(08-19-2017 Dacono CO) A packed house at Colorado National Speedway were treated to an exciting night of Open Wheel racing as the Royal Purple King of the Wing Sprint Cars made their first appearance in Colorado. Jason Conn from Prince George British Columbia dominated the sprint car field taking the lead on lap four and leading the remainder of the race. In the Grand American Modifieds Chad Guilford picked up his first win while Adam Deines took his third straight Mod Coupe feature win.
Royal Purple King of the Wing Sprint Cars
It was the first ever appearance of the Royal Purple King of the Wing Sprint Cars at Colorado National Speedway and they didn’t disappoint thrilling the fans with their raw power and speed. This traveling series features drivers from all over the United States as well as Canada. The King of the Wing pavement Sprint cars are some of the fastest in the world utilizing all-aluminum block 410 & 360 cubic inch alcohol breathing motors which means… these things are fast. Really fast.
Davey Hamilton Jr. flexes his muscles early winning the second heat (Starr photo)
It was evident after qualifying and the three heat races that four cars were going to be the ones to beat. #8 Tristan Spiers, #45 Davey Hamilton Jr., and 25j Johnny Giesler all won in their heats while #88 Jason Conn just barely missed cracking the 13 second barrier at CNS setting quick time with a 14.013.
King of the Wing Sprint Cars take the green flag (Starr photo)
At the start of the feature #3 AJ Russell took the early lead with #2 Austin Carter close behind. But it was the #88 of Jason who came roaring up from his 6th place starting spot to take the lead on lap 4.
Conn would never look back building a large lead and ultimately taking the checkered flag. In the final stages of the race the fastest car on the track might have been the 25j of Johnny Giesler yet he was unable to mount a charge to catch and pass Conn for the win.
Jason Conn on route to the feature win in the King of the Wing Sprint Cars (Starr photo)
Davey Hamilton Jr. in the #45 struggled to get to the front early and therefore had to settle for a third place finish. Heat race one winner #8 Tristan Spiers came across the line fourth while #2 Austin Carter was 5th. The only local driver in the field was Darren Crocker in the #78 sprinter who struggled in his heat but had a great run in the feature taking the 6th position.
Darren Crocker from Colorado finished 6th in the King of the Wing Sprint Car feature (Starr photo)
The packed house at CNS roared in appreciation for the daring drivers and cheered at the possibility the King of the Wing could return in 2018 for a two-night show.
Jason Conn in winner’s circle (Starr photo)
FEATURE: #88 Jason Conn DASH 1: #8 Tristan Spiers DASH 2: #45 Davey Hamilton Jr. DASH 3: 25j Johnny Giesler QUICK TIME: #88 Jason Conn 14.013
SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds
So far in 2017 no driver NOT named Vecchiarelli has ended the night in winner’s circle in the SUNOCO Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds. Both Ed Sr. and his son Eddie Vecchiarelli have dominated the division winning every event this year. However that all changed Saturday night as #24 Chad Guilford from Highlands Ranch Colorado led every lap of the 30 lap feature and took home his first ever Grand American Modified feature win.
It was by no means an easy win for Chad as he battled #13 Darin Clark early in the race and then received challenges from both Vecciarellis. Eddie Vecchiarelli in the #48 car tried to make a low groove pass in turn 3 but made contact and had a tire go flat sending himself to the pits for new rubber. A similar situation happened to Ed Vecchiarelli Sr. as he tried to make a 3-wide pass for the lead going low in turn two but minor contact sent the #18 car spinning down the back straight.
Ed Vecchiarelli in the 18 car spins after making a 3-wide attempt for the lead (Starr photo)
Finally Guilford received a late race challenge from #44s Clint Schubert but Guilford held strong and crossed the line for his first win. Schubert finished an impressive second and #8 Dan Alamaa was third.
Chad Guilford celebrates his first ever GAM feature win (Starr photo)
Galitz Trucking Mod Coupes
The Mod Coupes prepare to take the green flag (Starr photo)
The struggling Mod Coupe division experienced a bit of a resurgence this past week as some rule changes brought out 14 Mod Coupes and put on an exciting night of racing for the fans. It wasn’t just that the field doubled in size but also some of the names that were competing: Chris Eggleston, Jeff Walbaum, Matt Burton, all had Mod Coupe rides for the night adding to the excitement of the race.
When the 30 lap feature went green #5 Jason Bunt grabbed command of the race leaving #55 Gary Land to battle with #3 Adam Deines for second place.
A restart for #34 Randy Whitman breaking on the back-straight allowed Adam Deines to get by Bunt for the lead and #95 Cris Muhler jumped into second place. Lap after lap Muhler began to catch Deines for the lead and eventually pulled up along side of the #3 car. Deines and Muhler began to battle for the top position thrilling the full house at CNS. Muhler appeared to have to best line on the inside and started to edge out in front. However coming out of turn four Muhler drifted high and his right rear bumped into the left front of Deines who was as high on the track as he could possibly be giving plenty of room to the #95 car. The contact sent Muhler spinning down the front straightaway and into the infield.
