BOISE, Idaho — In racing, there are moments that define a driver, a team, and a series. This past weekend, the BodyBuilding.Com/Minegar Racing may have defined their season with driver Craig Bell putting his hat into the ring for the 2009 CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series championship while teammate and two-time series champion Dave Minegar suffered a serious blow to his title hopes.
July 3rd the RMCS rolled into Twin Falls for the Pepsi “125” Independence Day event and first of two races to be staged over the weekend. Both Minegar and Bell were optimistic about the series first ever double header weekend. And why not, both drivers have had a good deal of success in the series. Friday night Minegar qualified second quick while Bell posted the fifth best qualifying time around the 1/3-mile paved oval of Magic Valley Speedway setting them up for a good point’s night.
MVS has given Minegar fits in the past and on this night was no different. After starting 16th, the two-time champion could only register a 7th place finish but the finish was enough to take over the series point lead heading into race number two at Meridian (ID) Speedway; the track where his career started.
Meanwhile, Bell had a more challenging race finishing 12th after 125 laps. While both drivers were not at all satisfied with their respective finishes, they were both excited about the to move on to Meridian Speedway and take a shot at improving their fortunes in front of their hometown fans, sponsors, and family.
Meridian Speedway is a tight and tricky quarter mile paved oval and the Bell family has been an institution at historic racing facility since the 1960’s. Craig Bell has won a lot of races and a handful of championships following in his father’s (Dale) footsteps. Meanwhile, Minegar grew up at Meridian Speedway in the stands, in the pits, and on the track eventually winning championships of his own.
Both drivers had a great deal of optimism about the July 4th event and why not, they both know the place like the back of their hand. But the celebration was not to be for Minegar as a hard crash during his heat race destroyed his racecar. Even though several teams offered him a backup car, the team opted to sit the race out and support Bell’s efforts for the evening.
Bell on the other hand, qualified 7th for the bottle rocket “150” event which put him in the perfect position to compete for the win. In a race that was slowed by only two cautions, the leaders set a torrid pace leaving on seven drivers on the lead lap at the conclusion of the race. Fortunately Bell was one of them as he scored a fifth place finish.
Bell, by virtue of his weekend performances maintains the third position in the overall standing after four races, just 92 points behind leader John Dillon and remains in contention for the title. Minegar though falls from first to sixth in the standings after the weekend delivering a blow to claiming his third series championship.
Minegar Racing is sponsored by BodyBuilding.com, Redline, Ultimate Nutrition, Supreme Nutrition, Muscletech, Sci Fit, Gaspari Nutrition, A-1 Heating and Air Conditioning, and Dillon Auto Craft. Both Minegar and Bell are in their sixth season in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series. Dave Minegar is a two-time series champion (06, 08) and Craig Bell has three career series victories. The next event for BodyBuilding.Com/Minegar Racing is Saturday, July 18 at Rocky Mountain Raceways located outside Salt Lake city, Utah. For the latest news about the series log onto to www.rmcsracing.com and please visit www.bodybuilding.com for all of your exercise and nutrition needs.
About Minegar Racing
Minegar Racing is a first-class two car race team featuring drivers Dave Minegar and Craig Bell. The team is owned by Pat Minegar and is based in Boise, Idaho. The team competes in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, an intermountain west based stock car series that competes primarily in Idaho and Utah. Minegar Racing has competed on the RMCS for six seasons and has won two series championships, scored nine wins, claimed 22 fast time awards, completed over 8,585 laps in competition, and has 50 top five and 76 top ten finishes along with numerous track records.
About BodyBuilding.Com
Bodybuilding.com is the world's most visited bodybuilding website for sports nutrition products to customers around the world. Bodybuilding.com boasts impressive numbers and ranking with these achievements:
• Most Visited Bodybuilding And Fitness Site In The World
• #1 Sports Nutrition E-Retailer
• 2-Time Inc. 500 Company 2005-2006
• Ranked Number 1391 On Alexa's Most Visited Web Sites
• 200,000+ Unique Daily Visitors
• One of America's Top 500 E-Retailers, and;
• One of the Top 75 Companies of the Idaho Private 75
