August13, 2017 Montgomery, Alabama: Casey Roderick seems to be one of the hottest late model drivers in the country as he scored his 12th win of the season and his 4th at Montgomery Motor Speedway Saturday night in the “Show me the Money” Saturday of Speed 125. Roderick dominated, saying his car was one of the best he has ever driven.
“It is easily the best car I have had in the last two years,” Roderick said. “When you come here, you are usually fighting for second behind Augie. This week we spent some extra time on some set-up stuff, and it paid off tonight. Hopefully some of the stuff we learned can be applied to our Super car as well.”
At the start it was teammates Bill Bethea #13 and Jason Furrow #21 leading the field to green. Bethea muscled his way to the point and held the position till lap 12 when Roderick grabbed the position.
After taking the lead on lap 13, Roderick felt different challengers at the back door, such as local Montgomery drivers #13 Bill Bethea and young gun #51 Perry Patino. However, as the race settled in, an old rival – Hayden, Alabama’s Augie Grill #112 – found his way to the rear bumper of Roderick’s machine.
Grill set fast time in qualifying at 19.243, but started on the rear of the field due to pulling his car out of line for repairs to the throttle pedal. After working his way through the field, Grill’s car suddenly lost power. A loose battery wire sent Grill to the back of the pack once again.
Racing deep in the field, Grill picked off cars lap after lap, but couldn’t find a way by Roderick in the race’s final sprint.
At the end of night, despite passing dozens of cars, Grill had to settle for second.
“We had a case of the new car blues tonight,” Grill stated. “The throttle pedal came loose in qualifying, and a battery wire got loose during the race. We brought the car in and got the cable connected solidly again, and it fired right back up. We just used up the right rear trying to get through traffic and didn’t have much left at the end.”
Lap 79 saw a big incident in turn 2 as #30 Bobby Knox was working Bethea for position as the #13 car got loose and heavy contact ensued as Knox’s car got airborn and ended the night for both racers.
Josh Adkins #1 from Cumming, Georgia worked his way through the field and avoided incidents to bring home a career-best third-place finish.
“The car really came in tonight,” Adkins said. “I tried following Augie in traffic there for a while, but he was too good and just pulled away. Overall, it was a good night for us.”
Another young gun Aiden Eldridge #8x had a good showing as he had a pro late model career best 4th place finish. The long haul award went to Texas driver Zach Knowles who brought his #51 car home in 5th. Brandon Curren had some tough luck early in the race but was able to recover for a 6th place finish.
The win marked Roderick’s 12th of 2017 and fourth at Montgomery this season. Hugs, high fives and hand pounds were plentiful in victory lane.
It doesn’t matter how many times he wins, a trip to victory lane is always special.
“Winning never gets old,” said Roderick. “You can’t win too much. It is what we come to the race track to do. Guys and girls across the country come to win and we are no different. That is what this sport is all about.”
“Show me the Money” Saturday of Speed 125 Results (Unofficial)
- Casey Roderick #18
- Augie Grill #112
- Josh Adkins #1
- Aiden Eldridge #8x
- Zach Knowles #51k
- Brandon Curren #00
- Perry Patino #51
- Bill Bethea III #13
- Bobby Knox Jr. #30
- Austin Wood #27
- Chris Landers #9
- Jason Furrow #21
The Outlaw Late models had their first visit to Montgomery Motor Speedway. These cars are late model cars with a wedge type outlaw body and run on Hoosier 10 inch tire. Fast time was set by Stuart Dutton at 19.732. Local Driver Joe Bethea Jr. had worked hard to convert his Outlaw Sportsman car that he competes with at 5 flags speedway so he could be a part of this show. In the end it was Stuart Dutton taking the checkered flag.
Outlaw Late Model Saturday of Speed Results (Unofficial)
- Stuart Dutton #53
- Joe Bethea Jr. #33
- David Hodges #18
- Stuart Smith #42
By far the show of the night were the Coca Cola Street Stocks. Joe Bethea Jr pulled double duty as he debuted his new street stock and set fast time at 23.139.Due to the roll of the dice the top 6 cars were inverted putting Bethea #33 and Charles Davis in the third row. Neither driver was too worried as they knew tthey had 50 laps to get to the front. 2015 Street Stock Champion Dwayne Wesenberg had a different idea as he set sail at the drop of the green. The action was some of the best fans have seen at the historic ½ mile facility. Charles Davis #6 and Trey Grimes #51 put on a racing clinic as the 2 drivers swapped positions and raced side by side for numerous laps. With 13 cars on the track fans witnessed racing in all positions. Brian Hutchinson #38 showed he is getting his machine dialed in as he had a strong 5th place finish. Billy Joe Austin #51b, Blake Wilson #82, and Terry Grimes #33 also showed their strength finishing on the lead lap. At the end of 50 laps Dwayne Wesenberg was pleased to have all the battles going on behind him and led all laps to bring home the check and trophy in this super competitive division.
- Dwayne Wesenberg #31
- Joe Bethea Jr. #33
- Charles Davis #6
- Trey Grimes #51
- Brian Hutchinson #38
- Blake Wilson #82
- Terry Grimes #33
- Billy Joe Austin #51b
- William Smith #7
- Josh Wilson #12
- Chase Adkins #72
- Daniel Jacks #1
- Tim Ramsey #88
Modified Minis hit the track and #2 Ashley Bridgemon took the lead at the drop of the green. The Silver Toyota seemed to have shaken the bad luck and ran well. Joel Collier rolled into the track a little late and his crew were on baby watch as his expecting wife was at home. The soon to be dad got it done as he took the lead on lap 4 and never looked back. David Davis #22 was on the “hunt to the front” but the laps ran out and he had to settle for a 2nd place finish.
- Joel Collier #71
- David Davis #22
- Ashley Bridgemon #2
- Rusty Alverson #7
- Chris Knight #37
- Joe Wingard #33
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action August 26th for fan appreciation night featuring $5 buck admission in the grandstand with gifts and prizes for the fans. Some lucky fan will go home with a flat screen tv. Bring a friend to experience the exciting racing and hear our new sound system.
Mark your calendar for the biggest racing event of the year September 9-10 for the Alabama 200 “Hunt for the bear” the weekend will feature an open practice on Friday night from 5-8 with a drivers appreciation cookout afterwards. Saturday all local division features will be run along with Qualifying for the Modifieds of Mayhem Tour and the “Show me the Money” pro Late models. Any Last chance qualifying races will be held Saturday night also. Sunday will feature the Modifieds of Mayhem tour racing for 75 laps and then the biggest Pro Late Model event in the country will feature the best short track driver competing for 200 laps. The entry list is building and this is one event you won’t want to miss.
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