This message was edited on
August 24, 2008 at
09:55:47 PM by BSPR
MOTORSPORTS TEAM PRESS RELEASE – JMS MOTORSPORTS/CAMRON MENDES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 24, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Sullivan: [email protected]
TEAM CONTACT: [email protected]
WEBSITE INFORMATION: www.camronmendes.com
Rohnert Park’s Mendes hits top ten in Placerville standings, will vie for Rookie title this Saturday
By Bill Sullivan
ROHNERT PARK, CA (8-24-08) – At the start of the 2008 racing season Camron Mendes set a goal for himself. He decided to drive past the track near his hometown every week and make the trip to the competitive quarter-mile Placerville Speedway every Saturday night. Mendes’ goal was to compete against some of Northern California’s best drivers every week and campaign for the Rookie of the Year title on one of the toughest tracks in the west.
“At the beginning of the year we set some goals for ourselves,” said Mendes. “We wanted to end our season with a top ten finish in the point standings and win the Rookie of the Year award. At the beginning of the season we had a rough go and let’s just say we had a few nights that we were excited to just put the car in the trailer in one piece.”
Saturday night, Mendes started deep in the field at Placerville Speedway, lining up for the 25-lap affair in the 16th place position. When the checkered flag flew he wrapped up the night with an 11th place finish while fellow Rookie of the Year contender Trent Canales finished in the 14th position. Finishing ahead of Canales in the feature event, combined with a second place run in his heat race has launched Mendes ahead by three positions in the point standings where he now sits 10th overall.Entering the final night of the season he trails his friendly rookie rival by a mere three points for the coveted Rookie of the Year title.
“This is exciting,” said Mendes. “We are so close to being the top rookie driver, just three points behind and its coming down to the last race of the year. It will be really special to finish the season by accomplishing both of the goals we set out to do. About half way through the season we started making the A-mains and improving each week and now it seems like things are coming together for us as a team.”
In preliminary competition on Saturday night qualifying was tough to contend with at Placerville. A restored track surface had all but two competitors turning laps in the ten second bracket. Mendes turned a lap time of 10:718, placing him 19th on the roster. In qualifying he finished in second place but the inversion for the feature event didn’t fall in his favor, placing him deep in the field behind a number of heavy hitters Saturday, among them was three time World of Outlaws’ champion Sammy Swindell and former NASCAR Busch driver and World of Outlaw star Tyler Walker not to mention the regulars that seem to “own” Placerville as of late, Colby Wiesz, Andy Forsberg and Kyle Hirst, to name a few.
“All the regular drivers at Placerville are tough to beat,” said Mendes, who hopes to make a full run with the Golden State Challenge or Civil War Series and is seeking a full time ride in either 410 or 360 sprint car competition in 2009.“But that’s why we decided to run here my first year, to learn with some of the best. I never expected to be racing with drivers like Lasoski, Swindell and Walker here though, that’s been great that Placerville has been attracting these top drivers lately.”
On Saturday night, Colfax driver Colby Wiesz locked the Placerville Speedway championship one week early. Now, many eyes will be on Mendes and Canales as they go head to head on the final night in a heated battle for the Rookie of the Year title.Billy Strange Jr. of Rancho Cordova is also in the mix, sitting 17-points behind Mendes in the standings.
Following the final weekly championship event at Placerville Speedway this Saturday, Mendes will look forward to competing at the 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. On Wednesday night he is one of 32 drivers that have been invited to compete in the annual Civil War Pacific Sprint Cup for the Civil War Series.The event pays $3000 to win and is known as the crown jewel of the series. Mendes is 14th in the series standings.In the days following the Civil War opener the team hopes to compete in California’s biggest open wheel race featuring the nationally recognized World of Outlaws.
Camron Mendes and the JMS Motorsports #29x sprint car are financially supported by the Schellinger Brothers which can be found at www.parkside-lakeport.com, VSR VanLare Steering Repair of Windsor and A1A Performance Muffler of Santa Rosa. The team would also like to say a huge thank you to Robbie and Donnie Johnson for their recent assistance in repairing the frame of the 29x sprint car. The team is actively seeking additional sponsorship for both the Gold Cup week and the 2009 racing season and welcomes you to visit them at any of the upcoming events or check out their website at www.camronmendes.com.
“I would really like to thank Schellinger Brothers for sponsoring me,” added Mendes. “I’m proud to have their name on my car and I feel that my team did a great job Saturday night doing the best that we could. It was nice to have or pit man Ken, also known as “Bones” back helping with the car again.”
PRESS PHOTO ATTACHED/Photo Courtesy of Steve Lamothe
Camron Mendes (29x) of Rohnert Park has closed in on the 2008 Rookie of the Year title at Placerville Speedway
entering the final week of competition.
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