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Steven Blakesley/ RTD Motorsports, Inc.
North Highlands,
Calif.
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25
year-old Mike Gallegos and RTD Motorsports, Inc., will be
making a homecoming of sorts this weekend at Colorado
National Speedway, as the Wheat Ridge, CO driver will
defend his home track in the NASCAR Camping World Series
West race.
Attention will be on Gallegos all weekend long, with many
supporters expected in the stands, along with a feature on
the race broadcast on HDNET.
Gallegos, who became the
first Drive
for Diversity driver to lead laps in a Camping World
Series race, when he led laps at Iowa Speedway, will be
looking for his fourth straight top-ten in the competitive
series.
Last
year, Gallegos recorded his first career top-ten in the
series with an eighth place finish at Colorado National.
“This race is a home race for a lot of the team,” Gallegos
said. “The guys in the shop who help out deserve a win.
The best payback I can give them is to run good.”
Gallegos began his career racing Legends cars at the
speedway, before becoming the youngest Late Model driver
in Colorado. His success earned him a spot in the Drive
for Diversity program held by NASCAR.
Now
in his fourth season in the program, Gallegos is beginning
a meteoric rise in the NASCAR Camping World Series West
points. After leading 31 laps at Iowa, Gallegos is now 10th
in the series points and only 70 points out of third.
RTD
Motorsports, Inc. team owner Rob Dixon also has ties to
the Colorado area, working with Rick Carelli when Carelli
ran in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Engine builder Dave Capriotti of DC Racing Engines is also
based in Colorado and has worked in the past with NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series team Furniture Row Racing.
A
long-time Gallegos supporter, Service Plus, has joined on
to sponsor the RTD Motorsports, Inc. Chevrolet this
weekend. Service Plus is a general contractor throughout
the
Denver
area.
Gallegos has competed in several Super Late Model races at
the 4/10s mile track this season, and the team completed a
successful test last week.
“I
think I have better knowledge of the track,” Gallegos
said. “It’s beneficial to know the track; the track
changes so much in a race.”
While chances are high that Gallegos could become the
first Drive for Diversity driver to win in the NASCAR
Camping World Series, Gallegos is keeping perspective.
“There’s a lot of pressure to win, but if we don’t, we
can’t let it get morale down for the rest of the season,”
Gallegos said. “You can’t cut the other competitors in the
series any slack either.”
Saturday’s NAPA/Toyota 150 will be broadcast live on HDNET,
at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.
Race
fans can learn more about RTD Motorsports, Inc. by
visiting
www.rtdmotorsportsinc.com
RTD
Motorsports is presented by these fine sponsors: Service
Plus, TriCo
Welding Supplies, Inventory Sales Company, Gone Racin’,
TCS Adwear, PCB Solutions, PVC Specialties, JDA, Longacre,
Steve’s Transmissions, Carmichael
Towing, DC Racing Engines, and Blakesley Sports Media.
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