(10-07-2017 Dacono, CO) An absolute gorgeous Colorado fall evening was the setting for the 43rd Challenge Cup at Colorado National Speedway. The race has developed into a fan favorite especially with the addition of the annual trick-or-treat session for the kids with the drivers in the infield prior to the start of the race. It would take 100 laps of action to crown this year’s Challenge Cup winner and North Carolina transplant Preston Peltier in the #48 Super Late Model would run a masterful race holding off both 2014, 2015 winner Dominic Ursetta and 2009, 2011 winner Chris Eggleston.
Images of the pre-race festivities…
The Super Late Models prepare to take the green for the 43rd annual Challenge Cup (Starr photo)
Gillett Vet Clinic Super Late Models
Twenty Four Gillett Vet Clinic Super Late Models lined up to have a chance to win the 43rd Challenge Cup at Colorado National Speedway. With names such as Rick Carrelli, Jerry Robertson, Bruce Yackey, and Roger Avants as past winners the annual Challenge Cup is always one of the most competitive nights of racing of the year. No points are on the line so it’s purely an issue of pride and purse making the race especially exciting.
Kody Vanderwal and Jay Fields lead the field to the green flag for the 100 lap event but it wasn’t long until 2017 Super Late Model Champion Darren Robertson powered his way to the front on the low side of Vanderwal.
Darren Robertson passes Kody Vanderwal for the lead. (Starr photo)
On lap 19 Chris Eggleston and Kyle Ray made contact in turn 4 causing race ending damage to Ray’s car and sending Eggleston to the rear of the field during the caution. Dominic Ursetta also spun to avoid the incident and was given his position back from NASCAR officials.
After the restart Robertson once again built a large lead but now quick time setter Preston Peltier and Ursetta were starting to make their move to the front. At the halfway mark of the race Robertson was still leading and was able to hold off Peltier on a double file restart form a spin on the back of the back. However disaster struck for Robertson as he and the lapped car of George Maldonado made contact going down the back straight. Darren’s car came to a screeching halt entering turn 3 and his night as well as his chances for a 2nd Challenge Cup crown were over.
With Robertson out of the race Peltier and Ursetta began to battle for the lead. Ursetta was poking his nose to the inside and outside of Peltier looking for a way around. In 3rd place was Chris Eggleston who had come from the rear of the field but was still 8 car lengths back of Ursetta. When Brett Yackey’s car began to smoke heavily a caution was displayed and Ursetta and Eggleston would get yet another chance at Peltier.
Dominic Ursetta on the outside of Preston Peltier (Starr photo)
However on the double-file restart Ursetta’s car slowed coming out of turn two and created an accordion effect on the field causing several cars to crash into the turn 2 wall. Besides Ursetta, Jay Fields, Robert Davey, Mark Jones, and Bruce Yackey all suffered damage in the crash.
A late race crash in turn 2 (Starr photo)
With 9 laps to go there would be one final restart and one final chance for Chris Egglestson to get around Peltier for the lead. Peltier would have none of that and flexed his muscle pulling away from Eggleston by a full car length. The skilled North Carolina transplant held on to take the win and add his name to the long list of previous winners. Chris Eggleston finished an impressive 2nd while thrilling the crowd with his calculated move from the back to the front of the field. Possibly the most impressive run of the night came from Brian Yackey in the 22t car who was making his first ever Super Late Model start. Brian stayed out of trouble and seemed to find some speed late in the race passing Matt Zwingleberg, Kody Vanderwal and Justin Simonson to take home 3rd place.
