James Eaton took an early lead and then held off a furious charge by Series points leader and teammate Zan Sharp to win the Twin Falls Centennial “100” at Magic Valley Speedway. Eaton, who hails from West Jordan, Utah took the lead on lap 11 when pole sitter Montie Potter and Clint Kidd got together resulting in both moving to the rear of the 24 car field. Eaton then paced the field while Sharp was moving up from his 20th starting position looking for his second win of the season. Sharp moved into second place with a pass of Eddy McKean with 8 laps to go but couldn’t find a way to the front as Eaton hung on to capture his first win of the season. The RMCS has now had six different winners in six races this season. McKean finished third while John Nesmith and Craig Bell battled for fourth place throughout most of the event, with Nesmith keeping his advantage over Bell at the line.
Ten cautions slowed the pace but all were for minor spins and 19 cars were still running at the checkered flag. Thirteen cars finished on the lead lap as the tight field ran nose to tail most of the race with few stragglers. Sharp used his high point night to increase his season point lead to 247 points over Bell. Nesmith is only 5 markers behind in his quest for second place in the standings. Following the top five were Quint Whitman, Bryan Warf, Dave Minegar, rookie of the year leader Lynn Hardy, and Mike Marston.
Thirty cars attempted qualifying with the fastest 20 being locked into the Feature. The 20-lap Consolation race was won by Russell Butler of Pocatello, Idaho who followed to the line by Tim Lawrence and Joe Miller. Only 4 tenths of a second separated the starting field in the feature as the RMCS continues to showcase close racing and promote its full invert starting grid.
The Hobbytown USA Pole Award went to Sharp from Logan, Utah, as he rounded the speedway at a time of 14.518 seconds, an average of 82.573 miles per hour, his third quick time out of the six-race season. Second quick went to Warf and third to Minegar. The A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning highest finishing rookie honors went to Hardy who now leads the rookie of the year standings by 16 points over Tom Hill.
The Rocky Mountain Challenge Series will resume next on Saturday, July 17th at Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley City, Utah. See www.rockymountainchallengeseries.com for further information.
Series Sponsors include: ESI-Engineered Structures Inc., Maverik Country Stores, NAPA Auto Parts, Energy Release, Dillon Racing Products, Powertrain Technology, Hoosier Racing Tires, Nesmith Racing Engines, A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning, Hobbytown USA, Fivestar Stock Car Bodies, Pro Shocks, Simpson Race Products, PPG Automotive Paint, and Port City Racing.
