September 14, 2024 ~ Dacono, CO
A warm fall Saturday played backdrop for the first of several championship-deciding nights at Colorado National Speedway. On September 14th, 2024, the Pure Stocks were on deck for the conclusion to their season. They were accompanied by incredible shows from our Pro Trucks and Late Models to boot. A couple car clubs showed off their gleaming machines in between on-track action. On the other side of the spectrum, the Demo X drivers closed out the night with Joe Prante and Sean Frank winning in the Demo X Heavy and Demo X Lite divisions, respectively. Even the fans got in on the action, competing in a dance-off for the chance to take home prizes from the Gilpin Casino and Lodge Casino in a gamble on their dancing skills.
Matco Tools Pro Trucks
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
Steve Johnson leaped at the drop of the green flag, putting his No. 11 to the point as the No. 16 of Travis Roe put pressure on him. Curtis Heldenbrand’s No. 9 charged into the mix along with Jeff Walbaum’s No. 85 machine, making it a four-truck conversation for the lead. Roe filtered into P1but not for long as Heldenbrand powered past in a risky three-wide move. Heldenbrand began to pull away as Roe attacked Johnson for second place, staying in tight formation as the rest of the field strung out. Heldenbrand held the lead as the checkers fell, and Johnson was able to hold off Roe for P2 at the line.
Dash – 10 Laps
Adam Deines put the No. 7 truck out front as a pair of No. 88 machines – the No. 88S of Brad Skufca and the No. 88X of Ashlyn Himler – duked it out for second. Skufca took the spot as Himler dropped through the pack while the No. 69 of Sean Fry slotted into third place. Fry picked off Skufca and lit after Deines, wearing out his rear bumper, and when he finally swung wide to make the pass, the two trucks made contact but bounced back apart. The light contact gave Fry the advantage and he dropped the hammer, laying some distance down. The race ended under yellow after the No. 21 of Chris Nelson spun out on the last lap, granting Fry the win.
Feature – 30 Laps
The No. 18 of Cade Fox and Fry split Himler, who started on the pole, demoting her as Fox took control of the race. Fry fell in behind him with the No. 28 of Brian Weinmaster in third. Heldenbrand, after starting mid-pack, had already charged up to fourth after just five circuits, picking up right where he left off after winning the Fast Dash. He began chipping away at Fry’s hold on P2, but couldn’t make it stick; up front, Fox continued to lead. But it didn’t take Heldenbrand long to demote Fry, and as the field filed into a single file line, he began to reel in Fox and slash his lead.
Behind them, Deines and Johnson slammed into each other but managed to keep their race trucks pointed in the right direction. Roe swept past the No. 50 of Tyler Wiggans after a brief battle for P6. Up front, Fox continued to hold off Heldenbrand - a battle he was slowly losing. The leaders began to close on the tail end of the field, which forced Fox up the track and allowed Heldenbrand the opening he needed to finally pull alongside him before taking off with the race lead. With clear track ahead, Heldenbrand loosened the reins and settled into a groove. Behind him, Fox faded into a distant second place. By Lap 25, there were trucks in all four corners of the track as the field filed into single file. Walbaum mounted a charge on Fry for third place, and after light contact, Walbaum had the position. The incident had no bearing on Heldenbrand’s lead, however, and he snagged his fourth victory of the season and swept the night with Quick Time, Fast Dash & Feature wins in a race that stayed green flag to flag.
Quick Time: No. 9, Curtis Heldenbrand, 17.140
Fast Dash: No. 9, Curtis Heldenbrand
Dash: No. 69, Sean Fry
Feature: No. 9, Curtis Heldenbrand
GTI Services Late Models
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
The No. 23 of Jordan Abeyta and the No. 99 of Tessa Marine fired off on the front row. In short order, the No. 8 of Dan Alamaa followed Abeyta through and passed Marine for second. The No. A51 of Kyle Clegg made short work of them both while the No. 51 of Eric Meisner charged into fourth. Clegg pulled even with Abeyta and Alamaa, making the lead a three-way battle. Just a few laps later, Clegg took the position with Meisner hot on his heels. Alamaa and Abeyta made contact fighting for second place but were able to keep racing; Meisner locked onto Clegg’s rear bumper as Alamaa and Abeyta battled for third place. Alamaa got P3 by a nose at the line, following Clegg and Meisner, respectively.
