High Country Harley Davidson Ride 911 The Perfect Night For A Saturday Drive At CNS

Colorado National Speedway and High Country Harley Davidson joined forces this year to facilitate a scenic bike ride from the Foothills all the way to the racetrack, joined by nearly 300 bikers with a few laps around the racing surface to send them off in memory of those lost in the 9/11 attacks. All those riders and our terrific CNS regulars then settled in for a cool night of racing, thanks to our Pure Stocks, Pro Trucks and Late Models, who faced off in epic battles for valuable points as our 2023 season draws to a close.

Matco Tools Pro Trucks

Fast Dash – 12 Laps

The No. 16 truck of Travis Roe held the lead until the No. 43, driven by Kody Vanderwal, took control just a few turns later. The No. 71 of Tim Duvall caused a little bit of a stack-up around fourth place, making slight compact with a few competitors before sliding backward through the rankings. Roe set out after Vanderwal to take the top spot back, while Adam Deines settled his No. 7 truck into third place. Roe tried to line Vanderwal up for a late-race pass, but Vanderwal held on to win the Fast Dash.

Dash – 12 Laps

Tyler Wiggans’ fast No. 50 truck tried to shake the No. 28 of Brian Weinmaster once the green flag dropped, and Brad Skufca lurked in the No. 88S in third while he waited to see how they would sort themselves out. Jeff Waulbaum’s No. 85 and Steve Johnson’s No. 11 went side-by-side for fourth, meanwhile, putting Johnson into the position. Scufka found his way into second and shot after Wiggans, closing the gap and running abreast of the leader right to the line – although Wiggans held onto his thin lead to win.

Feature – 30 Laps

Fifteen race-prepared pickups took the green flag for the 30-lap feature, and Roe wasted no time in getting to the top of the board. Curtis Heldenbrand’s No. 9 and Brian Yackey’s No. 22 went side-by-side for third, until a yellow flag waved to address the No. 86 of Tim Coate, which was dumping fuel on the racing surface. The ensuing green flag put Roe up front next to the No. 33, Tyler Davis, but they didn’t stay neck-and-neck for long – Roe took off again, allowing Heldenbrand to sneak in behind him. Duvall and Vanderwal had a dustup, turning the former in Turn 4, but no caution was thrown. Yackey muscled his way past Heldenbrand, while Roe absolutely checked out and left the field far behind. Davis began to chip away at Yackey’s second place standing, while Vanderwal and Deines went at it for fourth. Meanwhile, Skufca wrestled with his race truck and spun down the backstretch, got it back together, and then promptly spun again and wound up in the infield, though no caution was thrown. Roe continued to show the way up front, navigating the speedway with deft accuracy as he kept his unsurmountable lead.

While Davis and Yackey fought for second, Vanderwal was able to close the gap on them. Davis couldn’t seal the deal, though, and Yackey maintained second place, although things quickly escalated to a three-way fight as Vanderwal charged back into the fray. Lapped traffic didn’t cut into Roe’s lead as he dodged slower trucks, and it didn’t interfere with Davis and Yackey’s battle, either. Roe continued to set sail while the following three trucks kept at each other’s throats for the coveted runner-up position. Yackey wouldn’t give it up, though, and kept ahead of Davis and Vanderwal. Meanwhile, Roe put on an absolutely dominating performance, winning by over a straightaway’s length, proving his prowess behind the wheel and whipping the field for his first-ever Feature victory in the Pro Trucks.

Quick Time: No. 22, Brian Yackey, 17.158

Dash: No. 50, Tyler Wiggans

Fast Dash: No. 43, Kody Vanderwal

Feature: No. 16, Travis Roe

GTI Services Late Models

Fast Dash – 12 Laps

Lee Kemmit put his brightly accented No. 98 machine to the point on the outside, stretching his lead over the No. 99 driven by Tessa Marine. Brandon Newey put his No. 40 on her bumper, followed by the No. 30X of Chad Cowan. While Kemmit stretched out his lead, Marine, Newey and Cowan slashed and hacked for second place, swinging three-wide to the line. Marine got ahead of her competitors, putting Newey in third and Cowan in fourth, all following Kemmit across the line.

Dash – 12 Laps

Steve Mills showed the way in the No. 16 for Lap 1, while Mikey Blackard’s No. 48 and Casey Wiggans’ No. 18 made slight contact in the fight for third. Blackard came out on top, leaving Wiggans to fight with the No. 94 machine of Kyle Morse. Wiggans tangled with the No. 19 of Del Trantham, allowing the latter to cut past him. Meanwhile, Bryce Weinmaster set his No. 58 machine right on the bumper of Mills, although he was only able to hold a close position for a few laps before Mills checked out again. He’d lead right to the checkered flag.

