In a race that only saw two cautions, it was smooth sailing for Bob Bruncati Racing as Derek Thorn led a one-two-three finish in Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series West NAPA Auto Parts 175 at Colorado National Speedway.
“Colorado National has been good to us,” Thorn said. “To have the Sunrise Fords one-two-three tonight, I think that’s a first for us, just really proud of (Ryan) Partridge and (Trevor) Huddleston and all the guys at the shop who work really hard for this.
“To be able to win in front of this full crowd really means a lot.”
Thorn’s No. 6 Ford crossed the line 2.752 seconds ahead of Partridge’s nearly identical No. 9 Ford.
It was the second straight race Thorn and Partridge finished 1-2, following Partridge’s win at California’s Orange Show Speedway last month. Huddleston scored his best finish in his sixth career start.
Derek Kraus won the pole earlier in the evening Saturday, and jumped out to the early lead over Thorn and Cole Rouse.
After several lead changes in the early going, Partridge charged to the front after starting seventh. Partridge would lead the field into the first caution of the night at lap 88 for the competition yellow.
“It was an interesting start because we didn’t plan to go so hard at the beginning, our car was rolling the bottom really well and other cars started to move to the top really early so I figured if we could pick off some spots without hurting our stuff it would be worth it,” said Partridge. “The track cooled down and I think we probably under-adjusted for that which hurt us late.”
The drama came on lap 88 when the entire field came down pit road under the competition yellow except for Devin Dodson who gambled for the lead. The move didn’t play out in his favor however, as Partridge regained the lead on the restart.
The winning move came on lap 136 when Thorn made a move to the inside of Partridge for the lead. The 2013 series champion wouldn’t look back on route to his first win of the 2018 season.
The win also moved Thorn into the top spot in the series standings as he now sits two points ahead of Partridge.
“We are going to enjoy the moment, it’s a long year in the K&N series. You gotta take every race one race at a time because you never know what’s going to happen. Hopefully we’re there at the end of the year for a championship,” Thorn said on returning to victory lane.
Bill McAnally teammates Kraus and Hailie Deegan rounded out the top five.
Cole Rouse, Kody Vanderwal, Matt Levin, Dodson and Vanessa Robinson rounded out the top ten.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West returns to action on Saturday, June 23 for the running of the Carneros 200 at California’s Sonoma Raceway.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
Colorado National Speedway – Erie, CO
NAPA Auto Parts 175 – June 9, 2018
1. Derek Thorn
2. Ryan Partridge
3. Trevor Huddleston
4. Derek Kraus
5. Hailie Deegan
6. Cole Rouse
7. Kody Vanderwal
8. Matt Kevin
9. Devin Dodson
10. Vanessa Robinson
11. Rudy Vanderwal
12. Todd Souza
13. John Wood
14. Takuma Koga
15. Cassie Gannis
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