BOISE, Idaho — Craig Bell of Kuna, Idaho scored his fifth career CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series triumph this past Saturday night at Meridian (ID) Speedway in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Bell started in the 11th position but quickly made his way to the front of the field and waged a spirited battle with title contender Jeff Jefferson over the final 50-laps crossing the finish line .099 seconds ahead of the former NASCAR champion. Championship point’s leader John Dillon crossed the line in third followed by local standouts John Nesmith and Dylan Caldwell.
Dillon paced the field in qualifying with a 13.901 second trip around the historic quarter-mile paved oval to score the Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Award. Jefferson clocked in second followed by Bell, Jonathon Gomez, and John Newhouse.
Steve Jones landed on the pole after the customary RMCS invert put the fast guys in the back of the field. But as quickly as the action began it slowed on lap 5 after no less than eight cars tangled in turn one. Newhouse and Tyler Monroe were done for the evening and several cars sustained severe damage including championship leader John Dillon who returned to the rear of the field to restart the race.
Dan Lowther paced the early laps until bell made his way to the front and took the lead on lap 28. Bell would stay out front the remainder of the race but have to deal with lapped traffic the entire event. By lap 50, bell held a sizeable margin over second place Nesmith with Jefferson in third minus a front end he lost in the heat race. Dillon held down the fourth spot with Lowther dropping back to fifth.
Jefferson made his move on second place on lap 59 and wrestled the position from Nesmith in turn four. Dillon passed as well. Bell held a half of a lap margin on Jefferson by lap 65. Jefferson started to cut into the lead and over the next 30 laps had closed the gap to less than a car length.
Jefferson caught Bill on lap 95 of the 100 lap distance sending the crowd to its feet. Jefferson looked high and low for an opening but Bell, a master at Meridian Speedway, held tough and outlasted Jefferson at the finish as the two crossed the line glued to each other. Dillon finished third to extend his point lead with Nesmith and Caldwell finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
“Wow, what a race,” Bell said. “I think Jeff had the better car at the end and if this race was a few more laps it might have been a different story. My car was really loose at the end and I was just hanging on. This win means so much to me, my sponsor bodybuilding.com, my owner Pat Minegar, and my friends and family. To finally win an RMCS race at home feels great.”
Finishing second is not what he wanted but he certainly gave the crowd a great show. “I wanted this win in the worse way,” Jefferson said. “After tearing the car up in the heat race the crew worked extremely hard to get the car back in shape (minus the front body work) and I wanted to give my owner Tom Hill another victory. Craig drove a great race and I am very happy for him as I know all his family and friends are here. It was a good night but John (Dillon) had a better point’s night so the title will come down to the final race and that will be a great show for all the fans of the series.”
“We held tough and made the most of the night,” Dillon stated after the race. “The car was good but the early incident messed up the handling so I was just clawing for every position.
By virtue of total point accumulation for the event, Dillon adds three points to his lead to extend the margin to 42-points over Jefferson going into the final race in two at Magic Valley Speedway. History has shown that no cushion is safe in the last race. Bell moved back into third place after the win with former champion John Newhouse dropping to fourth in the standings after being eliminated on lap 5. Jonathon Gomez rounds out the top five.
The next event for the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is the NAPA Auto Parts “150” at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday, September 12. The event will be the third series visit this season at the tricky 1/3-mile paved oval. John Dillon won the “150” last season and no driver has ever repeated in the race.
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 website at www.rmcsracing.com.
