Aug 15, 2023

SRL Southwest Tour Lights Up The Night At CNS

August 12, 2023 (Dacono, CO)

Familiar local drivers from Colorado National Speedway’s weekly series blended with racers from across the country on Saturday, August 12th, 2023, as the SRL Southwest Tour took on CNS regulars for the first time since 2007 – and they certainly didn’t disappoint! Their run was complemented with ground-pounding races from the Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds and Figure 8s, all fan-favorite divisions at our speedway, while the Drift Colorado drivers showed off their dance moves during intermission. Once again, a full house of fans enjoyed incredible racing and affordable fun – but that’s just par for the course at CNS.

SRL SOUTHWEST TOUR

Feature – 150 Laps

A lot can happen in 150 laps, and the SRL Southwest Tour drivers made sure to use every circuit to make things exciting. After qualifying and a pill draw to set the starting lineup, the No. 23 of Dan Holtz led the field to green. The No. 11R of Darren Robertson quickly took second away from the No. 05 of Nick Cooper, but before things could settle out, the No. 3C of Cassidy Hinds spun, causing a caution. Holtz put the No. 23 back to the point on the restart, while second place was hotly contested between the No. 11R of Robertson and the No. 08 of Jace Hansen. Eventually, Hansen’s No. 08 took second and set sights on Holtz’s No. 23. The No. 98 of Blaine Rocha developed a tire rub mid-pack just 10 laps in, but was able to push through and continue racing as the pack shuffled toward the front. Holtz’s No. 23 continued to lead, but found himself under pressure from Hansen’s No. 08. On Lap 27, Hansen’s No. 08 pulled abreast of Holtz’s No. 23, but when the No. 8 of Chris Muhler spun, the yellow waved. That meant the two would restart on the front row, but Holtz was able to keep the No. 23 out front. Behind them, the No. 18 of Eddie Vecchiarelli galloped past the No. 11R of Robertson for fourth, towing the No. 63 of Kole Raz and No. 16G of Jacob Gomes along with him as they sought to close the gap on the front of the field.

Up front, the battle for P1 carried on. After valiantly holding off the No. 08 of Hansen for several laps, eventually, Holtz and the No. 23 fell behind in Turn 4, and the top five strung out single-file behind him. The No. 18 of Vecchiarelli continued his forward charge, settling into the outside line to gain the advantage on the leader as he settled into a comfortable second-place run. Hansen’s No. 08 held down the lead, though, towing the field into a single-file freight train as the top five contenders separated from the rest. By Lap 52, lapped traffic became a factor, allowing Hansen to put some distance between the No. 08 and the No. 18 of Vecchiarelli, while the No. 82 of Michael Scott surged into sixth, putting the No. 98 of Rocha behind him. Side-by-side, the No. 16G of Gomes and the No. 05 of Cooper each vied for fourth, but Cooper was able to hang onto it as Gomes fell into the clutches of Scott’s No. 82. Lapped traffic once again became a factor, tightening that race and allowing the No. 16G of Gomes to pass Cooper’s No. 05 for fourth.

Spears SRL Southwest Tour Halfway Break - Colorado National Speedway

On Lap 68, a competition break was called, allowing crews to attend to the race cars on track for eight minutes. Hansen’s No. 08 started on the outside next to Vecchiarelli’s No. 18, and he held onto the lead on the restart. Just a few laps later, the No. 05 of Cooper and the No. 98 of Rocha made contact, unraveling into a multicar incident that resulted in a red flag for oil cleanup. Hansen’s No. 08 restarted beautifully, leaving Vecchiarelli’s No. 18 to battle with Scott’s No. 82 for second as he took off. Then, the No. 11R of Robertson and the No. 23 of Holtz got into each other and caused another caution, leading to a restart yet again. The No. 82 of Scott fell to second, then to third as he was passed by the No. 63 of Raz. The No. 18 of Vecchiarelli was tagged by the No. 98 of Rocha, sending him spinning. Hansen’s No. 08 lost the lead on the ensuing restart as Raz’s No. 63 took over the lead. The pack jostled behind them, while Hansen’s No. 08 ditched the third-place No. 82 of Scott, dead set on taking the lead back. As Rocha’s No. 98 looked inside Scott’s No. 82 for second, Hansen’s No. 08 worked on Raz’s No. 63 for the lead. The battling pairs closed on each other. Side-by-side for the lead for several laps, eventually, Hansen’s No. 08 edged past Raz’s No. 63, while Scott’s No. 82 finally cleared the No. 98 of Rocha. Scott’s No. 82 shot after Raz’s No. 63, allowing Hansen’s No. 08 to get away once again. Navigating lapped traffic, Scott put the No. 82 right on the No. 08 of Hansen for the top spot, although he fell behind and let Hansen take off again.

