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Written by Derrick Shannon
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Wednesday, 02 June 2010 |
| Jones Thrills Crowd for Second Win
Jones Backs up First Win with Dominating Performance
WEST VALLEY, UTAH (June 1, 2010) Steve Jones of Meridian, Idaho has won multiple championships, more than 50 wins in Late Model and Modified action while competing in weekly racing but he has struggled to find success in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series. That has all changed this year as he has fast become the man to beat for the series championship after scoring his second career win in as many races.
On a special Memorial Day event at Rocky Mountain Raceways, Jones nearly doubled his point lead after coming from the 13th starting position and waged a spirited battle with first time starter Brian Levant from Calgary, Canada over the final twenty laps.
In the end, Jones survived two late race cautions and restarts to claim the victory. "I had a rocketship early in the race," Jones stated. "Those cautions late in the race really helped as I am not sure I could help off the #49 if it stayed green. "Cooling the tires helped me off the corner and that was the advantage at the end. Brian (Levant) drove a heck of a race and I would love to see him race with us in the future. I am glad we kept the trophy home on Memorial Day."
Second place finisher and new track record holder Levant enjoyed his first experience with the RMCS. "This was the best I ever ran," Levant said after the race. "I watched McKean run high in qualifying and thought I would try his line for qualifying. I had no idea the car had that quick a lap in it but it feels great to travel 1,300 miles and show up with a car this good. I really like this series and the track and I will definately race with these guys again."
John Newhouse, Dave Minegar, and Lynn Hardy rounded out the top five finishers in the third race of the 2010 campaign. Two-time champion Minegar scored his first top five finish since early last year. "This was a real win for the team but we still have a few things to work out," Minegar said.
Jeff Hillock, Zan Sharp, Eric Rhead, Eddy McKean, and Tom Hill rounded out the top ten finishers. Hill made his first start of the year and drove the team car to Minegar Racing. Hill plans to make several other starts during the year in his own #12 starting with Meridian Speedway event later this month.
The next event for the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is Saturday, June 12 at Magic Valley Speedway. For all the latest news and information regarding the RMCS please log onto www.rmcsracing.com and catch all the racing action througout the west at www.racingwest.com.
CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series
Young Chevrolet "100"
Rocky Mountain Raceways, West Valley, Utah
May 31, 2010
3/8-mile paved oval
100-laps
Position Start Car# Driver Laps Points Status
1 13 03 Steve Jones 100 210 Running
2 17 49 Brian Levant 100 216 Running
3 15 26 John Newhouse 100 200 Running
4 12 9 Dave Minegar 100 179 Running
5 16 4 Lynn Hardy 100 187 Running
6 10 36 Jeff Hillock 100 155 Running
7 11 84 Zan Sharp 100 150 Running
8 20 66 Eric Rhead 100 127 Running
9 1 19 Eddy McKean 100 118 Running
10 3 99 Tom Hill 100 119 Running
11 4 5 Russell Butler 100 110 Running
12 5 48 Bryan Wordelman 99 108 Running
13 8 73 Joe Miller 91 112 Running
14 2 12 Jim Wulfenstein 89 96 Running
15 14 61 Brett Thompson 75 106 Running
16 9 09 Thane Alderman 73 92 Mechanical
17 7 17 Kenny Vanderham36 92 Accident
18 18 25 Lonnie Lowder 36 82 Accident
19 19 65 Darren Jones 34 78 Mechanical
20 6 92 Bruce Quale 11 84 Accident
Updated Point Standings after round 3 of 10
Pos Driver Points
1 Steve Jones 615
2 John Newhouse 519
3 Lynn Hardy 487
4 Brett Thompson 482
5 Thane Alderman 429
6 Bruce Quale 411
7 Dave Minegar 397
8 Eric Rhead 374
9 Russell Butler 364
10 Zan Sharp 330
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. Photo: Steve Jones #03
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