TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho made his first superspeedway start of his racing career this past Friday at the 1.5-mile tri-oval Chicagoland Speedway outside Joliet, IL. Gomez drove the #38 Quaker Steak & Lube/Heritage Cattle Dodge for owner Greg Sarff in the ARCA RE/MAX and finished 24th after a late race spin dropped him from 18th where he had run much of the race.
"After qualifying I pretty much used the whole race as a test session so I could get comfortable in the car"— Jonathon Gomez
Gomez, a 26-year successful business entrepreneur in rural Idaho, had never seen a superspeedway before and found the ARCA style of racing to his liking. “I had a really good time,” Gomez said. “After qualifying I pretty much used the whole race as a test session so I could get comfortable in the car. The car was really loose to the entire race so we had a hard time moving to the front but the experience really helped me understand how to drive on the radial tire which I have never done before.”
Gomez started 26 and ran in the top 20 much of the race getting to as high as 18th by lap 75 of the 100-lap distance. He ran on the lead lap until he spun in turn four on lap 90 after taking the corner a bit higher than he had done all day. He finished two laps down but was over. “The car was a handful but I learned a lot and would like to race some more ARCA events in the future,” Gomez stated. “These guys are great drivers and the series is awesome.”
After the race at Chicagoland, Gomez and team caught an early morning flight back to Boise, Idaho where he competed in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series on Saturday night. Gomez qualified fourth for the 100-lap contest at the quarter-mile track, a huge contrast from the superspeedway he was just on. “You go from a huge wide-open racetrack to a place that is like racing inside a barn,” Gomez offered.
His night was short lived however as he was caught up in a lap five incident (not of his making) and lost the front brakes. The crew repaired the car and he returned to action but ultimately called it a night. “Sometimes it’s just not your night and tonight was one of those nights,” Gomez said. “I have never had much success at Meridian and I can’t wait to close out the season back at Magic Valley speedway.”
Despite the 11th place finish, Gomez moved up to fifth in the RMCS standings heading into the final race of the year. Gomez finished fourth at MVS in his last event at the third-mile oval located in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Jonathon Gomez is in his fourth year of competitive racing having won local track titles at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls. He has started seven NASCAR Camping World Series races with three top ten finishes and is currently fifth in the point standings in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series on the strength of four top five finishes this season. Plans call for Gomez to continue to gain experience and seat time in various series’ throughout the United States the rest of the year.
Jonathon Gomez is also supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, and Gomez Farms. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at www.jonathongomez.com.
