(09-06-2014 Dacono, CO) An absolutely gorgeous late summer evening was the setting for the Chick Fil A “Don’t Cownt Yer Chickins” night at CNS. Jeff Walbaum won his 6th feature of the season in the Late Models, Adam Deines passed Rudy Vandewal late to win the Pro Truck feature. In the Legends Mike Gallegos was able to best the massive field of cars and Jared “Wally” Wall grabbed his first Figure 8 win of the season.
South Philly Cheesesteak Late Models #8 Late Model Jeff Walbaum from Brighten Colorado won his 6th feature of the season coming from the second row to lead almost every lap of the 30 lapper. It was by no means an easy victory as Thornton Colorado’s #7 Ethan Penrod pressured Walbaum for the lead in the late stages of the race coming up just short as the checkered flag flew.
The race was marred by a crash that brought out the red flag involving several cars on the back straight. #99 Nick Brinlee, #31 Derek Smith, #44 Greg Lee, and #33 Christopher Buskirk all suffered damage in the crash. While no drivers were injured, Lee and Buskirk’s cars suffered race ending damage.
Super Late Model champions #2 Bruce Yackey and #21 Rick Smith ran strong in a rare appearance in the Late Model division (Starr photo)
The most exciting battle in the race were two Super Late Model veterans #2 Bruce Yackey and #21 Rick Smith who decided to run in the Late Model division for the evening. Yackey who had come from the back of the field was running the low side and Smith was up top and the two cars traded paint for at least 10 laps fighting for 3rd and 4th position. Eventually Yackey snuck by Smith to grab a 3rd place finish behind Penrod in 2nd. Smith settled for 4th position and #17 Dave Deines was 5th.
Jeff Walbaum in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
Walbaum has won 6 of 9 features this season in the Late Model division and now holds a commanding 38 point lead over Penrod.
FEATURE WINNER: #8 Jeff Walbaum FAST DASH: #99 Bick Brinlee DASH: #75 Emilio Abeyta QUICK TIME: #8 Jeff Walbaum 17.721
Snap-On Tools Pro Trucks Rudy Vanderwal and Justin Simonson have been in a tight battle for the Snap-On Tools Pro Truck championship all season long and Simonson sent a message early by setting quick time. Vanderwal punched back by winning the FAST DASH.
In the feature event Vanderwal jumped out to an early lead but it was #7 Adam Deines from Longmont Colorado who was hounding Rudy for the lead. #36 Matt Burton was running strong in 3rd place and #06 Adam Hilton was right on his tail but neither truck was pressuring the two leaders who looked to be the class of the field.
It appeared that the race might go green from flag to flag and allow Rudy to cruise to the victory but a late race crash involving #45 Dalton Hewitt, and #14 Alex Ortiz brought out the caution.
On the double file restart it was Deines who was the quicker truck and stole the lead from Vanderwal. Deines never looked back and went on to take his 2nd feature win of the 2014 season. Vanderwal settled for 2nd but more importantly gained valuable points over Simonson who finished back in 5th position.
Adam Deines in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
FEATURE WINNER: #7 Adam Deines FAST DASH: #34 Rudy Vanderwal DASH: #2 AJ Warren QUICK TIME: #31 Justin Simonson 16.750
RMRLA Legends Another massive field of 27 Legend cars showed up to thrill the fans and it was clear from the early action the #66 Kyle Clegg was lightning fast setting quick time with a 18.660 and winning the fast dash. Yet Clegg’s luck would turn sour in the feature as a stripped shift linkage sent him to the pits and he lost 3 laps.
A battle for position raged on every corner of the track yet at the front of the field #06 Mike Gallegos held a small advantage over #22 Chris Eggleston, #34 Chris Cooper and #21 Ryan Jones.
Eventual winner #06 Mike Gallegos battles #6 Scotty Scott, #21 Ryan Jones and #34 Chris Cooper (Starr photo)
After Clegg fixed his car in the pits he started at the back of the field and that’s when the fun began. Clegg was 3 laps down but that didn’t stop him from thrilling the CNS fans by trailblazing through the field in hair-raising fashion passing cars low, and high in all four corners of the CNS oval.
#66 Kyle Clegg thrilled the CNS fans blazing through the field after an early race technical problem. (Starr photo)
Clegg eventually passed every car on the track except for the leader Gallegos. While the effort would only reward Clegg with a 21st place finish it didn’t go unnoticed by the cheering fans.
Gallegos took the win with Eggleston holding on for 2nd place. #34 Chris Cooper had a strong run finishing 3rd and #21 Ryan Jones was 4th. The final car in the top five was #6 Scotty Scott.
Mike Gallegos celebrates in winner’s circle at CNS (Starr photo)
The points chase couldn’t be more exciting with Eggleston holding a narrow 2 point lead over Gallegos with two points races remaining in the 2014 season.