On Lap 114, a caution waved, and the following restart put Hansen’s No. 08 back to the point, but not before going three-wide with the No. 82 of Scott and the No. 63 of Raz; Scott fell into second, while Raz ran third. The No. 18 of Vecchiarelli was on the move after his earlier incident, back up to sixth. Then, the No. 98 of Rocha suffered an issue and slowed on the outside, stalling in Turn 1. On the restart, the No. 23 of Holtz and the No. 32 of Brett Yackey got together and collected the No. 25 of Nathan Gasser, causing another caution. Hansen’s No. 08 got out front again, until the No. 3C of Hinds stalled out in Turn 3, throwing another yellow. Three-wide on the restart, Hansen’s No. 08 fought off the No. 16G of Gomes and the No. 63 of Raz to take the lead again. Raz then surged into second, lighting out after Hansen’s No. 08 for the lead. He almost caught him, but Hansen wielded the No. 08 to keep second place behind him. The No. 82 of Scott entered the conversation once again, but Gomes’ No. 16G forced him into the marbles and caused him to lose ground. Raz’s No. 63 went after Hansen’s No. 08 for the lead, but couldn’t catch him as the laps ticked off. Hansen, a local driver and familiar face to fans of CNS, put the No. 08 in Victory Lane, an emotional victory for Hansen in the wake of the loss of his younger brother. Raz’s No. 63 brought it home in second place, followed by the No. 16G of Gomes, the No. 82 of Scott and the No. 24D of Cody Dempster.

Quick Time: No. 63, Kole Raz, 16.000

Feature: No. 08, Jace Hansen

Sunoco Race Fuels Grand American Modifieds

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 52 of Jared Wall led Lap 1, while the No. 49 of Chris Cox nosed to the inside lane and took second away from the No. 8 of Benjamin Stanley in short order and began to pressure for the lead. On Lap 4, he got it, taking the No. 69 of Forest Smith with him, while the field stretched out single-file behind him. Cox’s No. 49 led the rest of the way to the Dash win.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 13S of Jordan Smith barely claimed the Lap 1 lead over the No. 89 of Jacob Smith, until the No. 6 of Scotty Scott took over second place. The No. 51 of Kyle Clegg had to retire due to an issue about halfway through, while the field strung out behind the leader. The No. 13S of Smith was uncontested to the checkered flag.

Feature – 30 Laps

The No. 18 of Ed Vecchiarelli snagged the lead right at the drop of the green flag, putting the No. 13S of Jordan Smith behind him. The No. 51 of Clegg, returned for the Feature, began his charge through the field, putting the No. 6 of Scott behind him as he completed the pass for fourth. Third-place Jacob Smith found his No. 89 victim to Clegg’s No. 51, falling behind as the No. 18 of Vecchiarelli continued to lead the No. 13S of Jordan Smith. The No. 17 of Holly Clark contacted the rear bumper of Scott’s No. 6, allowing the No. 49 of Cox to slip past her into sixth. Lapped traffic impeded the leaders about halfway through the race. Then, on Lap 20, the No. 8 of Stanley blew its engine, laying oil on the track and causing the leaders and several other competitors to spin. They were undamaged, and once the red flag for cleanup was lifted, the No. 89 of Jacob Smith pulled off the track but returned for the restart. Shortly after the restart, another caution was called for a minor incident. On the restart, Clegg’s No. 51 had caught the No. 18 of Vecchiarelli for the lead, putting them side-by-side before Vecchiarelli was able to pull away again for the win.

Quick Time: No. 18 Ed Vecchiarelli, 16.938

Dash: No. 49, Chris Cox

Fast Dash: No. 13S, Jordan Smith

Feature: No. 18, Ed Vecchiarelli

Pueblo Bank & Trust Super Stocks

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. M60 of Morris Christner got loose from the front row on the start, allowing the No. 21 of Chris Nelson to take it three-wide for the lead and capture the top spot. The No. 3 of Mike Cox took second from the No. M60 of Christner halfway through, and then the latter was demoted yet again as the No. 82 of Ian Clark passed him. While Nelson’s No. 21 continued to lead, the No. 82 of Clark and the No. M60 of Christner made contact, but both were able to keep it off the wall and carry on. Nelson’s No. 21 led to the finish line without a challenge.

