July 6, 2024 ~ Dacono, CO
Once a year, Colorado National Speedway is overrun by winged Sprint Cars, the fastest machines to hit our track. The Sprints made a triumphant return to CNS for the first of two nights on July 6th, 2024, accompanied by full fields of Figure 8 and Grand American Modified racers. A completely sold-out house of fans rocked the grandstands as our drivers did what they do best, putting on a hell of a show – where else can you get four hours of affordable nonstop action and entertainment? We even sent our fans off with a fantastic fireworks show and had the crowd hollering during our Circle Drags, cheering on spectators and their daily drivers in a series of one-lap heats with a Subaru WRX emerging as the fastest street car of them all. (One driver unfortunately slapped the wall with his daily driver, but the fans ate it up.) Now, let’s revisit what happened on Saturday night at CNS.
CNS Winged Sprint Cars
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
At the drop of the green, the Sprints got right to it, going side-by-side for the lead. The No. 14W of Aaron Willison had to give up the fight as the back end of his race car bobbed dangerously heading into Turn 1, falling to second behind the No. 22A of Bobby Santos. Santos took over the race from there, putting almost a whole straightaway between himself and Willison. Even as he wove through slower traffic on his way to the checkered flag, Santos never surrendered his lead while the No. 14 of Davey Hamilton Jr. and the No. 33J of Jeff Montgomery duked it out for third place. Santos shot under the checkered flag first, tailed by Willison and Montgomery, respectively.
Dash – 15 Laps
The blisteringly fast Sprints hit the track running, each vying for a transfer spot to the main event. No. 02, driven by Hunter Stanley, surged to the lead and immediately began to distance the field, while the No. 86 of James Dutton tried to track him down from P2. Before Stanley could catch the tail end of the field, the No. 15L of Josh Lewis slowed and stalled out in the Turn 2 pit entrance, prompting a yellow flag. The double-file restart should have neutralized the field, but Stanley went right back to the point, leaving Dutton to fight for second place with the No. 1 of Natalie Waters close behind. The real fight began for P2 as Waters cut the distance on Dutton, looking to the inside but backing out as Dutton sliced down in front of her. Lap after lap, she looked for a way around, getting a little bit of the gutter in Turn 3 as she finally made the pass. Up front, Stanley deftly navigated slower traffic at the tail end of the field as he continued to pace the field right to the checkered flag to win. On the last lap, No. 3, driven by Mel Andrus, began to smoke, slicking up the track before slowing in T2, going up in flames. Thankfully, he was able to exit his race car as safety crews quickly responded to the incident and extinguished the race car.
The following racers secured a spot in the Feature after the Dash for the chance to compete for the $10,000 top prize:
· No. 02, Hunter Stanley
· No. 1, Natalie Waters
· No. 68, Mike Anderson
· No. 86, James Dutton
· No. 7D, Randy Dubois
· No. 55, Gary Land
· No. 25, Arie Luvendyk
· No. 6R, Ryan Land
· No. 36, Jarrett Burdett
· No. 50, Duane Zeinstra
· No. 22, DJ Lyons
· No. 27, Mike Hathaway
Feature – 40 Laps
Tearing down the track for their Feature, engines snarling at the prospect of $10,000 on the line, the Sprints flashed under the green flag for their first Feature race of the weekend. The No. 91, piloted by Bryan Warf, slingshot into first place, laying down some real estate as the No. 22A of Santos and the No. 14W of Willison rubbed tires and bounced apart on the backstretch. The No. 14 of Davey Hamilton Jr. galloped to the inside of the No. 6G of Brian Gossel, pulling Santos along with him, and drew a bead on Warf. Flinging his race car around the track, Hamilton tried to duck inside Warf, but had to back off the throttle as Warf slammed the door on him. Just five laps in, No. 06 Adam Hilton spun out and got stuck in the infield, triggering a caution.
The green flag saw Warf return to the race lead, followed hotly by Hamilton, but Santos was hungry as well and closed on the back end of Hamilton in no time at all. In just a few blistering laps, Santos had Hamilton in the rearview, taking away with P2 and making a show out of tracking down Warf for the lead. Santos swung to the outside, searching for any grip he could get as Warf threw sparks on the inside. Santos finally caught him in Turn 4, executed the pass, and almost immediately became mired in lapped traffic, picking them off one by one as he put a safe distance down.
Halfway through, cars were spread out around every corner of the track, light glancing off the wings of the race cars as they battled their way toward the front for the grand prize, but nobody could hold a candle to Santos. As Hamilton faded, Willison forced his way into the conversation for P2. Willison hung onto Hamilton’s tail tank, swinging three-wide with a lapped car to snatch second place and leaving Hamilton to outrun Warf for P3. Willison used up every line he could trying to reel Santos in while dodging lapped traffic. The back end of his race car stepped out slightly as he got within a few car lengths of Santos. If there had been a few more laps, Willison might’ve had a shot, but nobody had anything for that blacked-out No. 22A machine of Santos, who flashed across the finish line without breaking a sweat, followed by Willison and Hamilton rounding out the podium.
