Following Silver Cup “shake down” Mendes is ready for Placerville opener Saturday
ROHNERT PARK, CA–Rohnert Park racer Camron Mendes is ready begin his run for the 2009 Placerville Speedway Red Hawk Casino Championship. Following a two day “shake down” of his Rose Law Firm-Cartwright Builders, #29x sprint car last weekend in Chico, the 17-year old Cardinal Newman High School Junior is ready to race at the track he calls home.
“I’m ready to get back on the track in Placerville this weekend, I’ve been waiting for this all winter long,” said Mendes. “Last year I got really comfortable racing at Placerville and I learned a lot. Now it’s time to go back there and test my skills against the best of the best.”
Last Friday and Saturday, Mendes traveled to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California to compete in the annual Silver Cup of Champions. The event was an opportunity for the JMS Motorsports team to test and tune their new Borello powered A.R.T sprint car and, as drivers like to say “shake off of the cobwebs” following a long winter.
“It felt good to get back in the driver’s seat again,” said Mendes. “We had some challenges on our set up and I’m glad we discovered that before we started racing for points back at Placerville.”
On Friday night, Mendes turned the 14th fastest lap in qualifying with a 12:872. In his heat race he claimed a 6th place finish and concluded the evening with a 7th place finish in the B feature. Saturday night saw the team qualify 12th overall with a 12:687 second lap. Mendes finished 5th in his heat race and rounded out the night 5th in the B feature.
This Saturday will mark Mendes’ third season of sprint car racing as he begins his second full season at Placerville Speedway. In 2008 he drove to an impressive eighth place finish in the point standings at the foothill track. He earned four top ten finishes, won a total of five heat races and earned a fast time award during a high caliber Civil War Series race.
Like many drivers, Mendes looks forward to returning to Placerville Speedway this season. The track is under new title sponsorship and management with many improvements forthcoming in areas of safety and amenities for both fans and drivers.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Mendes. “We loved racing their last year. Recently we had the chance to meet the new promoter personally and we’re excited to be a part this first season for Handy Promotions.”
Racing begins at Placerville Speedway at on Saturday. Mendes and his sprint car division will share the evening with pro stocks, pure stocks and dwarf cars for the first Red Hawk Casino point race of the year.
JMS Motorsports appreciates all of their current sponsors for their strong support in the upcoming racing season. Including, the Rose Law Firm of Folsom, Cartwright Builders of Rohnert Park, RPM Racing Photos of Placerville, Sparky’s Collision Center of Santa Rosa and VSR Steering Repair of Santa Rosa. The team perpetually thanks new crew member, Jerry Stewart for his assistance during this off season in acquiring sponsorship and interest in the team.
Those interested in learning more about Camron Mendes, or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities can do so by visiting the official team website at www.camronmendes.com. Sponsorship inquiries can also be sent directly to: [email protected].Further information on Placerville Speedway can be found at www.placervillespeedway.com.
