Guardian Roofing Challenge Cup Adds Another Thriller To History Books At CNS

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11 min read

September 26, 2026 - Dacono, CO

Championship season rolled on at Colorado National Speedway on September 26^th, 2026 with one of the biggest Super Late Model races of the year taking center stage: the 100-lap Challenge Cup. The Challenge Cup has been a Super Late Model division headline event for decades, and this year’s running delivered exactly what we expect from that event: a grueling 100-lap challenge with tense battles for the lead in the closing laps.

Of course, there was plenty more hardware waiting to be claimed. The Late Models and Super Stocks each contested double features as their 2026 championship battles reached their conclusions, giving fans a packed night of racing from the first green flag to the final checkered! If you missed any of the action, or just want to relive it, keep reading for the complete rundown.

Guardian Roofing Super Late Models

Feature – 100 Laps

The Challenge Cup got off to a blistering start as the No. 24 of Cody Dempster took the point in short order, leading this year’s 10 challengers through the opening circuits. The No. 05 of Nick Cooper fought his way forward as the No. 12 of Bruce Yackey faded to fifth, while Dempster began putting some distance between himself and the rest of the field. The No. 32 of Brett Yackey soon began reeling in Dempster, cutting into his advantage as the leaders encountered slower traffic. They sliced through the lapped cars and emerged in the same order, with Dempster ahead and Yackey in hot pursuit. Yackey looked low and became Dempster’s shadow, perfectly matching his pace until finally gaining the upper hand on Lap 15. Further back, the No. 43 of Kody Vanderwal searched for a way into the top five, but Cooper expertly held him off. Before long, Vanderwal had his mirror full of the No. 11 of Darren Robertson while simultaneously trying to find a way around Cooper. Up front, Yackey began stretching his advantage, but the No. 58 of Kyle Ray was quickly becoming a threat. The No. 08 of Jace Hansen was also on the move, mounting a charge on Dempster for third. Hansen completed the pass on the backstretch, taking P3 with just a quarter of the prestigious 100-lap race in the books.

By Lap 29, Yackey remained out front, but Ray had trimmed the deficit to just two-tenths of a second. Hansen used the high line to carry tremendous speed through the turns, putting himself directly on Ray’s rear bumper and setting up a fierce battle for second. Hansen dove low in Turn 2, but Ray fought him off and rebuilt a small buffer. Hansen regrouped and tried again, refusing to let Ray escape. Their fight was exactly what Yackey needed, allowing the leader to put some breathing room between himself and his pursuers. Hansen finally mounted another attack on Ray, with the two making brief contact in Turn 2 before separating without incident. Hansen completed the pass and immediately set out after Yackey. Ray slipped backward but kept the leaders within sight as the race approached halfway. Yackey remained in command at the halfway point, with the field settling into an uneasy formation behind him. By Lap 55, however, Hansen had gathered enough momentum to challenge for the lead.

Hansen went to the high side while Yackey defended the lower groove, and the pair raced side-by-side around the speedway. Hansen carried more speed through the upper lane, while Yackey benefited from the shorter distance around the bottom. Hansen eventually nosed ahead, but Yackey refused to let him escape. The leaders crossed the stripe nearly as one as they encountered lapped traffic. Yackey’s preferred lower line put him directly in the path of slower cars, giving Hansen the opening he needed to finally break away. Once Yackey found clean air again, though, the chase resumed. With 15 laps remaining, Yackey began carving into Hansen’s advantage lap after lap. He looked low, but Hansen fired hard off the corners and repeatedly shut the door. With nine to go, only two-tenths of a second separated the leaders as the Challenge Cup became a two-car fight for the victory. Yackey kept digging along the bottom and finally scraped ahead with seven laps remaining. Hansen wasn’t finished, staying close enough to threaten another challenge, but his pace began to fade as Yackey reclaimed firm control of the race.

