May 28th, 2022
The first part of Colorado National Speedway’s two-night Memorial Day racing event delivered thrills and spills to the fans, drivers, and teams. Great car counts meant plenty of star-studded lineups in every series, particularly the Matco Tools Pro Trucks, kicking off the holiday weekend with a bang.
Elite Diesel Service Figure 8s
The Figure 8 drivers put on a heck of a show right out of the gate. There was close racing and many close calls during the Dash and Fast Dash races, setting the tone for a pulse-pounding feature race.
The No. 64 of Michael Kephart and the No. 38 of Cassidy Creekmore started the 20-lap feature Figure 8 race up front. Creekmore’s No. 38 shot ahead of the pack, but fell to the clutches of the No. 92 driven by Jason Wall. Wall began stretch things out. Two laps in, an incident involving the No. 97 of Adam Gastineau and the No. 08 of Travis Sanders occurred, but both drivers gathered it back up and continued on. Then, the No. 17 of Harry Livermore Jr. was struck diving out of Turn 4, critically damaging the rear suspension of his race car and ending his night.
Meanwhile, up front, Jason Wall’s No. 92 paced the field while the No. 67 of Kaleigh Swenson began to reel him in. Things were slowed by the No. 20 of Isaiah Proctor, who fell off the pace and caused a caution, but the battle between the No. 67 and No. 92 began anew when the green flag dropped. However, as the green flag laps ticked down, Jared Wall’s familiar No. 52 machine charged through the field and began to challenge his brother Jason for the top spot. The two Walls battled up front while sending their race cars through The X, neither willing to lift and surrender the lead. Eventually, Jared made the pass on Jason, putting the No. 52 back in Victory Lane for the third consecutive time.
Feature: 52 - Jared Wall
Dash: 67D - Keith Swenson
Fast Dash: 17 - Harry Livermore Jr
Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
Feature 1 – 20 Laps
The No. 28 of Paul Deines leaped ahead of the pack when the green flag dropped on the first of two feature races for the Grand American Modifieds. However, an incident involving the No. 66 of John Seely forced a caution, but Deines’ No. 28 machine easily found the front once again when the race restarted. He continued to show the way, while the No. 51 of Kyle Clegg proved to be a force to be reckoned with as he shot through the field and set his sights on Deines’ No. 28. The two race cars appeared evenly matched as the laps ticked by. Then, with just eight laps left, Clegg threw his No. 51 into the rear bumper of Deines' No. 28, causing Deines to spin. Officials ruled that Clegg would be sent to the rear of the field for his actions.
Enter the No. 89 of Jacob Smith. Smith quietly passed the No. 28 of Deines and the No. 24 of Nathan Gasser, assuming the lead with three laps left. Smith’s No. 89 never looked back, and he crossed the finish line to earn his first-ever feature win in the GAM class.
Feature 2 – 30 Laps
The No. 59 of Charles Wilson and the No. 37 of Landon Birney led the field to the green flag for the second GAM feature race. Wilson’s No. 59 showed the way, but it didn’t take long for the No. 48 of Preston Peltier to find his way to the front. He executed a clean pass on the No. 59 of Wilson and set sail. Meanwhile, the No. 59 of Wilson fell into the clutches of the No. 6 driven by Scotty Scott, and the two drivers battled hard for the second position for a few laps before Scott pulled ahead. The leaders became strung out, stretching the gap between them and the rest of the pack, until a caution was waved for a rather forceful wreck in Turns 1 and 2, in which the No. 1G of Dale Geist & No. 28 Paul Deines got together and became attached. Both drivers exited their race cars, and safety personnel pushed the conjoined race cars off the track so the race could continue safely.
Just three laps after the restart, the No. 37 of Birney and the No. 9 of CJ Wilson traded paint through Turns 3 and 4, culminating in a wreck that saw both machines sideways on the front stretch. Once things were cleaned up the green flag waved, the No. 48 of Peltier once again set sail and didn’t look back, winning the night’s second GAM feature.
Quick Time: No. 48, Preston Peltier - 16.702
Feature 1: No. 89, Jacob Smith
Feature 2: No. 48P, Preston Peltier
Matco Tools Pro Trucks
Feature 1 – 20 Laps
The No. 50 of Tyler Wiggans led the large field of Pro Trucks to the green for the first of two feature races, trailed by the No. 43 of Kody Vanderwal on the outside. Vanderwal assumed the lead while Wiggans fell back and was passed by the No. 7 truck of Adam Deines. The race continued clearly with Vanderwal up front, until a multi-truck wreck in Turn 2 forced a caution. The No. 34 of Rudy Vanderwal, the No. 22 of Brian Yackey and the No. 08 of Krystal Faulkingham were involved, and Yackey’s No. 22 truck was sent to the rear of the field as a result. Thankfully, the three trucks appeared to take minimal damage.
