PB&T Bank Local People Making Local Decisions Decidedly A Thriller At CNS

Alexandra Purcell
Aug 25
9 min read

August 23, 2025 - Dacono, CO

Saturday, August 23^rd, 2025 at Colorado National Speedway was more than just race night under the lights. It was a celebration of life for Johnny Witthar, longtime competitor, car builder, tire guru, storyteller, grandpa, and friend of CNS. Every feature carried competitors around the track for 32 laps, harkening back to the number he proudly wore (3.2). The evening was a full card of action with Pure Stocks, Pro Trucks, Late Models, and the wild Demo X division. But that wasn’t all - at intermission, the Rocky Mountain Quarter Midgets took center stage for a special exhibition, giving fans a glimpse of the next generation of racers, faces we’re sure to see return to our asphalt in bigger divisions down the road.

Get caught up on the action below!

Matco Tools Pro Trucks

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

The front row – the No. 43 of Kody Vanderwal and the No. 11 of Steve Johnson – set a blistering pace as soon as the green flag dropped, rubbing doors but keeping their noses clean as the No. 85 of Jeff Walbaum crept into third behind them. Vanderwal was able to run off with the top spot while Johnson held off Walbaum; Walbaum soon fell victim to the No. 29 of Dalton Webb, who was on a mission toward the front of the pack. While Vanderwal ditched the rest of the field, Webb pulled even with Johnson. The two would battle right down to the line behind Vanderwal, evenly pacing each other as the flagman waited, checkers in hand. Vanderwal dashed across first, followed by Johnson, who barely edged out Webb as they streaked toward the finish.

Dash – 10 Laps

After a lackluster start – and the No. 88 of Ashlyn Himler stalling out with an apparent mechanical issue – the PT Dash finally got underway. This time, the No. 6 of Kip Sandell shot ahead to take early control after a risky three-wide move. The No. 7 of Adam Deines, however, wasn’t keen on letting Sandell get away with it, although it seemed he had no choice as Sandell found a line that worked and laid down some distance. The No. 34 of Rudy Vanderwal shouldered his way into third place, closing on Sandell and Deines. Deines mounted one final charge on the last lap, but ran out of track to make something stick, falling to the runner-up position at the line behind Sandell.

Feature – 32 Laps

In celebration of the life of our dear friend Johnny Witthar, his son Troy Witthar led the field under yellow in his No. 5W truck, pacing the track for several parade laps. With the checkered flag snapping from his window, Troy honored the legacy his father left behind, both at CNS and across Colorado motorsports as a whole. Then, it was time to tackle the 32-lap Feature. Walbaum stumbled a bit on the start, clearing the way for the No. 16 of Travis Roe to slingshot into the lead. The No. 9 of Curtis Heldenbrand quickly demoted Walbaum for P3, but a brief caution waved and stalled Heldenbrand’s charge to the front, but not for long – he lined up on the front row to take the green flag next to Roe. While Roe shoved into the lead, the No. 22 of Brian Yackey took control of third, followed by the No. 1F of Happy Ferree. Ferree had his hands full of Kody Vanderwal, though, stalling his forward march as he tried to keep the No. 43 machine behind him. Up front, Roe and Heldenbrand raced neck-and-neck, neither able to find an advantage until Roe nosed ahead. Heldenbrand answered by charging back on the outside, briefly claiming the top spot as nobody dared to give an inch.

With Heldenbrand and Roe battling hard up front, Ferree finally picked off Kody, but then on lap 18 No. 69, Sean Fry caught fire resulting in a red flag. Track personnel quickly attended to the issue, securing the driver and extinguishing the fire. On the ensuing restart, Heldenbrand took advantage of the restart to finally ditch Roe. Out of the lead now, Roe fell victim to Yackey, treading water as Ferree came up on him. Yackey lit out after Heldenbrand, but lost ground as the race neared its end. Not one to be denied, Yackey charged hard into the corners, cutting the distance, but falling back on the straightaways. Heldenbrand hit his marks and ditched Yackey, flashing across the line in first when the checkers dropped. Yackey brought up second place, followed by Roe in third, capping off an incredible PT Feature.

Quick Time: No. 1F, Happy Ferree, 17.240

Fast Dash: No. 43, Kody Vanderwal

Dash: No. 6, Kip Sandell

Feature: No. 9, Curtis Heldenbrand

Late Models

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 116 of Adam Kimler shot into the lead, but not for long – the No. 15 of Michael Hannah fired back, attempting to find momentum enough to pass him, but settled into second place instead. As the No. 40 of Brandon Newey overtook the third-place car, the No. 98Y of Brett Yackey (looking a whole lot like the 98 of Lee Kemmit) suddenly turned it into a three-wide conversation, easily slicing into second place. In short order, Yackey had the second-place car in his crosshairs, picked him off, and filled Kimler’s rearview. With three laps left, Yackey muscled past Kimler as Hannah plummeted to the rear of the field. Though Kimler tried to regroup and pass Yackey back for the lead, he ran out of time to execute the move, settling for second as Yackey shot across the line. The No. 99 of Tessa Marine rounded out the podium.