Fast Dash – 10 Laps

Brent Cave threw the No. 9 ahead of the pack on the green flag, leaving the No. 97 of Kyle Stidham and the No. 23 of Jordan Abeyta to fight for second place. The No. 49 of Chris Cox got beside the No. 97 of Stidham, taking third, while Abeyta’s No. 23 took over the lead. On the last lap, Chris Cox was able to nose the No. 49 beneath the No. 23 of Abeyta, putting the two abreast, but Abeyta was able to hang onto his lead by a half-car-length to take the Fast Dash win.

Feature – 25 Laps

The No. 90 of Alex Rodriguez took the lead right away. Though several spins occurred on the opening laps, Rodriguez’s No. 90 maintained the lead and the race stayed green. Then, the No. 49 of Chris Cox eased his way beneath the No. 97 of Stidham, pulling the No. 23 of Abeyta past to take third. It didn’t take long for Cox’s No. 49 to take the lead away from Rodriguez’s No. 90, while the No. 21 of Nelson tagged the wall and eventually stalled in Turn 2, causing a yellow. The No. 90 of Rodriguez restarted next to the No. 49 of Cox, giving him a shot to defend the lead, but he couldn’t make it stick as the No. 23 of Abeyta tried to take it three wide. The No. 90 of Rodriguez then got loose, allowing the No. 23 of Abeyta to pass and fight for P2. He eventually completed the pass, while Cox extended the lead in the No. 49. Rodriguez’s No. 90 got sideways again, falling back several positions. Abeyta kept his No. 23 right in the tracks of Cox’s No. 49, but got held up by lapped traffic and lost ground. He tried to reel the leader back in, while the No. 97 of Stidham looked past the No. 9 of Cave for third. Abeyta’s No. 23 was fast, but he ran out of laps to take the lead away from Cox’s No. 49 – who won by three car-lengths.

Quick Time: No. 49, Chris Cox, 19.364

Dash: No. 21, Chris Nelson

Fast Dash: No. 23, Jordan Abeyta

Feature: No. 49, Chris Cox

Take 5 Oil Change Figure 8s

Dash – 10 Laps

The No. 13 of Frank Gastineau led early, leaving the No. 50 of Justin McKeachie and the No. 97 of Adam Gastineau to sort out the battle for second place. The No. 50 of McKeachie took second, while Frank Gastineau set the No. 13 ahead of the pack in first. Five laps in, McKeachie put the No. 50 to the point, though the No. 67 of Kaleigh Swenson spun and caused a caution shortly after. The No. 15 of Jereme Wall used the restart to his advantage, taking second, while the No. 13 of Frank Gastineau had to retire with issues. The No. 18 of Dennis Stepanich III nudged into second place, fending off the No. 50 of McKeachie on the way to the checkered flag, while Jereme Wall’s No. 15 took the win.

Feature – 20 Laps

The No. 15 of Wall took the lead on Lap 1, while the No. 50 of McKeachie and the No. 3 of Michael Wolfe Jr. did battle behind him with the No. 71 of Isaac Martinez in the mix. Just six laps in, The X got dicey, forcing the field to dodge one another early on. The No. 15 of Wall continued to lead, but the No. 18 of Stepanich was closing fast. He narrowly dodged the No. 67 of Swenson through The X and continued to seek the No. 15 of Wall. The No. 71 of Martinez and the No. 50 of McKeachie got together while battling, and were sent to the rear on the restart, which was led by the No. 15 of Wall. A multicar incident forced a caution flag shortly after, and the No. 13 of Frank Gastineau ultimately had to retire. Stepanich’s No. 18 still tailed Wall’s No. 15, though the No. 3 of Wolfe became a threat for P2. McKeachie’s No. 50 and Martinez’s No. 71, meanwhile, battled for fourth after coming back through the field. On the last lap, dodging cars headed the other way through The X, the No. 3 of Wolfe made a go at Stepanich’s No. 18 for second, battling side-by-side across the line with the No. 18 of Stepanich nosing just ahead to claim a second-place finish. Wall’s No. 15 earned yet another F8 Feature victory.