michael Kephart got together and were sent to the rear of the field as a result as the caution flag waved. When the race restarted, the No. 67 of Kaleigh Swenson charged ahead, but was passed by the No. 18 of Dennis Stepanich III after a short fight. The track stayed green even as the No. 74 of Faus went for a spin in Turn 3. Then, the No. 17 of Harry Livermore Jr. charged into second place, passing Kaleigh Swenson’s No. 67 with the mission of reeling in the leader. They fought hard with each other for quite a few laps, but unfortunately, their battle wasn’t allowed to come to a head, as the until the No. 13M of Isaac Martinez slowed due to a mechanical issue heading into The X with 12 laps left.
When the green flag dropped once more, the No. 18 of Stepanich and the No. 17 of Livermore went after each other for the race lead. Meanwhile, the No. 15 of Jereme Wall took advantage of the battle up front and galloped into second place. The No. 74 of Faus spun heading into The X, right in front of the leaders, who scattered and got away cleanly. Then, with eight laps left, the No. 67 of Kaleigh Swenson and the No. 92C of Chris Cox made contact in The X. When the track was clean, the No. 15 of Wall fought tooth and nail with the No. 17 of Livermore for the lead, with the white No. 15 eventually sealing the deal charging out of The X. For the last three laps, Wall’s No. 15 showed the way, opening a four car-length lead on the No. 08 of Sanders on his way to the checkered flag for the win.
Feature: No. 15, Jereme Wall
Dash: No. D67, Keith Swenson
Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
Dash – 10 Laps
Rookie No. 99 Jordon Smith checked out with the race lead while a battle shaped up for second place behind him. He drove a clean race with a clear windshield in front of him, while the No. 22 of Travis Rudolph hung out in second place searching for an opportunity to close on the first position. Unfortunately, Rudolph’s No. 22 suddenly shot into the uppermost lane and dropped like a rock through the field, ending his hopes of getting the Dash win. Smith’s No. 99 flashed past the checkered line to take the Dash win.
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
Thankfully, the field stayed clean throughout the 10-lap Fast Dash, allowing Clegg’s red and black No. 51 to show what was capable of as it led flag to flag.
Feature – 30 Laps
The No. 9 driven by CJ Wilson shot into P1 as soon as the green flag dropped on the GAM Feature race. With just two laps completed, the No. 28 of Paul Deines went for a wild ride in Turn 2, riding the wall right in front of the Beer Garden with his rear bumper high in the air. A red flag was thrown, and Deines exited his race car under his own power. Track crews attended to the wrecked race car, and the resurgence of the green flag saw the No. 6 of Scotty Scott out front. The track stayed green even as the No. 1G of Dale Geist and the No. 37 of Landon Birney slammed together, but they were able to exit the racing surface. Then, with seven laps to go, the No. 77 of Bryan McKeever spun out while the No. 51 of Clegg closed on the No. 6 of Scott for the race lead. Ultimately, Scott’s No. 6 was crowned victorious after a well-fought battle at the front of the field.
Feature: No. 6, Scotty Scott
Dash: No. 99, Jordon Smith
Fast Dash: No. 51, Kyle Clegg
Quick Time: No. 13, Darin Clark 17.151
Mountain States Fire Protection Super Late Models
CHALLENGE CUP XVLII – 150 Laps
The Challenge Cup boasted a stellar roster of plenty of local teams and got off to one thrilling start. Just Six laps in, the No. 07 of Daniel Mares and the No. 46 of Eric Blackard made contact in Turn 2, resulting in both of their race cars becoming hooked together, causing a caution while track crews separated them. The race went green again with Christ Eggleston’s No. 22 on the front row, while Cody Dempster’s No. 24 machine made an attempt for third place behind them. When the leaders hit lapped traffic, they navigated it cleanly. Several incidents involving only the No. 3 of John Negri III occurred, followed by the No. 2 of Royal Scott spinning by himself in Turn 2, but the track remained under green flag conditions.
Then, the No. 98 of Shannon Flick got sideways in Turn 2 just as rain began to spatter down on the south end of the racetrack, one lap before the halfway 75-lap mark. The field was paced under yellow flag for a few laps, but the rain only got worse, prompting a lengthy red flag as the SLM field was reined in on the front stretch, with the No. 08 of Jace Hansen in the lead, followed by Eggleston’s No. 22 in second. During the red flag, CNS shot off fireworks to keep the crowd entertained while the track was tried, and even enlisted the SS division to run some laps and eventually run their feature race during the break to help dry the track for the conclusion of the Challenge Cup.
Finally, the green flag waved once more for a one-lap shootout to the planned halfway break. Hansen’s No. 08 crossed the line just ahead of Eggleston’s No. 22. Per a roll of the die, the top five finishers were inverted for the second half of the race, giving the first position to Dempster’s No. 24 on the restart. He was followed by the No. 89 of Zach Morris. The race continued under green until No. 32 of Brett Yackey and the No. 24 of Dempster got together, causing Brett Yackey to chase the rear end of his No. 32 race car all the way around into Turn 2, where he finally brought it to a rest in the infield. The yellow flag flew, setting the stage for a four-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Chris Eggleston put up a valiant effort to chase down the leader but couldn’t find a way around him, and the No. 08 of Hansen was declared the winner.
