Montgomery, Al
April 12, 2014
Fans and racers have had this date marked on their calendars awaiting the return of the Pro Late Model division to Montgomery Motor Speedway. It only took 6 minutes on the track during practice for the sparks to fly. Veteran driver Clint Folsom from Pelham, Al made hard contact with the outside wall in turn 1 destroying his #42 Machine and stopping the early practice session for over 25 minutes as MMS Safety workings cleared the wreckage and prepared the racing surface. The 68 year old racer was able to walk away from the wreck and credits that to the well built chassis from Port City.
Budweiser qualifying came next for the Pro Late Model drivers as they lined up on pit road for their 2 timed laps around the Historic oval. The field had a mixture of motor packages from crate motors to 2 barrel built motors. Qualifying times were very close but local star Hunter Robbins piloting the Pitboxes.com / Atco transmissions Ford Fusion to fast time at 18.842. The Red Ronnie Sanders owned machine looked smooth as Hunter logged his 2 laps to capture his first Budweiser fast time Pole Award for the 2014 season.
John Bolen from Jasper, Al just missed the top spot with a time of 18.992. Dennis “Tink” Reno rounded out the top 3 with an Impressive 18.994. During Opening ceremony Hunter Robbins rolled a 2 on the inversion placing the Chevrolet Impala SS of John Bolen in the top starting spot. Fans were treated to an on track autograph session before the 100 lap feature and kids of all ages flocked to the front stretch to meet their favorite driver.
2014 saw a slight change in race procedures announced by MMS Race Director Ivo Estes at the drivers meeting as the lines for the start of the race have been moved to the front stretch. Long time flagman John Midkiff will start all races from the flagstand and was not pleased with the initial start but the racers got it right from that point forward. The Southern music and Games, GARC Robbie White race engines sponsored # 2 took the lead from the start and looked impressive as Bolen stayed on the point till the caution flew on lap 10 for a single car accident in turn 1 involving the #3 of Jordan McCallum. The Lizella, Georgia driver headed to the pits for repairs and the race went back to green on lap 13. Bolen logged some laps as the #18 of Robbins kept him in his sites. Dennis Reno Jr in the X2 stayed within striking distance holding the third spot. Lap 38 saw the yellow rag fly again as debris was spotted on the track slowing the field. The #30 car of Rusty Sanford was awarded the lucky dog pass placing the Seminary, Mississippi driver back on the lead lap. Lap 43 saw the pace slow again as the #5 car of Chase Oliver smacked the turn 1 wall and sent the Crossville, Alabama driver to the pits with major right side damage. Lap 49 saw the field restart again with Bolen and Robbins leading the way on the front row. As the field was crossing the start finish line the #33 of Dustin Smith had mechanical issues and didn’t reach race speed collecting the #07 of Blake Ferguson and the #30 of Rusty Sanford sending the #07 Jasper, Alabama driver hard into the inside wall at the entrance of turn 1. The #30 car was able to pull away from the accident scene but the 82 wrecker crew had to be called to remove the heavily damaged United Motor Company / Ferguson Automotive sponsored car of Ferguson, ending his night. Lap 55 brought out the last caution of the evening as the # 33 Dustin Smith made contact with the turn one wall sending him behind the wall also. Lap 58 to 100 saw the track clean and green as battles waged on at different parts of the raceway. The # 17 chevy of Chuck Tuck drove a smart race and avoided trouble keeping all 4 fenders on his Midsouth Plumbing / Nip & Tuck Florist machine from Athens, Alabama and finishing 6th. The # 18 of Hunter Robbins slowly worked his way to the back bumper of #2 Bolen and the fans were treated to some great side by side racing for the lead. Meanwhile the #13 car of local favorite Bill Bethea III was stalking the x2 of Dennis Reno Jr. On Lap 85 the crowd jumped to their feet as Montgomery Home Town favorite Robbins made the pass for the final time and secured his spot at the front of the field. The excitement wasn’t over as a show was going on behind the leaders featuring Bethea making a pass on Reno for third position on lap 97 securing a podium finish for the Montgomery, Alabama driver on this first Pro Late Model race of 2014.
Spring Explosion Pro Late Model 100 Results:
1. #18 Hunter Robbins
2. #2 John Bolen
3. #13 Bill Bethea III
4. #x2 Dennis Reno Jr.
5. #3 Jordan McCallum
6. #17 Chuck Tuck
7. #30 Rusty Sanford
8. #33 Dustin Smith
9. #2 Kyle McCallum
10. #07 Blake Ferguson
11. #5 Chase Oliver
12. #42 Clint Folsom
MMS Buzz cars were the first feature of the night as problems seemed to be the word of the night for this class. Lap 1 saw the #5 of Bessemer, Alabama driver John Musgrove spinning in turn 3 and under caution the #22 of Joshua Woods stopped on the back stretch. The feature race resumed with the #48 of Floyd Brown Leading the way to cross the finish line and take the checkered flag.
