Gilpin & Lodge Casino Sprint Car Spectacular Kickstarts Action-Packed July 4th Weekend At CNS

Alexandra Purcell
22 minutes ago
10 min read

July 3, 2026 - Dacono, CO

The Fourth of July festivities kicked off early at Colorado National Speedway on July 3^rd, 2026 as fans packed the grandstands for the first of two nights celebrating America's 250th birthday complete with breathtaking fireworks and a crowd-pleasing Circle Drags showdown that saw a blue BMW claim the victory.

The Winged Sprint Cars stole the spotlight, putting on a spectacular show of speed on the asphalt. They were joined by the Grand American Modifieds and Late Models, with both divisions delivering the close, competitive racing that CNS fans have come to expect.

If you missed any of the action, catch up with the full race recap below.

CNS Sprints

Trophy Dash – 10 Laps

The lead belonged to the No. 36 of Aaron Willison as he sliced in front of the field to lead the first two circuits. Behind him, the No. 57 of Evan Margeson and the No. 50M of Kody Swanson raced two abreast for second, Margeson got the advantage and set sail. Their battle allowed the No. 14 of Davey Hamilton Jr. to gain on Swanson, pressuring him for third place as Willison maintained control of the race. Hamilton closed the gap on Swanson, looking to his inside with four laps left, launching an offensive in Turn 1 and completing the pass. Hamilton then gained on Margeson, but ran out of time to do anything with it as the checkered flag waved over Willison out front.

Dash A – 10 Laps

The No. 91 of Bryan Warf shot out front like he’d been fired out of a canon, leaving the No. 22L of Richard Larson and the No. 12B of Monty Bergener to battle for second. Larson got away with the position, trying to track down Warf while the No. 36J of Jarrett Burdett gained on Bergener for third. Warf set sail up front, opening up a massive lead by the halfway point. Then, Larson spun out from second, and Bergener inherited the second position, just ahead of Jarrett Burdett and the No. 36D of Devin Burdett. Warf snagged the victory, and was one of six cars transferring in the Feature event, alongside Bergener, Jarret Burdett, Devin Burdett, Larson, and Michael Hathaway.

Dash B – 10 Laps

The No. 1R of Ryan Land dove into the lead as soon as the green flag fell, easily putting some real estate down on the No. 1 of Natalie Waters and the No. OH6 of Adam Hilton. The No. 18 of Ayrton Luttmer tried to reel in Hilton, cutting the distance in the corners but surrendering it on the straights. Meanwhile, the No. 2F of Michael Fanelli and the No. 68 of Mike Anderson had a good battle going, each trying to stay inside the top five. Fanelli eventually got the upper hand and checked out, much like Land had checked out up front, despite catching slower traffic. Diving out of T4, a slower car almost spun out just in front of Land, but managed to hang onto it and clear the racing surface as Land completed the final circuit to win.

Feature – 45 Laps

The No. 24 of Troy Decaire shot ahead with the No. 22A of Bobby Santos hot on his heels, while the No. 41 of Ryan Willison tried to hold off the No. 16G of Austyn Gossel to no avail. Decaire checked out with the lead, while Swanson pressured Ryan Willison for third, and Hamilton cracked the top five. The absurdly fast field ticked off lap after lap, all chasing Decaire as he closed on slower traffic, intend on clearing it without giving Santos the chance to catch up.

Now, lapped traffic loomed with just 10 laps in the books. Decaire and Santos flashed across the line in tandem, with Swanson now in the mix, making the top spot a three-way discussion as they ran each other down through slower cars. Cars bounced off the gutter all over the track but managed to keep it together as Aaron Willison took advantage of the chaos to insert himself into P4. Suddenly, Decaire found himself on the wrong end of that three-wide battle, dropping like a rock into P4 as Santos assumed control of the race, Swanson right in his tire tracks. But Aaron Willison wasn’t done with the conversation yet, shooting after Swanson and making him work hard to keep his hold on second place. It was all for naught, though, as Aaron Willison charged past Swanson and settled into second.

