News and Notes Colorado National Speedway “Salted Metals 150”
Event: The “Salted Metals 150” for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series will be Event #6 of the nine-race series schedule. It will take place on August 12th at Colorado National Speedway (CO) and pay $10,000 to the winner thanks to the Winner’s Bonus from PFC Brakes. Thanks to David Nava Mulcahy and Salted Metals, $500 will be awarded to the Fast Qualifier, Halfway Leader, Longest Tow, and Hard Charger. $1,500 will be paid to start, for those travelling over 500 miles, and on the Spears Manufacturing Frequent Flyer Program.
History: This will be the first trip to Colorado National Speedway (CNS) for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series since 2007, when Cris Muhler beat M.K. Kanke, Darren Bucklen, Dan Holtz, and Steve Belletto to the finish line. The first NASCAR Southwest Tour Series event at CNS was held in 1992 with Rick Carelli winning over Ron Hornaday Jr. A total of 21 Southwest Tour races have been held at the 3/8-mile asphalt oval. Two-time winners include Carelli, Auggie Vidovich, and M.K. Kanke. Single wins have gone to Doug George, Dale Williams, Mark Reed, Chris Raudman, Steve Portenga, Doug McCoun, Bruce Yackey, Jerry Robertson, Josh Vadnais, Eric Holmes, and Muhler.
Elder Memories: Lee Elder was the NASCAR Southwest Tour Series Media Coordinator from 1994 to 2000, as well as an award-winning author. Elder was present for 10 of those events at Colorado National Speedway and recalls the series exploits at the 3/8-mile multi-groove track.
“I believe we were at Colorado National when Lance Hooper established the Tour record with four consecutive poles. This was during his championship season in 1995. Lance didn’t win the race that night. Rick Carelli won it. I also remember the CNS surface dried faster than any racing surface I can remember. One night in 2000, we got beyond halfway before a rainstorm came through. The weather experts at the airport told us to expect the rain to continue, so we ended the race. The rain stopped a few minutes later, and the track was dry a short time after that, but the race had already been ended.”
“The other thing I remember is how good the competition was at CNS. The Tour races always drew the teams from the old Inter-Mountain Series and those cars were fast.”
Championship: Jacob Gomes (890 points) leads the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series championship standings by a comfortable 110 point margin over John Moore (780). Leading Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Dylan Zampa (728) sits third in the standings followed by Cale Kanke (699) and rookie Nick Cooper (691). Austin Herzog (680), Dan Holtz (646), Andy Allen (640), Scott Sanchez (610) and Buddy Shepherd (507) round out the top-10. Zampa, Cooper, and Herzog lead the Rookie-of-the-Year standings.
Previous Starters: Darren Robertson, Bruce Yackey, Chris Eggleston, Cris Muhler, and Dan Holtz, are the only entered drivers, who participated with the Southwest Tour Series at CNS in 2007. Both Eggleston and Holtz led laps in the 2007 race, but came up short in the end, to winner Cris Muhler. Bruce Yackey won the NASCAR Southwest Tour Series race in 1999.
SRL Winners: Previous Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series winning drivers, entered for this weekend’s “Salted Metals 150”, include Jacob Gomes (16 wins), Jace Hansen (1), Dan Holtz (1), Dylan Zampa (1), Cris Muhler (1), Preston Peltier (2), and Blaine Rocha (2).
Colorado Winners: Nick Cooper, Jace Hansen, Darren Robertson, Bruce Yackey, Eddie Vecchiarelli, Chris Eggleston, Cody Dempster, Brett Yackey, Kody Vanderwal, Cris Muhler, Kyle Ray, Preston Peltier, and Michael Scott all have Super Late Model victories at Colorado National Speedway. Each are entered for this weekend’s event.
Strong Field: 29 Super Late Models are currently entered for this weekend’s action. There are five drivers with Late Model Touring Series Titles. Those include Jacob Gomes, Preston Peltier, Chris Eggleston, John Moore, and Cole Moore. 13 drivers have touring series Super Late Model wins.
