Gomez Hoping for Repeat Success at Miller Motorsports Park

April 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Jonathon Gomez, driver of the #22 Century Boatland/Living Like a Pirate Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, returns Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, UT for the Utah Grand Prix. Gomez is focused on continued success on the challenging road course circuits that dot the series schedule.

This weekend, NASCAR K&N Pro Series in its 59th year, returns to Miller Motorsports Park for the fifth consecutive year. Last season, Gomez scored his best career road course finish of fourth place in this event.

The challenging 2.2-mile east course layout at MMP will test the drivers and teams during the 50-lap sprint race. In road racing it is about having tires and track position for the finish; a strategy that Gomez played nearly to perfection last season.

"I have really enjoyed the road courses we have competed at," Gomez said. "Last year we made the right calls that put us up front late in the race. We just need to run our own race and stay out of trouble."

In last year's event, fuel became and issue for many of the top running competitors late in the the race as the event went extra distance due to a late caution period. Conventional wisdom implies that stopping early in the race gives you better track position late in the race, but you need to balance that against having enough fuel.

"It worked out well for us last year but we were close on fuel," Gomez offered. "We have the same car and plan essentially the same strategy this year. It all just depends on how the race unfolds."

Gomez is set to make his 30th career series start at Miller Motorsports Park this weekend in his fifth year in the series. Gomez, who made his series debut at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore., on July 11, 2008, has 29 career starts with five top five and 12 top ten performances. He has a career best finish of second place twice (Iowa & Phoenix).

Gomez Motorsports is owned by John Gomez, a successful farmer and businessman. The team is lead by crew chief Craig Raudman and supported by Ron Copeland, Blaine Bergem, Derek Copeland, Kyle Cattanach, Adam Wyse, and Mike Mulder.

Grab yourself a new "Living Like a Pirate" t-shirt from Jonathon at http://www.livinglikeapirate.com/categories/jonathon-gome....

Race:   Utah Grand Prix
Place:   Miller Motorsports Park
Date:   Saturday, April 28
Time:   4:25 p.m. MT
Track Layout:   2.2-mile road course
2011 Winner:   Greg Pursley
2011 Polesitter:   Andrew Ranger
Event Schedule:   Saturday: Practice 8:30-10:15 a.m., Qualifying 1:30 p.m.
Track PR Contact:   John Gardner (435) 277-8101 jgardner@millermotorsportspart.com
Twitter:   @UtahMMP
Fast Facts about the Utah Grand Prix
Race: This is the third of 15 events on the 2012 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through NASCAR road racing style (group) qualifying. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 50 laps (110 miles).
Track: Miller Motorsports Park is a multi-purpose road course with four possible configurations. The series will be competing on the 2.2-mile course. The track is located adjacent to Tooele County's Deseret Peak Recreation Complex, approximately 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.
Records: Qualifying: Andrew Ranger, April 30, 2011, 85.192 mph, 92.966 seconds; Race: Greg Pursley, April 30, 2011, 59.570 mph, 2 hours 19 minutes 36 seconds.
The Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park marks the first of four road course races on this year's series schedule. The series will make its inaugural visit to Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway on May 26. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., will be the site on June 23 followed by Portland (Ore.) International Raceway on Aug. 26 to round out the road-course portion of the 2012 slate.

About Gomez Motorsports
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Century Boatland, Living Like a Pirate, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. Jonathon Gomez has competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series since 2008 and 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://www.jonathongomez.com or NASCAR Hometracks or the SRL Southwest Tour website. You can also follow all of the best in West coast racing action by visiting http://www.racingwest.com.