#48 Preston Peltier holds off a late charge from #22 Chris Eggleston to win Challenge Cup XLIII (Starr photo)
With Peltier’s win the list of previous Challenge Cup winners now looks like this…
Previous Challenge Cup winners:
2017 Preston Peltier 2016 Kyle Ray 2015 Dominic Ursetta 2014 Dominic Ursetta 2013 Darren Robertson 2012 Adam Deines 2011 Chris Eggleston 2010 Dan Savage 2009 Chris Eggleston 2008 Ronnie Hults 2007 PJ Mattorano 2006 Scotty Backman 2005 Darren Crocker 2004 Jerry Robertson 2003 Rick Carelli 2002 Jerry Robertson 2001 Dave Finley 2000 Roger Avants 1999 MK Kanke 1998 Joe Bellm 1997 Richard Burton 1996 Jerry Robertson 1995 Rick Carelli 1994 Rick Carelli 1993 Bruce Yackey 1992 Steve Carlson 1991 Tom Carlson 1990 Fred Campbell 1989 Rick Carelli 1988 Terry Phillips 1987 Terry Phillips 1986 Larry Phillips 1985 Larry Phillips 1984 Larry Phillips 1983 Butch Speicher 1982 Larry Phillips 1981 Mike Niffenegger, Kalona, Iowa 1980 Odie Robertson, Littleton, Colorado 1979 “Wild Bill” Liebig, Rapid City, South Dakota 1978 Clayton Peterson Jr., Grand Island, Nebraska 1977 Terry Bivins, Kansas City 1976 Tommy Bartolomew, Waterloo, Iowa 1975 Odie Robertson, Littleton, Colorado
Preston Peltier in winner’s circle (Starr photo)
CHALLENGE CUP XLIII: #48 Preston Peltier FAST DASH: #6 Dominic Ursetta DASH: #84 Matt Zwingleberg QUICK TIME: #48 Preston Peltier 16.325
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
Ed Vecchiarelli added to his championship season in the SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds by winning the non-points final race on Challenge Cup night. Justin Case from Brighton took 2nd and Cheyenne’s Darin Clark was 3rd.
Ed Vecchiarelli in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
Feature: #18 Ed Vecchierelli QUICK TIME: 44s Clint Schubert 17.173
Great Scott’s Eatery Super Stocks
There was no stopping Chris Cox from Lochbuie in the Great Scott’s Eatery Super Stock division in 2017. Not only did he win the season championship but he also won the final non-points race on Challenge Cup XLIII. Cox caught up with race leader Broomfield’s Nic Brinlee and was able to make the pass when the two cars approached a pack of lapped traffic.
Behind Cox and Brinlee Jonathan Lindberg finished 3rd and Thornton’s Sam Messerli was 4th. The final spot in the top 5 went to this year’s Pure Stock champion Natalie Phelps from Cheyenne.
Chris Cox in winner’s circle after taking the Super Stock feature (Starr photo)
Legend Cars
Action from the 1st Legend car feature (Starr photo)
It was the final points race for the Legend Car division at CNS and it would take two feature events to crown the 2017 champion. Entering the first feature Kyle Clegg from Westminster needed just 15 points to lock-up the championship. Clegg not only did that but won the feature event cruising to his 4th CNS Legends track championship.
Kyle Clegg celebrates feature number 1 win and the 2017 championship (Starr photo)
Clegg sat out the final race as he was preparing to head to the Legend Car Nationals in Las Vegas the upcoming week. That left Chris Eggleston and Colorado Springs Danny Medina to to duke it out for the win. Eggleston led most of the race until Danny made a daring late race pass for the top spot. Not to be out done Eggleston made a power move coming out of turn two on the final lap to regain the lead and the win. It seemed fitting that the final Legend Car race would be one of the most exciting races of the night after a season filled with large car counts and close racing action.