Legend’s Son: M.K. Kanke was a two-time NASCAR Southwest Tour Series winner at CNS, as well as a winner in the Colorado Challenge Cup. He finished second when the SRL visited in 2007. This weekend, his son Cale will jump behind the wheel looking for his first SRL victory. He has three runner-up finishes in his last seven series starts and hopes his father’s experience at the 3/8-mile asphalt oval will propel him to Victory Lane.
“My Dad has been teaching me from the start”, Cale stated. “We work together. We have race talks each race to get better at the next one. We are excited for this next challenge. For my part, I am going to work on myself a bit to be meticulous with the line and figure out what areas of the track you can use and manipulate to race well. I think if we can systematically adjust the car, and capitalize on the characteristics of the track, we should gain some speed and put ourselves in a good position for a solid run.”
Redemption: Dan Holtz is one of only eight drivers to score victories with both the Spears SRL Southwest Tour and the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour series. Holtz almost grabbed a win in 2007, battling back and forth with Cris Muhler. But a late race tire leak ended his chances with a fourth-place finish. He will be looking for redemption this weekend.
“I ended up on the front row racing door to door on the outside for probably over 20 laps, with only a few inches between me and Muhler”, Holtz recalled the late race battle for the lead. “It was an incredible memory, and I almost won the race, but I had a right rear tire going down with about 10 laps to go, so I ended up in fourth place. There is no doubt that I have some unfinished business there, and I can’t wait to get back on that racetrack and get the job done.”
“The Race” Winner: Chris Eggleston has won plenty of big races in his career including a “Colorado Challenge Cup” win at CNS in 2011. That same season he grabbed a $75,000 win in “The Race” at North Wilkesboro Speedway (NC). He has yet to garner an SRL win, however, despite leading laps in the 2007 event. He was close that day, but a late race restart ended his shot at victory. Despite the outcome, Eggleston is excited to have the SRL return.
“I’m pretty excited”, Eggleston described his feelings about the SRL’s return for the first time in 16 years. “I remember that race vividly, as I was new to Super Late Model racing. For whatever reason, our car was hooked up on American Racer’s, and I thought we were going to win that race in front a of an electric hometown crowd. That was until M.K. (Kanke) drove over us on a restart with a handful of laps left. I remember the crowd, including my team and I, were pretty upset that night.”
Home Turf: Another Colorado based driver, that is excited for the series return, is three-time Super Late Model track champion Darren Roberton. Robertson began the season, looking to chase the SRL championship. But financial issues ended their run for Rookie-of-the-Year after Round #3. But Robertson is pleased to have the series visit his home track, after winning the last time the Super Late Models competed at CNS. He is hopeful to grab a victory, while taking on a talented field.
“I am excited for the SRL to come back to Colorado. I feel that Colorado puts on a great show for the fans that pack it in the stands”, Robertson stated. “I think we have a really good chance to bring home the win at our home track. I also know that it will not be an easy task. The SRL regulars are always fast when they come into town, and we also have a really talented competitive group that races regularly out here also. My dad (Jerry) has had success in finding Victory Lane a couple of different times when the “Tour” came into town, and I hope to add my name to the list on August 12th.”
KDDP in the House: Two former champions of the Kulwicki Driver Development Program will be entered in this weekend’s “Salted Metals 150”. 2022 and 2018 champions Dylan Zampa and Brett Yackey will compete against each other for the second time in 2023 SRL competition. Zampa leads the SRL Rookie-of-the-Year standings, while Yackey is the current championship leader at CNS. The Irwindale Speedway (CA) winner from May is excited to take on a fellow champion and grab a top-three finish in a brand new Super Late Model.
“I feel like going up against another KDDP champion is very cool”, Zampa expressed. “I’m hoping TR (Tom Roberts) will make it out to watch the race, and hopefully see two champs battle for the win. My goals for this race are to obviously go and try to win, but we also have a new car, so a top-three would be amazing. We also hope to get good notes for the next race. It’s going to be a hard race to win, with all the local drivers and regular SRL drivers. But I’m ready and my team is ready to take on the challenge in Colorado!”