With Muhler losing several positions Deines cruised to his third straight win in the Mod Coupe division. #98 Frank Denning III from Arvada made a late race move to grab a second place finish and #5 Jason Bunt from Littleton settled for third place. #55 Gary Land was fourth and #45 Carl Vair from Golden was fifth.
Adam Deines all alone out front (Starr photo)
Legend Cars
30 Legend cars lineup for their feature event (Starr photo)
It seems like forever since someone other than #66 Kyle Clegg, #22 Chris Eggleston, or #15 Danny Medina has won a Legend Car feature at CNS but that almost changed when youngster Cody Dempster in the #48 car jumped out to an early lead. Not only did Dempster lead the entire first half of the race but was building a lead on the field.
#48 Cody Dempster leads the first half of the Legends feature (Starr photo)
Behind Dempster, Eggleston and Clegg were putting on the their usually display of driving skills as Clegg dove under Eggleston in turn one only to have Chris go “outside-inside” and regain the spot coming out of turn two.
Unfortunately for Dempster the race went under caution when 1w Jereme Wall and #23 Austyn Radosta tangled coming out of turn 4. This allowed the field to bunch up for a double-file restart.
On the restart Clegg pulled a really slick move on Eggleston who was running second as well as race leader Dempster all at the same time. As Clegg went from third to first Eggleston also snuck by Dempster to take over second position.
Once out front Clegg never looked back taking home the victory in the 30 lap, 30 car feature event. Eggleston took second and Dempster settled for third. #6 Scotty Scott was fourth and #15 Danny Medina was 5th.
Kyle Clegg salutes the packed house at CNS after winning the Legends feature (Starr photo)
OFFICIAL RESULTS
King of the Wing Sprint Cars Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 88 Jason Conn 2. 25J Johnny Geisler 3. 45 Davey Hamilton Jr 4. 8 Tristan Spires 5. 2 Austin Carter 6. 78 Darren Crocker 7. 51 Adian Spires 8. 68 Mike Anderson 9. 98 Ken Hamilton 10. 11 Tom Paterson 11. 3F AJ Russell 12. 71 Corey Lockwood 13. 12 Aaron McPeak 14. 68L Stacy Jensen 15. 7v Tommy Harrod 16. 9 Denny Burrell
Grand American Modifieds Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 24 Chad Guilford Highlands Ranch 2. 44s Clint Schubert Calhan 3. 8 Dan Alamaa* CO Springs 4. 13 Darin Clark Cheyenne 5. 18 Ed Vecchiarelli Brighton 6. 25 Dan Jagoditsh Cheyenne 7. 85 Donald Cole (R) Dacono 8. 99 Kyle Rayburn Pueblo West 9. 1J Luke Johnson 10. 48 Eddie Vecchiarelli Brighton 11. 51 Joe Mares Jr Aurora 12. 43 Mathew Pierce (R) Plattville
Mod Coupe Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 3d Adam Deines Longmont 2. 98 Frank Denning III Arvada 3. 5 Jason Bunt* Littleton 4. 55 Gary Land 5. 45 Carl Vair Golden 6. 90w Jeff Walbaum 7. 48 Michael Cox Englewood 8. 95 Cris Muhler 9. 21 Matt Burton 10. 51 Chris Eggleston 11. 20 David Schmidt Westminster 12. 44x Frank Denning 13. 15 Edric Sanchez (R)* Denver 14. 34 Randy Whitman Ft Collins
Legend Cars Pos No. Name Hometown 1. 66 Kyle Clegg Westminster 2. 22 Chris Eggleston Thornton 3. 48 Cody Dempster Parker 4. 6 Scotty Scott Arvada 5. 15 Danny Medina Colorado Springs 6. 30 Darrell J Stewart Arvada 7. 05 Nick Cooper Loveland 8. 25 Adam Pechman Morrison 9. 3 Wayne Barlock Jr Evans 10. 46 Zach Witherwax Arvada 11. 32 Blair Cooper Pueblo 12. 51 AJ Canda Castle Rock 13. 03 Darrell L Stewart Arvada 14. 16 Travis Roe Thronton 15. 13 Jason Hulvey Thornton 16. 26 Chris Brunker Lakewood 17. 20 Kynzer Riddell* Westminster 18. 19 Larry Pachello Arvada 19. 2w Jared Wall 20. 88 Paul Himler Erie 21. 29 Matt Brunker 22. 34 Al Matthews Frederick 23. 9 Terry McBride Edgewater 24. 08k Krystal Faulkingham Cheyenne 25. 27 Ray Oakley (R) Pine 26. 33 Dean Kallas Golden 27. 23 Austyn Radosta Pueblo 28. 1w Jereme Wall Commerce City 29. 62 Roy Dunlap (R) Cheyenne 30. 41 Gregory Lee Broomfield
