Sour Grapes for Gomez at Apple Cup
Twin Falls, Idaho-
With bitter cold wind gusts of nearly 50mph, Jonathon Gomez and The Century Motorsports and Marine Race Team unloaded their #22 Century Motorsports and Marine Chevy Impala Friday with high hopes of winning the Yakima Speedway’s 47th annual Apple Cup in Yakima WA. The Apple Cup is the third of 24 events on the 2013 race schedule for Gomez.
Friday’s Super Late Model schedule included several practice sessions, timed qualifying and 2 qualifying heat races. With a fast car during practice, Gomez’ 6th place qualifying time would place him in 3rd position to start the second of two qualifying heat races. Finishing 2nd in the qualifying heat race earned Gomez a 4th place starting position for Sunday’s main event.
After a short rain delay, the green flag waved on the field of 20 cars. Gomez quickly passed for 3rd and would sit comfortably there for nearly 60 laps. The only caution of the night came after simple spin, and would go green again at lap 63. “I felt like I had a really strong car up to that point, but by lap 70, it was obvious that something was wrong” Gomez stated. “I was on the radio asking the crew if they could see a tire going down or anything obvious that would make the handling go away, but no there was nothing to see.” He continued.
The second half of the race was an impressive show of talent as Gomez fought to maintain a smooth line in a bad handling racecar. “At that point, I just wanted to finish the race with the car in one piece, and avoid making any mistakes that could end the night for not only me, but anyone else.” Gomez said. From the fall of the green flag, to the wave of the checkered, the entire 125 lap main event lasted just 44 minutes. Jonathon Gomez would finish in 11th place. “Sometimes you get ‘em, sometimes you don’t” Gomez said as he climbed out of the car after the race. “…and today, we didn’t.” he added with a laugh. It would later be determined that a bad shock was to blame for the disappointing finish.
The Century Motorsports and Marine Race Team will spend the next 2 weeks preparing the cars for a trip to the Wenatchee Super Oval in Wenatchee, WA on April 27th, followed by a May 11th appearance at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV with the Spears SRL Southwest Tour. Gomez’ last appearance at The Bullring resulted in an impressive win after a late race battle with Zane Lovelace during last years’ (SRL) season finale in November.
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Century Motorsports and Marine, where in addition to meeting all of your boating needs, you will also find an impressive selection of Arctic Cat snow sleds and KTM motorcycles. With special thanks to J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Eibach Springs, DJ Safety, MotoFX, Wrapped Graphix and Moving Objects Sports Photography for their continued support and invaluable contributions. Jonathon Gomez competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series from 2008 through the 2012 season and is the 2010 SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Champion. His most recent win was at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 17, 2012 with the Spears Southwest Tour.
For more information on Jonathon Gomez, including photos and 2013 race schedule, please visit “Jonathon Gomez Racing” on facebook.
For Immediate Release April 16, 2013
Source: Brandi Matteoni
