August 31, 2024 ~ Dacono, CO
Once again, Colorado National Speedway was overrun with Legends for the annual Legend Invasion on August 31st, 2024, sending off summer with a quite literal bang. Our last fireworks display of the year didn’t disappoint. Neither did the Grand American Modifieds, Bandoleros, Trains, or Legends. If you weren’t in the grandstands cheering your favorite driver on, you missed a hell of a show and with the season almost at its peak, every lap counts. We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know about Saturday night’s action. Keep reading to see what you missed or relive it if you were there!
AC Transmissions Legends
Fast Dash – 15 Laps
With $300 on the line, Bryanna Bruce’s No. 12 and Cole Tuttle’s No. 45 led to the green flag. It didn’t take long for the No. 99R of Alex Roe to take advantage when both front-row starters pushed wide and opened the door for him to take the lead. Darrell L. Stewart pushed his No. 03 into second place in short order with the No. 22 of Chris Eggleston hot on his heels. Darrell L. quickly reeled in Roe and snatched the lead for himself, causing Roe to flounder and fall back to fourth. Eggleston lined up the shot and took the lead for himself on the backstretch halfway through the race, followed by the No. 08 of Darrell J. Stewart, who had inserted himself into second place. With five laps left, in single file formation, the field tailed Eggleston – until Darrell J. powered through Turn 1, straight into the lead. The No. 6 of Scotty Scott got extremely loose in Turn 4, and while he kept his race car together, the No. 21X of Corey Pearson spun out with two laps to go. Darrel J. and Eggleston lined back up for the restart; Darrel J. launched back into the lead while the No. 78 of Colton Crocker made it a three-wide battle for the top spot alongside Eggleston. Darrell J. was able to put down a comfortable distance and led right to the checkered flag.
Dash – 15 Laps
The No. 35 of Andrew Lee led Lap 1 while the No. 17K of Marc Karashiniski, who had started alongside him, plummeted in the standings. Brian Harlow’s No. 27 took over P2 and searched for an opening to pass Lee, followed by the No. 4W of Stuart Wilkerson and the No. 01 of Gary Land, charging like a freight train past Lee as they filed into first, second, and third, demoting Lee to fourth place. Karashiniski spun out on Lap 8, forcing a caution. Land and Wilkerson restarted on the front row; Wilkerson easily found his way to the top of the board while Land got loose in Turn 2 and had to back off. Harlow picked off Lee and Land, and the field was slowed once more for Karashiniski, who spun out again. Wilkerson again claimed the lead on the green flag as the No. 28P of Adam Powers made himself known in the fight for second, delivering a shot to Land after making short work of Harlow, taking P2 behind Wilkerson, who won the Dash and the $300 purse.
Feature – 25 Laps
With two transfer spots to the titular Legend Invasion Fast Feature on the line – along with a $500 purse – the field followed the No. 75 of Austin Hackenburg and the No. 21L of Madi Lange to the green. Hackenberg took off with the lead, and by Lap 4, the field settled into a single file line behind him. That is, until the No. 97 of Billy Blevins got past the No. 78 of Ashlyn Himler for fourth and the No. 19 of Dominic Moss for third. This allowed Hackenburg and Lange to open up a large lead on the rest of the field as Mike Markison threw his No. 73 machine into third past Moss and Blevins. The field spread out at the halfway point, but Lange was able to pace Hackenburg, not losing ground but not gaining any, either. Karashinski then spun out with eight laps left and the No. 95 of Jessilyn Dike presented with an issue under the yellow flag and slowed.
Hackenburg and Lange restarted on the front row, and Hackenburg easily reclaimed the top spot and ran off with the lead, leaving Lange to do battle with Markison for second place, the two cars nearly touching but staying apart. An epic fight ensued for the second transfer spot as Hackenburg took off away from them. With two laps left, Markison got the advantage over Lange, but she fired back and reclaimed it as the white flag flew. Neck and neck, evenly matched, Lange and Markison scrapped for P2. Lange made the killing move in Turn 4 on the last lap, edging ahead of Markison and taking P2 at the line behind Hackenburg. Hackenburg claimed the $500 prize and earned a shot at the $5,000 purse in the Fast Feature.