Feature – 35 Laps

Kemmit was right back to form at the drop of the green flag for the LM Feature, leading the first lap while the rear of the pack scrambled behind him. Thankfully, everyone avoided the incident and got straightened out under green. Newey settled into second place, while Dan Alamaa’s No. 8 tried to defend fifth place against Marine. Gallegos charged to the inside of everyone, snatching second away from Newey and surging after the leaders, although Cowan shouldered his way into the melee and began working on Newey. They took it side-by-side for third, while Kemmit continued to lead over Gallegos. Then, nine laps in, the bumper of Morse’s No. 94 machine finally let go after sustaining damage in the Lap 1 tangle, and the yellow was waved. The restart turned the lead back over to Kemmit, who managed to keep a hard-charging Cowan back. Gallegos had fallen back to battle Alamaa for fourth place, opening the door for the No. 6 of Roe to follow him through on the lowermost lane. Alamaa and Roe made slight contact, allowing Gallegos the opening he needed to pass them both.

However, a multicar incident would soon slow the field, putting Kemmit and Cowan next to each other for the green flag. While Cowan put up a valiant effort, Kemmit defended his position, while Roe shot into third place behind them. It didn’t take long for Roe to cut into Cowan’s second place run, and soon, Gallegos made it a three-way fight for second. Roe raced smartly and eventually claimed the spot; shortly thereafter, he started putting pressure on Kemmit for the lead. A caution was waved when Weinmaster and Blackard slammed together, both spinning out. On this restart, Kemmit had to deflect Roe for the lead now, although he spun his tires getting to the green flag and stacked up the field in his rearview. However, he captured the lead once he got up to speed, until Weinmaster was once again involved in a multicar incident that caused a caution. Kemmit was forced to defend first place once again as Roe laid the nose of his race car even with Kemmit’s quarter panel. Roe’s race car was arguably faster than Kemmit’s, looking to the inside of the No. 98 machine heading toward the checkered flag. Kemmit held on, though, and shot beneath the finish flag and added another winner’s trophy to his collection.

Quick Time: No. 21G, Mike Gallegos

Dash: No. 16, Steve Mills

Fast Dash: No. 98, Lee Kemmit

Feature: No. 98, Lee Kemmit

Rock ‘N’ Roll Brewery Pure Stocks

Fast Dash – 12 Laps

AJ Hill’s No. 22 found itself under pressure from the No. 3 of Ronald Burnett right away, along with the No. 8A of Austin Richards. Richards galloped past Burnett and brought the No. 8 of Isaac Almaswari along behind him. Richards eventually nosed into first place with Almaswari hot on his heels, although the two race cars made contact in Turn 4, allowing Almaswari to get away with P1. Richards readied himself for a final charge around Almaswari, but fell short at the line, and the win went to Almaswari.

Dash – 12 Laps

Ben Hendricks threw his No. 6 abreast of the leaders to go three-wide with Shawn Sulley’s No. 12S and Justin Young’s No. 18A. Young got away with the lead, although he washed up the track just one lap later and allowed Hendricks past. Dustin Camp’s No. 7X and Scott Johnson’s No. 06 got together fighting for third. Johnson got away with P3 and began to reel in Young, looking to the inside as the laps counted down. Eventually, he sealed the deal and took second away, but ran out of time to catch Hendricks for the win.

Feature – 30 Laps

The sleek No. 32 of Rick Phillips led, until Almaswari and Burnett got together, sending Almaswari spinning. He attempted to rejoin traffic but was unable to get to speed, drawing a caution flag. Phillips was back on the front row with Josh Hopkins beside him in the No. 53 machine. Phillips grabbed the lead, while Richards tried to claw his way past Hopkins for second place. Hopkins didn’t surrender the position easily, however, and took it back in short order. The pack went two- and three-wide behind the leaders, as Burnett found his way around Richards for third. Meanwhile, Almaswari had muscled his way back into sixth place after starting near the rear due to his early-race incident. Hill and Burnett split Hopkins, causing him to plummet and fall behind Almaswari. Phillips continued to lead, until Burnett found himself faced the wrong way after contact from Almaswari, who was sent to the tail end of the field for the restart.

Hill started beside Phillips, and the No. 32 machine kept the lead. Richards and Hill got side-by-side for second and put himself right on Phillips’ bumper for the lead. However, the two race cars made contact, bouncing apart but staying pointed in the right direction. Almaswari, meanwhile, had pushed back into fourth, hunting the top three. Hill settled into P1, while Richards and Phillips continued their battle for second. Eventually, Richards shook Phillips and started to make Hill nervous for the lead, while Almaswari finally caught them both and lurked in third. Almaswari, absolutely on a mission, took second away from Hill and made short work of Richards as well. It appeared that Almaswari might continue his impressive run right to the checkered flag, until he lost the back end of his race car on the backstretch and spun, allowing Richards to take the lead back. Hill followed him through to second place, snagging the victory after a dramatic Pure Stock feature.