TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho continues to close in on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series championship in his first full season of competition. Coming off an 11th place run in his first ever road course race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, the 27-year old competitor looks to keep his short-track momentum rolling into the King Taco "200" this Saturday night at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (CA).
"This team has really come together and we are better than I thought we would be."— Jonathon Gomez
Gomez has made two starts at Toyota Speedway but those starts have come in the annual Allstar race and both have ended with his car out of the race. "I think we have come a really long since the last time we were here in January," Gomez said. "This team has really come together and we are better than I thought we would be."
Toyota Speedway's layout is deceptively fast and trouble can find you in a hurry. Gomez knows that to be successful in this series you have to qualify well. "If we can start up toward the front, keep our nose clean and stay out of the wrecks, I think we’ll have a real good car,” he said.
The 200-lap race will have teams pitting midway through the race so pit strategy will pay part in the outcome. "No matter what, we have to keep the tires under us and stay out of trouble," Gomez said. "Track position and the best tires at the end are key."
Gomez is coming into his own as a driver and beginning to garner plenty of attention. "I always try to race everyone clean and give a lot of respect to the veterans," Gomez offered. "In return, I think guys know they can race with me. I love racing door-to-door and the those guys have enough experience that they’ll race you real clean, which is good for me. It’s a blast being able to run with those veterans.”
Gomez currently sits fourth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West standings, just 110-points out of first, after five races with two top five and three top ten performances this season. His best finish this season is a second place performance among the drivers in the NKNPS-West at Iowa Speedway back in May
Jonathon Gomez is in his fourth year of competitive racing having won local track titles at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls and competed in various Late Model events the past couple of seasons. He has started 13 NASCAR K&N Pro Series races since 2008 scoring seven top ten finishes and is in his first full-time season in the NKNPS. Gomez will contend for championships in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as well as the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour this season where he third in the championship standings (37-points out of first) after a win and a runner-up finish in the last two events.
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series from Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA July 3 will be televised on SPEED Channel Thursday, July 15 at 3PM PT. The next event on the SRL schedule is July 17 at Toyota Speedway. Gomez will also be competing in CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series July 31-Aug 1 in the big Idaho "200" weekend Stateline Stadium Speedway in Post Falls, ID. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at www.jonathongomez.com. You can also follow all of the best in West coast racing action by visiting www.racingwest.com.
Fast Facts
The Race: King Taco 200
The Place: Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Calif.
The Date: Saturday, July 3
The Time: 8:30 p.m. PT
TV Schedule: SPEED July 15, 3 p.m. PT
Track Layout: .5-mile paved
Race Purse: $107,099
2009 Winner: Jason Bowles
2009 Pole: Jason Bowles
Schedule: Saturday: Practice 11:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m., 1-1:45 p.m. Time Trials 4:45 p.m.
Track Contact: Doug Stokes
(626) 358-1100
dstokes@toyotaspeedway.com
Twitter: @toyotaspeedway
Race Notes
The race … The King Taco 200 is the sixth event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule in 2010.
The procedure … The starting field is 30 cars, including provisionals. The first 26 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 200 laps (100 miles).
The track … Toyota Speedway at Irwindale is a half-mile paved oval with blended banking of six, nine and 12 degrees in the corners and banking of six degrees in the straights. This will be the 20th visit by the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, dating back to June of 1999.
The records … Qualifying: Butch Gilliland, June 19, 1999, 100.722 mph, 17.871 seconds; Race: Jason Bowles, Aug. 16, 2008, 76.255 mph, 1 hour 18 minutes 41 seconds.
NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES WEST AT TOYOTA SPEEDWAY
-This race will be the 20th series visit to Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, since its inaugural visit in 1999.
-The completion of this event marks the midway point of the 2010 season.
-Six of the top 20 drivers in the championship standings will be making their first regular season series start at ToyotaSpeedway. They include Jonathon Gomez (No. 22 Heritage Cattle/Century Boatland Chevrolet), Michael Self (No. 88 Johnnie Walker Performance Center/Team Viva Chevrolet), Josh Combs (No. 9 Grape King/Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil Ford), Greg Rayl (No. 07 Spectator Racing Ford), Troy Ermish (No. 38 Datsun 510 Parts Outlet Dodge) and Taylor Barton (No. 60 Full Tilt Poker.net Chevrolet).
-Nine drivers have won in series competition at Toyota Speedway. Austin Cameron leads winners, with five victories. Next on the list are two drivers who each scored three consecutive wins on the half-mile track. Current NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Brendan Gaughan swept the three events in 2001 – while Jason Bowles won the three most recent races, two in 2008 and one in 2009.
-Twelve drivers have qualified on the pole. Bowles leads the list, winning the Coors Light Pole award for the three most recent events. Austin Cameron, Mike Duncan, Eric Holmes, Scott Lynch and Sean Woodside are also multiple pole winners, with two each.
-Brendan Gaughan has the most top-five finishes at Irwindale, with six. The Las Vegas native also led the most laps, running out front for 674 laps.
-Scott Gaylord scored the most top-10s at Toyota Speedway – finishing in the top 10 in 11 of 13 races he competed in there.
-Austin Cameron and Jack Sellers are tied for the most series starts at Irwindale, each taking the green flag there 16 times.
-Six of the 19 races at Toyota Speedway were won from the pole position, including the three most recent by Jason Bowles (two in 2008, one in 2009).
-Four of the 19 series races in Irwindale were extended for a green-white-checkered finish.
-Chevrolet has been in Victory Lane for 14 of the 19 races at Irwindale.
-At Irwindale, 156 drivers have raced in series competition.
Hall of Fame festivities … The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction and dinner at the Azusa Greens Country Club on Friday, July 2, beginning with a no-host cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
Going the distance … The 19 events have varied in distance. Seven were 250-lap races (two in 1999, two in 2000 and three in 2001); eight were 200 laps (one each in 2002 and 2003, two in 2006, one in 2007, two in 2008 and one in 2009); three were 150 laps (both in 2004 and one in 2005) and one was 300 laps (the season finale in 2000).
Special Hauler Parade
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West team haulers will parade from Arcadia to Irwindale on Friday evening, leading to Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The parade is set to roll out at 6:15 p.m. and pass through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa and Irwindale en route to the track. “A parade like this has become a real tradition at a number of major NASCAR races around the country, and we felt that we should celebrate one of our biggest NASCAR races of the year with our own hauler parade,” said track GM Bob DeFazio.
