(06-09-2018, Dacono CO) On a very warm Colorado evening the Colorado National Speedway fans were treated to the annual appearance of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West cars in the NAPA Auto Parts 175. The race featured several lead changes and plenty of drama thrilling the large CNS crowd. The Snap-On Tools Pro Trucks and the Great Scott’s Eatery Super Stocks also ran feature events on the night.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West A raucous CNS crowd cheered the drivers as they were announced for the NAPA Auto Parts 175 but none louder than for local drivers Kody and Rudy Vanderwal who were ready to take on some of the nation’s best in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The race seemed to have several favorites: #43 Kody Vanderwal , #9 Ryan Partridge who were fastest in practice and #16 Derek Kraus who won the pole award with a time of 17.036.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West take the green flag for the NAPA Auto Parts 175 (Starr photo)
But it was Derek Thorn who would patiently work his way to the front and make a lap 136 pass on his teammate Partridge to go on to victory.
The fans were treated to a fantastic race that featured several lead changes and plenty of door to door racing. The lead was contested the entire race until the closing laps when Thorn began to build distance between himself and the field. Amazingly Thorn and his two teammates finished 1, 2, 3 showing their complete dominance in the event.
The race also featured something that was new to the event – a competition yellow at the halfway mark allowing the drivers to pit in the infield and make adjustments to their cars. Devin Dodson in the #27 was the only car that decided to skip pit lane and move into the lead however on the restart Partridge would power back to the front with Derek Kraus directly behind.
As for the local drivers Kody Vanderwal had a disappointing night struggling to stay in the top 10 eventually finishing 7th. Rudy seemed to find his groove late in the race and finished just out of the top 10 in 11th spot.
In the final 50 laps Derek Thorn started to make his move to the front picking off several cars including Kraus in 2nd and eventually his own teammate Ryan Partridge. Once out front Thorn flexed his muscles and built a near 3 second lead on the field and cruised into victory circle. Partridge would finish 2nd and Trevor Huddleston the 3rd Sunrise Ford teammate would take third. Kraus would settle for 4th and #19 Hallie Deegan would take 5th.
Derek Thorn in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
The NAPA Auto Parts 175 will be televised on NBCSN Thursday June 14th at 4PM (MDT).
Snap-On Tools Pro Trucks
Steve Johnson and Jeff Walbaum would pace the field at the start of the 40 lap Snap-On Tools Pro Truck feature and for the first several laps they would battle side by side for the lead. Walbaum would eventually secure the top spot and Kody Vanderwal was close behind in 2nd until he slowed and then pulled off the track. Both Michael Scott in the #82 and Brian Yackey in the #22 started deep in the pack and where making their way to the front.
The Snap-On Tools Pro Trucks take the green flag (Starr photo)
Another fast truck was the #33 of Tyler Davis who had used the low groove to move into 2nd place yet well behind Walbaum who was cruising in 1st place.
After Scott eventually passed Davis for 2nd he had a huge gap to makeup to catch the leader but lap after lap he was making up ground. Behind Davis now in 3rd Rudy Vanderwal and Brian Yackey were having a spirited battle for 4th position each taking turns holding the position.
Michael Scott takes the lead on the outside of Jeff Walbaum (Starr photo)
Michael Scott’s patience paid off as he caught Walbaum late in the race and used the outside groove to assume the top spot. Scott went on to take the checkered flag, his 3rd feature event win in a row! Walbaum and Davis finished 2nd and 3rd with Vanderwal and Yackey rounding out the top 5.
The Great Scott’s Eatery Super Stocks
When Chris Cox takes the lead in the Great Scott’s Eatery Super Stocks you can pretty much bank on him heading to victory circle. So when he grabbed the lead from Robert Davey on lap 9 the smart money was on the #49 to take home the win. However this time around it wasn’t meant to be as Chris left the track with mechanical issues allowing his father Michael in the #3 car to inherit the lead.
Michael Cox on route to victory (Starr photo)
Jonathan Lindberg in the red #60 did his best to track down Cox for the win but was never able to catch the leader. Michael Cox took the win with Lindberg a close 2nd place. Davey would settle for 3rd. The Super Stocks return to action on Saturday June 30th.
Race Rental Modifieds
OFFICIAL RESULTS
NAPA Auto Parts 175 1. #6 Derek Thorn 2. #9 Ryan Partridge 3. #22 Trevor Huddleston 4 #16 Derek Kraus 5. #19 Hailie Deegan 6. #99 Cole Rouse 7. #43 Kody Vanderwal 8. #10 Matt Levin 9. #27 Devin Dodson 10. #55 Vanessa Robinson 11. #34 Rudy Vanderwal 12. #13 Todd Souza 13. #08 John Wood 14, #11 Takuma Koga 15. #36 Cassie Gannis
Pro Trucks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 82 Michael Scott Cheyenne 2. 8 Jeff Walbaum Brighton 3. 33 Tyler Davis Thornton 4. 34 Rudy Vanderwal La Salle 5. 22 Brian Yackey (R) Greeley 6. 5W Troy Witthar Eastlake 7. 36 Matt Burton Englewood 8. 11 Steve Johnson Windsor 9. 6D Rick Duckworth 10. 71 Timothy DuVall Denver 11. 43 Kody Vanderwal La Salle
Super Stocks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 3 Michael Cox Englewood 2. 60 Jonathan Lindberg 3. 3.2 Robert Davey Erie 4. 21R Robert Hoard (R) Cheyenne 5. 32 Cody Milan (R) Ft. Collins 6. 99s Sam Messerli Thornton 7. 99W Troy Witthar 8. 21 Christopher Nelson Arvada 9. 11 Nick Tabor 10. 88 Nick Davis 11. 02 Darrell Smith Littleton 12. 19 Shelby Cortese Thornton 13. 55 Damian Lockhart Arvada 14. 77 Bryan McKeever* Penrose 15. 24x Aaron Masters (R) 16. 45 Rebecca Simpson Colo Springs 17. 49 Chris Cox Lochbuie 18. 43 Kody Vanderwal 19. 18 Keanna Richards
Race Rental Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 4 Trent Dedic 2. 5 Jake Nutall 3. 12 Rich Barwinski 4. 92 Shawn Bagby 5. 10 Priscilla May 6. 21 Rick Elverum 7. 11 John Knee 8. 1 Owen Curry 9. 88 Mike Mathesen 10. 34 Gary Fedie