Sunbelt Rentals Summer Scramble Drifts Into CNS History

CNS Staff
39 minutes ago
6 min read

May 31, 2025 ~ Dacono, CO

The asphalt at Colorado National Speedway isn’t exclusively reserved for wheel-to-wheel action. It’s also prime turf for tire-shredding sideways shenanigans. On May 31st, 2025, CNS once again played host to our friends at Drift Colorado, turning the oval into a smoke-filled playground. They laid down plenty of rubber and had the fans on their feet for a show of speed and precision, diving through our Figure 8 course as they duked it out for the win with their tricked-out, flashy sportscars.

In between drifting action, the full house of fans was treated to a night of stellar racing from our Pure Stocks and Pro Trucks and even witnessed the once-in-a-blue-moon Demo X divisions. The Demo X drivers traded their tire smokescreen for infield dirt, capping off an action-packed night of racing on a beautiful Colorado evening. Keep reading to find out what went down on Saturday night.

Matco Tools Pro Trucks

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Curtis Heldenbrand’s No. 9 started alongside the No. 29 of Dalton Webb, although it was Heldenbrand out front as Webb floundered some. That gave Happy Ferree, driver of the No. 1F truck, the opening he needed to take over P2 in Webb’s stead. By Lap 3, the field followed one another nose-to-tail, at least until Webb drifted high and allowed the No. 16 of Travis Roe to get alongside him for third. Roe claimed the position while Heldenbrand still led right down to the checkered flag, leading Ferree across the line.

Dash – 10 Laps

After a brief delay to address a fluid spill from a competitor, the green flag fell on the No. 00 of Brad Skufca and the No. 20 of Tanner Faatz on the front row. While Faatz powered into the lead, the No. 7 truck of Adam Deines charged from the outside and overtook Skufca for P2. Deines didn’t stop there, though, and passed Faatz for the lead just one lap later. While Deines led, Skufca, Faatz, and the No. 21 of Chris Nelson duked it out to fill the podium behind him. Deines outran them all, pulling Faatz across the line behind him.

Feature – 40 Laps

The Pro Trucks are always sure to put on an excellent show, but the Feature race on Saturday was exceptional. Right away, Brian Yackey, who started on the outside front row in his No. 22 machine, sliced into the lead, but drama struck early as another truck spewed sparks and pulled off the track. Meanwhile, Roe and Ferree split Webb, making some light contact as they paced each other to the front of the field. Roe entered a bumper lock with Yackey while Ferree stalked them both. The top three couldn’t shake each other after that. Lap after lap, they each tried to advance their position. Then, Ferree finally clawed his way next to Roe. The two battled side-by-side for second place until Ferree got the better of Roe, setting after Yackey for the lead.

Again, the top three settled into uneasy formation as Heldenbrand was able to catch them, entering the conversation from fourth. Ferree wasn’t happy sitting in second and challenged Yackey for the top spot on Lap 14. One lap later, he had it, and Yackey gave up a spot to Roe shortly thereafter, then fell into Heldenbrand’s clutches as he continued his backward slide. Just as lapped traffic became an issue for the leaders, several trucks got together, triggering a caution and setting Ferree and Heldenbrand up on the front row.

Ferree reclaimed his lead while Roe nosed past and took control of P2, but Heldenbrand stayed within striking distance. Before Roe could get a run on Ferree, a caution waved as two trucks made contact and spun out. When the race restarted, Ferree once again defended his lead while a three-wide battle spat Heldenbrand out into P2. Roe and Yackey battled for P3 while Ferree gapped the field. Heldenbrand spent the rest of the race attempting to reel Ferree in with Roe in hot pursuit, but nothing would stand in the way of Ferree as he crossed the start/finish line under the checkers with Heldenbrand and Roe in tow.

Quick Time: No. 1F, Happy Ferree, 17.340

Fast Dash: No. 9, Curtis Heldenbrand

Dash: No. 7, Adam Deines

Feature: No. 1F, Happy Ferree

Rock ‘N’ Roll Brewery Pure Stocks

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Shawn Sulley put his No. 12SS machine to the point, followed by the No. 34 of Ronnie Johnson. The pack battled two-wide behind them, allowing Sulley to open a comfortable lead on Johnson. A few competitors retired or spun out as the race wore on, but Sulley was unaffected. He led flag-to-flag to take the trophy.

Dash – 10 Laps

Race cars pinged off one another as the No. 10W of Gauge Witthar slingshot himself into first place – at least until the No. 00 of Dylan Jaramilo took control of the race with the No. 98P of Joel Perri close behind. Perri continued his steady forward march, pressuring Jaramilo as they raced wheel-to-wheel down the backstretch. Perri commanded the race while drivers raced side-by-side throughout the field right down to the line, claiming the Dash win.

Feature – 30 Laps

Sulley, picking up right where he left off, chased the No. 08 of Tanner McKim for the top spot. Sulley put pressure on McKim and finally got around the driver of the No. 08 when he got sideways. While McKim was able to regain control of his race car, he could not retain the lead. A yellow waved for a single car incident behind the leaders, putting Sulley on the front row alongside the No. 5C of Michael Steward.

Sulley retained the lead, but a few laps later – on Lap 5 – several race cars got together. A wheel separated from one of the involved race cars, and it even looked like it was going to complete a lap on its own, evading track crews in Turn 4 as they tried to wrangle the rogue tire. Once the tire was detained on the front stretch – much to the fans’ delight – Sulley shot right back into the lead. Witthar fended off the No. 11 of Audie Culp for P2, but their battle allowed Sulley to extend his lead. McKim, dealing with damaged bodywork on his nose due to an earlier incident, muscled his way into sixth. Jaramilo powered past Witthar for fifth as Sulley left the field in the dust, but when Jaramilo got loose, McKim was able to pass him, too, slipping into P3. Sulley began to gain on lapped traffic by Lap 17.

The field was bunched up once more due to a brief debris caution. Sulley and Jaramilo took the green from the front. Sulley kept the lead while McKim passed Jaramilo for second. From there, the field mostly behaved themselves – and none could challenge Sulley for the win as he completed his dominating performance with a new trophy to back it up.

Quick Time: No. 18Y, Justin Young, 19.937

Fast Dash: No. 12SS, Shawn Sulley

Dash: No. 98, Joel Perri

Feature: No. 12SS, Shawn Sulley

Drift Colorado

It was an insane weekend for the Drift Colorado Pro AM division. Ten drivers from four different states gathered at CNS to compete in the first Formula Drift Licensing series, which is a three-round tournament held to determine which drivers will gain their Pro License, opening the door for Formula Drift competition in 2026. The teams blew through more than 100 tires during the double elimination bracket. Levi “The Drift Doctor” Wait was crowned champion in his LS-swapped BMW, followed by Ian McDougal with Colorado Drift School and his nitrous-powered C6 Corvette, while Trapper John rounded out the podium with his procharged C5 Vette.

United Power Demo X

One car ended up on its side on the first lap during the Demo X Lite race, but the race car was righted and the driver unhurt, allowing the No. 28 of Joe Prante to capture another victory in the division. The Demo X Heavy class produced some absolute chaos, with wrecks clearing the way for Mike Gordon to bring his No. 7 machine across the line first.