The No. 7 of Deines got around Kody Vanderwal’s No. 43 not long after the restart and took over the race lead. Kody Vanderwal would fall to third before the race end, while the No. 82 of Michael Scott shot ahead of him. Ultimately, Deines and the No. 7 truck took the first feature win.
Feature 2 – 40 Laps
The last event of the night got off to a rocky start, as the No. 71 of Timothy Duvall got clipped not one lap in and spun from contact with the No. 9 of Curtis Heldenbrand. When things finally got rolling, the No. 08 of Krystal Faulkingham and the No. 9 of Heldenbrand raced neck-and-neck for the lead, evenly matched as the laps ticked by. Then, with 22 laps left, something on the No. 43 truck of Kody Vanderwal broke, and the field stacked up behind him, causing a caution. When the race went green, the No. 08 of Faulkingham quickly found the lead again, but came under fire from the No. 22 of Brian Yackey. Faulkingham put up a valiant effort to maintain the lead, but ultimately fell to Yackey’s No. 22 machine and found herself under pressure from the No. 82 of Michael Scott.
Then, Adam Deines’ No. 7 machine went for a spin with 8 laps left after contact with the No. 9 of Heldenbrand. Heldenbrand was sent to the rear of the field as a result. On the next restart, Scott’s No. 82 showed the way, while Faulkingham’s truck faded to fourth place. Yackey’s No. 22 attempted to track down Scott’s No. 82, but to no avail – Scott would ultimately end up in Victory Lane.
Quick Time: No. 82, Michael Scott - 16.701
Feature 1: No. 7, Adam Deines
Feature 2: No. 82, Michael Scott
OFFICIAL RESULTS:
Elite Diesel Service Figure 8's
52 Jared Wall - Commerce City
92 Jasen Wall - Brighton
67D Keith Swenson - Strasburg
18 Dennis Stepanich III - Thornton
97 Adam Gastineau - Aurora
67 Kaleigh Swenson - Strasburg
08 Travis Sanders - Aurora
64 Michael Kephart - Commerce City
78 Kayla Martinez (R) - Denver
38 Cassidy Creekmore - Littleton
13M Isaac Martinez - Denver
17 Harry Livermore Jr - Denver
74 Sam Faus (R) - Lakewood
20 Isaiah Proctor
Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds:
Feature 1: 20 Laps
89 Jacob Smith - Littleton
28 Paul Deines - Hudson
24 Nathan Gasser - Fort Lupton
6 Scotty Scott (R) - Arvada
48P - Preston Peltier - Johnstown
9 CJ Wilson - Penrose
59 Charles Wilson - Penrose
37 Landon Birney - Cheyenne
2 Jim Douglas - Colorado Springs
41 Eric Vos - Wheat Ridge
51 Kyle Clegg - Hudson
1G Dale Geist - Colorado Springs
68 Forest Smith - Bellvue
13 Darin Clark - Cheyenne
66 John Seely - Parker
Feature 2: 30 Laps
48P Preston Peltier - Johnstown
6 Scotty Scott (R) - Arvada
51 Kyle Clegg - Hudson
24 Nathan Gasser - Fort Lupton
2 Jim Douglas - Colorado Springs
89 Jacob Smith - Littleton
59 Charles Wilson - Penrose
68 Forest Smith - Bellvue
41 Eric Vos - Wheat Ridge
1G Dale Geist - Colorado Springs
37 Landon Birney - Cheyenne
9 CJ Wilson - Penrose
28 Paul Deines - Hudson DNS 13 Darin Clark - Cheyenne DNS 66 John Seely - Parker
Matco Tools Pro Trucks
Feature 1: 20 Laps
7 Adam Deines - Longmont
82 Michael Scott - Hillsdale, WY
43 Kody Vanderwal - LaSalle
34 Rudy Vanderwal - LaSalle
50 Tyler Wiggans - Peyton
9 Curtis Heldenbrand - Westminster
08 Krystal Faulkingham - Westminster
71 Timothy Duvall - Denver
22 Brian Yackey - Greeley
5W Troy Witthar - Arvada
85 Jeff Walbaum - Brighton
33 Tyler Davis - Thornton
28 Brian Weinmaster - Brighton
90 Chasen Groff (R) - Denver
11 Steve Johnson - Loveland
88 Paul Himler (R) - Erie
65 George Green - Firestone
Feature 2: 40 Laps
82 Michael Scott - Hillsdale, WY
22 Brian Yackey - Greeley
7 Adam Deines - Longmont
08 Krystal Faulkingham - Westminster
50 Tyler Wiggans - Peyton
5W Troy Witthar - Arvada
33 Tyler Davis - Thornton
85 Jeff Walbaum - Brighton
9 Curtis Heldenbrand - Westmisnter
28 Brian Weinmaster - Brighton
65 George Green - Firestone
43 Kody Vanderwal - LaSalle
11 Steve Johnson - Loveland
34 Rudy Vanderwal - LaSalle
88 Paul Himler (R) - Erie
71 Timothy Duvall - Denver
90 Chasen Groff (R) - Denver