(06-14-2014 Dacono, CO) Dominic Ursetta built nearly a 3 second lead on the rest of the field on route to his 3rd Super Late Model victory of the 2014 season. Other winners on the Rockys Auto Father’s Day Knockout were Jeff Walbaum in the Late Models and rookie Brent Miller in the Super Stocks.
A great field of Super Late Models line up for the feature event at CNS (Starr photo)
Gillett Vet Clinic Super Late Models #55 Jesse Runkle and #27 Roger the “Ice Man” Avants brought the field of 18 Gillet Vet Super Late Models to the green flag. Runkle led the first 8 laps of the race but that’s when #31 Rick Smith took the spot. The veteran Smith settled into his groove and had a commanding lead throughout the first third of the feature.
#6 Dominic Ursetta started all the way back in 7th spot but he was passing cars left and right on his way to 2nd place. It was clear that Ursetta was the fastest car on the track as he was quickly closing in on the leader.
By the halfway point in the race Ursetta was all over the leader Smith and the race was on. Dominic dove low on Smith and on lap 23 the #6 car pulled out in front. Once out in front there was no catching Ursetta who built a large lead on the field and went on to take his 3rd win of the season.
Behind Ursetta a great battle for 2nd place between Smith and Yackey heated up with Yackey down low and Smith up high. Eventually the “Moose” Was able to sneak by and take 2nd place. Smith finished 3rd, #27 Avants finished a strong 4th, and #11 Darren Robertson rounded out the top 5.
Dominic Ursetta celebrates in winner’s circle after claiming his 3rd feature of the season. (Starr photo)
South Philly Cheesesteak Late Models 21 Late Models showed up to battle it out for the Rocky’s Auto Father’s Day Knockout race at CNS and on the front row it was car #99 Nick Brinlee and #27 Wendi Lewis. Brinlee took the early lead in the race in his bright green Dodge Challenger but by lap five #8 Jeff Walbaum was on his tail. Brinlee did all he could to hold off Walbaum but on the ninth lap Walbaum had gained the position.
Walbuam began to stretch out his lead and Brinlee was all alone in 2nd place. The best race on the track was for 3rd spot between car #76 Chad Cowen and #7 Ethan Penrod. Penrod and Cowen were side by side navigating lapped traffic and thrilling the fans.
3-wide action in the Late Model feature, #7 Ethan Penrod, #3 Wade Grove, and #88 David Rothrock (Starr photo)
Walbaum cruised to the win which was his 3rd of the 2014 season. Brinlee took second and Cowen just barely nipped Penrod for 3rd place. #3 Wade Grove grabbed the final spot in the top 5.
#8 Jeff Walbaum in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
NTC Logistics Super Stocks In what was originally scheduled to be a 40 lap Super Stock feature yet with just 11 cars able to start the feature the race was shortened to 30 laps.
The surprise of the night was #9 Curtis Heldenbrand who not only won his dash race but jumped out the early lead in the main event. #32 Brett Yackey who was in a new car began to track down the leader and by lap 8 he had made the pass for the lead.
#19 Brent Miller had found his way into 2nd place and now began to pressure Yackey for the lead. The two rookie drivers put on an incredible show for the fans trading the lead several times, banging doors and trading paint. With just 10 laps to go Yackey had a slight lead on Miller but as the two cars passed lapped traffic Yackey got too high coming out of turn 4 and spun. Yackey was sent to the back of the pack ending his chance at the win.
Miller held off race favorite #3 Michael Cox to take his first ever feature win at CNS. Behind Cox a strong 3rd place finish for Heldenbrand. David Rothrock finished 4th in his backup car after losing a rear axel in his DASH race. The final spot in the top 5 went to #02 Darrell Smith.
Rookie Brent Miller celebrates in winner’s circle after winning his first feature at CNS (Starr photo)
OFFICIAL FINISHING ORDER
Super Late Model Pos No. Name 1. 6 Dominic Ursetta 2. 12 Bruce Yackey 3. 31 Rick Smith 4. 27 Roger Avants 5. 11 Darren Robertson 6. 66 Darren Bucklan 7. 22 Chris Eggleston 8. 84 Matt Zwingleberg 9. 74 Dan Savage 10. 55 Jesse Runkle 11. 34 Rudy Vanderwal(R) 12. 91 Chris Atkinson 13. 33 Emett Grazier 14. 5 Trent Phillips 15. 21 Odie Robertson 16. 25 Monty Skinner 17. 76 Gary Coate (R) 18. 39 Jack Nugent
Late Models Pos No. Name 1. 8 Jeff Walbaum 2. 99 Nick Brinlee 3. 76 Chad Cowan 4. 7 Ethan Penrod 5. 3 Wade Grove 6. 19 Scott Miller 7. 75 Emilio Abeyta (R) 8. 88 David Rothrock (R) 9. 5 Trent Phillips 10. 21 Loren Jessen(R) 11. 33 Christopher Buskirk (R) 12. 31 Derek Smith 13. 27 Wendi Lewis 14. 30 Jan Oxley 15. 58 Jeff Webb 16. 67 Stephanie Brown 17. 29 Rayshawn Carter 18. 28 Alan Carter 19. 97 Adam Gastineau DNS 66 Pete Maas DNS 85 Kaden Webb
Super Stocks Pos No. Name 1. 19 Brent Miller(R) 2. 3 Michael Cox 3. 9 Curtis Heldenbrand 4. 88 David Rothrock 5. 2 Darrell Smith 6. 12 Brian Yackey 7. 23 George Gallegos 8. 32 Brett Yackey 9. 21w Jamie Ward (R) 10. 44 Savannah Gallegos (R) 11. 69 Derick Brugger(R) DNS 5 Troy Witthar