Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Steve Jones Leads RMCS Back Into Action in 2011

BOISE, IDAHO (January 25, 2011) The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is set to open its eighth season in 2011 featuring nine events at four very different facilities in the region. Defending champion Steve Jones of Boise, ID will lead a veteran core of drivers while welcoming in some new faces to the popular Late Model touring series.




The season will get started at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls, Idaho with a 75-lap contest on Saturday, April 23. Last season, local standout and RMCS regular Bruce Quale captured his first career win to open the 2010 campaign. In 26 previous races at MVS there have been 15 different winners led by Bobby Latham III(4), John Dillon (3), Dave Minegar (3), James Eaton (2), Bryan Warf (2), Tom Hill (2), and John Newhouse (2). Eight other drivers have scored one win at the one-third mile bank oval.



Dave Minegar (#9) holds the track record at MVS with a quick lap of 14.216 seconds with eleven of his series leading 23 career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards coming at MVS. John Dillon is the only repeat winner in the past eight races at MVS picking up three victories.



The RMCS will return to MVS on June 11 and wrap up the season on September 10. Quale, Dillon, and Jonathon Gomez all picked up wins at MVS last season.



From the tight and tricky Magic Valley Speedway, the RMCS shifts gears and heads to Salt Lake City for the first of four races at the lightning fast 3/8-mile paved oval of Rocky Mountain Raceways on May 7. Last season, Jones scored his first two career series victories at RMR en route to the title.



The RMCS teams will return to RMR for the annual Memorial Day clash Monday, May 30. Jones is also the defending race winner. Local standout and 2010 A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning Rookie-of-the-Year Eric Rhead picked up two victories at RMR last season as he closed the year with a fifth place final points finish.



RMR will host two more events on July 9 and on August 20. In 23 events at RMR, Jimmy Eaton has four victories to lead all competitors. Two-time series champion Zan Sharp has three trips to victory lane with Minegar, Lynn Hardy, Dillon, Jones, and Rhead all scoring two wins. Six other drivers have scored victories as well. Brian Levant from Calgary, Canada is the track record holder with a lap of 14.906 seconds set last season.



A single visit to Meridian (ID) Speedway June 25 marks the middle of the season and a 125-lap contest. Last season both Brett Thompson and Las Vegas, Nevada’s Thane Alderman scored wins at the newly repaved ¼-mile historic oval. In nine previous RMCS races at Meridian Speedway there have been nine different winners. Dave Minegar holds the track record at Meridian with a lap of 13.145 seconds while Dillon is the only repeat fast time winner with three quick trips.



A special two-day event at Stateline Stadium Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho highlights the 2011 schedule. August 6-7 is the prestigious Idaho 200 and this season will feature the RMCS for the event on Sunday afternoon. Heat races and trophy dashes along with qualifying will take place on Saturday.



This is the fourth year the RMCS has anchored the weekend but the first time the series headlines the Sunday race collecting season championship points. Jonathon Gomez is the track record holder at Stateline with a 13.466 second lap around the wide quarter mile oval. In three previous trips to Stateline there have been three different RMCS winners. Last Season, Zan Sharp returned to victory lane in the RMCS race on Saturday and John Dillon collected the win in the Idaho 200 on Sunday.



The RMCS utilizes a racing format not found in ANY other regional touring series around the country. The top 20 qualifiers are inverted for every race putting fast time in the 20th starting position. This format ensures race fans see what they paid for and that is passing. Each driver is awarded three points per position gained in the event. Points are also awarded for qualifying and heat race finishes. Through the history of the series, the winning driver has averaged a 14th place starting position. To ensure competition, the RMCS pays its race purse based on total point accumulation for the event and provides several special performance awards for each event.



In the series record books you will find two two-time series champions in Zan Sharp (04, 05) and Dave Minegar (06, 08). John Newhouse, John Dillon, and Steve Jones are the other series titlists. Dave Minegar holds the qualifying mark with 23 career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards along with six series victories. Eaton, Sharp, and Dillon also have six wins.



John Newhouse has logged more laps completed with over 5500 laps and joins Minegar with most career starts at 59. Craig Bell holds the career mark with most top five finishes at 33 while Newhouse has 47 career top ten finishes in 59 starts.



The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is a regional touring series that allows all competitors to race and gain experience on different types of racetracks. It is a high-quality professional racing series that offers maximum opportunity at an affordable price serving the intermountain West. The motto of the series is to “Race Hard and Have Fun!” For all the latest news and information regarding the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series log on to our website at www.rmcsracing.com .


Date Venue Laps

Saturday, April 23 Magic Valley Speedway (Twin Falls, ID) 75

Saturday, May 7 Rocky Mtn. Raceways (SLC, UT) 75

Monday, May 30 Rocky Mtn. Raceways (SLC, UT) 125

Saturday, June 11 Magic Valley Speedway (Twin Falls, ID) 100

Saturday, June 25 Meridian Speedway (Meridian, ID) 125

Saturday, July 9 Rocky Mtn. Raceways (SLC, UT) 100

Saturday, Aug 6 Stateline Speedway (Post Falls, ID) Qual/Heats

Sunday, Aug 7 Stateline Speedway (Post Falls, ID) 200

Saturday, Aug 20 Rocky Mtn. Raceways (SLC, UT) 125

Saturday, Sept 10 Magic Valley Speeedway (Twin Falls, ID) 125

Thank you for your interest and continued support of the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series. We hope you enjoy our regular news releases and can make it out to the track this season. See you at the races!



~Mike Minegar, President RMCS

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