Dash – 10 Laps
Tommy Roe’s No. 6 led the first lap, pulling the No. 98 of Lee Kemmit, his teammate, through with him. Kemmit took the lead just a lap later, although Roe didn’t let him get away with it without a fight. The No. 5 of Del Trantham Jr. and the No. 32 of Joseph Andrande followed in their tire tracks. Kemmit maintained the lead, pulling away from Roe, while Andrande tried to get the advantage on Trantham. Roe managed to cut into Kemmit’s lead and was nearly able to go side-by-side at the line, but Kemmit hung on right to the drop of the checkered flag.
Feature – 30 Laps
As Trantham led the first lap, Marine charged into second ahead of the No. 21 of Robert Hoard, but just as she peered around Trantham, Hoard and Abeyta got together going three-wide out of Turn 2. The field stacked up and piled into each other, sweeping up the No. 18 of Casey Wiggans, Meisner, Andrande, and more. Meisner was able to get back on track, but Abeyta and Wiggans had to pull behind the wall to the attention of their crews before returning. The field was lined back up for a restart, and finally got rolling after two botched starts. Kemmit rushed to the lead, but it wasn’t for long as Wiggans piled into the No. 35 of Bryan Kilthau, sending him for a spin.
Kemmit recaptured the lead when the green flag waved again, although Trantham mounted a charge to the outside, running side-by-side with him. Clegg and Marine slammed doors behind them but stayed clear. Trantham sliced into the lead while further back, Alamaa, Meisner, and Clegg marched toward the front of the field from deep within the pack. The No. 7X of Kyle Morse passed Roe for second with Alamaa in hot pursuit. Then, Kemmit’s race car suffered an apparent mechanical issue and forced him to pull to the infield, causing him to plummet in the standings as Meisner lunged past Trantham for the lead. Alamaa, too, reeled in Trantham and swung alongside him to race for position. Clegg entered the mix on the outside. Up front, Meisner continued to lead, pulling the field along behind him in a single file line. Nothing would stand in the way of Meisner’s No. 51 machine as he powered through the turns to his third win of the 2024 season with Alamaa and Clegg in tow.
Quick Time: No. 51, Eric Meisner, 17.488
Fast Dash: No. A51, Kyle Clegg
Dash: No. 98, Lee Kemmit
Feature: No. 51, Eric Meisner
Rock ‘N’ Roll Brewery Pure Stocks
Feature 1 – 20 Laps
A pair of Feature races stood between the PS field and the 2024 championship, setting the stage for an epic fight to the finish. The No. 15 of Brendan Knowles took off as soon as the green flag snapped through the air as the field erupted into chaos behind him, running three- and four-wide. Contact in the thick of things sent the No. 99 of Dillon Meigs around in Turn 3; under the caution, the No. 12S of Shawn Sulley was penalized when he dipped through the gutter while executing a pass. When the race restarted, Knowles and the No. 10W of Gauge Witthar took the green up front. They left Sulley and the No. 34 of Ronnie Johnson behind as the two drivers roughed one another up. Once again, order became chaos as a multicar incident slowed the field on Lap 3. When the dust settled, Johnson, Derek Spalding, Chan Raley, and others sustained heavy damage. The No. 5 of David Wilson, in the championship hunt, escaped unscathed as his closest competitors were left with wounded race cars.
Knowles once again started up front. This time, the field stayed out of trouble and let Knowles get away with the lead. Witthar had his hands full of the No. 7X of Dustin Camp for second place. Camp lost the back end of his car and got loose in the middle of the fight, handing the advantage to the No. 18Y of Justin Young – who promptly got loose himself and slammed into Witthar. They nearly spun out but the pack scattered and avoided them. The No. 41 of Topher Galvin snuck into third place while Young maintained second. Out front, Knowles maintained his lead, but almost struck the No. 44 of Leroy Davis, a lapped car who was off the pace. Wilson pulled into fourth place, while Young set his race car straight and tracked down Knowles for the lead. He pulled out all the stops trying to get around Knowles while Wilson wore out Galvin’s bumper for third. On the last lap, Meigs spun once again but didn’t impede the racing surface; up front, Young tried one last time to pass Knowles, but Knowles would not be denied and cruised across the line for his first-ever division win.