Dash – 10 Laps

Rolling to an early lead was the No. 3S of Benjamin Stanley, leaving the No. 48 of Mikey Blackard and the No. 32 of Joseph Andrade to sort things out for second place. But here came the No. 46 of Zachary Witherwax, who mounted a charge and galloped straight into the lead. Blackard followed him through the hole he’d punched in traffic. Witherwax found his groove and easily extended his lead. Andrade reclaimed P2, but Witherwax’s lead was insurmountable, and he crossed the line without challenge from the competition.

Feature – 32 Laps

Up front, the field nearly went three-wide on the opening lap, filtering Newey into the lead. Yackey, having started deep in the pack, had already claimed fourth place by the second circuit, while the No. 8 of Dan Alamaa held onto second place. Yackey made short work of the No. 1 of Caleb Johnson, whose precarious hold on third quickly disappeared as Yackey surged past. Yackey quickly picked off Alamaa, too, and then lined up a shot on Newey. It took him several laps, but Yackey finally overtook Newey, settling in for the long haul as Newey fell back to challenge Alamaa for the win. Finally, Alamaa found a way around and took sole possession of second as the top five strung out into a single-file thread. Yackey kept up his leading performance, catching the tail end of the field, facing a wall of slower traffic. It proved no problem for Yackey, who deftly navigated around lapped cars.

Alamaa, meanwhile, slotted into the second groove to ditch Newey. While he found some speed, he had some serious ground to make up if he wanted to challenge Yackey, who had happily left the field in the dust. However, lapped traffic proved too great an obstacle for Alamaa, who got held up behind a slower car, allowing Newey to eat into his grip on second. Yackey continued to lead, absolutely dominating the competition, pulling Alamaa home in second. Johnson finally caught Newey, making their battle the closest one in the field right down to the stripe, as Johnson sealed the deal in the final few feet.

Quick Time: No. 1, Caleb Johnson, 17.661

Fast Dash: No. 98Y, Brett Yackey

Dash: No. 46, Zachary Witherwax,

Feature: No. 98Y, Brett Yackey

Rock N’ Roll Brewery Pure Stocks

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Things got off to a tumultuous start as several cars spun in Turn 2. That set the No. 08 of Tanner McKim and the No. 56 of John Ranum on the front row, turning the lead over to Ranum as the No. 18Y of Justin Young suddenly picked off McKim, then wore out Ranum’s rear bumper, pulling even with him as they paced each other around the speedway. Finally, Young completed the pass, pulling the No. 12S of Shawn Sulley – who had bounced back from some trouble before the green dropped – through with him. McKim continued to flounder, falling to fifth place behind the No. 34 of Ronnie Johnson. Young maintained his lead, though Sulley did everything he could to pass him in the closing laps, but it would be Young at the stripe.

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 19Y of Justin Young Jr. took control in short order, although the No. 11 of Audie Culp quickly took the position as the top four broke away from the rest of the pack, racing side-by-side up front. Culp surrendered the position when he slipped up a bit, falling to fourth and opening the door for the No. 54 of Giovanni Scimeca to slice into second place. The No. 63 of Kenneth Bowlus tried to take the position away, and they both overtook Young Jr. when a lapped car got in his way, slowing him up enough to stall his run. Now, it was a battle between Bowlus and Scimeca, who stayed almost completely even with each other. It was a drag race to the finish line, and Scimeca just barely edged ahead of Bowlus to take the win in thrilling fashion.

Feature – 32 Laps

The initial start was chaotic, taking two competitors out of contention at the get-go, leaving the No. 10W of Gauge Witthar and McKim to lead the field to green. However, contact from the No. 34 of Ronnie Johnson forced Witthar up the track, sending them three-wide. McKim managed to clear the mess and lead the first lap before a single car got loose and tagged the backstretch wall to bring out the yellow as light rain began to fall. Johnson powered to the front while chaos unfolded behind – several cars spun out, although no yellow waved. The battle for second heated up as Sulley slipped by McKim, but before the pack could get any momentum rolling, trouble followed with several other race cars going for a spin, although the track stayed green, until a yellow flew to address moisture on the track, setting up a restart with Sulley and McKim on the front row. Sulley stumbled as McKim fired off strong, but just a lap later, disaster struck again, neutralizing both frontrunners and turning the lead over to Young, who had stalked them both from third place.

By Lap 15, the race had settled out, and Scimeca lit out after Young. Scimeca continued to mount the pressure as the laps ticked down, chasing Young into slower traffic – and then, Scimeca suffered a mechanical issue, slowing and surrendering his position. Young, unbothered, drove away to a massive lead, cruising across the line for his third win of the season, while Young Jr. and McKim staged a drag race to the finish, with Young Jr. claiming second place and McKim bringing home the third-place finish.

Quick Time: No. 12S, Shawn Sulley, 20.134

Fast Dash: No. 18Y, Justin Young

Dash: No. 54, Giovanni Scimeca

Feature: No. 18Y, Justin Young

United Power Demo X

Demo X Lite: No. 48, Joe Prante

Demo X Heavy: No. 31, Dave Johnsona

Saturday night was a fitting celebration of Johnny Witthar’s life, and we couldn’t have made it happen without the help of our employees, track crews, drivers, teams, and – of course – the fans who packed into the stands to cheer everyone on. We’ve got another stellar lineup as the perfect prelude for Labor Day, including a fireworks show, so get your advance tickets HERE!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Pro Truck - 32 Laps