By the time the field came around with four laps remaining, Yackey had secured the top spot. At the white flag, his advantage had ballooned to nearly two seconds. Nobody could touch him from there. Yackey completed the final circuit and crossed the stripe 2.079 seconds ahead of Hansen, capturing the 100-lap Challenge Cup. Ray completed the podium in third, followed by Dempster in fourth. Vanderwal crossed the line fifth, putting the finishing touch on a stellar season by securing the 2026 Super Late Model championship.

Quick Time: No. 43, Kody Vanderwal, 15.981

2026 Challenge Cup: No. 32, Brett Yackey

2026 SLM Champion: No. 43, Kody Vanderwal

Clearshift Late Models

Feature 1 – 20 Laps

The No. 99 of Tessa Marine led the field to green with pressure from the No. 32F of Aaron Franco in the upper groove. Franco eventually fell in behind as the No. 51 of Eric Meisner attacked from the lower lane, and their battle allowed Marine to build a comfortable advantage. Franco and Meisner evenly matched one another through the turns until Meisner finally fought his way into P2. Marine held an advantage of nearly a full second over the points leader, while further back, the No. 17X of Mariah Boudrieau began reeling in Franco and threatening his position.

Marine continued working the lower lane as Meisner settled into her tire tracks and the No. 98C of Brent Cave gained on them both. Meisner steadily erased Marine’s advantage as the leaders approached slower traffic, eventually narrowing the gap to a single car-length through the turns. Meisner had one final lap to make something happen, but Marine refused to give him an opening. The No. 99 held her ground through the final corners and crossed the stripe first, while Meisner brought it home second.

Feature 2 – 30 Laps

With 30 laps standing between the Late Model field and the 2026 championship, the No. 12 of Adam Moe shot out front, showing the way for Cave, who steadily marched forward from his sixth-place starting position. Meisner, meanwhile, settled into fourth with the points lead in his pocket. Cave began eating into Moe’s advantage, applying pressure through the turns before snatching the top spot away on Lap 10. Behind them, Meisner leaned on Boudrieau in the fight for third and completed the pass two laps later, putting himself within striking distance of the leaders. Now in command, Cave began pulling away and slicing through lapped traffic while Moe and Meisner gave chase. Marine worked her way past Moe as he faded to fourth, while Boudrieau held fifth ahead of Franco.

Cave continued navigating slower traffic without missing a beat. Marine was equally aggressive in her pursuit, at one point going three-wide through lapped cars before cleanly competing the pass. With four laps left, the field settled into single-file formation behind Cave. Franco made one final push and worked his way past Boudrieau, advancing another position with only a few laps left. Nobody had anything for Cave up front. The No. 98C completed the final laps to close the season with a Feature victory, while Meisner crossed the stripe third, securing the 2026 Late Model championship. Franco capped off his season by earning 2026 Late Model Rookie of the Year honors.

Quick Time: No. 99, Tessa Marine, 17.847

Feature 1: No. 99, Tessa Marine

Feature 2: No. 98C, Brent Cave

2026 LM Champion: No. 51, Eric Meisner

2026 LM ROTY: No. 32F, Aaron Franco

PB&T Bank Super Stocks

Feature 1 – 20 Laps

With only two races remaining in their season, the Super Stocks took to the track for the first of two Feature events on the night. The No. 12C of Chris Cox shot to an early lead, but the No. 11W of Scott Long immediately challenged him for the top spot. Cox held him off long enough to lead the opening lap. Then, two cars tangled in Turn 3, triggering a red flag just as the field entered Turn 1 to begin Lap 2. Once the wreck was cleared, Long moved out front as Cox was shuffled into the high groove and fell off the pace, prompting another caution. When racing resumed, Long found himself locked in a battle with the No. 82 of Ian Clark, with the pair evenly matched for several laps. Behind them, the No. 75 of Emilio Abeyta and No. 18Y of Justin Young mirrored their battle in two-wide formation. Long eventually shook free of Clark, leaving the No. 82 to deal with pressure from Young as he marched toward the front. Clark remained in the upper groove with Abeyta down low as they fought for position on Lap 7.