FEATURE WINNER: #06 Mike Gallegos FAST DASH: #66 Kyle Clegg DASH: #51 AJ Canada QUICK TIME: #66 Kyle Clegg 18.660
Art’s Septic Service Figure 8s Rookie Figure 8 driver Brent Cave from Thornton Colorado jumped out to an early lead in the feature event and was impressing the veterans by holding off #52 Jared Wall, #23 Big Al Duran, and #50 Justin Mackeachie lap after lap. Once Wall and Duran got by Cave the battle was short lived as Duran made contact with the turn 4 wall and ended his chance at the win.
Brent Cave leads the field through the “X”. (Starr photo)
Wall took his “vintage dirt late model” inspired #52 to victory circle holding off Cave, Mackeachie , and #17 Harry Livermore Jr.
This was Jared Wall’s first win of the 2014 season and now has a small 3 point lead on Livermore Jr. in the season standings with just one points race remaining.
Jared Wall celebrates his first win of the 2014 season (Starr photo)
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown Points 1. 8 Jeff Walbaum Brighton CO 40 2. 7 Ethan Penrod Thornton CO 38 3. 2 Bruce Yackey Greeley CO 36 4. 21S Rick Smith Gering NE 34 5. 17 Dave Deines Gering NE 32 6. 99 Nick Brinlee Broomfield CO 30 7. 3 Wade Grove Thornton CO 28 8. 31 Derek Smith Longmont CO 26 9. 30 Jan Oxley Ft. Lupton CO 24 10. 28 Alan Carter Commerce City CO 22 11. 29 Rayshawn Carter Commerce City CO 20 12. 16 Ryan McFadden 18 13. 27 Wendi Lewis Johnstown CO 16 14. 75 Emilio Abeyta (R) Denver CO 14 15. 76 Chad Cowan Gering NE 12 16. 33 Christopher Buskirk (R) Bayard NE 10 17. 44 Greg Lee (R) Parker CO 8 18. 1 Makayla Grote (R) 6 19. 19g Nathan Gasser 4
Pro Trucks Pos No. Name Hometown Points 1. 7 Adam Deines Longmont CO 40 2. 34 Rudy Vanderwal LaSalle CO 38 3. 36 Matt Burton Englewood CO 36 4. 06 Adam Hilton Brighton CO 34 5. 31 Justin Simonson Wheatridge CO 32 6. 10T Taylor Bellomy(R) Brighton CO 30 7. 16 Scott Rhoades Westminster CO 28 8. 5 Troy Witthar Eastlake CO 26 9. 52 Jereme Wall (R) Commerce City CO 24 10. 2 AJ Warren Longmont CO 22 11. 82 Michael Scott (R) Cheyenne WY 20 12. 85 Cole MacEwen (R) Fort Collins CO 18 13. 0 Billy Harkins Lakewood CO 16 14. 65 George Green (R) Firestone 14 15. 11 Steve Johnson Windsor CO 12 16. 29 Matthew Brunker Lakewood CO 10 17. 45 Dalton Hewitt Brighton CO 8 18. 14 Alex Ortiz (R) Denver CO 6
Legends Pos No. Name Hometown Points 1. 06 Mike Gallegos Wheatridge CO 40 2. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton CO 38 3. 34 Chris Cooper Frederick CO 36 4. 21 Ryan Jones Arvada CO 34 5. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada CO 32 6. 03 Darrell Stewart Arvada CO 30 7. 3 Wayne Barlock JR Evans CO 28 8. 13 Peter Dellarco Highlands Ranch CO 26 9. 04 Dillon Foster Arvada CO 24 10. 30 Darrell Stewart Jr (R) Arvada 22 11. 20 Kynzer Riddell Westminster CO 20 12. 51 AJ Canada Centennial CO 18 13. 07 Bill Seip Parker CO 16 14. 7 Corey Seip Littleton CO 14 15. 84 Mike Webber Erie CO 12 16. 14 Chappy Adkins Kersey CO 10 17. 11 Jessica Savage Aurora CO 8 18. 83 Don Bedore Denver CO 6 19. 09 Terry McBride Edgewater CO 4 20. 17 BreAnn Adkison Cheyenne WY 2 21. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster CO 2 22. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison CO 2 23. 99 Brady Van Matre (R) Lafayette CO 2 24. 19 Larry Pachello Wheatridge CO 2 25. 71 Craig Coughlin Westminster CO 2 DNS 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada CO 0 DNS 26 Christopher Brunker Lakewood CO 0
Figure 8s Pos No. Name Hometown Points 1. 52 Jared Wall Commerce City CO 40 2. 9 Brent Cave (R) Thornton CO 38 3. 50 Justin McKeachie Aurora CO 36 4. 17 Harry Livermore Jr Denver CO 34 5. 81 Dave Smith Englewood CO 32 6. 15 Jereme Wall Commerce City CO 30 7. 44 Jerome Hohn Denver CO 28 8. 00 James Naranjo Denver CO 26 9. 23 Al Duran Lakewood CO 24 10. 03 Luke Zike Arvada CO 22 DNS 10 Frank Gastineau Denver CO 0