Meanwhile, Decaire and Hamilton dueled hard for the final top five position. Hamilton finally muscled his way past, leaving Decaire to fend off Margeson. Meanwhile, up front, Santos went low to try to slice off Aaron Willison’s dive at the lead, but couldn’t hold him off as lapped traffic forced them both to make quick decisions. Now with control of the race, Aaron Willison tried to set sail, putting some distance down between himself and Santos as the race neared its zenith. Picking off lapped car after lapped car, Aaron Willison sat pretty in the lead, but couldn’t quite shake Santos. Santos began to cut the distance, but with 10 laps left on the board, it might not make a difference. Meanwhile, Margeson finally chipped away at Decaire’s hold on fourth and took control of the position, when a caution flew for Hamilton spinning. Aaron Willison now had the task of fending off Santos for the lead on the restart and did so with ease, ditching Santos as Margeson overtook for third, Swanson in fourth, and Ryan Willison in P5 – until another yellow flew for a stack-up in Turn 1.

When the race finally went green, Aaron Willison picked up right where he left off, as Margeson made the charge into P2. Santos fell back, dueling Swanson for third place, making their fight the tightest in the field as they clung to each other. Up front, Aaron Willison ditched the field, but Santos and Swanson would take their battle right down to the line. Aaron Willison deftly navigated lapped traffic ahead of Margeson as Santos and Swanson streaked across the finish line in perfect sync. Aaron Willison led Margeson across the stripe, and Santos barely edged out Swanson for the third position in an epic conclusion to the first Sprint Car Feature.

Quick Time: No. 36, Aaron Willison, 13.451

Dash A: No. 91, Bryan Warf

Dash B: No. 1R, Ryan Land

Trophy Dash: No. 36, Aaron Willison

Feature: No. 36, Aaron Willison

ClearShift Late Models

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Before the opening lap was even complete, several cars tangled in Turn 2, prompting a complete restart with the No. 51 of Eric Meisner and the No. 32F of Aaron Franco back on the front row. When the green flew again, Meisner shot into the lead uncontested while the No. 99 of Tessa Marine slipped to the high side and surged into second. The field quickly settled into formation as Meisner began to stretch his advantage, with Marine staying firmly in his tire tracks.

Behind them, the No. 98C of Brent Cave came under heavy pressure from Franco for third, with the pair trading the position back and forth as the No. 40 of Brandon Newey closed in. Newey eventually picked off Franco to move into fourth. With two laps to go, Marine made one final swipe at Meisner, lining up a last attempt at the leader. She ran out of time, as Meisner led every lap on his way to the victory, with Marine settling for the runner-up position.

Feature – 30 Laps

Cave charged to the high side at the drop of the green to snag the lead, but the No. 39 of Ryan Newey fired back on the bottom groove before Meisner closed the gap. Cave held the advantage as Meisner dove low, briefly making it a three-wide fight with Ryan Newey and the No. 40 of Brandon Newey. Brandon Newey got away with P2, leaving Meisner to third before immediately setting his sights on the runner-up spot. Behind them, Marine fought to hold off Franco inside the top five, while Ryan Newey slipped to sixth and patiently waited for an opening. The No. 12 of Adam Moe also bided his time in seventh. Meisner finally made his move, diving underneath Brandon Newey to claim second and turning his attention toward race leader Cave.

As the race approached halfway, Meisner had reeled Cave in. Their nose-to-tail battle was mirrored behind them as Marine looked low on Brandon Newey to steal third. Meisner tried nearly the same move for the lead, closing to Cave's rear bumper before Cave found another burst of speed and gapped him. Marine also pulled alongside Brandon Newey but couldn't complete the pass. Up front, Meisner wasn't finished. He quickly closed the gap again, peeking to Cave's quarter panel as the leaders approached lapped traffic. Behind them, Franco and Ryan Newey traded fifth while the fight at the front intensified. Cave and Meisner split a lapped car three-wide in a tense sequence before clearing traffic, and just a few laps later, Meisner completed the pass for the lead with seven laps remaining.