The field began settling into single-file formation as Abeyta closed on Young. By Lap 10, the No. 12S of Shawn Sulley had cracked the top five and began eating into Clark’s hold on P4. Long stretched his advantage over Young until several cars spun on the front stretch and impeded the racing surface, bringing out another caution on Lap 13. The green returned with seven laps remaining, and Young immediately went to the outside in an attempt to wrestle the lead away from Long. Sulley joined the fray, waiting for an opportunity to capitalize on the battle ahead of him. When Young washed up the track, Sulley slipped underneath and into second, allowing Long to put some breathing room between himself and his pursuers. Further back, the No. 61 of John Humphrey and Clark were locked in a tight fight for P5, while the No. 23 of Jordan Abeyta waited for an opportunity to pick off them both.

Nobody could touch Long up front. He completed the final circuits to win by 0.724 seconds, while Sulley and Young drag-raced to the stripe for second. Sulley gained the upper hand at the line to secure the runner-up position.

Feature 2 – 25 Laps

Cox, back on track following his troubles in the first Feature, immediately challenged the No. 13 of Anthony Albrandt for the lead. Albrandt held the advantage through the opening lap with Cox settled into second, while Jordan Abeyta and Clark battled behind them. The No. 5T of Zayne Tatro was shuffled out of the top five and regrouped as Albrandt began separating himself from the field. Cox quickly erased that advantage, though, catching the leader in Turn 2 on Lap 4 and chasing him through Turns 3 and 4. Cox had just claimed the lead on Lap 5 when a car struck the Turn 1 wall, bringing out the caution. A brief red flag followed as crews cleaned up debris and cleared the racing surface. Once racing resumed, Jordan Abeyta mounted a charge and rocketed out front while the field ran two-wide behind him. Cox settled into P2 as Sulley ran third, but the No. 9 of Brent Cave suddenly entered the conversation, overtaking several cars on his way to fourth. By Lap 9, the field had abandoned its side-by-side formation, and Cox began closing on Abeyta. The top four separated themselves from the pack until Abeyta abruptly slowed with sparks flying from his race car, surrendering the lead to Cox.

Abeyta slowed near the pit exit just as another car spun elsewhere on the track, bringing out the caution on Lap 13. Cox returned to the point when the green flag waved, but Cave wasted no time launching an attack and briefly rocketed into the lead. Cox immediately answered, powering back past the No. 9 as Sulley followed him through the opening. Cox managed to build a full car-length advantage over Sulley, while Cave remained close behind. Long lurked in fourth, waiting for an opportunity to join the battle, while Young moved into fifth and held off Clark. Cox kept them all behind him through the closing laps and crossed the stripe first for the victory, completing an impressive recovery from his Feature 1 troubles. Sulley secured another runner-up finish, while Cave brought it home third. That third-place finish was enough for Cave to cap off a stellar season as the 2026 Super Stock champion, while Tatro earned 2026 Rookie of the Year honors.

Quick Time: No. 49, Chris Cox, 19.575

Feature 1: No. 11W, Scott Long

Feature 2: No. 9, Brent Cave

2026 SS Champion: No. 9, Brent Cave

2026 SS ROTY: No. 5T, Zayne Tatro

Lowry Insurance Trains

Feature – 10 Laps

Five Trains took the green flag, all following the No. 91 Friday Night Special as they shot ahead to lead the first lap. The No. 99 Red Headed Stepchild got off to a rough start, ramming headfirst into the jumps in The X, and before the first lap was complete, they rammed the back stretch wall, triggering a red flag. The No. 41G Funny Farm took the lead on the restart while No. 22 Hot Mess Express and No. 80HD SNAFU got together before SNAFU ended up striking the wall and retiring to the infield. Friday Night Special still held control, but made contact with Hot Mess Express in the closing laps, stranding Friday Night Special in the backstretch. Only Funny Farm and Hot Mess Express were still running at the end, and it would be Funny Farm across the line first, securing not only the race win, but the 2026 Trains championship as well.

