Title Fight is Down to Two; Two Races, Two Drivers
 

Newhouse and Jones Bringing Championship Fight to Meridian Speedway
 

BOISE, IDAHO (September 2, 2010) The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series returns to action this Saturday night at the historic quarter-mile paved oval of Meridian (ID) Speedway for round nine of the 10-race series. Meridian Speedway has hosted eight previous RMCS events and the race will in large part determine this year’s series champion. In the previous eight races at Meridian Speedway there has never been a repeat winner.

The newly-configured layout proved to create excitement not seen in Late Model racing when the series last visited the oval back in June. Dave Minegar of Boise blistered the field in qualifying setting a new track record of 13.145 seconds. Mild temperatures this weekend could mean that record could fall once again.

Since the race in June that storylines have changed considerably as the point’s chase has essentially come down to two drivers. John Newhouse of Twin Falls leads Meridian Idaho’s Steve Jones by 48-points heading into the final two races. The driver that leaves Meridian with the advantage will be the odds on favorite heading into the final race September 18 at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls.

Newhouse, the 2007 series champion has used consistency to rise to the top of the standings. All eight starts this season have resulted in top ten finishes with five finishes coming in the top five. While winning is always the goal, Newhouse has used strong qualifying performances to add to those finishes to pad his point lead.

Newhouse has also completed 749 of 750 laps this season and will make his 58th career start in the series, second only to Dave Minegar. In those 57 previous starts, Newhouse has registered 30 top five and 46 top ten performances and is in the top four in most statistical categories in the series record books. In his last visit to Meridian Speedway back in June Newhouse finished fourth.

Trailing Newhouse in the standings is racing standout and multi-time Magic Valley Speedway champion Steve Jones. Jones is in his third full season on the tour and has come into his own this year scoring two wins this season along with two fast time awards; he has also posted five top five and seven top ten finishes.

Jones his hoping to turn his luck at Meridian around this trip after a practice crash in June kept him from competing in the Meridian event. Jones had just set the fastest lap in practice when the right rear shock mount broke sending his Chevrolet hard into the turn one wall. Jones was credited with last place in the race.

Lynn Hardy out of the Salt Lake area has been a threat to win all season. With four top five and six top ten finishes in eight races, he finds himself in the third position in the standings with an outside chance at the title. He trails Newhouse by 158-points and would need both of the front runners to have serious bad luck if he hopes to take the title. Back in June Hardy finished seventh in a rented ride after losing the motor in his primary car.

After a devastating crash in a heat race two weeks ago, Brett Thompson of Jerome, ID ended his season and championship run as the damage to his car was beyond repair. A contender for the championship all season with five top three performances this season including winning at Meridian back in June, Thompson will regroup and get working on plans for next season.

Bruce Quale holds down the fifth position in the standings on the strength of one win, two top five and six top ten performances. With a strong finish on Saturday night Quale will move into the top five in the point standings. He finished outside the top ten at Meridian back in June when a rear end mount broke mid-way through the event.

One of the hottest drivers on the tour this season is A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning Rookie-of-the-Year leader Eric Rhead out of Utah. Rhead has won twice this season at Rocky Mountain Raceways and those victories have moved him to within sight of the top five. Rhead has also led the most laps in competition this season with 220. Rhead had difficulty at Meridian last time out and finished 13th.

Two-time RMCS champion Dave Minegar of Boise has had a season he would rather forget. Mechanical woes have kept him from a third title this season but he optimistic about the race this weekend. He set the new track record at Meridian Speedway back in June and owns 23 career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards. Three of the awards have come at Meridian Speedway; the track where he cut his racing teeth. Minegar has started 58 career RMCS races and holds most of the RMCS records. Minegar finished 12th back in June at Meridian after running as high as third in the race.

Thane Alderman out of Las Vegas, NV missed the last event when his transporter broke down on the way to Salt Lake. Alderman has two career series victories and was within a few laps of winning at Meridian back in June but settled for a third place finish. He has three top five and five top ten performances in seven starts this season and is currently eighth in the standings 53-points out of seventh.

Zan Sharp holds down the ninth position in the standings but will not be in action this week as family commitments will prevent him from making the trip. Sharp, a two-time series champion is a former winner at Meridian Speedway and has also won earlier this season up at Stateline in Post Falls, ID.

Rounding out the top ten in the standings is Joe Miller out of Tooele, UT. Miller has one top ten finish this season and finished 15th at Meridian back in June.

2009 RMCS champion John Dillon will be back in action this weekend. Dillon has made the occasional start this season and finished fifth at Meridian back in June after a late race spin knocked him out of contention for the win. Dillon also won the prestigious Idaho 200 one month ago.

