BOISE, ID (June 20, 2012)- Jonathon Gomez from Buhl, Idaho only races a handful of
CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series races these days as his racing schedule is pretty full competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour full time. But when the opportunity to race at the track where he got his starts comes up, he makes time.
This past Saturday, Gomez showed why is is one of the top racing talents on the West coast as he dominated the 100-lap CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series event at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls, Idaho. Gomez was the fast qualifier claiming his sixth career
Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Award and therefore started at the tail of the field as is customary in the series. By the two-thirds point of the race he had made his way to the front and never looked back.
"We had a great car for the race and it is always fun to race with the RMCS," Gomez said. "I love racing at Magic Valley and to win at home is pretty cool. You have to work pretty hard as a driver in this series and be patient. Once we got to the front it was a matter of holding Jason and Bruce as those guys had fast cars."
Watch local news video recap of the race here. Gomez'
Century Boatland Chevrolet was followed to the line by
Jason Jefferson who made his first start in the series in the Dave Reed Racing/Voli Ford Fusion.
Bruce Quale finished third keeping his streak of the five finishes alive. Quale has finished no worse than fourth this season and his having his best year in the series. "Since Jonathon and Jason are not in this championship I decided to play it safe and not push the issue," Quale said. "On a night like this, a third place finish is like a win."
2010 series champion
Steve Jones rebounded from two consecutive tenth place efforts to finish in fourth place with
Derek Copeland driving a team car to Gomez rounding out the top five in his first career start.
The second five were led by
Thane Alderman who makes the long tow from Las Vegas, NV for each event. Alderman however missed the last race after his transporter broke down midway between Vegas and Salt Lake leaving the team stranded for more than five hours. Once repairs were made, Alderman and his crew were unable to make it to SLC in time for the race.
A-1 Heating and Air Conditioning Rookie-of-the-Year leader
Tyler Bailey had an eventful race. The rookie fought a loose condition all race and spun his Project Filter Chevrolet on two occasions while running among the leaders eventually finishing in the seventh spot. 2007 series champion
John Newhouse made his second start of the season and finished eighth. Newhouse is spearheading his daughter, Hannah, racing efforts this season which will see the 15-year rising star in his RMCS car later this summer.
Title contender and most recent RMCS winner
John Nesmith finished ninth to keep his title hopes alive after five of eleven races with
Jeff Wade making his first start of the season and finishing tenth.
Bruce Quale (919) added to his point lead over Steve Jones (817) who moved back into second place. John Nesmith (815) drops one spot to third with Rookie Tyler Bailey (690) holding onto fourth place over Rick Fowble (623). The next race for the RMCS will be July 7 at Rocky Mountain Raceways outside Salt Lake City, UT. The event will be the third of four races scheduled for the series at the high-banked fast 3/8-mile paved oval. Lynn Hardy and John Nesmith have scored the two victories at RMR this season but look for Steve Jones to return to championship form having claimed four wins at RMR in the past two seasons.
CarbonX, the world leader in fire protective clothing, is in its fifth season as title sponsor of the RMCS. Along with
Century Boatland based in Twin Falls, the two companies provide significant event and series support. Since 1985, Century Boatland has been the Magic Valley headquarters for new and used recreational, pleasure, and fishing boats.
The RMCS utilizes a racing format not found in ANY other regional touring series around the country. The RMCS inverts up to the top 20 from qualifying putting the fast qualifiers at the back to start each race. 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 15th place starting position. To ensure competition, the RMCS pays it purse based on total point accumulation for the event and provides several special performance awards at each race.
The series is supported by a great family of sponsors including: CarbonX, Century Boatland, Project Filter, ESI, A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning, Sharp Powder Coating, Five Star Racing Bodies, Hoosier Racing Tires, Frank's Radios, Performance Solutions, Kidd's Performance and Dyno, Joes Racing Products, PPG Paint, Circle Racing Wheels, and Mike Minegar's Auto Body.
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