The battle was far from over. Lapped traffic also allowed Brandon Newey and Marine to cut the distance, while Cave mounted one final charge. With four laps to go, Cave edged back ahead of Meisner by a nose at the stripe. Meisner answered with momentum around the outside, and the pair made light contact as the fight reached its peak. Behind them, Marine spun and two other cars made contact, bringing out a caution and setting up a dramatic late restart.

Cave and Meisner picked up right where they left off, running side by side as they charged toward the white flag. With just four corners left, the two leaders were dead even. Meisner found the grip he needed on the outside and surged ahead to score a thrilling victory over Cave, while Brandon Newey completed the podium in third.

Quick Time: No. 40, Brandon Newey, 17.751

Fast Dash: No. 51, Eric Meisner

Feature: No. 51, Eric Meisner

Inland Truck Parts & Service Grand American Modifieds

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 24 of Nathan Gasser lunged to the outside of the No. 69 Forest Smith at the drop of the green to take the lead, while the No. 51 of Cade Fox shook free of a two-wide battle and slipped past the No. 6 of Scotty Scott for third. The field quickly settled into single file as they chased Gasser. Smith looked to the inside for the lead, but soon found Fox filling his rearview. The two made slight contact before bouncing apart, with Smith briefly holding onto second. Fox, however, refused to be denied, completing the pass for the runner-up spot.

Out front, Gasser remained in control from start to finish, taking the win ahead of Fox and Smith.

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 22R of Travis Rudolph and the No. 97 of Kyle Stidham led the field to the green flag, but the start was anything but orderly. The pack scattered as drivers fought for position through the opening lap, with Stidham emerging from the chaos still in command. Behind him, the No. 55 of Damian Lockhart and the No. 89 of Jacob Smith battled fiercely for third. Then, quite a few cars piled up in Turn 2, bringing out the red flag just two laps into the race. After cleanup was completed, the field returned to green with Stidham quickly reestablishing himself at the front.

Rudolph found himself locked in a tight battle with the No. 88 of Brad Skufca and Lockhart, but lost P2 when the back end of his machine stepped out, dropping him to third. Up front, Stidham continued to lead while the No. 3 of Jeremiah Hill quietly worked his way into the top five, stalking Lockhart and Rudolph as they battled for position. Stidham went on to capture the victory, leading the No. 06 of Ben Hendricks and Lockhart across the finish line.

Feature – 30 Laps

Chaos struck before the opening lap was even complete when Lockhart slapped the backstretch wall following contact with another competitor, forcing a complete restart. The field regrouped with Gasser and Jones back on the front row, but another incident slowed the field before the first lap could be completed. Jones grabbed the lead on the third attempt, only for yet another caution to fly in Turn 3.

Once racing finally settled in, Jones resumed control with Gasser applying heavy pressure. Behind them, the Fox stalked Gasser, repeatedly closing to his rear bumper and even making light contact as the field stretched into single file behind the leader. Another caution on Lap 7 reset the field, and this time Gasser capitalized on the restart to wrestle the lead away from Jones, quickly opening a small advantage.

Fox wasn't happy with his P3 position for long. After several unsuccessful attempts to get underneath Jones, he executed a textbook crossover move to finally claim second. Meanwhile, the No. 69 of Forest Smith had Jones squarely in his sights, while the No. 18 of Ed Vecchiarelli fought to hang onto fifth under heavy pressure from the No. 68 of Wyatt Dent.

The battle for the lead heated up as Gasser and Fox traded light contact but managed to keep both cars pointed straight. The two ran side by side for several corners before Fox finally cleared Gasser and drove away. Gasser settled into second ahead of Jones, while Fox took the white flag with nearly a 10-car-length advantage. Even slower traffic couldn't put a damper on his charge as Fox cruised to the victory, followed by Gasser and Jones.

Quick Time: No. 21, Ryan Jones, 17.278

Fast Dash: No. 24, Nathan Gasser

Dash: No. 97, Kyle Stidham

Feature: No. 51, Cade Fox

CNS would like to thank our fans, competitors, teams, officials, track crews, employees, and partners for helping make the first night of our Fourth of July celebration a success. The weekend was not short on action, making the fastest short track in the West the best place to celebrate the U.S.A.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Sprint Cars - 45 Laps