TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho embodies the essence of what made stock car racing great. He is a throw back to days gone by and a self-made successful entrepreneur who regularly works 18-20 hour days. Neil Young once said that Rust Never Sleeps. Neither does Gomez, who enters this weekend in sight of his first title in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour and hungry for his first win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in a double-header at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA.
"Thank you for your interest and continued support of Jonathon Gomez, driver of the Heritage Motor Sports/Century Boatland Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West, SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour, and the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series. "— John Gom
Gomez finished second in the March NKNPS event this past spring but saw that finish disappear from the records books when a shock on his Heritage Motor Sports Chevrolet did not rebound to specifications during post-race tech. There has been a lot of racing since then and Gomez has firmly established himself as one of the drivers to beat each and every race.
While racing "luck" or lack there of has sidelined several top five runs in the NKNPS this season, fortune has shined on the 27-year old in the SRL Southwest Tour where he continues to be the hottest driver in the series leading the championship standings heading into the final two events on the strength of six consecutive top five finishes.
"All in all it has been a great racing season for us," Gomez said. "I would love nothing more then to win both races this weekend and I know were are capable of it; we just need a little luck to go our way."
While work is what funds his racing efforts he is anxious to get back to racing. "I am ready for a fun weekend," Gomez continued. "We have been working none stop the past couple of months and I really want to get my first win in the K&N Pro Series. I like All American and feel we have a great car for the event. It will come down to qualifying as it always does."
John Gomez (Heritage Motor Sports team owner) will also field two additional cars for the NASCR K&N Pro Series event this weekend. Jacob Gomes will be in the #23 Heritage Cattle Co. Chevrolet while Juan Pitta will pilot the #31 Heritage Motor Sports entry. "I like both these young men and we were able to work things out and put both of them a quality ride in the series," stated Gomez.
Pitta is a multi-time winner at All American Speedway in the local Late Model division and a former D4D competitor while Gomes is leading the rookie points in the SRL and currently sits in the sixth position in the point standings.
Gomez sits in the sixth position in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West standings, 10-points out of fifth place and 48-points behind fourth place. After ten races this season he has scored three top five and five top ten performances with his best result of second place 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 18 NASCAR K&N Pro Series races since 2008 scoring nine top ten finishes and is in his first full-time season in the NKNPS. Gomez has averaged a 10.6 finishing position through ten races and has completed 1,275 of 1,280 laps (99.6%) contested so far this season to lead all competitors.
Gomez is currently the championship point leader in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour where he has two wins and six top five finishes this season. In his eight starts this season, he has an average finishing position of 5.5 with only one finish outside the top ten. With two races left to go this season and a 71-point advantage over former series champion Jim Pettitt II, Gomez is solely focused on qualifying up front and finishing up front with no mistakes.
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. The race from All American Speedway will be broadcast on SPEED TV Thursday, October 21 at 4pm MT. The SRL finale is October 30 at The Bullring in Las Vegas, NV where Gomez has two top three finishes in two career starts. Gomez also won the series finale for the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series last month for his first career RMCS victory. 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.
NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
Jonathon Gomez (No. 22 Heritage Cattle/Century Boatland Chevrolet)
Gained career-best runner-up finish by finishing second among West drivers in combination race
First full season of series competition
Average finish of 9.0 this season
Has led 35 laps this season
Gomez has completed 1,275 laps this season (Most of any competitor)
NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES FAST FACTS
The Race: Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts 150
The Place: All American Speedway
Roseville, Calif.
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 16
The Time: 8:30 p.m. PT
TV Schedule: SPEED, Oct. 21, 3 p.m. PT
Track Layout: .333-mile paved oval
Race Purse: $108,059
2009 Winner: Paulie Harraka
2009 Polesitter: Paulie Harraka
Event Schedule: Saturday 10/16 Practice 12:30-1:15 p.m., 2:15-3 p.m.; Qualifying 5:30 p.m.
The race … The Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 is the 11th of a 12-race schedule this year for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The series kicked off the season at Roseville in March.
The procedure … The starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 20 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (50 miles).
The track … All American Speedway is a .333-mile paved oval with eight degrees banking in Turns 1 and 2. Turns 3 and 4 have progressive banking, beginning at 10 degrees and graduating to 14 degrees. The track hosted five NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events between 1977 and 1982, when it was a quarter-mile oval, and five races since it was renovated prior to the 2008 season.
The records … Qualifying: Jason Bowles, April 4, 2009, 88.218 mph, 13.589 seconds; Race: Eric Holmes, April 4, 2009, 67.576 mph, 44 minutes 21 seconds.