Fast Feature – 50 Laps
With bragging rights and a $5,000 prize on the line, 26 Legends took the green flag, falling into line behind the No. 16 of Travis Roe, who led the first lap. Tuttle battled Lange for second place, eventually taking the position away and bringing Darrell L. along with him. Eggleston nudged past Scott for third, and Darrell J. settled into fifth place. The No. 15 of Danny Medina suddenly fell off the pace and lost a few spots, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, Eggleston took over P2 and set after Travis Roe for the lead. Tuttle and Darrell J. stayed close on him, making a four-car freight train for the lead. On Lap 14, Eggleston took first as Darrell J. got into his rear bumper, spinning him out; Darrell J. was relegated to the tail end of the field after the incident while Eggleston was given his spot back. After one botched restart, Eggleston took the lead on the second attempt, as Tuttle got by Travis Roe for P2 and pulled Alex Roe along with him. Fighting for fifth, the No. 88F of Cade Fox got loose and nearly went around. Everyone missed him, but Wilkerson spun out on his own and triggered another caution.
Eggleston took the green and fended off Tuttle, who fell in behind Alex Roe. Tuttle’s run stalled out as he was hung out to dry in the uppermost lane, and as he tried to dive back down low, he made contact with Alex Roe. They kept it together and kept going. By this point, Medina had also recovered from his earlier malady and ran in second place, chasing Eggleston, at least until the No. 12 of Bryanna Bruce spun out in Turn 1; as a lap was not completed, Scott was returned to P2 and Medina positioned behind him. The race restarted with 30 laps left, but then, all hell broke loose.
Turn 3 brought big trouble to the field. Travis Roe and Tuttle slammed together and stacked up the field, causing several other drivers to spin out and make contact as the pack unraveled into chaos. All drivers were able to either exit their vehicles under their own power or return to racing after being righted by CNS safety crews. This included Travis Roe, Fox, Crocker, Alex Roe, Lee, and several others. After a red flag to clean up, the race restarted with Eggleston still solidly out front, but he couldn’t shake Medina, who drew a bead on Eggleston and swept past him to claim the lead for a few, short laps. Unfortunately, Medina once again slowed as his No. 15 machine suffered an apparent issue and suddenly lost power. Medina ultimately had to retire as ignition issues plagued his race car.
This turned the lead over to Darrell J. while Eggleston lost ground as the pack again settled into a single file line. The leaders began to leave the rest of the pack in the dust as they came up on much slower traffic. Crocker, after being involved in the Lap 20 wreck, had already battled back inside the top five with just over 12 laps to go. Eggleston and Darrell J. battled side-by-side as they wove through lapped traffic, and Crocker took P3 away from Darrell L. Darrell J, meanwhile, got held up behind a stubborn lapped car and went three-wide with Eggleston to pass them. However, Darell J. finally cleared lapped traffic and used them as a barrier to keep Eggleston from advancing further into his lead. He flashed across the finish line first, winning the Legend Invasion for the second consecutive year.
Quick Time: No. 78C, Colton Crocker, 18.301
Fast Dash: No. 08, Darrell J. Stewart
Dash: No. 4W, Stuart Wilkerson
Feature: No. 75, Austin Hackenburg
Fast Feature: No. 08, Darrell J. Stewart
Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
Scotty Scott’s No. 6 got off to a good start, but not without challenge from the No. 3 of Jeremiah Hill. However, the field was slowed as the No. 68 of Jason Hulvey and the No. 18 of Ed Vecchiarelli wrecked into each other, causing a caution before the first lap could be completed. Scott took the lead again when the race restarted. The No. 21 of Ryan Jones and Hill battled for P2 until Nathan Gasser’s No. 24 suddenly swept past them both. A yellow flew for debris on Lap 5 slowed the field. Gasser took the lead for good on the restart, leading a single file freight train across the stripe.
