Idaho Racing News

Minegar Works Magic on RMCS Field

BOISE, IDAHO (June 8, 2008) Dave Minegar of Boise had another championship night in CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series action at Magic Valley Speedway located outside Twin Falls, Idaho, as he scored his second win of 2008 extending his series point lead in the process. Minegar had a nearly perfect night but it took a little "magic" in order for him to be the first to reach the checkered flag. A-1 Heating and Air Conditioning rookie competitor Dylan Caldwell finished second in only his third career start, followed by Thane Alderman, Tom Hill, and fellow rookie Mitch Dickinson.

Minegar started off the evening collecting his 18th career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Award with a quick lap of 14.321 seconds around the tricky third-mile paved oval meaning he would start shotgun on the field. Local hotshoe Bobby Latham III had the time to beat but was edged by Minegar late in the session. John Dillon timed in third quick followed by Craig Bell and Tom Hill.

John Newhouse in a borrowed ride set the early pace of the Pepsi "125" but was quickly dispatched by multi-time track champion Steve Jones as he moved around Newhouse on lap 8. Jones led the next six circuits before Latham caught and passed Jones for the lead on lap 15. Latham had started 16th and quickly blazed a trail through the field.

Latham kept up his torrid pace and led the racing action for the next 100 laps lapping all cars up to the sixth position. Just as Latham had put a lap on Minegar the caution waved for Dylan Caldwell who was running fourth. That was the break that Minegar needed as he was fighting an ill-handling race car. Minegar pitted and his crew replaced a right rear tire due to a wheel that came apart. Even though Caldwell spun and was passed by the leader, he was able to stay on the lead lap as the restart reverts back to the last completed green flag lap.

The restart on lap 90 had Latham in command followed by Dillon with Craig Bell, Caldwell, and Minegar as the only cars on the lead lap. Latham continued to put a hurt on the field over the next 25 laps until his alternator failed and he lost power while circling under yellow. He jockeyed the number 3 into the pit area as the motor expired. That left Dillon in control of the final nine laps of the race. Dillon could see his second career series victory in reach but just when he was in sight of the finish line, his top link on the rear end broke ended his night with an 8th place finish.

Dillon's bad luck was Minegar's pot of gold as he took over the lead on lap 120 and cruised to his sixth career RMCS victory. Dylan Caldwell crossed the line in second place to score his biggest career triumph to date. Thane Alderman rebounded and finished third, followed by Tom Hill and Mitch Dickinson rounding out the top five finishers in the 125-lap event.

"I am thrilled with the win but I really didn’t think it was going to happen like that," Minegar said. "Bobby (Latham) was the class of the field tonight and I feel bad for him. He had a dominate car. This was a great team win for us. The crew did a fantastic job changing the tire late and that kept us in contention. Sometimes luck falls your way."

Minegar maintains his stranglehold on the point standings and increased his lead over Dillon to 167 points. Newhouse dropped to third, just two points behind Dillon. Alderman and Hill round out the top five in the standings after five events. Minegar picked up two bonus awards for the event. Since he set fast time and won he collected the ESI Hotshoe Challenge and $400 along with $100 from Sharp Powder Coating for setting fast time. He also collects 150.00 from CarbonX for winning and wearing their protective clothing. Latham earned the Thompson Motorsports Halfway Challenge and $100 while Dylan Caldwell collected the $100 A-1 Heating and Air conditioning rookie bonus and the $200 Thompson Motosports driver improvement award which is awarded to the driver who improves the most positions over the previous event.

The next event for the CarbonX rocky Mountain Challenge Series is Saturday, July 12 at Rocky Mountain Raceway in SLC, Utah . For all the latest news and information regarding the RMCS onto www.rmcsracing.com.

~Distributed by CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series Public Relations

CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series

Pepsi 125

Magic Valley Speedway

Twin Falls, Idaho; June 7, 2008

1/3-Mile Paved Oval

125 laps

Finish
Start
Car #
Name
Laps
Points
Status

1
15
9
Dave Minegar
125
222
Running

2
10
40
Dylan Caldwell
125
191
Running

3
9
09
Thane Alderman
124
174
Running

4
11
12
Tom Hill
124
176
Running

5
3
86
Mitch Dickinson
123
142
Running

6
5
96
Dan Koyle
123
139
Running

7
2
19
John Newhouse
122
132
Running

8
13
11
John Dillon
121
156
Mechanical

9
16
39
Doyle Olsen
120
110
Running

10
1
88
Travis Monett
118
119
Running

11
14
3
Bobby Latham III
116
139
Mechanical

12
12
99
Craig Bell
116
122
Running

13
8
03
Steve Jones
85
110
Mechanical

14
7
73
Joe Miller
21
100
Mechanical

15
4
98
TJ Woodall
8
100
Mechanical

16
6
36
Jeff Hillock
1
94
Mechanical

17
17
6
David Peterson
1
76
Mechanical

18 18

29
Nathan Olson
0
10
DNS

Updated Point standings as of June 8, 2008

1

Dave Minegar
777

2

John Dillon
610

3

John Newhouse
608

4

Thane Alderman
592

5

Tom Hill
566

6

Bobby Latham III
557

7

Craig Bell
551

8

Steve Jones
527

9

Dan Koyle
506

10

Mitch Dickinson
429

11

Travis Monett

...