Denton Rebounds With Round Five Thursday Thunder Win

Cole Denton in victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Tina Denton photo)

HAMPTON, Ga. – Cole Denton rebounded from a round-four crash to pick up his third Thursday Thunder win of the summer during race five at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Denton, the standout 13-year-old Legend car racer from Pascagoula, Miss., saw his chances a week prior scuttled by a rear wheel and axle failure aboard his familiar City Chevrolet No. 46, which led to a hard crash with another car after he spun out on the backstretch.

This time, there was no such hardship, as he made the winning pass on Ashton Williams following a restart with four laps remaining in the 20-lap Young Lions division feature.

Denton qualified and started second, quickly settling into line after ducking down from the outside groove on the initial green flag, and he’d hold the runner-up position for the first 16 laps before the late yellow.

Getting a chance to pounce, Denton’s power move on the four-to-go restart allowed him to take control of the field in the final laps. He ultimately finished .145-of-a-second clear of his good friend Bryce Sanders.

Williams dropped to third by the checkers, followed by Matthew Laprade, Dylan Bongiovanni, and Lane Christensen.

It marked Denton’s 17th overall feature win of the season as he continues to chase an Atlanta Motor Speedway track championship, Thursday Thunder points title, and an INEX Young Lions national title.

“I’m so proud of our team for just continuing to fight and get better each and every week,” said Denton. “After last week’s crash, we had to rebuild and come back with confidence, knowing that we put in a lot of work to continue running up front like we have over the last few months. We ran second for most of that one, but I was excited to have the late restart and get another winner’s sticker to add to our total.”

Denton would like to thank 77 Speed Shop, Matt Jones Motorsports, Race Face Brand Development, Race Face Digital, the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, Myers Construction Co., and City Chevrolet for their continued partnership and support of his racing efforts.

The next race for the Thursday Thunder mini-series at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be Wednesday, July 3 on the quarter-mile Thunder Ring due to the timing of the Fourth of July holiday.

About Cole Denton Racing

Nicolas “Cole” Denton is a 13-year-old Gulf South racer with dreams of racing at the top level of stock car racing. From Pascagoula, Miss., Denton began racing go-karts at the age of four and advanced into Bandoleros by the time he was eight years old, where his racing brand and nickname were born.

It was in Bandoleros where Denton, a fan of the iconic racing movie Days of Thunder, adopted the No. 46 as his car number and stylized his Bandolero scheme in black and neon green – akin to the same Mello Yello colors that Tom Cruise’s character Cole Trickle campaigned in the 1990 film.

Denton quickly picked up the nickname “Cole Trickle” at his races, and the persona stuck as his racing stock climbed, leading him to continue racing under the name Cole as he advanced and found success.

His breakout season came in 2022, when Denton accrued 40 wins and 59 podium finishes in 62 starts en route to the INEX Bandolero national championship, leading him into his first year in Legend cars last season.

Away from the driver’s seat, Denton is an avid iRacer, cyclist, and push scooter racer. He also practices flying on a flight simulator and attends both local and NASCAR races as his schedule permits.

For more information on Cole Denton, visit his website at https://coledentonracing.com/.