PAST CHAMPIONS – 2012
The below Press Release followed Thorn’s championship in 2012:
The final race of the 2012 SPEARS Southwest Tour Series saw Lakeport’s Derek Thorn win the series title and Twin Falls, Idaho’s Jonathon Gomez win the race and the record $15,000 in prize money that came with the win at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Coming into the “Sigma Engineering Solutions 154” Derek Thorn needed a 14th place finish or better to win the championship. He closed the season with a third place finish and secured the 2012 SPEARS Southwest Tour Series title.
“This has been a phenomenal year,” the elated Thorn said from the winner’s circle. “It’s the people around you that put you in a position to be successful. We didn’t even know we were going to run this year until three weeks before the first race. Byron Campbell (team owner) and Mike Keen (crew chief) did it the right way, they brought together a great group of people along with great equipment.”
On the year, Thorn had an incredible six series wins in ten starts, with only one finish outside the top three all year.
“This is my third full season in the SRL and I think I’ve grown as a driver, which allowed me to do the job to help Campbell Motorsports win the championship in their first full year in the SRL. I’m most excited for this team getting this championship because they worked so hard and truly deserve it. Running for a championship adds a tremendous amount of stress to the season, but I hope we can do it all over again next year.”
In addition to claiming the 2012 SPEARS Southwest Tour Series crown, Thorn also won the national points championship for the ‘SUNOCO Driven Challenge’, which will award him a test with Joe Gibbs Racing on h at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia.