Dash – 10 Laps
Damian Lockhart’s No. 55 took the lead as soon as the race started, but before things could get going, the No. 98 of Todd Glace tagged Luke Davis’s No. 34, collecting several other race cars. All were able to continue and lined back up for another shot at the green flag. Lockhart reclaimed the lead but came under fire from the No. 69 of Forest Smith, and then, suddenly, the No. 51 of Kyle Clegg was there, charging into the lead. He gapped the field and led right to the checkers.
Feature – 30 Laps
After a botched attempt at the green flag, the second attempt didn’t go much better as Glace spun out. On the third try, Vecchiarelli rocketed into the lead, followed by Forest Smith, Jones, Clegg, and Gasser. Jordan Smith launched into P2 as Clegg wove his way past Jones. As Clegg went three-wide, he was pinched into the outside wall on the front stretch, suffering damage to his race car as a caution flew. Vecchiarelli pulled off a flawless restart, keeping the lead. Meanwhile, Clegg, who had pulled off the track, attempted to rejoin the race but couldn’t get his race car up to speed and had to turn into the infield. By Lap 10, the field strung out single file behind Vecchiarelli and Jordan Smith, but they didn’t have clear track ahead – Hulvey, who had spun out a few laps earlier, tried to rejoin traffic, but did so right in front of the hard-charging leaders. They managed to swerve and avoid him, but again, they faced unclear track as an air cleaner parted company with one of the race cars in the field, only to be picked up by Forest Smith. A caution waved to address the debris.
Vecchiarelli maintained the lead without contest on the restart. Jordan Smith filed in behind him, but was nearly clipped by Hansen as they all continued on. Hansen captured P3 as Gasser entered the discussion, taking fourth and pressuring Hansen for the final podium spot. Gasser wove in and out, looking for a way to slingshot himself into P3, but had to dive back into line several times before finally pulling abreast of Hansen. Vecchiarelli continued to gap the field as Hansen held off one final charge from Gasser, hanging onto third place at the line. Jordan Smith, meanwhile, claimed a solid runner-up position, following the dominant Vecchiarelli across the line.
Quick Time: No. 24, Nathan Gasser, 17.037 seconds
Fast Dash: No. 24, Nathan Gasser
Dash: No. A51, Kyle Clegg
Feature: No. 18, Ed Vecchiarelli
Puzzle Effect Denver Bandoleros
Outlaw Dash – 10 Laps
As the No. 08 of Tanner McKim and the No. 12 of Aspyn Lange started on the front row, the pack scattered into four-wide formation behind them. McKim went for a spin shortly before the No. 23 of Peyton Opperman spun and kept going, and the race stayed green. Reagan Fruge’s No. 5 saw the opportunity to take the lead through all the chaos and settled there comfortably, even as the No. 6 of Ryker Gastineau spun out several times, but stayed clear of the racing surface. Up front, Lange began to catch Fruge, but she ran out of time to seal the deal as Fruge crossed the line ahead of her.
Outlaw Feature – 10 Laps
McKim and the No. 89 of Justin Barnard jumped ahead of the pack when the green flag waved, but Fruge was spun alongside Gastineau on the first lap, forcing a complete restart. The No. 60 of Liam Hammond claimed the lead from Barnard with Lange hot on his tail. A few laps later, Lange had the lead as Gastineau went for a ride again, spinning into the infield and narrowly reining it in before hitting the front stretch wall. Hammond and Lange continued to fight for the lead as Lange expertly dodged several lapped cars and used them to lay some distance down on Hammond, claiming the Outlaw Feature win.
Bandit Dash – 10 Laps
Emersyn Weitzel put her No. 44 to the lead as the No. 77 of Scarlett Jones plummeted through the field after starting on the front row. The No. 95J of Jaxon Muhler looked to the outside of Austin Steinke’s No. 14 for second, but then, the No. 72 of Conner Kellogg hit the No. 98 of Kyleigh Novak and wrecked, causing a yellow flag. Kellogg suffered major damage to his race car. Steinke and Muhler restarted on the front row, but Muhler shot past them both as they headed into the infield turn, but Steinke stuck right on him. Steinke cleared Muhler and led to the checkers to win.
