Thursday Thunder Win Among Mixed Fortunes For Denton

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

HAMPTON, Ga. – An up-and-down doubleheader of Thursday Thunder competition was highlighted by a win for Cole Denton during round three of the eight-race miniseries for Legend cars and Bandoleros.

Denton, who is also chasing the INEX Young Lions national championship, qualified on the pole for both the June 19 and June 20 features and dominated Wednesday night’s 20-lap Young Lions class feature.

In that race, he led from start to finish, pacing all 20 laps and besting runner-up Lane Christensen by .977-of-a-second at the checkers. Jack Lamarre, Bryce Sanders, and Austin Warner closed the top five.

Thursday’s race started out in a similar fashion, as Denton jumped out to the early lead and held the top spot for the first nine laps. However, a mid-race mechanical failure caused the left-rear wheel and rear axle to fully detach from his City Chevrolet-sponsored No. 46, leading to a spin off of the second corner.

Denton managed to keep the car clean, but was hit by 11th-running Warner as the remainder of the field zoomed past, causing enough damage that the 13-year-old from Pascagoula, Miss., could not continue.

The damage to Cole Denton's No. 46 from Thursday's Atlanta Motor Speedway crash. (Race Face Brand Development photo)

He was scored 12th in the Thursday results, but Denton still maintains the lead in the Thursday Thunder Young Lions point standings, the Atlanta Motor Speedway track point standings, the Cordele (Ga.) Motor Speedway track point standings, and is ranked first in the INEX Young Lions national championship chase.

Denton owns 16 overall feature victories this season and is brimming with confidence despite Thursday night’s premature end to another potential win.

“Wednesday was a great night for us, being able to start out front and stay there for a second straight Thursday Thunder win,” said Denton. “We started off strong Thursday and felt like everything was in place to do the same, but the rear-axle failure we had took us out of contention. I had the car saved from hitting the wall, but it was unfortunate that

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 Thursday, June 27 on the quarter-mile Thunder Ring.

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/.