Denton Grabs Thursday Thunder Win In Round Two
HAMPTON, Ga. – Getting redemption for his near-miss during the Thursday Thunder opener, Cole Denton raced to the Young Lions class victory Thursday in round two of the mini-series for Legend cars and Bandoleros at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Denton qualified second to round-one winner Aiden King, and quickly settled into the runner-up spot on the initial start. The 13-year-old from Pascagoula, Miss., then bided his time before working past King on lap 11, taking the lead for good following a red-flag period at halfway.
Maintaining a comfortable gap for the second half of the 20-lap feature, Denton eventually took the twin checkers .498 seconds clear of King, with Dylan Bongiovanni, Bryce Sanders, and Lane Christensen closing out the top five.
The victory was Denton’s 15th overall win this year as he chases both a Thursday Thunder title and an INEX Young Lions division national championship.
“After finishing third last week, I really wanted to come out and bounce back strong, because I knew we had a race-winning car with a lot of speed,” said Denton. “The restart after the red flag was exactly what we needed, and the car was super-fast when it mattered.
“It was like flipping a switch; we got better and better and it felt good to finally get my first Thursday Thunder win in a Legend car after being strong in Bandoleros during past summers.”
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.
The next race for the Thursday Thunder mini-series at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be Wednesday, June 19 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.