SRL Top 10 countdown – Rocha
Blaine Rocha finshed third in the 2017 Spears Srl Southwest Tour Series Championship Standings. In his best season finish to date, Rocha scored his second career SRL victory when the series visited Kern County Raceway for the “Bulwark ‘FR / Timberland Pro 150 presented by 51 FIFTY Energy Drink“. The Oakdale, CA driver earned three top five and six top ten finishes in his nine starts.
Rocha led the championship standings at the midpoint of the season with a strong opening stanza. Through four events, Rocha didn’t have a finish outside the top ten, but start number five led to disaster, when he couldn’t avoid a multicar accident in front of him. His 25th place finish, at the Irwindale Event Center, knocked him out of the championship lead and stalled his momentum. It was a momentum that the team couldn’t recapture during the remainder of the season.
“I felt like last year we fired off really strong, finishing in the top 5 in almost every race”, Rocha told the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series. “But we are working really hard this season, to get that championship. “We ended last season, not very happy with our results, when we knew we were better! I’m going to work harder this year! I just can’t thank my whole CMS crew for all their hard work for me, and of course my sponsors; MASROC Farms, Rocha’s Valley Enterprises and Masellis Drilling.”
After finishing sixth, fifth and third, in consecutive SPEARS Southwest Tour Series campaigns, Rocha is nearing his first series championship. The Fresno State University sophomore will try to achieve that goal in 2018, and will certainly be one of the drivers to keep a close eye on.