A strong local contingent will fill the field led by multi-time track champion John Nesmith.  Nesmith finished second back in June and is looking for his third career series victory after winning races at Chaparral Speedway and Magic Valley Speedway back in 2004.

Also in action on Saturday will be Tom Hill from Eagle. Hill was a mainstay on the RMCS tour since inception starting 49 races and picking up three career victories including a win at Meridian back in 2006. Hill has concentrated his racing efforts this season in the Modified division at Meridian Speedway where he leads the point standings heading into the final two nights of racing for the season. Hill holds a 64-point advantage over his brother Jeff Hill and a 74-point advantage over third place Shelby Strobel.

Our ninth race of the 2010 season will be at Meridian Speedway in Meridian, Idaho September 4th.

Meridian Radar 

Meridian Speedway home page is: http://meridianspeedway.com

 Rookie Rhead has it Right at RMR
 

Newhouse Extends Point Lead Over Jones; Thompson Exits Chase on Hook
 

 BOISE, IDAHO (August 23, 2010) Eric Rhead of West Jordan, UT benefited from the old adage about better to be lucky than good. Rhead scored his second win in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series this past Saturday night at Rocky Mountain Raceways when then leader Jeff Hillock tangled with championship contender Steve Jones with four laps to go in the 125-lap NAPA Auto Parts sponsored event.

Rhead inherited the lead on the final restart and held off a fierce challenge from Hillock and point leader John Newhouse over the final three circuits around the 3/8-mile paved oval. The victory was Rhead's second triumph of the season and vaulted him up to sixth in the championship standings with just two races left to go this season.

Hillock rebounded from the spin to finish second for his best career series finish. 2007 series champion John Newhouse finished third to record his fifth top five finish of the season and extend his championship lead over Steve Jones to 58-points.

Jones held on to finish fourth with Lonnie Lowder scoring his first career top five finish to round out the top five in the event.

CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series
NAPA Auto Parts "125"
Rocky Mountain Raceways
August 21, 2010

Finish    Start    Car #     Laps    Points
1 3 66    Eric Rhead    125    176
2 4 36    Jeff Hillock    125    171
3 8 26    John Newhouse    125    181
4 5 03    Steve Jones    125    158
5 10 25    Lonnie Lowder    124    142
6 1 92    Bruce Quale    124    139
7 7 73    Joe Miller    123    140
8 6 84    Zan Sharp    89 139
9 2 3    John Wong    84    124
10 9 4     Lynn Hardy    82    135

Race Notes:

Championship hopeful Brett Thompson was involved in a heat race crash with Dave Minegar and both cars were destroyed and unable to compete in the race. The damage to Thompson's car will knock him out of the championship chase and has ended his season with two races left on the schedule.

A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning Rookie-of-the-Year leader Eric Rhead won his second race of the season and second in a row at RMR.

John Wong made his first start of the season and finished 9th in a brand new car built and prepared by Thompson Motorsports.

Thane Alderman who has competed in the series for the last four season's broke down on his way from Las Vegas, NV and was unable to compete in the race.

Craig Bell driving a team car to Dave Minegar out of the Minegar Racing stables blew a motor in practice. Darren Jones also lost a motor in practice.

John Newhouse extended his point lead to 48-points in the championship chase over Steve Jones heading into the final two races of the season.

Lonnie Lowder scored his first career top five finish.

The economy or lack there of finally reared its head keeping several competitors at home due to lack of funding.

The next event for the RMCS is Saturday, September 4 at Meridian (ID) Speedway.

Updated Point Standings heading into the final two races of the season:

1. John Newhouse    1376
2. Steve Jones        1318
3. Lynn Hardy        1208
4. Brett Thompson    1167
5. Bruce Quale        1139
6. Eric Rhead        1017
7. Dave Minegar        1014
8. Thane Alderman    961
9. Zan Sharp            820
10. Joe Miller        772


The RMCS utilizes a racing format not found in ANY other regional touring series around the country. The top 20 qualifiers are inverted for every race putting fast time in the 20th starting position. This format ensures race fans see what they paid for and that is passing. Each driver is awarded three points per position gained in the event. Points are also awarded for qualifying and heat race finishes. Through the history of the series, the winning driver has averaged a 15th place starting position. To ensure competition, the RMCS pays it purse based on total point accumulation for the event and provides several special performance awards for each event.

The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is a regional touring series that allows all competitors to race and gain experience on different types of racetracks. It is a high-quality professional racing series that offers maximum opportunity at an affordable price serving the intermountain West. The motto of the series is to “Race Hard and Have Fun!” For all the latest news and information regarding the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series log onto www.rmcsracing.com. Follow all the racing action from throughout the West by logging onto www.racingwest.com.

Photo credit: DJS Sports Marketing.