MERIDIAN, Idaho — John Dillon comes home to Meridian Speedway nearing the end of a standout 30-year career. But the former NASCAR Northwest Series champion still has his gaze fixed sharply upon a championship as he leads the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series 2009 standings with two races left.
Dillon and some of the most talented Late Model racers in the Intermountain West visit the ASA-sanctioned quarter-mile Saturday for the Gem State 100 -- the final RMCS Treasure Valley stop for 2009. The 46-year-old Eagle, Idaho, resident finds himself in the middle of a championship chase with 13-time NASCAR Northwest winner Jeff Jefferson of Naches, Wash. The men are separated by just 39 points with two races left in the season.
"The points battle is at the forefront," series owner and Boise businessman Mike Minegar said. "You've got an old warrior in John Dillon who grew up at Meridian Speedway. He's literally trying to call his career a career."
There's no certain end date for Dillon's racing days, and judging from the way he has acquitted himself lately in the Rocky Mountain series (he was runner-up to series champ Dave Minegar last year), one would suspect he still has many laps left in him. Dillon definitely is finding fuel from his duel with familiar foe Jefferson, the NAPA Auto Parts/City of Meridian Bottle Rocket 150 winner July 4 at Meridian who is driving for car owner Tom Hill of Eagle amd has locked horns with Dillon on the NASCAR circuit.
The way Mike Minegar talks about Jefferson's emergence and the pursuit by hard-charging John Newhouse of Twin Falls, Idaho (third in the points; 2007 series champion; 2005 RMCS rookie of the year) makes Saturday night a must-see ticket for local race fans.
"This guy's (Dillon) been racing 30 years, and he's close to a championship," Minegar said. "The points are so tight that any mistake could put someone out of it, and then you have John Newhouse, another former champion, very close to giving these guys fits."
Dillon, a 14-time winner on the NASCAR Northwest tour, picked up the ninth RMCS win of his career last week at Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley, Utah, edging Newhouse by just .011 seconds after 125 laps of racing.
Minegar said the series is seeing some of the best racing in its six years of existence because some of the best minds in race car preparation are lending their talent to championship chases by guys like Dillon and Newhouse. Talent like 2001 NASCAR Southwest Series champion Craig Raudman of California and well-known car fabricator Mike Leary from Denver, who helps both Dillon and Newhouse with their shock packages.
"It's the kind of a dynamic where we're seeing a little more influx of talent in the series and those guys are bringing the (setup) guys with the talent," Minegar said. "We're bringing in the best package in our region, and you've got warriors, man. You've got guys that have far surpassed the local level of racing."
And they'll be in Meridian Saturday.
Tickets for the Gem State 100, second and final RMCS Meridian stop of 2009, are $15 for adults, $12.50 for senior citizens and military personnel carrying ID and $11 for children ages 7-11. Children 6 and younger get in free. Fans can avoid the long lines expected Saturday by buying advance tickets at NAPA Auto Parts stores in Meridian and Kuna.
The gates open at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5 p.m. and racing at 6:30 p.m.
Other classes on the race card include the popular Non-Winged Sprints, Street Stocks, Legends and Hornets.
For more information on Meridian Speedway, call 888-2813 or log on to www.meridianspeedway.com.
Dillon is just one of several Treasure Valley racers who are battling in the RMCS this season.
Kuna, Idaho's Craig Bell finished fourth last week in Utah and is fourth in the overall standings. Nampa, Idaho, teenager Dylan Caldwell -- a series rookie -- also is hanging around in seventh place.
On the local scene, Meridian's Johnny Giesler, paces a young, talented field of Non-Winged Sprintcar drivers chasing glory at the speedway this year. He leads fellow Meridian racer Wyatt King by 97 points.
Kuna's Jaramie Fuss sets his sights on his fifth Street Stocks feature victory of the year Saturday. He remains out in front in the series standings with a 112-point lead over Nampa veteran Marv Weaver.
Travis Anderson of Boise is threatening to walk away from the Legends field as he goes in search of his third consecutive main event victory in the motorcycle engine-powered class.
Vern Cornish of Nampa leads Boise's Mike Davis by 25 points in the Hornets class, but the racers have proven anything can happen in that division this season.
There were some changes in the points chases of some divisions that competed last week.
Tom Hill of Eagle led a drastic standings shakeup after last week's twin 50-lap features for the ASA Modifieds. Hill shot to the lead as Boise's Rus Ward suffered hard luck and slid from the penthouse to fourth place in the standings.
Joe Barton clings to a three-point lead in the Late Model Lites, with hard-charging Shaun Tubbs, who like Barton is from Nampa, crowding his bumper after a main event and heat race win last week.
Chase Gilbertson put himself in excellent position to challenge Domino's Pizza Bandoleros points leader Andrew Clark with a strong showing last weekend. Clark owns the top spot by just three points.
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 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 for the event.
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 Web site at www.rmcsracing.com.
As an American Speed Association-sanctioned track, Meridian Speedway is part of the ASA Member Track National Championship for the Modified division.
