Idaho Competitor Balances Family, Business, and Racing

TWIN FALLS, IDAHO (September 9, 2011) Jonathon Gomez, driver of the Heritage Cattle Co./Century Boatland Chevrolet, had hoped his return to the driver's seat this past weekend as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series at Spokane (WA) County Raceway would land him in victory lane. For much of the night it appeared that he would contend for the win but that all changed on lap 177 when he spun in turn two derailing his effort.




Gomez qualified third in the 22-car field despite not being in the seat since June as he opted to sit out several races and concentrate on new business ventures that took much of his time.



He showed little signs of rust as he unloaded fast and laid down one of his best qualifying laps of his brief NASCAR career. The Spokane "200" was broken up into two 100-lap segments so the plan was pretty simple. Run competitive and stay in the top five over the first 100-laps. Check.



Make the necessary adjustments during the break to propel the team to the end. Check. Be running in the top five with 25-laps to go. Check.



On lap 177 of the schedule 200, Gomez was engaged in a battle for position with Luis Martinez and Micheal Self and as the trio exited turn two Gomez found himself spinning. He was able to gather the car back up and continue but the spin dropped him from contention where he eventually finished in the eighth position.



While the finish was not what he envisioned, he gave plenty back to the fans who came out to cheer. Gomez spent considerable time in the stands prior to the race signing autographs and greeting all the fans in attendance.



Gomez will be back in action this weekend when the he returns to the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series which will stage their season finale at Magic Valley Speedway Saturday night. Gomez captured the victory in this race last season after setting fast time and starting at the back of the 100-lap race. It was Gomez' first series victory and he is seeking the exact same result this time out.



Fans can come out to meet Jonathon Gomez tonight at the Applebee's restaurant on Blue Lakes in Twin Falls starting at around 5pm. Enjoy dinner and a cold beverage and get your picture taken with one of the young rising stars in NASCAR.



Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. Jonathon Gomez is the 2010 SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Champion. Gomez is also a winner on the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series and in the Mustang Challenge Series at Miller Motorsports Park. Gomez has 25 career NASCAR K7N Pro Series starts with five top five and 11 top ten performance with a career best finish of second. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at http://jonathongomez.com or NASCAR Hometracks.