Feature 2 – 25 Laps
It all came down to a 25-lap shootout for the championship. Knowles started on the front row with the No. 21 of Madilyn Lange alongside him. The pack swung three- and four-wide again when the race started, sending Lange dropping like a rock as Knowles returned to the point. The No. 45 of Shane Johnson and the No. 78 of Mark Bremkamp did battle for second; Johnson earned the spot after a short fight. Riding his momentum, Johnson shot after Knowles but cut himself short when he spun out all by himself in Turn 2. The track stayed green while the No. 32 of Rick Phillips assumed the second position with sights set on taking the lead from Knowles. Wilson was on a steady march toward the front, intent on picking up every position he could to help him in the championship fight. He made moves on the outside line to try to claw his way past the back half of the top 10, intent on getting to the checkered flag as soon as possible. He picked off several cars and slotted into sixth, even as Witthar went for a spin and cleared the racing surface.
Things stayed relatively calm until Lap 17. Raley contacted Bremkamp who slammed the backstretch wall, causing a yellow flag. Phillips and Knowles restarted on the front row, but when the pack got going, Wilson tagged the backstretch wall. Phillips assumed the lead on the outside, banging doors with Knowles as Meigs again spun to the infield without caution. Phillips and Knowles again made contact, and this time, it culminated in a wreck – Phillips went around and swerved back onto the track. Thankfully, the pack was able to avoid him, but both he and Knowles were sent to the rear of the field. This turned the front row over to Galvin and Young. Galvin shot into the lead. Wilson, meanwhile, almost drilled Sulley in Turn 4, but they stayed clear of a crash. Young got a little tail happy while running second but kept his race car under him. Galvin continued to lead with Sulley in pursuit. On the last lap, Sulley made one final attempt at the lead, but couldn’t make it happen. As Galvin celebrated his win, Wilson celebrated his season championship after an insane fight right to the end.
Quick Time: No. 34, Ronnie Johnson, 19.704
Feature 1: No. 15, Brendan Knowles
Feature 2: No. 41G, Topher Galvin
2024 PS Champion: No. 5, David Wilson
2024 PS Rookie of the Year: No. 63, Kenneth Bowlus
United Power Demo X
Lite Winner: No. 15 Sean Frank
Heavy Winner: No. 88 Joe Prante
If you missed the first night of championship action, click here to watch the replay on Low Budget TV.
One division is in the books, but plenty more have their titles on the line over the next few weekends at CNS. Don’t miss it and be sure to pick up tickets here so you don’t miss a thing. The best way to experience us is in person in the grandstands, and it’ll be a show you won’t forget. Congratulations to David Wilson, champion in the Pure Stocks division!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Pro Truck - 30 Laps
9 Curtis Heldenbrand
18 Cade Fox (R)
85 Jeff Walbaum
69 Sean Fry (R)
28 Brian Weinmaster
16 Travis Roe
50 Tyler Wiggans
4 Chris Jordan
11 Steve Johnson
7 Adam Deines
88S Brad Skufca
88X Ashlyn Himler
20 Tanner Faatz
21 Chris Nelson (R)
Late Model - 30 Laps
51 Eric Meisner
8 Dan Alamaa
A51 Kyle Clegg
5 Del Trantham Jr
7X Kyle Morse
99 Tessa Marine
32 Joseph Andrade (R)
6 Tommy Roe
35 Bryan Kilthau (R)
23 Jordan Abeyta (R)
18 Casey Wiggans
14 Larry Mullins (R)
98 Lee Kemmit
21 Robert Hoard (R)
Pure Stock Feature 1 - 20 Laps
15 Breden Knowles
18Y Justin Young
41G Christopher Galvin
5 David Wilson
12S Shawn Sulley
32 Rick Phillips
21 Madilyn Lange (R)
1 Derek Spalding
78 Mark Bremkamp
7X Dustin Camp
99 Dillon Meigs
10W Gauge Witthar
44 Leroy Davis
12DJ DJ Banks (R)
02 Chan Raley
45 Shane Johnson (R)
34 Ronnie Johnson
Pure Stock Feature 2 - 25 Laps
41G Christopher Galvin
12S Shawn Sulley
18Y Justin Young
5 David Wilson
12DJ DJ Banks (R)
02 Chan Raley
32 Rick Phillips
1 Derek Spalding
21 Madilyn Lange (R)
99 Dillon Meigs
15 Brenden Knowles
7X Dustin Camp
10W Gauge Witthar (R)
44 Leroy Davis
78 Mark Bremkamp
45 Shane Johnson (R)
34 Ronnie Johnson