Quick Time: No. 22A, Bobby Santos, 13.358 seconds
Fast Dash: No. 22A, Bobby Santos
Dash: No. 02, Hunter Stanley
Feature: No. 22A, Bobby Santos
Sunoco Race Fuel Grand American Modifieds
Fast Dash – 10 Laps
After a beautiful start, No. 51 of Kyle Clegg took command of the race. The pack ran two-by-two behind him as he got away cleanly with the race lead – until Lap 4, when the No. 9 driven by CJ Wilson got loose and spun out after contact from the No. 24 of Nathan Gasser, collecting several cars in Turn 2. The No. 2 of Steve Rodenbaugh took heavy damage and needed a hook, while the No. 68 of Jason Hulvey got away with light damage to his nose. The race went green, but it didn’t last long as Hulvey contacted the No. 32 of Cody Milan, sending him around in Turn 2. After a brief caution, the race went green and stayed that way, returning Clegg to the lead as Ryan Jones’ No. 21 took over second place and Scotty Scott’s No. 6 slid into third. Clegg dominated the pack and put six car-lengths down before he crossed the line securely in first place.
Dash – 10 Laps
The No. 55 of Damian Lockhart lunged across the line first, but No. 22, Travis Rudolph powered on the outside, looking to steal the lead away for the first lap – and he did so, just barely. Lockhart gave him a run for his money on the next turn, but Rudolph had the better run on the outside and finally snaked his way into first with Lockhart right on his quarter panel. They crossed the line like that until Rudolph finally got Lockhart in the rearview. The field strung out behind them while the No. 89 of Jacob Smith tried to take it two-wide for second, but backed out and fell into third place. Out front, the battle for the top spot continued as Rudolph tried to put down some distance, unable to shake Lockhart, who rallied back on the inside, pulling alongside him. Rudolph checked up, surrendering the lead to Lockhart and plummeting to fourth. Finally in command, Lockhart threw his race car across the line in first after the brutal fight for the win, tailed by Jacob Smith.
Feature – 30 Laps
Twenty-three GAM entries followed the No. 13s Jordan Smith and the No. 3 of Jeremiah Hill across the line for their Feature race. Clark led the first lap while Hill faded fast, falling behind CJ Wilson’s No. 9, Jones’ No. 21, and Gasser’s No. 24. Clegg, meanwhile, charged into fifth place and pulled Scott along with him on the outside lane. Jones and Gasser completed the pass on Wilson, putting him further back. The No. 52 of Jared Wall suffered a mechanical failure and pulled to the infield, clearing the racing surface as Jones leaned on Smith for the lead. Battling for second, Jones and Gasser had to split a lapped car, briefly going three-wide as Jones rocketed into the lead. Clark, out of the top spot, fell off abruptly, passed by Gasser and Clegg as the top three settled into an uneasy nose-to-tail formation. Jones managed to get away and clear Gasser by a few car-lengths as the field settled into a single file line.
Lapped traffic became an issue for the leaders, and the No. 8 of Benjamin Stanely spun out right in front of the leaders but managed to wheel out of the way. Clegg looked inside Gasser for second place, snagging the spot in Turn 1, and the frontrunners continued to deal with slower traffic at the tail end of the field. Clegg lined up a shot at Jones with Gasser lurking behind, waiting for his chance. Then, with one lap left, Clegg made a run on Jones but lost the back end of his race car, stepping out enough to scrub off speed. Behind them, the No. 98 of Todd Glace washed up in Turn 1 and slapped the wall, setting the stage for a green-white-checker shootout. On the restart, Jones couldn’t quite get his race car under him, causing the No. 08 of Jace Hansen to spin out, and Scott also went around. Another yellow flag lined Clegg and Jones back up on the front row.
Quick Time: No. 21, Ryan Jones, 16.976 seconds
Fast Dash: No. 51, Kyle Clegg
Dash: No. 55, Damian Lockhart
Feature: No. 21 Ryan Jones
Exhaust Pros Northglenn Figure 8s
Dash – 10 Laps
The No. 18 of Dennis Stepanich emerged as the early leader, tailed by the No. 3 of Michael Wolfe Jr., who settled into second place and stalked him. Wolfe found himself under fire from the No. 15, points leader Jereme Wall, who closed on him from P3. Wall tried to pass on the inside but had to slow heading into The X, gathering his race car back up for another shot at Stepanich, running abreast of Wolfe while he was at it. A tire issue sidelined the No. 74 of Sam Faus, who slowed at the pit entrance, triggering a caution. The green flew with eight laps left, putting Stepanich back to the point as he tried to fend off Wolfe and Wall. Travis Sanders, driving the No. 08, started at the back but had already raced to mid-pack, picking his way around the slower cars in front of him. Up front, Wall finally tracked down Stepanich and shot past him for the lead, settling into first place in Turn. Wolfe fell to third, wearing out Stepanich’s rear bumper before pulling alongside him. With three to go, slower traffic became a hazard in The X. However, when a wreck unfolded, it wasn’t at the crossroads – until a caution waved as several cars piled up in a corner, with the No. 67 of Kylan Swenson spewing fluids on the track. After a thorough cleanup, the race went green, and Stepanich resumed his quest to track down Wall. He fell short, and nothing – not even X traffic – would stand in Wall’s way as he captured the win.