Feature: No. 08, Jace Hansen
Quick Time: No. 22, Chris Eggleston 15.831
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Super Late Models - 150 Laps
08 Jace Hansen - Evans
22 Chris Eggleston - Thornton
75 Darren Robertson - Westminster
24 Cody Dempster - Parker
14 Brody Moore - Keystone
32 Brett Yackey - Greeley
3C Cassidy Hinds (R) - Arvada
12 Bruce Yackey - Greeley
05 Nick Cooper - Loveland
29 Matt Brunker - Lakewood
89 Zach Morris (R) - Greenwood Village
55 Damian Lockhart (R) - Brighton
07 Daniel Mares (R) - Aurora
2 Royal Scott - Platteville
98 Shannon Flick - CO Springs
61 Matt Martinez - Parker
23 Austyn Radosta (R) - Pueblo
3 John Negri III (R) - Byers
46 Eric Blackard (R) - Lakewood
Grand American Modifieds - 30 Laps
6 Scotty Scott (R) - Arvada
9 CJ Wilson - Penrose
89 Jacob Smith - Littleton
24 Nathan Gasser - Fort Lupton
13 Darin Clark - Cheyenne
51 Kyle Clegg - Westminster
99 Jordan Smith (R) - Morrison
41 Eric Vos - Wheat Ridge
22 Travis Rudolph - Thornton
09 Tylar Rick (R) - Mead
77 Bryan McKeever (R) - Penrose
1G Dale Geist - CO Springs
37 Landon Birney - Cheyenne
28 Paul Deines - Hudson
Super Stock - 25 Laps
49 Chris Cox - Keenesburg
15 Jereme Wall - Commerce City
23 Jordan Abeyta - Denver
11W Scott Long - Lyman, NE
1W Troy Witthar - Arvada
99 Sam Messerli - Thornton
86 Tim Coate - Highlands Ranch
7 David Robinson - Johnstown
4 Chris Jordan - Mead
99JR Ryan Raley Jr - Bennett
97 Kyle Stidham (R) - Brighton
M60 Morris Christner - Elizabeth
90 Alex Rodriguez - Phoenix, AZ
6 Ben Henricks (R) - Cheyenne
53 David Noah - Lakewood
21 Chris Nelson - Arvada
9 Brent Cave - Brighton
3 Mike Cox - Englewood
98 Natalie Wilson - Cheyenne
62 Amber Giles (R) - Fort Collins
Figure 8 - 20 Laps
15 Jereme Wall - Commerce City
08 Travis Sanders - Aurora
18 Dennis Stepanich III - Thornton
92C Chris Cox - Keenesburg
17 Harry Livermore Jr - Denver
97 Adam Gastineau - Aurora
64 Michael Kephart - Commerce City
38 Cassidy Creekmore - Littleton
67 Kaleigh Swenson - Strasburg
52 Jared Wall - Commerce City
78 Kayla Martinez (R) - Denver
D67 Keith Swenson - Strasburg
74 Sam Faus (R) - Lakewood
3 Joe Prante (R) - Denver
13M Isaac Martinez - Denver
20 Isaiah Proctor (R) - Arvada
Challenge Cup Winners UPDATED:
2022 Jace Hansen
2021 Kody Vanderwal
2020 Eddie Vecchiarelli
2019 Preston Peltier
2018 Brett Yackey
2017 Preston Peltier
016 Kyle Ray
2015 Dominic Ursetta
2014 Dominic Ursetta
2013 Darren Robertson
2012 Adam Deines
2011 Chris Eggleston
2010 Dan Savage
2009 Chris Eggleston
2008 Ronnie Hults
2007 PJ Mattorano
2006 Scotty Backman
2005 Darren Crocker
2004 Jerry Robertson
2003 Rick Carelli
2002 Jerry Robertson
2001 Dave Finley
2000 Roger Avants
1999 MK Kanke
1998 Joe Bellm
1997 Richard Burton
1996 Jerry Robertson
1995 Rick Carelli
1994 Rick Carelli
1993 Bruce Yackey
1992 Steve Carlson
1991 Tom Carlson
1990 Fred Campbell
1989 Rick Carelli
1988 Terry Phillips
1987 Terry Phillips
1986 Larry Phillips
1985 Larry Phillips
1984 Larry Phillips
1983 Butch Speicher
1982 Larry Phillips
1981 Mike Niffenegger, Kalona, Iowa
1980 Odie Robertson, Littleton, Colorado
1979 “Wild Bill” Liebig, Rapid City, South Dakota
1978 Clayton Peterson Jr., Grand Island, Nebraska
1977 Terry Bivins, Kansas City
1976 Tommy Bartolomew, Waterloo, Iowa
1975 Odie Robertson, Littleton, Colorado