You don’t have to travel to Richmond, Va., or Bristol, Tenn., to enjoy terrific short-track stock car racing under the lights.
Front Range fans can head to Colorado National Speedway, a NASCAR-sanctioned paved oval 28 miles north of downtown Denver.
CNS has been hosting Saturday night vroom-vroom parties for 42 years, including the past 15 under the NASCAR umbrella. The late model division, which runs cars similar to Nextel Cup or the Busch Series, is the premier attraction.
Arvada’s Jerry Robertson won last year’s track title and also captured one of eight NASCAR regional championships. His second consecutive regional crown marked the fifth time in the past eight years a CNS driver has captured the title. It paid $45,000 and helped Robertson gear up for a part-time Busch schedule this year. Robertson has qualified for five Busch races and has made $73,815.
Robertson no longer competes at CNS, but the only NASCAR-sanctioned track in Colorado still has plenty of stars. Previous track and regional champions Bruce Yackey of Greeley and Roger Avants of Littleton are second and third in the current standings.
Weekly CNS shows begin at 6 p.m., but gates open at 3 p.m. to fans who want to watch qualifying. Late models are supported by at least four developmental divisions, and between trophy dashes, B-mains and features, a typical night includes as many as 12 races.
“You’ll see between 150 and 175 laps per night in a regular event, and up to 300 laps on a special night,” said second-year track owner Doug Greer.
Regular admission is $13 for adults and $5 for children. Pit passes are an additional $6 for NASCAR members and $11 for nonmembers. Children younger than 14 are not allowed in the pits.
Greer said average attendance this year is about 8,400. The facility seats 15,000.
“We’re having an absolutely wonderful year,” Greer said. “Car counts are up. Attendance is up. We’re just having a great year.”
Fast facts about Colorado National Speedway
History: Renegade Promotions is the sixth ownership group of a facility that has hosted dirt and paved races since 1964. Original owner Gene Hefley built a half-mile, high-banked dirt oval on the property in 1964 to cater to the Front Range’s sprint car and midget racers. George Butland and Larry Dechant bought the track in 1972 and added a 1-mile dirt oval that shared the half-mile’s frontstretch. Only two races were held on the big track before the owners became overwhelmed with maintenance problems. Butland, who became sole owner in 1974, sold the track to veteran racer Jim Opperman in 1988 and immediately paved the facility into its current three-eighths-mile and figure-eight configuration. In 1990, NASCAR began sanctioning the track, allowing drivers to compete for regional and national honors. Subsequent owners Marshall Chesrown (1992-98) and David Gamel (1998-2003) made substantial improvements, and Chesrown became a founding track owner of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Gamel followed Chesrown in luring regional NASCAR circuits that still make annual or biannual stops.
Top division: Late models
Support divisions: Pro trucks, GA modifieds, sportsman, figure-eights, super stocks, legends, trains, midgets
Premier event: Challenge Cup (Sept. 17)
Former stars: Rick Carelli and Jerry Robertson (late models), Chris Leaf (pro trucks and GA modifieds), Daren Gailey (sportsman) and Henry Rogers (super stock)
Current stars: Roger Avants and Bruce Yackey (late models), John Luck (pro trucks), Joel Hansen (GA modifieds), Lance Proctor (figure-eights)
Best quality: Draws the best NASCAR racers in the Rocky Mountain region.
Drawback: Inclement spring weather.
How to get there: From downtown Denver take Interstate 25 north to the Erie exit, 232, and go north on the east frontage road a half-mile. The track is a quarter-mile east of I-25.
More information: 303-665-4173 or www.coloradospeedway.com
Third in a series
There’s nothing like a trip to the track for motorsports fans, and The Denver Post is happy to take you there with fast facts, a story and photographs to help bring the experience home for the final part of a three-part series on Denver metro-area tracks.
Today’s stop: Colorado National Speedway
Previous stops: Rocky Mountain National Speedway and Bandimere Speedway
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