*****Tech Note***** The Top three cars were DQ’d for refusal to submit to tech inspection.
Buzz Results:
1.John Musgrove
DQ Floyd Brown
DQ Matthew Robbins
DQ Joshua Wood
Montgomery Motor Speedway racing continued with the Mini Modifieds taking the track. Earlier in the day the class ran a heat race to determine the starting order of the feature. Ashley Bridgemon drew pole for the heat and the McCalla, Alabama driver jumped out to a quick lead. The #9 car pitted on lap 1 and the #71 on lap #2. The #82 of Heath Williams saw his opportunity and jumped to the point on lap 2.
Heat Race Results:
1. #82 Heath Williams
2. #2 Ashley Bridgmon
3. #11 Nick Doehring
4. #93 Drew Uptain
5. #71 Joel Collier
6. #9 Chris Landers
The 20 lap Mini Mod feature started with #11 Doehring and #2 Bridgemon on the front row. Lap 1 showed the #2 car in the lead with the #9 of Landers in a close second. Lap 2 saw the #9 car jump out to lead the field for the next 17 laps. Meanwhile the #11 of Doehring made his move to capture second on lap 8 only to surrender it to the #71 of Collier 2 laps later. Collier then went on the hunt for the Dents plus / D&J auto parts sponsored #9 of Landers. Lap 18 was the turning point of the race as the #71 made the pass with only a couple of laps left to take the win.
Mini Modified Results:
#71 Joel Collier
#9 Chris Landers
#11 Nicholas Doehring
#82 Heath Williams
#93 Drew Uptain
#2 Ashley Bridgemon
For the second race in a row the Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Street Stocks participated in the Budweiser fast time pole award. Gary Davis #5 from Enterprise, Alabama captured the award with a time of 22.512.
The feature was a slight change from the regular format with 2 races in one. A group of cars had been invited to run at MMS utilizing the rules package from South Alabama Speedway and the MMS Regulars ran under the Montgomery Motor Speedway track rule. Each group of cars were paid a separate purse and only MMS cars were awarded MMS track points. With that being said the 11 cars put on a great show for the fans.
Davis rolled a 1 for the invert and started on the pole with Johnny Otto #51 starting outside. Davis jumped out to an early lead with strong competition behind him. Caution came out on lap 10 when the #12 car of The Smurfman Josh Wilson spun in turn 3. Wilson from Prattville, Alabama had hit the turn 2 wall in practice and his team had worked most of the day trying to get the Monte Carlo SS ready for the night of racing. The restart saw Joe Bethea Jr. rocket into the second spot passing Otto and holding that spot for the next few laps but the #51 of Otto reclaimed the 2nd position on lap 15. The #51 car of Perry Patino was steadily working his way to the front as the action was happening all thru the field. Caution came out again on lap 24 bunching the field up for the restart. Gary Davis #5 still on the point position restarted but seemed to have problems with a tire going down. The field really stacked up coming off 2 but all drivers made it thru. On the next restart The #51 missed a shift and race cars were scattered all over turn 1. When the smoke cleared The #33 Bethea Jr., last race winner Dwayne Wesenberg #31, #17 Chance Atkins #51 Johnny Otto and the #8 of Billy Maxie were all involved. The #33, #31, #17 and #51 all retired for the night.
Patino #51 from Montgomery, Alabama took the point and held that position till the #18 of Daniel Parker in the Glenn Hussey Farms Sponsored machine moved into the lead on lap 28.
Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Street Stocks
Montgomery Motor Speedway Results:
1. #51 Perry Patino
2. #35 Adam Freeman
3. #12 Josh Wilson
4. #33 Joe Bethea Jr.
5. #31 Dwayne Wesenberg
6. #17 Chance Atkins
SAS Finish
1. #18 Daniel Parker
2. #5 Gary Davis
3. #8 Billy Maxie
4. #1 Darrell Cawley
5. #51 Johnny Otto
Montgomery Motor Speedway continues it racing season on April 26th as the SMARS Motorcycle racing series visits MMS. See these high speed 2 wheel warriors battle it out on the Historic half mile “House of Speed”. April 26th will be fan appreciation night with all divisions participating in an on track Autograph session and gifts and prizes for the fans!
Montgomery Motor Speedway first opened its doors in 1953 and is the Deep South’s Oldest Asphalt Speedway. The Half mile track is the home of the Alabama 200 featuring the Southern Super Series bringing some of the most talented super late model drivers to compete at the gem of the south. Sponsorship opportunities are available to fit any budget. Our Private air conditioned VIP suite can accommodate a company outing or private party in our “state of the art” control tower.
Montgomery Motor Speedway bringing you quality racing and family entertainment at an affordable price.
