DACONO — When the green flag drops for the first race of the season on Saturday at in Dacono, it will be the culmination of an offseason of track improvements for new owners Chad Andersen and Stacy Bivona-Andersen and their staff.
The changes may seem subtle, but they are significant to the fan experience at the NASCAR-sanctioned 3/8-mile asphalt oval.
The brother-sister team bought the track in December 2024 from Jim and Sue Nordhougen, according to CNS promoter Owen Andersen.
On a recent tour of the facilities, Owen Anderson explained that much of the work has been on the facility’s infrastructure. Last year, wooden bleachers were replaced with aluminum stands, for example.
This season, there is an upgraded sound system.
“We built in a network this year, so everything’s connected a lot better. And it all kind of helps with the infrastructure build for being able to put up a Jumbotron next year,” Owen Andersen explained. “The current plan is a 70-foot by 40-foot, so a large Jumbotron. We are working on finding sponsors for that because it’s a big deal.”
The track also added three new track services trucks and a new fire truck this year, while reconditioning their vacuum truck and sweeper.
“We should be much more effective at cleaning the track this year, which is great for the drivers, and then also great for fans, for keeping down the downtime in between crashes or anything like that. We should be able to clean up stuff much faster,” Owen Andersen said.
Brian Rodger, who has been a chaplain at CNS for 19 years through , says he has had good conversations with the Andersens.
“They are focused on safety,” he said, citing the new bleachers for fans and the investment in equipment to help keep the drivers safe.
In addition to cleaning up the track faster, the new owners are trying to get an average of 5,000 hungry and thirsty fans back in their seats faster.
“The biggest complaint we get is about long lines for food and concessions. Well, we don't like seeing that either. And I wait in the same line for food and concessions as the spectators, and I don't like waiting in the line for that long, either,” Owen Andersen said.
CNS has remodeled its concession areas to improve efficiency, and the owners have increased staffing across the facility to help race nights go more smoothly, he said.
“So we've gone through, and we basically made all of our kitchens and our bars much more efficient, so that we can serve lines faster. There's not too much change with food items this year, but there will be some changes with alcohol items. Just having more variety for people to be able to buy.”
New dragstrip for the racing community
Super Late Model driver of Littleton, who has been racing at CNS since 2005, is pleased with all the updates.
“I’m glad they are putting all these efforts into it,” Ray said during practice last Saturday.
Ray said they are fixing things like a speed bump that scraped the underside of cars. “They are listening to us a lot more,” he said of the new owners. “It is awesome that they are putting money into the track.’’
But the biggest change at CNS won’t come into play during the .
CNS is building a one-eighth-mile dragstrip on the east side of the facility. The paved track will also allow the pit area to expand for events on the oval.
“We’re calling it a recreational drag strip. We're not doing classes or divisions or championship nights. We're not NHRA-sanctioned. It's purely recreational. It's come out and have fun with your friends, and it's just easy,” Owen Andersen explained.
The drag strip will be open weekdays when the track isn’t hosting events on the oval. The owners hope that this facility will help make the streets safer, too.
“People can just come out, have fun, we can build a community around it…. Itap just a place that, like me and you, could go and drag race our trucks, and they're not fast, and they're not gonna do anything crazy, but it's still one of those fun things that you don't have to do it on the street anymore, and it allows us to try to help combat the street racing problem in Colorado.”
Even the oval drivers are on board with the drag strip concept.
“The drag strip was brilliant. The sport is so expensive, it is a good entry point,” Chris Saykally, who has raced Legends for eight seasons at CNS, said. Saykally’s company, AC Transmission Total Car Care, sponsors the Legends division at CNS.
“The drag strip will bring more people who like cars,” Ray said.
Even long-time chaplain Rodgers is excited by the move.
“They are looking to reach another crowd and make the streets safer,” he said.
In addition to the drag strip, the Andersens want to make the track a year-round facility.
“The plan is to eventually get to a point that the facility is full year-round,” Owen Andersen said. Events like Christmas light shows are on the table for the future.
But Saturday, the focus will be on the Builders Warehouse event as CNS opens its 60th season.
is the Andersen family business based in Kearney, Neb. They also have a location in Aurora.
“So everything here on the 3/8 will look exactly the same. On Saturday nights, the drag strip will not be open, and it'll just be pit parking,” Owen Andersen said. “We prioritize what happens on the 3/8 over anything on the drag strip.”
Big season on tap
The CARS Tour West, owned by Tim Huddleston and retired NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, is a series that brings national drivers to tracks in the western United States. There will be 23 drivers from Colorado, plus competitors from Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina and Wyoming racing in the Super Late Model division, Builder’s Warehouse 150. Saturday’s program also features Pro Trucks, Late Models and Circle Drags.
Harvick’s 13-year-old son Keelan will be racing in the Super Late Model event on Saturday.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the t will be featured on May 23, and the track will have a Salute to Service Night on May 24. Those are two of CNS’s seven fireworks nights this season.
“We have some really big names in ARCA this year, and we actually have our , Eric Rhead. He is racing in ARCA this year, as well,” Owen Andersen said.
The CARS Tour will return on Aug. 1 with the Pro Late Models Presented by Outlaw 1859 Vodka. Other big events on the calendar are Monster Trucks on June 21 and the Gilpin & Lodge Casino Sprint Car Spectacular on July 3 and 4.
“We also got chosen to be the finale for ,” Owen Andersen said of a new event debuting in 2026.
Race for the Million features the richest purse in winged pavement sprint car history with $1 million in prize money to be paid out over a four-race series with events in Michigan, Florida and Colorado. The finale is on Aug. 22 at CNS.
“So, it's a million dollars to win, a $250,000 check given to the winner of all four races, and we are the finale. And that'll be in August, so that one's a really cool one to have out here,” Owen Andersen said.
The checkered flag drops on regular Saturday night racing on Oct. 3.