Bandit Feature – 10 Laps
Weitzel took control early, but was passed by Muhler after just a few laps. Muhler set sail and quickly caught the tail end of the field, but was spun by a lapped car, opening the door for Steinke to take the lead. Steinke put some serious real estate down as Madison Stanley’s No. 07 pressured Weitzel for P2. Steinke swept the Feature with a huge lead, and Stanley took the runner-up spot just before the checkered flag.
Outlaw Dash: No. 5, Reagan Fruge
Outlaw Feature: No. 12, Aspyn Lange
Bandit Dash: No. 14, Austin Steinke
Bandit Feature: No. 14, Austin Steinke
Take 5 Oil Change Trains
Feature – 7 Laps
No. 41G J&H Livestock Funny Farm took the lead as soon as the green flag fell and the flagman had cleared the track. The No. 86 Last Call suffered a flat early on, but didn’t give up and raced hard against the No. 80HD SNAFU, nearly forcing SNAFU into the wall. Last Call and SNAFU started a heated battle for P2. SNAFU finally got the upper hand, but by this point Funny Farm had an insurmountable lead. They led 80HD across the stripe to claim the win.
Feature: No. 41G, J&H Livestock Funny Farm
The Legend Invasion at CNS was a hit, and we couldn’t do it without our fans, crews, and, of course, our drivers who trekked out to try their hand for the purse and the bragging rights. Looking ahead, our 2024 season is reaching its zenith, meaning champions will be crowned in the coming weeks. We invite you to join us for the remaining events, and let’s finish the season strong together because the best moments are still ahead. See you at the track!
If you missed any of the nights action, click here to watch on Low Budget TV.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Legend Fast Feature - 50 Laps
08 Darrell J. Stewart
22 Chris Eggleston
78C Colton Crocker
03 Darrell L. Stewart
6 Scotty Scott
45 Cole Tuttle
16 Travis Roe
68 Wyatt Dent (R)
88F Cade Fox
4 Dillon Foster
12 Bryanna Bruce
99R Alex Roe
27 Brian Harlow
01 Gary Land
75 Austin Hackenberg *
21X Corey Pearson (R)
48 Preston Nakayama
35 Andrew Lee
17 Jeremy Krueger
21L Madi Lange (R) *
38 Garrett Wilson
15 Danny Medina
4W Stuart Wilkerson
33 Dillyn Kellogg
18 JJ Sanders
28P Adam Powers
*Denotes Advancing from Legend Feature
Legend Feature - 25 Laps
73 Mike Markison
97 Billy Blevins
17K Marc Karashinski (R)
19 Dominic Moss
9 Terry McBride
78 Ashlyn Himler
8 Jason Schmerse
83 Daniel Stewart (R)
95 Jessilyn Dike
Grand American Modified - 30 Laps
18 Ed Vecchiarelli
13S Jordon Smith
24 Nathan Gasser
08 Jace Hansen
21 Ryan Jones
69 Forest Smith
55 Damian Lockhart
6 Scotty Scott
34 Luke Davis (R)
7 David Robinson
68 Jason Hulvey (R)
98 Todd Glace (R)
51 Kyle Clegg
3 Jeremiah Hill
Bandolero Outlaw - 12 Laps
12 Aspyn Lange
60 Liam Hammond
89 Justin Barnard
08 Tanner McKim
5 Reagan Fruge
61 Lillian Tuttle
23 Peyton Opperman
2 Dutch VanderWal
6 Ryker Gastineau
Bandolero Bandit - 10 Laps
14 Austin Steinke
07 Madison Stanley
44 Emersyn Weitzel
29 Nora Smith
95J Jaxon Muhler
72 Conor Kellogg
98 Kyleigh Novak
84 Kaylie Snyder
96 James Snyder
77 Scarlett Jones
Trains - 7 Laps
41G J&H Livestock Funny Farm
80HD SNAFU
86 Last Call
91 J&H Livestock Friday Night Special
69 Neighborhood Complaint
151 Crazy Train
3 Anger Management