September 26, 2016 • Montgomery Al
Less than 16 hours after capturing his second straight Super Late Model title at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Casey Roderick jetted up Interstate 65 to take home the Hunt For The Bear 150 Pro Late Model race at Montgomery Motor Speedway the final “Show me the Money” event of 2016.
Roderick missed practice and qualifying on Saturday, forcing him to start Sunday’s event on the rear of the field. After roaring into the top five in the early going, Roderick was forced to pit road with an electrical issue.
In the second half of the race, Roderick once again sliced his way through the field until the electrical issue came back. Leading late in the race, Roderick refused to come back to pit road to work on the issue, Instead, he went to work inside the car. “The motor skipped the whole last part of the race,” Roderick said. “Under caution, I loosened my belts up and got up out of the seat and reached over to the ignition box and started messing with those wires. I wiggled and pulled on almost every one of them. I was a little worried about getting electrocuted, but I was just trying to do what I could to win the race.”
The do-it-yourself process lasted just long enough to allow Roderick take the checkers.“It didn’t skip again until the very last lap,” Roderick said. “Luckily, we were able to get the win today. This car has been really strong for us this year. We have run up front and had a chance to win nearly every time I have sat in the Ronnie Sanders ride.”
Saturday saw qualifying for the “Hunt for the BEAR 150” Show me the MONEY presented by Blacksheep Woodlands roll off around 6:45pm and young gun Christopher Tullis #24 set fast time over a couple of veterans in the field. His time of 19.264 barely edged out long time short track racer Augie Grill at 19.276. Lizilla, Georgia driver Jordan McCallum clocked a time of 19.291 to capture the 3rd spot and Bobby Knox Jr. and Bill Bethea III rounded out the top 5.
Sunday the track was hot and slick as the race rolled onto the historic ½ mile. Austin “Felipe” Wood took the lead on the drop of the green flag but by lap 3 it was Christopher Tullis’s opportunity to take over the point It didn’t take long for the yellow to fly as #112 Augie Grill spun in turn 2 and Justin South #43 had nowhere to go and made hard contact with Grill resulting in damage to both cars. Lap 17 saw South get bitten again as he backed his ride into the turn 3 wall ending his night. Kyle McCallum piloting the #4m McCallum Metal works machine had to retire at lap 60 for mechanical reasons. Bobby Knox Jr. #30 pushed to the lead on lap 52 and held it till lap 82 when Roderick grabbed it away.
A competition caution at lap 75 brought all competitors down pit road for service and 2 new Hoosier f-45 racing tires. Running order at the half way point 30,18,24,22,2w,51,21,13,1128x,9l,4m43
The #51 and the #112 did not roll before the time limit and had to go to the rear. The race rolled till lap 132 when caution was thrown for the #21 Furrows spin in turn 4. Lap 149 saw contact between the #24 of Tullis and the #2w of Wood resulting in the #24 being scored at the tail end of the lead lap. In the end it was Casey Roderick #18 bringing home the Bear for a big pay day.
Bobby Knox Jr #30, who led 30 laps in the middle portion of the race, came home second. Perry Patino finished third, Jordan McCallum was fourth and Bill Bethea, III rounded out the top five.
The win is Roderick’s fourth Pro Late Model win at Montgomery in 2016, and sixth overall Late Model win in 2016. To go along with his Show Me the Money title at Montgomery on Sunday, Roderick captured the 2016 Blizzard title Saturday.
Sitting in the tech shed following his win Sunday, Roderick couldn’t help but smile while reflecting on his strong 2016 season. He feels the resurgent season all boils down to one thing.
“This is the best I have been in a long time,” Roderick said. “What we are doing to these cars – setup wise – hasn’t changed in a couple of years. It just really comes down to getting more seat time. I’ve picked up a few things here and there this season. There aren’t huge things, just small things you wouldn’t get if you didn’t run often. I feel we can compete with anyone on any day.”
Hunt for the BEAR 150 results
- Casey Roderick #18
- Bobby Knox Jr #30
- Perry Patino #51
- Jordan McCallum #22m
- Bill Bethea III #13
- Jason Furrow #21
- Austin Wood #2w
- Christopher Tullis #24
- Augie Grill #112
- Aiden Eldridge #8x
- Chris Landers #9l
- Kyle McCallum #4m
- Justin South #43
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action on October 29th for the MADD MAXX 2.0 Road course racing for 1.5 hours call 334-262-6101 or visit us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/montgomeryspeedway/