The goal of the ASA Short Track National Championship is to activate a measuring system that takes into account many variables, such as field size, inversion, wins and number of races in a season, and create a level playing field to determine who is the ‘best-of-the-best’ of the ASA Member Track Champions Nationwide.
The ASA Joe Gibbs Driven National Member Track Champion Award was designed to give the National Champion exposure with one of the top teams in racing — Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Driven Oil, a division of Joe Gibbs Racing, sells the actual oil products developed and used by Joe Gibbs Racing to racers at all levels. More information can be found at www.joegibbsdriven.com.
The ASA Member Track program is comprised of a network of short tracks around the United States, as well as a variety of regional and national touring series. For news and information from all the racetracks and tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
Rocky Mountain Challenge Series
2009 points standings
(Through eight races)
1. John Dillon, Eagle, ID, 1,292 points; 2. Jeff Jefferson, Yakima, Wash., 1,253; 3. John Newhouse, Twin Falls, ID, 1,180; 4. Craig Bell, Kuna, ID, 1,126; 5. Jonathon Gomez, Twin Falls, ID, 1,068
Meridian Speedway
Meridian, ID
2009 points standings
(Through Aug. 22 races)
ASA Modifieds — 1. Tom Hill, Eagle, ID, 615 points; 2. Shelly Stroebel, Nampa, ID, 602; 3. Chris Fenton, Meridian, ID, 579; 4. Rus Ward, Boise, ID, 577; 5. Jeff Hill, Meridian, ID, 519
Winged Sprints — 1. Chris Ratterree, Nampa, ID, 621 points; 2. Cory Lockwood, Nampa, ID, 578; 3. Sierra Jackson, Middleton, ID, 507; 4. Cody Veenstra, Emmett, ID, 477; 5. Matt Elliott, Nampa, ID, 359
Non-winged Sprints — 1. Johnny Giesler, Meridian, ID, 785 points; 2. Wyatt King, Meridian, ID, 688; 3. Rob Grice, Nampa, ID, 465; 4. Zach Wilson, Boise, ID, 435; 5. Richard Perkins, Caldwell, ID, 345
Super Stocks — 1. Phillip Zubizareta, Boise, ID, 335; 2. Dennis Brodigan, Nampa, ID, 320; 3. Rick Baldwin, Middleton, ID, 305; 4. Gale Carter, Boise, ID, 286; 5. Terry Lydell, Mountain Home, ID, 273 points
Late Model Lites — 1. Joe Barton, Nampa, ID, 353 points; 2. Shaun Tubbs, Nampa, ID, 350; 3. Jim Bailey, Middleton, ID, 346; 4. Kale Freedman, Meridian, ID, 330; 5. Rob Powers, Meridian, ID, 324
Street Stocks — 1. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna, ID, 659 points; 2. Marv Weaver, Nampa, ID, 547; 3. David Short, Meridian, ID, 491; 4. Melissa Scott, Nampa, ID, 455; 5. Chad Bess, Nampa, ID, 447
Mini Stocks — 1. Ray Bolinger, Meridian, ID, 680 points; 2. Eddie Abels, Meridian, ID, 646; 3. Jason Sanders, Caldwell, ID, 594; 4. Tyler Burlingame, Meridian, ID, 447; 5. Donovan Parker, Boise, ID, 369
Late Models — 1. John Nesmith, Meridian, ID, 196 points; 2. Travis Milburn, Eagle, ID, 165; 3. Dan Buckley, Emmett, ID, 151; 4. Craig Doehling, Boise, ID, 133; 5. Jeff Jefferson, Yakima, Wash., 122
Legends — 1. Travis Anderson, Boise, ID, 659 points; 2. Camron Madsen, Boise, ID, 506; 3. Rob Collins, McCall, ID, 339; 4. Ryan Byrd, Salt Lake City, Utah, 338; 5. Darin Turpen, Nampa, ID, 238
Thunder Dogs — 1. Tommy White, Boise, ID, 441 points; 2. Chris Carlson, Boise, ID, 369; 3. Bill Lacy, Melba, ID, 360; 4. Jim Anderson, Meridian, ID, 335; 5. Dion States, Meridian, ID, 330
Hornets — 1. Vern Cornish, Nampa, ID, 493 points; 2. Mike Davis, Boise, ID, 468; 3. Eric Harry, Boise, ID, 423; 4. Tyler Saxton, New Plymouth, ID, 416; 5. Tony Johns, Boise, ID, 401
Jr. Stingers — 1. Andrew Clark, Meridian, ID, 252; 2. Chance Davis, Emmett, ID, 207; 3. Colton Nelson, Meridian, ID, 185; 4. Jonathan Hull, 108; 5. Mike Williams, 106
Domino's Pizza Bandoleros — 1. Andrew Clark, Meridian, ID, 222; 2. Chase Gilbertson, 219; 3. Brok Kidd, Meridian, ID, 195; 4. Michael Hilliker, Sheridan, Mont., 72; 5. Russell Housel, 71
