After starting the race in the back of a 24 car pack, Jacob Gomes maneuvered his way to a fourth place finish in the Spears Manufacturing 100 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale.
"We’re getting closer to our team goal of finishing the season in the top five, winning a race and winning the ROTY award."— Jacob Gomes
When asked about the start of his race weekend Gomes said, “The car was slow when we unloaded on Friday and we struggled in practice all day. First a shock went bad and then I felt a vibration. But my crew chief Ty Joiner tried some different things and changed the set-up of the car. By the end of the last practice I knew we would be good on the long runs”.
Although Gomes qualified eleventh, as he came off the track at the end of qualifying his transmission was stuck in third gear due to a linkage problem. After some quick work by his team, the #16 Thunder Valley Casino Resort Chevrolet made his way back onto the track just in time for his sixth start of the 2010 SRL Series Tour.
At the drop of the green flag, the 17-year old rookie began his hard charge to the front. Choosing the low line on the fast half-mile track, Jacob worked the bottom groove to pass. “It was tough coming from the back, especially when you’re racing against a track legend like Nick Joanides and guys with a lot of track time at Irwindale, but it was cool to be able to race with them.” Ultimately Gomes passed over 20 cars to get his best finish of the season.
Towards the end of the race Jacob battled with the 88x of Kyle Cattanach for fourth place, and after a couple laps Gomes dove down to the low line out of turn four, taking the spot away from him. From that vantage point, Gomes saw the action between Gomez and Thorn unfold in front of him. “When that last caution came out I could see all the fans standing up to watch the finish. I think they saw a great show.”
With his fourth place finish at Irwindale, Gomes moved up two spots in the SRL point standings to sixth and he continues to lead in points for the 2010 Victory Circle Rookie-of-the-Year. Jacob said, “We’re getting closer to our team goal of finishing the season in the top five, winning a race and winning the ROTY award”.
You can watch Jacob in his next race at All-American Speedway in Roseville competing in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Late Model division on July 31st and back at Toyota Speedway in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series on September 4th. Follow his race and sponsor action on his website at www.jacobgomes.com
