Colorado National Speedway is hoping the weather cooperates Saturday, enabling it to stage its second race of the season, and first with its top division.
Three consecutive rainouts have postponed the beginning of the late-models campaign.
“The forecast is good, and we’re planning on having a big crowd,” track operator Scott Backman said. “We’re anxious to get going.”
Veteran Bruce Yackey, the three-time defending division champion, will again race a full schedule this year. Despite winning just one race last year, Yackey captured his sixth late-models track title on the strength of a series-best 15 top-five finishes. Runner-up Cris Muhler won a series-high five races, and Ronnie Hults and Darren Robertson each had three.
Saturday’s “Mother’s Day Night at the Races” features super stocks, figure eights and legends. Racing begins at 6 p.m.
Backman noted one major change to the track. The former private-party hospitality area behind Turn 2 has been turned into a beer garden. Drivers will sign autographs after the evening’s final race.
Mourning young driver.
CNS and other tracks along the Front Range are mourning the loss of legends racer Garrett O’Neil, who died last week from head injuries suffered in a bicycle accident in Colorado Springs. He was 14 and a freshman at Doherty High School.
“He was a good kid. Stayed out of trouble and was a good racer,” Backman said. “It’s a big loss. Very sad.”
Backman said O’Neil was a CNS rookie last year and had obtained NASCAR’s new learner’s permit that enables drivers between the ages of 14 and 16 to race in NASCAR-sanctioned divisions such as late models, pro trucks and GA modifieds.
Services for O’Neil were held Tuesday.
New car.
Furniture Row Racing driver Regan Smith will enter this weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway with a newly built car from the Richard Childress Racing stables.
Denver-based Furniture Row continues to lean on its North Carolina-based alliances, including using engines from Hendrick Motorsports.
“Anytime you get to drive a new car built by the RCR people, you have to feel upbeat,” Smith said in a statement. “And right now, we’re looking at this new Furniture Row Chevrolet to deliver a strong performance in Darlington.”
Smith will make his third career Cup start at Darlington, his second with Furniture Row. He finished 21st last year and 29th in 2008 with his previous team.
After 10 races, Smith is 33rd in the standings, 136 points ahead of No. 35 David Gilliland. Only the top-35 drivers are guaranteed starting positions in each point race the rest of the season.
Smith’s best finish was 14th at Atlanta in March.
