TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- Tom Hill of Eagle, Idaho captured his first career NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series victory Saturday at Magic Valley Speedway by edging 2005 Rookie-of-the-Year John Newhouse by 100 of a second at the finish line. Hometown hero Bruce Quale finished third with two-time series champion Zan Sharp coming home fourth, while Chris Ratterree rounding out the top five finishers.
Former NASCAR Northwest Series champion John Dillon put down the fastest lap in qualifying and scored his third career series Pole Award. Brandon Riehl made the long tow to Twin Falls and posted the second best time with Sharp, Bryan Warf, and James Eaton rounding out the top five qualifiers for the 75-lap feature event.
New to the racing format this year for the RMCS is the inclusion of heat races for all events under 100 laps. Clint Eames, James Eaton, and Dave Minegar all claimed victories in the 12-lap sprints.
The NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series inverts the full field for all of their races putting fast qualifier Dillon at the rear and Chris Ratterree at the point to start the race. Ratterree was making his first start in the series after spending the last several years as car chief and fabricator for Dillon Racing.
Ratterree had a fast car despite his poor qualifying effort and quickly set a torrid pace leading the first half of the race with Minegar and Hill in tow. Ratterree survived three early cautions for spins to keep his ESI sponsored Chevrolet at the point but lost lead after contact in turn one when he and Minegar tried to occupy the same piece of real estate. The contact on lap 45 saw both front runners spin and collect championship hopeful James Eaton.
All three cars were able to continue but had to drop to the back of the field for the restart. Tom Hill assumed the lead and paced the field for the final thirty circuits despite a determined challenge from John Newhouse. Newhouse tried every which way from Sunday to get around Hill but Hill slammed the door at each attempt.
While Hill had his hands full of Newhouse, Bruce Quale quietly drove a deliberate race in his fourth start in the series. The former Magic Valley Speedway champion has his sights set on a championship run this season in the NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series and knows that he has to finish and finish consistently in order to contend.
"We had a good run and the car was fantastic," Quale said. "I enjoy racing and I love racing at Magic Valley. To finish up front tonight is a big momentum boost for our season."
Continuing to show why he is a two-time champion of the series, Zan Sharp used patience to make his way to the front to score is 18th top-five finish with a fourth place effort. "It was the first race of the year so we were all trying to sort our cars out," Sharp said. "We aim to win each time out but when you can finish in the top five after starting out back you know you have had a good night."
Ratterree, Eaton and Minegar all made their way back into the top ten by the time Hill crossed the finish line giving them all a little redemption after a tough night of racing contact.
Hill claimed his first victory in his 23rd start. "I have worked for a long-time to get to victory lane," Hill said. "Over the final laps all I could think about is last year when Zan (Sharp) got around me on the last lap at Meridian. I was determined to not make the same mistake. John (Newhouse) drove me clean and I thank him for that. This is just a great feeling and I couldn't be happier to share this win with may dad and the whole team."
Finishing second may be disappointing but still satisfying for Newhouse. " I knew I had a faster car than Tom," Newhouse said. "But as the saying goes, being faster and passing someone is a different story. I was not going to root him to get the win and my hats off to Tom as he drove a great race."
Sharp left Magic Valley Speedway with the point lead as the NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series awards passing points based on original starting position for each competitor. Even though Sharp has the point lead it will not last long as he intends on running only a partial schedule while he focuses on a full assault on the Northwest Series.
The other big winner of the evening were the loyal fans of Magic Valley Speedway. 2006 Promoter of the Year Steve York continues to make MVS the destination for racing action in the region. York and his faithful staff and sponsored had new lighting installed over the winter giving the race track and extremely bright future.
The next event for the NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is Saturday, May 6 at Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City, Utah. For all the latest news and information regarding the NAPA Auto Parts Rocky Mountain Challenge Series please log onto www.rockymountainchallengeseries.com
Official Finish of the NAPA Auto Parts "75" Magic Valley Speedway Twin Falls, Idaho Saturday, April 15, 2006
Finish/Start/Driver/Laps/Status
1. (3) Tom Hill, 75, Running
2. (8) John Newhouse, 75, Running
3. (6) Bruce Quale, 75, Running
4. (14) Zan Sharp, 75, Running
5. (1) Chris Ratterree, 75, Running
6. (12) James Eaton, 75, Running
7. (2) Dave Minegar, 75, Running
8. (16) John Dillon, 75, Running
9. (5) Chad Cannon, 75, Running
10. (9) Joe Miller, 75, Running
11. (13) Bryan Warf, 75, Running
12. (7) Dennis Wurtz Jr., 75, Running
13. (4) John Wood, 75, Running
14. (17) Scott Walker, 75, Running
15. (18) Chris Schrade, 74, Running
16. (19) Bryan Wordelman, 74, Running
17. (11) Eddy McKean, 73, Running
18. (10) Clint Eames, 49, Suspension
19. (15) Brandon Riehl, 1, Clutch
Top Five Point Standings as of April 15, 2006
1. Zan Sharp, 187
2. John Newhouse, 181
3. Tom Hill, 168
4. James Eaton, 167
5. Bruce Quale, 165
