(06-03-2017 Dacono CO) Ed Vecchiarelli Sr. has returned to action in the SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds in the 2017 with an all-new car and renewed enthusiasm. Ed’s skill on the track has not eroded a bit as he swept the GAM portion of Tower’s Night Out at CNS on June 3rd 2017. A double feature for the legends produced some amazing action for the fans with Chris Eggleston capturing feature one and Kyle Clegg coming home victorious in the second feature. Ron O’Neil grabbed his first Mod Coupe feature win of the season as did Jared “Wally” Wall and Terry Pugliese in the Trains.
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
In 2017 there have been four SUNOCO Fuels Grand American Modified races and so far every single one has been won by a Vecchiarelli. Eddie Vecchiarelli in the #48 has won two features and on Tower’s Night out Ed Sr. grabbed his second win of the year. Not only did Ed Sr. win the feature but he swept the night’s events by also capturing the fast dash and quick time.
#18 Ed Vecchiarelli on his way to his second win of the year (Starr photo)
At the start of the 40 lap feature #44 Justin Case and #66 John Seely had an excellent battle for the lead racing side by side for several laps. However with 25 laps to go Vecchiarelli took the lead from Case and began to build a large lead on the field. As the race wore on Case began to eat into that lead as he and Seely who was catching Case for 2nd looked like the might have a chance to retake the top spot in the remaining laps. But Ed worked traffic to perfection and cruised to the win. Case settled for second and Seely third. 44s Clint Schubert finished 4th and #13 Darin Clark was the final car in the top 5. The Grand American Modifieds return to action on Saturday June 24th.
FEATURE: #18 Ed Vecchiarelli FAST DASH: #18 Ed Vecchiarelli DASH: 44s Clint Schubert QUICK TIME: #18 Ed Vecchiarelli 17.248
Legend Cars
Legend Feature action (Starr photo)
Without question the best two races of the night were put on by the Rocky Mountain Legends Racing Association. The Legend cars showed up with massive field of 32 cars in the pits. Adding to the drama the CNS staff decided to run two full 25 lap feature events for the legends. The first feature had several yellow flags to start the race which in turn sent some of the fastest cars to the rear of the field. #08 Jace Hansen, #21 Ryan Jones, #66 Kyle Clegg, #6 Scotty Scott, #05 Nick Cooper all had to start from the rear for various incidents on the track. While I’m sure these driver’s would prefer not going to the rear it does add some excitement for the fans as the cars buzz through traffic on their way back to the front.
In Jace Hansen’s case it turned out to be night-ending as he went up and over the #23 of Austyn Radosta in turn 4 as he was trying to make a 3-wide pass. Unfortunately for both Hansen and Radosta their efforts were done.
#6 Scotty Scott goes up and over the #05 car of Nick Cooper in the first of two Legend feature events (Starr photo)
Up front it was a battle for the lead between Chris Eggleston and #15 Danny Medina. Eggleston would eventually hold on for the win with Medina coming home 2nd. Clegg came all the back form the rear to finish and impressive 3rd while #25 Adam Pechman and #30 Darrell J Stewart were 4th and 5th.
Chris Eggleston in winner’s circle after taking the first Legend Car feature of the night (Starr photo)
The second Legends feature was by far the best race of the night. For almost the entire 25 laps #22 Chris Eggleston, #15 Danny Medina and #66 Kyle Clegg thrilled the CNS fans with door to door racing. It seemed like every lap there was a new leader. Often times these cars would swap the top spot more than once in a single lap. Clegg, Medina, Eggleston diving into turn three 3 abreast as they approached lapped traffic had the fans on the edge of their seats. Somehow, some way, they would all come out of the turn without crashing, it was truly a sight to behold. As the laps wound down it was really anyone’s race. Eggleston had won every feature in the Legends division this season therefore both Clegg and Medina were hungry to break his streak.
#22 Chris Eggleston, #15 Danny Medina, and #66 Kyle Clegg put on a epic 3 car battle for the lead (Starr photo)
When all the dust settled and the checkered flag dropped it was the 66 of Kyle Clegg who had won the epic three car battle for the win. Eggleston was second and Medina a close third. #30 Darrell J Stewart finished an impressive 4th and #21 Ryan Jones was 5th. The Legends return to action at CNS on Saturday June 17th.
