Dallas Montes started off the 2012 season exactly as he had hoped, with a victory Saturday Night at Madera Speedway. Adding to the evening was the fact that Montes set a new track record in qualifying and led all 100 laps enroute to the win over the talented 16 car field.
The night started off with Montes posting a new track record in the Bakersfield Jam, Trinity Safety, RaceHard Chevy owned by Smith Motorsports. With no invert, the 18 year old driver from Bakersfield was able to start from the pole position and even though he survived numerous yellows and led every lap, it was not as easy as it sounds. "I was under pressure a few times from the 4 car (Brian Richardson) and the 28 (Trevor Schlundt), but I knew to just work on getting off the corner and I could pull away. They all drove me real clean. The car was good all night we just kept getting yellows, " said Montes. "I can't thank the Smith Family enough to let me drive this car and to Tim Smith for getting out of the driver seat to crew chief and spot for me."
The Coors Light Late Models were the opening night feature division at the newly repaved Madera Speedway. " The track is great. I ran here in the SRL two years ago and the track is a ton smoother. They did a nice job," said Dallas. As impressed as Dallas was with the track, crew chief Smith had some praise for his young driver. " It was our first race together and all through testing he gave input that helped us make the car faster. We tried some things that worked and some that didn't, but we were able to zero in on the right set up. Then in the race he drove great for someone leading his first race, he never made a mistake and just let the race come to him," said Tim.
This was the first in the 6 race series. Montes plan on competing in all of them for Smith Motorsports. His teammate Kenny Smith also had a good night finishing 4th. Making that even more impressive is the fact that Smith had mechanical issues that prevented him from qualifying so he had to start last in the field.
In addition to the Coors Light Series, Montes is seeking funding to compete in as many as 3 Nascar K&N Series races this year. "We are getting closer, but we still need some more money. We do have people that are trying to help, but we are not quite there yet."
For more information log onto dallasmontesracing.com or racingwest.com.