Chris Eggleston in winner’s circle after taking the second Legends feature (Starr photo)
CHAMPION: #66 Kyle Clegg ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 08k Krystal Faulkingham
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Challenge Cup XLIII – Gillett Vet Clinic Super Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 48 Preston Peltier 2. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 3. 22T Brian Yackey 4. 84 Matt Zwingleberg Parker 5. 34k Kody Vanderwal La Salle 6. 9 Justin Simonson Wheatridge 7. 28 Dan Alamaa Colorado Springs 8. 22X Mark Jones Denver 9. 12 Bruce Yackey Greeley 10. 00 Steve Maas* Longmont 11. 32 Brett Yackey Greeley 12. 6 Dominic Ursetta Arvada 13. 1 Jay Fields 14. 19D Robert Davey Erie 15. 42 Mark Neff Westminster 16. 14A Alejandro Ortiz (R) Denver 17. 19 Matthew Martinez (R) Thornton 18. 11 Darren Robertson Westminster 19. 23 George Maldonado* CO Springs 20. 82 Michael Scott (R) Cheyenne 21. 14 Mark Bybee Littleton 22. 08 Jace Hansen Broomfield 23. 58 Kyle Ray Littleton 24. 27 Roger Avants Littleton DNS 2W AJ Warren (R) Mead
Super Stocks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 49 Chris Cox Lochbuie 2. 99 Nicholas Brinlee Broomfield 3. 73 Jonathan Lindberg 4. 99S Sam Messerli (R) Thornton 5. 98 Natalie Phelps 6. 43 Kody Vanderwal LaSalle 7. 22W Troy Witthar 8. 06 Jeffrey Dempewolf Hudson 9. 82E James Larsen Pueblo 10. 32 Cody Milan (R) Ft. Collins 11. 1 Scott Trantham Colo Springs 12. 21R Robert Hoard (R) Cheyenne 13. 3 Michael Cox Englewood 14. 21 Christopher Nelson Arvada 15. 02 Darrell Smith Littleton 16. 55 Damian Lockhart Arvada 17. 31 Michael Mathiesen Dacono 18. 7 David Robinson 19. 04 William Simmons II Pueblo 20. 00x Jake Fitzgerald Longmont 21. 66 Tyler Van Der Elzen 22. 29 Justin Griffin 23. 14k Kyle Shoessow 24. 29J Jimi Bastianos 25. 13 Isaac Slinker 26. 3% Will Alvarado Ft Lupton
Grand American Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 18 Ed Vecchiarelli Brighton 2. 44 Justin Case Brighton 3. 13 Darin Clark Cheyenne 4. 44s Clint Schubert Calhan 5. 59 Charlie Wilson Primrose 6. 51 Joe Mares Jr Henderson 7. 44x B Brennenberg 8. 9 CJ Wilson
Legend Cars
FEATURE 1 Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster 2. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 3. 15 Danny Medina Colorado Springs 4. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Evans 5. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 6. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 7. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 8. 32 Blair Cooper Arvada 9. 98 Brent Scheidemantle Broomfield 10. 03 Darrell L Stewart Arvada 11. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 12. 51 AJ Canda Castle Rock 13. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 14. 19 Larry Pachello Arvada 15. 08k Krystal Faulkingham Cheyenne 16. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 17. 88 Paul Himler Erie 18. 33 Dean Kallas Golden 19. 41 Gregory Lee Broomfield 20. 43 Rob Sears 21. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 22. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison 23. 30 Darrell J Stewart Arvada 24. 13 Jason Hulvey Thornton DNS 11D Ryan Rudolph
FEATURE 2 Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 2. 15 Danny Medina Colorado Springs 3. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 4. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 5. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Evans 6. 32 Blair Cooper Arvada 7. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 8. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 9. 03 Darrell L Stewart Arvada 10. 51 AJ Canda Castle Rock 11. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 12. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 13. 08k Krystal Faulkingham Cheyenne 14. 19 Larry Pachello Arvada 15. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 16. 11D Ryan Rudolph 17. 41 Gregory Lee Broomfield 18. 13 Jason Hulvey Thornton 19. 33 Dean Kallas Golden 20. 43 Rob Sears 21. 88 Paul Himler Erie 22. 98 Brent Scheidemantle Broomfield 23. 30 Darrell J Stewart Arvada DNS 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster DNS 25 Adam Pechman Morrison