Kyle Clegg celebrates after winning his first legend car feature of 2017 at CNS. (Starr photo)
Galitz Trucking Mod Coupes
The #34 Mod Coupe of Randy Whitman and the #3 of Ron O’Neil had a great battle for the lead in the Galitz Transportation Mod Coupes. It appeared that once Whitman caught O’Neil he would be able to cruise the win but O’Neil found another gear and was not about to be denied. After O’Neil held off Whitman’s serious challenge he powered to a 7 car length lead and took home his first feature win of the 2017 season. The Mod Coupes return to action on Saturday July 8th.
Ron O’Neil celebrates in winner’s circle (Starr photo)
Witthar Racing Trains
7 Witthar Racing Trains started the feature event that included at least 7 tires disintegrating leaving a trail of sparks and debris. While there was plenty of near misses in the X one train seemed to be a guided missile heading for the checkered flag. That train was the Last Call Train piloted by Jared “Wally” Wall and braked by Terry Pugliese. The two conductors navigated the carnage and snagged their first feature win of the 2017 season. The Trains return to CNS on Saturday June 24th.
The Last Call Train powers toward the checkered flag (Starr photo)
FEATURE: #86 Last Call (Jared “Wally” Wall and Terry Pugliese)
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Grand American Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 18 Ed Vecchiarelli Brighton 2. 44 Justin Case Brighton 3. 66 John Seely Parker 4. 44s Clint Schubert Calhan 5. 13 Darin Clark Cheyenne 6. 48 Eddie Vecchiarelli Brighton 7. 8 Dan Alamaa* CO Springs 8. 59 Charlie Wilson Primrose 9. 51 Joe Mares Jr Aurora 10. 85 Donald Cole (R) Dacono 11. 24 Chad Guilford HIghlands Ranch DNS 25 Dan Jagoditsh Cheyenne
Legend cars feature #1 Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 2. 15 Danny Medina Colorado Springs 3. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster 4. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison 5. 30 Darrell J Stewart Arvada 6. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Evans 7. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 8. 21 Ryan Jones Arvada 9. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 10. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 11. 1w Jereme Wall Commerce City 12. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 13. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 14. 7 Corey Seip Littleton 15. 03 Darrell L Stewart Arvada 16. 13 Jason Hulvey (R)* Thornton 17. 26 Chris Brunker Lakewood 18. 32 Blair Cooper Arvada 19. 8 Eric Hipkins* Woodland Park 20. 33 Alfred Matthews Arvada 21. 88 Paul Himler Erie 22. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 23. 2 Floyd Whiting Lochbuie 24. 97 Bill Blevins* Arvada 25. 08K Krystal Faulkingham (R) Westminster 26. 10 Adam Romero (R) Denver 27. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 28. 33x Dean Kallas Golden 29. 08 Jace Hansen Loveland 30. 57 Adam Osborne (R) Fountain 31. 19 Larry Pachello Arvada 32. 27 Ray Oakley (R) Pine
Legend Cars Feature #2 Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster 2. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 3. 15 Danny Medina Colorado Springs 4. 30 Darrell J Stewart Arvada 5. 21 Ryan Jones Arvada 6. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison 7. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 8. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Evans 9. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 10. 1w Jereme Wall Commerce City 11. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 12. 32 Blair Cooper Arvada 13. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 14. 03 Darrell L Stewart Arvada 15. 8 Eric Hipkins* Woodland Park 16. 88 Paul Himler Erie 17. 08K Krystal Faulkingham (R) Westminster 18. 97 Bill Blevins* Arvada 19. 13 Jason Hulvey (R)* Thornton 20. 26 Chris Brunker Lakewood 21. 57 Adam Osborne (R) Fountain 22. 2 Floyd Whiting Lochbuie 23. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 24. 33x Dean Kallas Golden 25. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 26. 10 Adam Romero (R) Denver 27. 7 Corey Seip Littleton 28. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 29. 33 Alfred Matthews Arvada DNS 08 Jace Hansen Loveland DNS 19 Larry Pachello Arvada DNS 27 Ray Oakley (R) Pine
Mod Coupes Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 3 Ron O’Neil Colorado Springs 2. 34 Randy Whitman Ft Collins 3. 90 Frank Denning III Golden 4. 48 Michael Cox Englewood 5. 20 David Schmidt Westminster 6. 55 Gary Land 7. 5 Jason Bunt* Littleton
Trains Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 86 Last Call 2. 13 Crazy Train 3. 7 Cole Train * 4. 5 Hearse Train * 5. 69 Wicked Twisted 6. 8 Anger Management Kelly and Nic 7. 311 Bipolar Express