(6-8-2019, Dacono, CO) Gleaming machines from the K&N Pro Series West joined the regular crew of local racers at Colorado National Speedway for the annual NAPA Auto Parts 150. Despite the rainstorm that drenched the track before the drop of the green flag, a great crowd of fans braved the cool weather. The stage was set by the Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds and Late Models – and then the K&N cars finished off the night with a thrilling, but controversial, finish.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Once a year, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West makes for an exciting battle at CNS, and this time was no different. CNS’s own Kody Vanderwal in the No. 43 machine set the quick time for the night, shattering the previous track record and setting a new one for the recently repaved surface.
Kody Vanderwal leads the pack on the outside of the front row (Starr photo)
At first, it seemed Vanderwal was the force to be reckoned with, but his car faded after about 50 laps. Derek Kraus took over the lead as Hailie Deegan and Brittney Zamora did battle for second place behind him. Eventually, Deegan got around Zamora and set her sights on the lead. She took off once she had it, but a series of late-race cautions thwarted her dominating run.
Eventual race winner Hailie Deegan takes the low line (Starr photo)
The race was forced into a green-white-checkered finish after a caution for a spin. Deegan lost the lead to Kraus and fell back, but caught up to him in Turn 3 on the last lap. Kraus’s No. 16 spun after contact with the nose of Deegan’s car, opening the track for her to cross the line first. After reviewing the results to determine whether Deegan and Kraus had raced clean, NASCAR officials declared Deegan the unofficial winner and sent her No. 19 to Victory Lane. Vanderwal finished 2nd.
Hailie Deegan celebrates in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
What everyone is talking about today: That wild finish in Colorado last night😲!!! "That’s racing. We were all going for the kill."-> https://t.co/Yl2luOeIcX#ColoradoNAPA150 | @cnsracing pic.twitter.com/vGl8khAnQT — NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) June 9, 2019
TBK Bank Super Stocks Always a fan favorite at CNS, the Super Stocks put on quite the show. A few laps into the race, a bizarre incident in Turn 1 brought out the yellow flag for a while as track crews worked to separate a pair of cars that ended up stuck together after heavy contact. Eventually, they were able to free the racecars from each other and both continued on.
Cody Milan had a fantastic night. He snagged the lead with a handful of laps left on the ticker and never looked back, landing the win. He was followed by Mike Cox, Chris Cox, Sam Messerli, and Coate.
Super Stocks hit the track again on June 29.
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds The field was small for the Grand American Modifieds but the spectacle was big. Series favorite Ed Vecchirelli started at the back of the pack but he showed muscle early. It didn’t take him long to get his No. 18 machine up front, where he stayed for the rest of the race.
The race was stalled by string of cautions for spins on the cold, slick racetrack, but cleanup was pretty simple and didn’t take much away from the action. The first happened only a few laps into the race when a car went around off Turn 2, and the next when a car got too close to the fence off Turn 2 and ended up in the wall on the backstretch.
The big story of the race happened at about the halfway point. The No. 81 of Jeff Larsen Jr. ended up the wall after contact with Darin Clark, No. 13. After the incident, Clark was forced to start at the rear of the field when the green flag dropped.
The field was bunched up after a late-race caution for a spin in Turn 4. Vecchirelli made a charge through the pack and ended up putting his No. 18 back in Victory Lane once again. Larsen was 2nd, Clark 3rd, John Seely 4th, and Markus Kelly 5th.
Grand American Modifieds run again on June 29th.
Galitz Transportation Late Models The grooves started to come back into the track after the heavy rains by the time the Late Models made it out, but that didn’t mean it was perfect. The new racing surface coupled with the chilly ambient temperatures made for a slick ride around, and almost as soon as the green flag dropped, several cars got sideways diving out of Turn 4. They all held onto it, though, and the fans ate it up.
The race progressed without incident, except for the No. 5 spinning on the front stretch, but the track stayed green as he was not impeding the racing surface.
The No. 53, Nathan Gasser, and the No. 24, Eric Bowers, traded paint for first place as the laps wound down. After light contact, Gasser, who held the lead at the time, spun out with a few laps left. Bowers got around the incident without further contact and went on to win the race.
#24 Eric Bowers takes the win (Starr photo)
He was followed by Brett Yackey, David Hondel, Derek Smith and Wade Grove rounding out the top five. Gasser was scored 14th.
Late Models will be back out on June 22.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
K&N Pro Series West NAPA 150 1. 19 Hailie Deegan 2. 43 Kody Vanderwal 3. 13 Todd Souza 4. 99 Brittney Zamora * 5. 10 Matt Levin 6. 38 John Wood 7. 6 Jagger Jones * 8. 16 Derek Kraus 9. 9 Trevor Huddleston 10. 77 Takuma Koga 11. 36 Ron Jay * 12. 35 Taylor Canfield * 13. 0 Bobby Hillis, Jr. 14. 08 Travis Milburn
Galitz Transportation Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 24 Eric Bowers Colorado Springs 2. 32 Brett Yackey Greeley 3. 07 David Hondel Cheyenne 4. 31 Derek Smith Mead 5. 3 Wade Grove Thornton 6. 76 Chad Cowan 7. 8 Dan Alamaa Colorado Springs 8. 99 Sam Messerli (R) Thornton 9. 44 Thomas Powers Pine 10. 11 Montie Paulsen Pueblo West 11. 9 Brent Cave Brighton 12. 33B Christopher Buskirk Bayard NE 13. 94 Kyle Morse Peyton 14. 53 Nathan Gasser Thornton 15. 58 Jeff Webb Erie 16. 50 Justin McKeachie 17. 43 Chris Donnelson (R) Morrill NE 18. 72 Gary Cagle Ft. Collins 19. 75 Emilio Abeyta Denver 20. 85 Donald Cole Dacono 21. 5 Scott Trantham 22. 17 Paul Deines Fredrick
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 18 Ed Vecchirelli 2. 81 Jeff Larsen Jr Pueblo 3. 13 Darin Clark 4. 66 John Seely Parker 5. 4 Marcus Kelly (R) Cheyenne 6. 37 Landon Birney (R) Cheyenne 7. 32 Joseph Andrade (R) Colorado Springs 8. 22 Blane Lujan Jr Pueblo West 9. 59 Charles Wilson Penrose 10. 9 CJ Wilson (R) Penrose
TBK Super Stocks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 32 Cody Milan Fort Collins 2. 3 Mike Cox 3. 49 Chris Cox 4. 99S Sam Messerli 5. 86 Tim Coate (R) 6. 3.2 Robert Davey Erie 7. 03 Tyler Mander (R) Evans 8. 30 Jared Keener 9. 3% Will Alvarado Ft Lupton 10. 21R Robert Hoard 11. 88 Nick Davis Cheyenne 12. 19 Shelby Cortese 13. 45E Rebecca Simpson Colorado Springs 14. 29G Justin Griffin Weldona 15. 55 Damian Lockhart 16. 02 Sean Smith 17. 98 Natalie Phelps 18. 23 Harry Livermore Jr Denver 19. 51X Joseph Dike (R) 20. 31 Ronnie Duran Jr 21. 90 Alexander Rodriguez (R) 22. 28S McCaslin Cain 23. 22PS Jay Hill 24. 82 James Larsen 25. 60 Jonathan Lindberg 26. 11W Scott Long Lyman 27. 4 Chris Jordan Lafayette