MMS Media/Photos Philip Odom
July 13, 2014, Montgomery, Ala
The 2014 race season has seen many highlights at Montgomery Motor Speedway and Saturday’s Alabama Slammer was no exception. With exciting racing in all local divisions and a very strong turnout of open wheel modifieds, fans were treated to a thrilling night of entertainment.
Budweiser qualifying kicked of with the Modified Minis taking their turn for 1 lap of qualifying. Fast time was set by the #71 of Joel Collier with a time of 23.003 followed closely by Chris Landers in the #9 car at 23.013. Chase Spradlin in the #18 secured the 3rd position with a time of 23.135.
Next up the Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Street Stocks had a heat race that had action from start to finish. A little pushing and shoving was in order as the cars jockeyed for position. Perry Patino’s #51 and current points leader Dwayne Wesenberg ran door to door as the crowd rumbled behind them. Patino won the 6 lap heat and rolled a 2 for the inversion putting Montgomery’s Wesenberg on the point for the 30 lap feature.
20 Open Wheel Modifieds rolled into the Historic facility for the first Modified race of the year. Qualifying consisted of 2 timed laps as the rolling beasts tried to find the fastest way around Montgomery motor Speedway. The #71 of Johnny Brazier from Hazel Green, Ala set the fast time of 19.755. Donnie Hamrac 
piloted his #8 Alabama Pipe, Universal Precast, Precision Auto Glass machine to the second position with a time of 19.839. Third spot saw open wheel veteran Jeff Letson in the #131 turn a lap of 19.916. Brazier rolled a 5 during Rock Auto.com opening ceremonies putting #91 Jim Wall from Madison, Ala on the pole for the start of the race.
The Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Street Stocks were the first feature of the night and the crowd saw a heck of a race. Dwayne “Collard Green” Wesenberg started the 30 lap feature on the pole with Montgomery’s Perry Patino to his outside. The battle was fierce as the 2 ran inches from each other. On Lap 9 and 10 the F&E sportswear sponsored Patino push to the lead only to have Wesenberg regain the point on lap 11. Action was hot and heavy as the #24 Wood and #17 Atkins were battling their way to the front. Lap 8 was slowed for a spin by the #24 and saw the #30 driven by Deatsville’s Joe Bethea Jr. bring his new machine behind the wall. Bethea’s team had been thrashing to get the car ready for this race as it was just purchased earlier in the week. The #18 of Marbury, Alabama’s Brad Edwards had his hands full as it got a little rough in the center of the pack. Lap 18 the caution flew again for the Edwards car. The restart saw the #24 of Wood push to the point and the Automotive Performance Engines sponsored car held off Wesenberg and #17 Atkins for his first win of 2014.
1st David Wood #24
2nd Dwayne Wesenberg #31
3rd Chance Atkins #17
4th Brad Edwards #18
5th Bubba Nesbitt #88
6th Kameron Wesenberg
7th Perry Patino #51
8th Joe Bethea Jr #30
Modified Minis took the track for the 30 lap special feature with some new cars and a few of the regulars. Chris Landers #9 was back at the track after a scary motor fire at the last race and showed the crowd that all his hard work had payed off. His sponsor Capital Recycling was instrumental in getting the blue and yellow machine back to competition. The #1 car of Dora, Ala driver Derrick Moore started 3rd but jumped to the lead by lap 1 but Deatsville’s Chris Landers and his #9 showed his muscle early as he took the point on lap 2 and held it thru lap 18. Chase Spradlin in the #18 was a man on a mission in his Ford Pinto as he pushed towards the front. Mechanical issues had been plaguing the #25 of Kyle Moore and had to retire on lap 2. Crowd favorite Ashley Bridgemon’s #2 was struggling with her setup after being out of action for the past few races. Lap 19 saw the former Track Champion #71 Joel Collier take the lead and he would have notched another win had the class been running the usual lap count. The #69 of Jeremy Williams was back after a broken axle during the last Modified Mini race. The #18 of Spradlin was stalking Collier and pushed to the lead on lap 26 and taking the double checkered flag on lap 30 from Starter John Midkiff.
1st Chase Spradlin #18
2nd Jeremy Williams #69
3rd Chris Landers #9
4th Joel Collier #71
5th Nicholas Doehring #11
6th Derrick Moore #1
7th Matthews Robbins #36
8th Floyd Brown #48
9th Ashley Bridgemon #2
10th Kyle Moore #25
Open Sportsman were the 3rd feature of the night. The #7 car of Justin Caton led the field of 8 to the green. Caton Motorsports was another team who had put in long hours to get the racecar to the track after a crash at the last event. Caton had a strong run and held the lead till lap 32 when the Race Truck of Chris Wagner #26 made a pass for the lead. The Blacksheep Woodland car of Jason Furrow showed his muscle as he logged a strong run. Joey Holt looked good this evening as his team has been struggling with the 19 car most of the race. Lap 16 saw the yellow flag fly as the #59 AIR Sponsored car of Shelby Reuse made contact with the turn 3 wall. The #59 was able to continue but the #3 of Bethea Jr. headed to pit road for attention from his crew. The #50 truck of Ty Roberts also pitted for adjustments.
1st Justin Caton #7
2nd Jason Furrow #21
3rd Joey Holt #19
4th Larry Speakman #91
5th Shelby Reuse #59
6th Joe Bethea Jr. #3
7th Chris Wagner #26
8th Ty Roberts #50
The #26 and #50 were allowed to compete but did not meet Open Sportsman Specs.
The Open Wheel Modifieds hit the track next as 18 cars took to the half mile “House of Speed “ The #07 Ryan Paul and #47 John Thomas were not able to make the feature due to mechanical issues.
The green flag dropped and the thundering herd took off. The action was short lived as #145 Billy Melvin made contact and the field was restarted. The restart saw Donnie Hamrac in the #8 from Semmes, Ala set the pace as cars settled in for the 50 lap feature. The #5 of Citronelle, Ala driver Donald Crocker stalked the #8 throughout the contest and was putting on the pressure. Lap 37 caution came out for #P131 Parker Pugh for contact with the outside wall. Local driver Gary Sanford Jr had motor issues and had to retire early. The checkers flew for the #8 of Hamrac as he held off Crocker and Budweiser fast time award winner Johhny Brazier #71.
1st Donnie Hamrac #8
2nd Donald Crocker #5
3rd Johnny Brazier #71
4th Jim Wall #91
5th Jeff Letson #131
6th Heath Mills #66
7th Brandon Curren #00
8th Brandon Howell #99
9th Lance Blackmon #36
10th Cameron Berry #101
11th Jacob Permenter #17
12th Billy Melvin #145
13th Wade Redd #17
14th Jonah Gunn #87
15th Rocky Rogers #112
16th Parker Pugh #p131
17th Troy Grey #77
18th Gary Sanford Jr. #79
The Night finished with Rocky Hardcore performing a dual Steel Wall Crash. 2 pickup trucks were set on the tailgates and the nationally acclaimed stunt man crashed a Jeep Cherokee with the top removed flipping the trucks to the crowds delight. Next a flaming 3 car stack was set up and crashed thru by the Owosso, Michigan stuntman.
Montgomery Motor Speedway returns to action in 2 weeks for the Capital City Clash featuring a 75 lap Open Sportsman race paying $1100 to win!
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. For More Information visit us on the web at www.montgomeryspeedway.com or call 334-262-6101.