Feature – 20 Laps
The No. 08 of Sanders went right to work the second the green flag dropped, taking over the race lead as he fended off Wolfe and Wall. Wolfe and Jereme Wall just about wore each other out, going side-by-side; Wall got the position and set out after Sanders. As the tail end of the field slowed, the intersection got dangerous as Sanders dodged the slower car and still managed to hold off Jereme Wall. Under serious pressure from Jereme Wall now, Sanders sent it hard into The X, almost taking out the tire marker and getting loose. Despite the drama, Sanders managed to chase Jereme Wall up the track – until he couldn’t, swerving as he lost speed and gave up the lead to the No. 15 machine. Sanders plummeted and fell into the clutches of Wolfe and the hard-charging No. 52 of Jared Wall in P4. Then, Sanders and several others were held up behind a lapped car, bunching them up as they tried to swerve around slower traffic and keep heading in the right direction.
Jereme Wall continued to lead, swerving through The X as his brother, Jared Wall, held down P2 by a wide margin. With a lapped car safely between him and his brother, Jereme Wall maintained the lead, making a daring dodge through the crossroads as he held down the front of the field. The next time he shot through The X, he let the back end of his race car hang out, giving the crowd a show as he swerved to avoid slower traffic. Then, the No. 8 of Cassidy Creekmore got into Wolfe, spinning him out before spiraling out herself. Wolfe was given his spot back in concordance with the last completed lap, gathering the field back up for a restart with four laps left. When the green fell, Jared and Jereme Wall went at it for the lead. Jereme Wall proved to have the faster car of the two, at least for a few laps until Jared Wall shot to the outside in the X, looking to the inside. He had to back off and fell in behind Jereme Wall, taking the white flag in the runner-up position. Desperate, Jared Wall made one last attempt on the outside but couldn’t make it stick, following Jereme Wall across the line. Stepanich and Sanders, meanwhile, raced bodily for fourth place, with Sanders able to keep the spot at the line, tailing Wolfe, who took third place.
Quick Time: No. 15, Jereme Wall, 27.149 seconds
Dash: No. 15, Jereme Wall
Feature: No. 15, Jereme Wall
There’s nothing we love more than seeing our grandstands full of fans for a special event. We appreciate all the fans, employees, partners, and racers who made the first half of our 4th of July Sprint Car event a completely sold-out show and can’t wait to see y’all next time for even more insane entertainment!
If you missed any of the action from Saturday Night, check out the entire replay on Low Budget TV by clicking here.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Sprint Cars - 40 Laps
22A Bobby Santos - Fishers, IN
14W Aaron Willison - Duncan, BC CAN
14 Davey Hamilton Jr - Lutz, FL
91 Bryan Warf - Kuna, ID
33J Jeff Montgomery - Malahat, BC CAN
15 Eric Humphries - Chowcilla, CA
16G Austyn Gossel - Windsor, CO
02 Hunter Stanley - Twin Falls, ID
6G Bryan Gossel - Windsor, CO
12B Monty Bergener - Saratoga Springs, UT
25 Arie Luyendyk Jr - Scottsdale, AZ
36 Jarett Burdett - West Jordan, UT
7D Randy Dubois - Bellevue, WA
55 Gary Land - Littleton, CO
16 Rob Grice - Nampa, ID
OH6 Adam Hilton - Brighton, CO
68 Mike Anderson - Nampa, ID
27 Mike Hathaway - Falcon, CO
22 DJ Lyons - Nampa, ID
86 James Dutton - Lutz, FL
6R Ryan Land - Lakewood, CO
1 Natalie Waters - Grantsville, UT
8A Anthony Offutt - Portland, OR
50 Duane Zeinstra - Black Creek, BC CAN
Grand American Modifieds - 30 Laps
21 Ryan Jones (R)
51 Kyle Clegg
24 Nathan Gasser
13S Jordan Smith
68 Jason Hulvey (R)
32 Cody Milan (R)
9 CJ Wilson
89 Jacob Smith
69 Forest Smith
3 Jeremiah Hill
22 Travis Rudolph
13 Darin Clark
2 Steve Rodenbaugh
55 Damian Lockhart
7 David Robinson
8 Benjamin Stanley
34 Luke Davis (R)
08 Jace Hansen
6 Scotty Scott
98 Todd Glace (R)
66 John Seely
88 Paul Himler
52 Jared Wall
Figure 8 - 20 Laps
15 Jereme Wall
52 Jared Wall
3 Michael Wolfe Jr
18 Dennis Stepanich
64 Michael Kephart
71 Isaac Martinez
38 Javon Barnard (R)
6C Cody Palmore
74 Sam Faus
8 Cassidy Creekmore DQ 08 Travis Sanders DNS 67 Kylan Swenson
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