Mike Griffith: Frontier senior Montes gets 12-race deal with team in NC
| Wednesday, May 04 2011 10:44 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, May 04 2011 11:08 PM
Images
Dallas Montes of Bakersfield is shown with his SRL Southwest Series car last year at Las Vegas.
Dallas Montes made a good enough impression during NASCAR's Drive For Diversity competition last October that organizers took a second look.
That second look has landed the Frontier High senior a 12-race deal with North Carolina-based Revolution Racing, beginning shortly after his graduation early next month.
Revolution Racing runs the NASCAR Drive For Diversity program out of its shop in Mooresville, N.C., and while Montes isn't officially in the program, he's where he needs to be to further his racing career.
"You have to be back (in North Carolina), that's what I've figured out," said Montes' father, Alan, who has helped his son go from go-karts to the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour where he now competes. "It's his deal now. I've done all I can do. That's honestly the truth. I'm tired of working on race cars. This is his chance to make it."
The chance came about a week after the diversity testing when Revolution Racing called to Montes for another test. That outing convinced Revolution Racing to give him a shot.
"Dallas was very close to being one of the top 10 (in the diversity program) but with only 10 starts in a stock car he needed a little more experience and we found a way to give that to him," said Revolution Racing Late Model competition director Blair Addis. "We did not have much turnover from the 2010 D4D class with seven drivers returning for 2011, but Dallas was right there."
Montes will leave Bakersfield June 6 and compete in his first race for Revolution Racing on June 11.
"I've been looking forward to it ever since I found out," he said. "Luckily, time has gone by faster than I thought. I thought it would go slow but it's almost here."
Time has passed a bit faster because Montes has been racing, competing in two SRL Southwest Tour races in his MMI-sponsored car as well as driving in an Intermountain Pro truck race for Jim Lynch last Saturday in Idaho (he finished third.)
"I'm trying to get as much seat time as I can," said Montes. "I've got one more SRL race in Las Vegas on May 14."
Then it's on to a new challenge.
"I'm so excited," he said. "This is something I've been looking for my whole life. I can't believe the opportunity is almost here."
Racing for wishes at Speedway
IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, American Stocks and Mini Dwarfs will be competing at Bakersfield Speedway on Saturday to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
A portion of the admission will go to the foundation. Drivers will pass helmets through the crowd for donations. Some drivers are donating a portion or all of their winnings to the foundation.
Two of the leaders of the campaign are among the youngest competitors at the track. Six-year old Hailee Hunnicutt and 8-year old Chloe Jones, who race in the Mini-Dwarf category, have been going door-to-door in their racing uniforms asking for donations from local businesses and friends.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central California grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. The local chapter has granted more than 1,400 wishes since its inception in 1986.
Racing starts at 6.
Quick shifts
Greg Pursley of Newhall won last Saturday in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City. Moses Smith was second, followed by Jim Inglebright, Jonathon Gomez and Bakersfield's David Mayhew. Mayhew, who led two laps, is fourth in points.
Buddy Shepherd, 11, made it three-for-three with his third straight victory in 600 Micro Sprint competition last Friday night at Visalia. He finished sixth the next night in Lemoore.
