Jonathon Gomez Notches Second Place finish in NASCAR K&N Pro Series Opener

Feb. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho equaled his career best NASCAR K&N Pro Series finish Thursday evening under the lights at Phoenix (AZ) International Raceway in the 3 Amigos Organic Blanco "100". Gomez used pit strategy and patience behind the wheel to finish in second place to begin his quest for the 2011 series title.

Gomez qualified his Heritage Cattle Co./Century Boatland Chevrolet in the eighth position, a disappointing effort considering the he was the fastest driver in two practice sessions earlier in the day.

At the drop of the green flag shortly after 4:30pm MT, Gomez quickly charged into the top five where he ran until pitting early in the race for right side tires and fuel. His strategy was to pit early and use patience as the rest of the 100-lap unfolded. During the second caution period Gomez took the lead briefly (lap 29) but was shuffled back to the 16th position after pit stop cycles.

Gomez methodically worked his way back into the top ten, using the outside groove through most of the race. As the laps began to wind down, he edged his way closer to the top five and by lap 80 he was up to the fourth position. Over the closing laps, Gomez waged a spirited battle with Derek Thorn and Ty Dillon, eventually getting the better of them and set his sights on race leader Greg Pursley.

Gomez closed to within one second of the race leader when the checkered flag dropped on round one of the 14-race championship series.

"I was disappointed with how qualifying worked out but we did not have long to focus on it," Gomez said. "We were really confident about the car but we went a little too loose with the setup in qualifying and it stayed that way the entire race."

Pitting early made the difference. "My crew chief Craig Raudman made the call to pit early and it was the right call," Gomez continued. "We had plenty of time to work back through the field. We really had a fourth place car but on that last restart we were able to get around the 44 and hold on to second for the final seven laps. We caught up to Greg but just did not have enough laps there at the end. I am proud of the whole team and I can't wait until the next race."

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series race for Gomez and the Heritage Motor Sports team is nearly two months away, April 16 at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA.

The Heritage Motor Sports team is owned by John Gomez with Craig Raudman as crew chief and supported by Blaine Bergen, Jeff Woods, Dave Reed, Ron Copeland, Jeff Couch, Kyle Cattanaugh, Micah Paumer, and Rick Wilmerton.

Gomez, along with a crew led by Ron Copeland and driving for car owner Bob Standwold, will also defend his 2010  SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour championship title again this season in the popular California based Late Model tour. The SRL season gets underway April 2 at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jonathon Gomez Post Race Interview Audio

Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. Jonathon Gomez is the 2010 SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Champion. Gomez is also a winner on the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series and in the Mustang Challenge Series at Miller Motorsports Park. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at http://jonathongomez.com or NASCAR Hometracks (http://hometracks.nascar.com). You can also follow all of the best in West coast racing action by visiting http://www.racingwest.com.

Marketing partnerships and sponsorship opportunities for the 2011 racing season are still available with Heritage Motor Sports and rising star Jonathon Gomez. For a custom proposal and additional information please contact John Gomez at 208/731-1288.

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