5-31-23 ~ Dacono, CO
Our hardy fans, drivers and crews alike stuck it out through some unfortunately severe rain showers that soaked Colorado National Speedway on Saturday, May 27th, 2023. While the schedule had to be modified to accommodate Mother Nature, we were able to get in some thrilling racing that made it worth the wait, with great shows across our Pro Trucks, Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, and Figure 8 divisions.
Matco Tools Pro Trucks
Feature – 30 Laps
Due to rain, the PT Dash and Fast Dash were rained out, and the field took to the track under green for the PT Feature after the rain delay instead. The No. 7 truck of Adam Deines started on the front row beside the No. 22 of Brian Yackey, and right at the drop of the green, they held onto each other, with Yackey’s No. 22 grabbing the bumper of Deines’ No. 7 machine. Three laps in, the No. 28 of Brian Weinmaster spun, but collected his truck and headed back out while the track stayed green. The No. 7 of Deines and the No. 22 of Yackey, meanwhile, got side-by-side for the race lead, while the No. 33 of Tyler Davis fought for third with the No. 43 of Kody Vanderwal. On Lap 12, Vanderwal’s No. 43 executed the pass and put some distance between himself and the No. 33 of Davis as he set out after the leaders.
Halfway through the race, the No. OH6 of Mahkrysta Hilton spun on the backstretch, causing a caution. The No. 7 of Deines and the No. 22 of Yackey once again started on the front row. Yackey got away with the lead in the No. 22, while the No. 7 of Deines and the No. 43 of Vanderwal fought for second place, but their battle was short-lived as the No. 50 of Tyler Wiggans made contact with the No. 71 of Tim Duval, causing another yellow. Just a few laps later, the No. OH6 of Hilton stalled in the racetrack entrance, causing yet another yellow and regrouping the field for a restart.
The green flag saw the No. 7 of Deines, the No. 22 of Yackey, and the No. 43 of Vanderwal. Vanderwal did not let up and mounted a final charge heading to the start/finish line to take over the lead and win the PT Feature.
Feature: No. 43, Kody Vanderwal
Quick Time: No. 33, Tyler Davis, 17.136
GTI SERVICES LATE MODELS
Dash – 10 Laps
The No. 30 of Jeremiah Hill took the green for the LM Dash aside the No. 19 of Del Trantham. The No. 94 of Kyle Morse dove to the inside and began to put pressure on the leaders, with the No. 58 of Bryce Weinmaster closing on him. Weinmaster guided the No. 58 around the No. 30 of Hill for the lead with three laps left, allowing the No. 94 of Morse to follow him through. Hill was demoted to third as Weinmaster took the checkers followed by the No. 94 of Morse in second.
The Fast Dash was rained out.
Feature – 30 Laps
Twenty-two cars took the green flag for the LM Feature, headed by the No. 8 of Dan Alamaa and the No. 98 of Lee Kemmitt. The caution promptly flew, though, thanks to a multicar incident in Turn 3, prompting a complete restart, which saw the No. 8 of Alamaa take over the lead ahead of Kemmitt’s No. 98. Another caution on Lap 3 occurred, as the No. 30 of Hill and the No. 48 of Mikey Blackard made light contact and caused debris in Turn 2. Under caution, the No. 60 of Rick Duckworth was black flagged for contact with the No. 18 of Casey Wiggans. The Lap 4 restart didn’t go much better, as the No. 16 of Steve Mills went around in Turn 4, and oil was found on the racing surface, forcing the race to go red.
The restart after the cleanup put the No. 8 of Alamaa to the point once again, leading over the No. 98 of Kemmitt while the No. 15 of Michael Hannah and the No. 31 of Rick Smith raced for third. Then, the No. 30 of Hill spun, and the No. 48 of Blackard attempted to dodge and ran into the No. 7 of Ethan Sluder. Another caution waved on the ensuing restart, thanks to contact between the No. A51 of Matthew Hill and the No. 19 of Trantham and the front-row starters. Alamaa’s No. 8 and Kemmitt’s No. 98 were bumped back to the second row as a result. The No. 15 of Michael Hannah took the lead on the restart, but the No. 8 of Alamaa pulled side-by-side to challenge him. Alamaa’s No. 8 claimed the lead, and the field settled out behind him. While Alamaa showed the way in the No. 8, the No. 15 of Hannah and the No. 31 of Smith were neck-and-neck for second place, and Hannah barely edged out Smith for the P2 result behind Alamaa’s winning No. 8.
Dash: No. 58, Bryce Weinmaster
Feature: No. 8, Dan Alamaa
Quick Time: 21 Mike Gallegos 17.545
Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
Dash: 10 Laps
The short Dash was relatively clean, with the No. 41 of Eric Vos checking out early and never looking back. He opened up a massive gap on the second-place battle between the No. 69 of Forest Smith and the No. 22 of Travis Rudolph, winning without much of a challenge.
The Fast Dash was rained out.
