(04-12-2014 Dacono, CO) Darren Robertson made a late race surge eating up the large lead that Chris Eggleston had accumulated to make a last lap attempt for the lead. Eggleston just barely hung on to win in what turned out the be a very exciting Super Late Model race at Colorado National Speedway.
Gillett Vet Super Late Models 17 fire breathing Super Late Models lined up for the SUNOCO Fuels High Octane Night 40 lap feature event and on the front row it was veteran driver #31 Rick Smith on the pole with young-gun #6 Dominic Ursetta on the outside. Ursetta pushed a tad too hard early in the race tapping Smith in turn 3 spinning the leader and forcing NASCAR officials to send the #6 car to the rear of the field.
Only a few laps later Smith again was tapped from behind from the #39 of Jack Nugent and this time he was hit by #12 Bruce Yackey who simply had no opportunity to avoid the spinning #31 car. Yackey’s car suffered the most damage and the “Mooses” chances of taking the checkered flag were done.
When all the dust had cleared #22 Chris Eggleston had gained a slight lead on Smith who was running the low line with Eggleston up top. Lap after lap the two cars ran side by side banging doors and thrilling the fans.
Eventually Eggleston was able to clear Smith and began to distance himself from the rest of the field. Yet out of nowhere #11 Darren Robertson who had been quietly running in the top 5 for most of the race began to reel Eggleston in for the lead. With just 5 laps to go Robertson was clearly faster than Eggleston but ran out of time and couldn’t make the inside pass on the final corner. As the checkered flag flew it was Eggleston beating Robertson by a half car length in a thrilling finish. Nebraska’s Rick Smith held on for 3rd place, Ursetta worked his way back into 4th place after being sent to the rear and #66 Darren Bucklen took the final spot in the top 5.
FEATURE WINNER: #22 Chris Eggleston FAST DASH WINNER: #22 Chris Eggleston DASH WINNER: #27 Roger Avants QUICK TIME: #6 Dominic Ursetta 16.095
Snap-On Tools Pro Trucks With a great field of Pro Trucks on hand, the feature event was extended from 30 to 40 laps and #36 Matt “the Pebble” Burton and #34 Rudy Vanderwal paced the field when the green flag dropped.
In the first 10 laps of the race there were several caution flags for minor incidents on the track but once things settled down Burton and Vanderwal were racing side by side thrilling the CNS fans. #06 Adam Hilton was also making his presence felt right behind the leaders but had to pull off the track with mechanical difficulties.
With just 11 laps to go and with Matt Burton in control of the lead another caution slowed the field and to the surprise of the crowd Burton’s truck stalled in turn 2. Burton couldn’t get the truck going again and eventually pulled off the track.
#11 Steve Johnson inherited the lead but Vanderwal was pressuring him for position. Johnson ran a smooth line and never allowed Vanderwal to make the pass and the two trucks crossed the line 1st and 2nd. Taylor Bellomy in the 10t Truck finished an impressive 3rd place with #31 Justin Simonson and #52 Jereme Wall in 4th and 5th.
FEATURE WINNER: #11 Steve Johnson FAST DASH WINNER: #31 Justin Simonson DASH WINNER: 10T Taylor Bellomy QUICK TIME: #6 Adam Hilton 16.789
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds There were only 8 Grand American Modifieds on hand to start the feature and #44 Justin Case ran away with the event eventually building a half lap lead on 2nd place car #0 Ron O’Neal. #8 Dan Alamaa finished in 3rd and #88 Jeff Walbaum was 4th. Rounding out the top 5 was #24 Tim Holm from Greeley Colorado.
FEATURE WINNER: #44 Justin Case 17.363 FAST DASH WINNER: #0 Ron O’Neal QUICK TIME: #44 Justin Case 17.363
OFFICIAL FINISHING ORDER
Super Late Models Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton CO 2. 11 Darren Robertson Westminster CO 3. 31 Rick Smith Gering NE 4. 6 Dominic Ursetta Arvada CO 5. 66 Darren Bucklan Greeley CO 6. 27 Roger Avants Littleton CO 7. 37 Derek Murphy Co Springs CO 8. 55 Jesse Runkle Lakewood CO 9. 84 Matt Zwingleberg 10. 91 Chris Atkinson Cheyenne WY 11. 21 Odie Robertson 12. 33 Emett Grazier Wheatridge CO 13. 39 Jack Nugent Lafayette CO 14. 76 Gary Coate (R) Highlands Ranch CO 15. 34 Rudy Vanderwal(R) LaSalle CO 16. 12 Bruce Yackey Greeley CO 17. 80 Ray Daniels Monument CO
Pro Trucks Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 11 Steve Johnson Windsor CO 2. 34 Rudy Vanderwal LaSalle CO 3. 10T Taylor Bellomy(R) 4. 31 Justin Simonson Wheatridge CO 5. 52 Jereme Wall (R) 6. 2 AJ Warren Longmont CO 7. 55 Dave Hunt Hudson CO 8. 5 Troy Whittar Eastlake CO 9. 25 Adam Pechman (R) 10. 51 David Johnson 11. 29 Matthew Brunker Lakewood CO 12. 36 Matt Burton 13. 14 Alex Ortiz (R) 14. 06 Adam Hilton 15. 7 Adam Deines Longmont CO 16. 17 Andy Bellomy Ft. Lupton CO 17. 82 Michael Scott (R) DNS 45 Dalton Hewitt
Grand American Modified Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 44 Justin Case Brighton CO 2. 0 Ron O’Neil 3. 8 Dan Alamaa Colorado Springs CO 4. 88 Jeff Walbaum Brighton CO 5. 24 Tim Holm Greeley CO 6. 61 Scott Slama (R) 7. 13 Darin Clark 8. 55 Dean-O Olson Canon City CO