(04-08-2017 Dacono CO) Kody Vanderwal, Wade Grove and Chris Eggleston opened up the 2017 season with feature event wins in the Pro Trucks, Late Models, and Legends divisions respectively. After the April 1st race was canceled due to weather the SUNOCO Race Fuel Night became the official start to the 2017 season and racing and the weather was nearly perfect.
Pro Trucks take the green flag for their fast dash (Starr photo)
Snap On Tools Pro Trucks
This season youngster Kody Vanderwal has been running in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Series and after 4 races Kody currently sits in 9th in points with two top 10 finishes. That experience paid off big time in the first Snap-On Tools Pro Truck feature as Kody led every lap dominating the field and taking home the win. Levi Greenly moved up from the Super Stock division and had an impressive debut in the trucks battling #34 Rudy Vanderwal for 2nd place for the first half of the race.
Kody Vanderwal jumps out to an early lead in the Pro Truck feature (Starr photo)
However the most exciting part of the feature came from #7 Adam Deines and #8 Jeff Walbaum as the two drivers who started near the rear of the field methodically worked their way to the front. On the white flag lap Deines surged into 2nd place and Walbaum to 3rd but they wouldn’t have enough to catch Vanderwal who would go home with the win. Behind Vanderwal, Deines, and Walbaum, former champ Rudy Vanderwal snagged 4th and Greenly 5th.
Kody Vanderwal celebrates in winner’s circle (Starr photo)
The Pro Trucks return to action on April 22nd.
Quaker Steak & Lube Late Models
Everything seemed to be aligned for #31 Derek Smith to take home the first Quaker Steak & Lube Late Model Feature event of 2017. Smith had set quick time, won the fast dash and would start on the pole position for the main event. And while Smith led the first 10 laps it was #3 Wade Grove who dove down low to grab the lead and control of the race. From that point on no one could catch Grove has he cruised to his 2nd feature win of his career.
Last season Brett Yackey won the Late Model championship and this season his brother Brian Yackey took over the ride and had a solid first run staying in the top group of cars all night long. Brian would eventually finish 4th.
#33 Bear Lynch and #88 Brent Miller had a bit of an altercation which brought out the caution. NASCAR officials sent both driver’s to the rear of the field. Lynch’s car developed a tire rub but that didn’t stop him from fighting all the way back for a 3rd place finish. Miller didn’t fare as well settling for a 7th place finish.
Yet it was Wade Grove’s night as settled into a groove and pulled away to grab the victory. Derek Smith took home 2nd place followed by Lynch, Yackey and an impressive 5th place finish for #30 Jan Oxley.
Wade Grove in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
The Late Models return to action on April 29th.
FEATURE: #3 Wade Grove FAST DASH: #31 Derek Smith DASH: #30 Jan Oxley QUICK TIME: #31 Derek Smith 17.533
Legend Cars
A massive field of 31 legend cars showed up for the first race of the 2017 season. Lots of new drivers and new cars as well as some familiar faces from the past such as Super Late Model star Jace Hansen joined the already competitive field for a wild night of racing. #51 AJ Canada and #25 Adam Pechman won the dash races but when the 25 lap feature went green it was #6 Scotty Scott and #16 Travis Roe pacing the field. If there is one thing you can count on with the Legend cars it’s wheel to wheel action and there was plenty of that throughout the field for the entire feature event. Due to the huge field of cars and it being the first night of racing of the season you might have expected a race filled with yellow flags however only one caution flag disrupted the feature which made for a highly entertaining race.
The huge field of Legend Cars prepare to take the green flag in the feature event (Starr photo)
Up front #22 Chris Eggleston, #08 Jace Hansen, #25 Adam Pechman, #15 Danny Medina, #6 Scotty Scott and #98 Brent Scheidemantle were in a tight bunch navigating lapped traffic. Eggleston, Hansen, and Scott all took turns leading but bad luck hit Pechman as he would leave the track with mechanical issues.
Perennial frontrunner #66 Kyle Clegg had to start in the rear of the feature after being DQ’d in his dash yet had worked his way up to the front to restart 6th after a late race caution.
In the final stages of the race Eggleston pulled away by 3 car lengths to take the win followed by Scotty Scott and Hansen. Unfortunately for Hansen he was disqualified in a post race technical inspection for illegal springs. Therefore Brent Scheidemantle inherited an impressive 3rd place finish with Medina and Clegg rounding out the top 5.
Chris Eggleston celebrates his feature win in the Legend Cars (Starr photo)
The Legends return to action on April 29th.
FEATURE: #22 Chris Eggleston FAST DASH: #25 Adam Pechman DASH: #51 AJ Canada QUICK TIME: #22 Chris Eggleston 18.796
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Pro Trucks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 43 Kody Vanderwal La Salle 2. 7 Adam Deines Longmont 3. 8 Jeff Walbaum* Brighton 4. 34 Rudy Vanderwal La Salle 5. 19L Levi Greenly Houston TX 6. 5W Troy Witthar Eastlake 7. 96 Connor Snow Morrison 8. 9 Curtis Heldenbrand Arvada 9. 82 Michael Scott Cheyenne 10. 36 Matt Burton Englewood 11. 11J Steve Johnson* Loveland
Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 3 Wade Grove Thronton 2. 31 Derek Smith Gering 3. 22 Brian Yackey (R) Greeley 4. 30 Jan Oxley Ft Lupton 5. 9 Brent Cave (R) Thornton 6. 33 Bear Lynch Arvada 7. 88 Brent Miller Brighton 8. 60 Rick Duckworth Arvada 9. 29 Rayshawn Carter Commerce City 10. 53 William Peruti (R) Westminster 11. 28 Alan Carter Commerce City 12. 6 Jason Sharp Fountain
Legend Cars Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 2. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 3. 98 Brent Scheidemantle Broomfield 4. 15 Danny Medina* Colorado Springs 5. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster 6. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 7. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 8. 32 Blair Cooper Pueblo 9. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 10. 7 Corey Seip Littleton 11. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Peyton 12. 1w Jereme Wall Commerce City 13. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 14. 19 Larry Pachello* Arvada 15. 51 AJ Canada Castle Rock 16. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 17. 13 Jason Hulvey (R)* Thornton 18. 26 Chris Brunker Lakewood 19. 88 Paul Himler Erie 20. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 21. 33 Alfred Matthews Arvada 22. 2 Floyd Whiting (R) Lochbuie 23. 27 Ray Oakley 24. 08 Krystal Faulkingham (R) Westminster 25. 20 Kynzer Riddell Westminster 26. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison 27. 10 Adam Romero (R) Denver 28. 57 Adam Osborne (R) Fountain 29. 23o Gary Radosta Pueblo DQ 08L Jace Hansen Loveland
Race Rental Modifieds
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