KDDP Continued: Brett Yackey is also looking forward to this weekend’s action. After a less than stellar debut with the series at Tucson Speedway (AZ), Yackey is confident they will run well this weekend.
“We made our SRL debut in Tucson, and I’m not sure we could have been any worse”, Yackey recalled. “With that being said, I think we will be a good competitor at CNS. Our team and cars have come a long way since that trip to Tucson, and I’m really looking forward to racing with some of the best in the country.”
Hot, Hot, Hot: Kole Raz had been looking for his first big Super Late Model victory for multiple seasons. The 2021 SRL Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up has knocked on the door of Victory Lane multiple times, with a half-dozen runner-up finishes. But last August he scored a “South Sound 200” win. His last three starts have yielded wins in the “Summer Showdown 150” at Evergreen Speedway (WA), a “Mark Galloway 75” win at Evergreen and a “Wenatchee 200” victory at the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval (WA). A $10,000 win in the “Salted Metals 150” would be the icing on the cake.
“It would be huge to finally end up in the Winner’s Circle with Spears SRL Southwest Tour”, Raz exclaimed! “We have been trying at it for so long, and I have had chances to get there, we just haven’t been able to complete it yet. It would be an incredible feeling for our group of guys to get it done.”
Raz continued, “I’ve only been to Colorado once as a spectator in 2015, while my brother was running the K&N Series at the time. Everything I’ve watched and have heard about CNS has been positive. It seems to be a great facility that provides the opportunity for us racers to put on a great showing for the fans. They have a lot of local talent there, and then alongside that, you have a great group of touring teams that will be tough to beat.”
Parity: 13 regular teams from the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series will compete against 16 Super Late Model teams from Colorado National Speedway. Both groups will be well represented this weekend.
Broadcast: The “Salted Metals 150” will be shown “LIVE” on Spears Racing.TV with a subscription. It will be shown on a delayed basis on MAVTV.
Schedule: The SRL will be joined by the local Super Stocks, Figure 8’s, and Grand American Modifieds. Qualifying is scheduled from 5:20 PM to 6:20 PM CST. Opening Ceremonies are set for 6:25 PM with Dashes for the local divisions at 6:30 PM. Intermission is scheduled for 7:30 PM with a Drifter Demo. Feature events are scheduled to begin at 7:40 PM for the Super Stocks (25 laps), Figure 8’s (20 laps), Grand American Modifieds (30 laps), at Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series (150 laps).
Pre-Entry List (08/09/2023):
3C Cassidy Hinds, Arvada, CO*
05 Nick Cooper, Severance, CO*
08 Jace Hansen, Greely, CO
8 Cris Muhler, Erie, CO
11R Darren Robertson, Arvada, CO
11H Austin Herzog, Clovis, CA*
12 Bruce Yackey, Greeley, CO
16G Jacob Gomes, Manteca, CA
16M Steve Mills, Colorado Springs, CO
17 Zach Telford, Middleton, ID
18 Eddie Vecchiarelli, Brighton, CO
22E Chris Eggleston, Erie, CO
23 Dan Holtz, Pacific Palisades, CA
24D Cody Dempster, Parker, CO*
24S Scott Sanchez, Bakersfield, CA
25 Nathan Gasser, Thornton, CO
27M John Moore, Granite Bay, CA
29 Dylan Zampa, Napa, CA*
32 Brett Yackey, Greeley, CO
33 Cale Kanke, Frazier Park, CA
43 Kody Vanderwal, LaSalle, CO
48 Preston Peltier, Brighton, CO
58 Kyle Ray, Littleton, CO
63 Kole Raz, Lake Oswego, OR
82 Michael Scott, Hillside WY
84 Mark Zwingelberg, Aurora, CO
89 Zach Morris, Greenwood Village, CO*
98 Blaine Rocha, Oakdale, CA
99 Cole Moore, Granite Bay, CA
Story: K. Peters
Pic: Joe Starr Photography