Feature: No. 41G, J&H Livestock Funny Farm

2026 Trains Champion: No. 41G, J&H Livestock Funny Farm

Another championship weekend is in the books, but there’s still one more day of racing left in the regular 2026 season! Next weekend marks our season finale, and we’re sending the year out with a little bit of everything. The Super Stocks, Pure Stocks, Figure 8s, Legends, Bandoleros, Trains, Demo X, and drift cars are all lined up for one last Saturday night under the lights, with the Legend and Bandolero championships still waiting to be decided. And because it’s Halloween season, we want to see those costumes! Fans are encouraged to dress up and join us for infield trick-or-treating with the drivers prior to the first green flag at 3:30 p.m. Get your tickets HERE for our final weekend of the season!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Super Late Models – 100 Laps

32 Brett Yackey
08 Jace Hansen
58 Kyle Ray
24 Cody Dempster
43 Kody Vanderwal
11 Darren Robertson
22Y Brian Yackey
12 Bruce Yackey
05 Nick Cooper
98 Shonnon Flick

Late Model Feature 1 - 20 Laps

99 Tessa Marine
51 Eric Meisner
98C Brent Cave
17x Mariah Boudrieau
32F Aaron Franco (R)
48 Michael "Mikey" Blackard
OH6 Mahkrysta Hilton (R)
12 Adam Moe (R)
44 Brent Tamburelli (R)
91 Eric Bentley (R)
95 Brandon Torrez (R)
87 Carter Croghan
63 James Starcher

Late Model Feature 2 - 30 Laps

98C Brent Cave
99 Tessa Marine
51 Eric Meisner
12 Adam Moe (R)
32F Aaron Franco (R)
17x Mariah Boudrieau
48 Michael "Mikey" Blackard
OH6 Mahkrysta Hilton (R)
91 Eric Bentley (R)
44 Brent Tamburelli (R)
95 Brandon Torrez (R)
63 James Starcher
87 Carter Croghan

Super Stocks Feature 1 - 20 Laps

11W Scott Long
12S Shawn Sulley
18Y Justin Young
61 John Humphrey
9 Brent Cave
82 Ian Clark
23 Jordan Abeyta
5T Zayne Tatro (R)
12C Chris Cox
13 Anthony Albrandt
95 Jessilyn Dike
10W Gauge Witthar
74 Ethan Murr (R)
47 Richard Murr
35 Greg Dreiling
75 Emilio Abeyta
3.2 Robert Davey
57 Jason Arbuckle
68 Adam Moe
20 John Deel (R)
15 James Moody (R)
12 Rick Cooper
64M Justin Eisenhauer
6 Adam Hilton
30 Austin Whiting (R)
42 Brandon McCormick
33 Dillyn Kellogg
M60 Morrie Christner

Super Stocks Feature 2 - 25 Laps

12C Chris Cox
12S Shawn Sulley
9 Brent Cave
11W Scott Long
18Y Justin Young
82 Ian Clark
5T Zayne Tatro (R)
35 Greg Dreiling
75 Emilio Abeyta
23 Jordan Abeyta
10W Gauge Witthar
47 Richard Murr
57 Jason Arbuckle
3.2 Robert Davey
42 Brandon McCormick
6J Jason Hulvey
74 Ethan Murr (R)
64M Justin Eisenhauer
95 Jessilyn Dike
13 Anthony Albrandt
15 James Moody (R)
68 Adam Moe
61 John Humphrey
12 Rick Cooper
20 John Deel (R)
DNS. 30 Austin Whiting (R)
DNS. 33 Dillyn Kellogg
DNS. M60 Morrie Christner