Feature: 30 Laps
The No. 9 of CJ Wilson and the No. 6 of Scotty Scott showed the way to the green flag for the 20-car GAM field. Scott’s No. 6 led Lap 1, while the No. 18 of Ed Vecchiarelli and the No. 9 of Wilson did battle for second. The No. 48P of Preston Peltier took away third, methodically picking his way toward the front and assuming the lead just a few laps later with the No. 18 of Vecchiarelli in second behind him. The No. 51 of Kyle Clegg made the pass for third place, and began to reel in the No. 18 of Vecchiarelli for second as Peltier’s No. 48P continued to dominate all the way to the checkered flag.
Dash: No. 41, Eric Vos
Feature: No. 48, Preston Peltier
Quick Time: No. 48P, Preston Peltier, 17.000
Take 5 Oil Change Figure 8s
Feature – 20 Scheduled Laps, 12 Laps Run
As with the other divisions, the F8 Dashes fell victim to rain. The Feature was the last race of the night, with the No. 74 of Sam Faus and the No. 15 of Jereme Wall on the front row. Wall’s No. 15 checked out early, while the No. 18 of Dennis Stepanich III took over second place and the No. 71 of Isaac Martinez claimed third. Just four laps in, disaster struck for the No. 15 of Wall, as he tried to navigate traffic through The X and struck the No. 74 of Faus. Once the wreck was dealt with and the drivers deemed safe, Wall pulled the No. 15 off and the race restarted with Stepanich’s No. 18 out front. Wall rejoined the field and set out to track down the leaders from the back. Just five laps later, while Stepanich’s No. 18 dove through the Figure 8 formation, Wall caught up to third and set after the leaders. On Lap 12, the No. 71 of Martinez and the No. 15 of Wall were equally matched for second, when the No. 08 of Travis Sanders spun and caused a caution. The rain set in, and the race did not restart, making Stepanich’s No. 18 the victor.
Feature: No. 18, Dennis Stepanich III
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Pro Trucks - 30 Laps
43 Kody Vanderwal - LaSalle
7 Adam Deines - Longmont
33 Tyler Davis - Thornton
22 Brian Yackey - Greeley
9 Curtis Heldenbrand - Firestone
16 Travis Roe - Thornton
34 Rudy Vanderwal - LaSalle
85 Jeff Walbaum - Brighton
08 Krystal Faulkingham - Westminster
3C Cassidy Hinds - Arvada
50 Tyler Wiggans - CO Springs
11 Steve Johnson - Loveland
71 Tim Duvall - Denver
88S Brad Skufca (R) - Greeley
28 Brian Weinmaster - Brighton
OH6 Mahkrysta Hilton - Brighton
5W Troy Witthar - Arvada
Late Models - 30 Laps
8 Dan Alamaa - CO Springs
15 Michael Hannah - Centennial
31 Rick Smith - Gering, NE
21 Mike Gallegos - Aurora
98 Lee Kemmit - Brighton
51 Eric Meisner - Brighton
18 Casey Wiggans (R) - CO Springs
6 Tommy Roe - Thornton
17X Mariah Boudrieau - CO Springs
63 James Starcher (R) - Scottsbluff, NE
58 Bryce Weinmaster - Brighton
96 Jeremy Jackson (R) - Denver
99 Tessa Marine (R) - Littleton
A51 Matthew Hill - Brighton
94 Kyle Morse - Peyton
19 Del Trantham - Canon City
30 Jeremiah Hill - Walsenburg
7 Ethan Sluder (R) - Hudson
48 Mikey Blackard - Hays, KS
16 Steve Mills - CO Springs
60 Rick Duckworth - Arvada
116 Adam Kimler (R) - CO Springs
Grand American Modifieds - 30 Laps
48P Preston Peltier - Johnstown
18 Ed Vecchiarelli - Brighton
51 Kyle Clegg - Westminster
6 Scotty Scott - Arvada
17 Holly Clark - CO Springs
49 Chris Cox - Brighton
89 Jacob Smith - Littleton
9 CJ Wilson - Penrose
13S Jordan Smith - Littleton
41 Eric Vos - Wheatridge
69 Forrest Smith - Bellvue
52 Jared Wall - Commerce City
88 Paul Himler - Erie
3 Jeremiah Hill - Walsenburg
7 David Robinson - Johnstown
2 Steve Rodenbaugh - Black Hawk, SD
55 Damian Lockhart (R) - Hudson
8 Benjamin Stanley (R) - Thornton
22 Travis Rudolph - Thornton
09 Tylar Rick (R) - Princeton, MN
Figure 8 - 20 Laps
18 Dennis Stepanich III - Brighton
71 Isaac Martinez - Denver
15 Jereme Wall - Commerce City
17 Harry Livermore Jr - Englewood
3 Michael Wolfe Jr - Thornton
67 Kaleigh Swenson - Strasburg
64 Michael Kephart - Commerce City
8 Cassidy Creekmore - CO Springs
08 Travis Sanders - Aurora
57Q Kyle Quintrall
74 Sam Faus - Lakewood
6C Cody Palmore
03 Isaiah Martinez (R) - Northglenn