June 3, 2018 Montgomery, Alabama:After several rainy days in Montgomery, drivers and fans stormed the track for events on the evening of Saturday, June 2nd. Classes included were the Southern Pro Am Trucks, the Modifieds of Mayhem tour, the Blacksheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman, and the latest addition to Montgomery Motor Speedway, the fast and loud school buses.
Pre-race ceremonies included a live rendition of our National anthem by Singer Beth Cooper and a tribute to the “Candy Man” #18x Butch Helms, the night was kicked off with a 50-lap showdown with a field of strong racing trucks. The trucks packed up nose to tail meet the green flag and the battle was on. Young Gun Grant Thompson #54 took the point and control of the field. On lap 3, the #12 truck of Kristen Wallace was off-pace with the rest of the pack and wound up going to pit road and retiring early in the event. By lap 6, the #9w of Alabama’s Chris Wagner had worked his way up to the front and, by the next go-around, passed the #55 of Ralph Wheeler, putting him a lap down. Meanwhile, the #21 of Jason Welch and #9 of Logan Boyett were fighting out for the second-place position. At lap 10, the top three cars were: 1st – 9w, 2nd – 9, 3rd – 31.. By lap 26, there was a shuffle in the top three, with 31 in front, 9 in second, and the 9w following closely behind in third. Just over the halfway mark, the running order was:
- #31 Haddock
- #9 Boyett
- #9w Wagner
- #21 Welch
- #54 Thompson
- #48 Mengel
- #55 Wheeler
- #12 Wallace
On lap 31, the caution flag was waved as fluid from the #31 truck sprayed out the back, causing the 21 to spin around in turn 2. The 31 made a trip down pit road, while the 21 stayed on the track. The race officials allowed the trucks to make a trip down pit road to clean their windshields from any fluid that may have been obscuring the driver’s view. On lap 32, the #31 truck ended their night early, going off the track and would not return.It was reported that the fan came loose and damaged the radiator. A lap after the restart, the back bumper of the #21 truck flew off, clinging to the frame seemingly by threads. He made a quick trip down pit road and officials snatched the piece off and sent him back out to the track. On lap 40, a caution was brought out by the #21 after spinning on the front stretch. In the last few laps of the race the Boyett #9 and Wagner 9w were dueling it out for the first place position. In a last attempt to seize the lead on lap 49, the 9w and 9 danced in tandem through turn one, moving around each other effortlessly fighting for the win. Ultimately, the 9 machine of Boyett won out the fight and the top three were #9 Boyett. 9w Wagner, and 54 Thompson, respectively.
Southern Pro Am Truck Results (Unofficial)
- Logan Boyette #9
- Chris Wagner #9
- Grant Thompson #54
- Jacob Mengel #48
- Jason Welch #21
- Ralph Wheeler #55
- Rodney Haddock #31
- Kristen Wallace #12
The next class up to bat was the monstrous Modifieds of Mayhem cars for 50 laps. Jeff Letson #131 set fast time in Budweiser fast time qualifying at 20.163 and pulled a 3 on the inversion. After a roaring start to the green flag, It was former Modifieds of Mayhem Champion Donnie Hamrac #8 grabbing the lead. On lap 16, the #71 car of Lickskillet, Alabama’s Johnny Brazier left the track for motor issues and would not return. The #112 of Augie Grill and #8 Donnie Hamrac were duking it out for the first place position, with the #112 seizing the lead by lap 19. Meanwhile, the #66 Ryan Redmon and #41 Rocky Rogers were showing out, going back forth for the 5th place position for several laps. Halfway through, the running order was:
- #112 Grill
- #131 Letson
- #8 Hamrac
- #51 Knowles
- #41 Rogers
- #66 Redmon
- #16 Dawkins
- #56 Craig Bell
- #71 Johnny Brazier
Once Grill #112 took the lead on lap 17 it looked like Letson could get to Grills back bumper but was unable to make the pass for the lead. The race went on with no cautions and the top 3 were #112Grill, #131 Letson , and #8 Hamrac.
Modifieds of Mayhem Results (Unofficial)
- Augie Grill #112
- Jeff Letson #131
- Donnie Hamrac #8
- Zach Knowles #51
- Rocky Rogers #41
- Ryan Redmon #66
- Jeff Dawkins #16
- Craig Bell #56
- Johnny Brazier #71
After a late arrival of the #51 Patino team, the Blacksheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman went around the Historic half-mile track for 35 laps. Sparks were literally flying when the green flag dropped as the cars roared from turn 4 to the start. Tensions were already heating up as the #51 of Perry Patino and #2 of Jeff Dawkins cars were battling each other around, fighting for the 3rd place position. The #21 of Jason Furrow and #7 of Justin Caton were going back and forth for the lead, with Furrow taking the top position on lap 18. On lap 27, Patino spun around coming out of turn 2, drawing out the yellow flag – no damage was sustained. During the caution, Caton went to pit road for some minor adjustments. On the restart, the running order was 21, 2, 51, and 7. On lap 33, the caution was drawn out when contact between #2 Dawkins and #21 Jason Furrow sent the #21 slamming into the wall of turn 1, which would set the race up for a green, white, checkered finish. After the restart, the #2, #51, and #7 were skating around the track three wide. On the last lap, Caton squeaked by the #2 of Dawkins out of the bottom of turn 4 to claim the victory. The top three were #7 of Caton, #2 of Dawkins, and #51 of Patino.
Lap Leaders
#7 Caton 18 laps
#21 Furrow 16 laps
#2 Dawkins 1 lap
Blacksheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman Results (Unofficial)
- Justin Caton #7
- Jeff Dawkins #2
- Perry Patino #51
- Jason Furrow #21
- Jeremy Ledbetter #1 DNS
The last event of the night was the school bus races which went around Montgomery Motor Speedway for 8 laps. The racing was fast and furious. A competition caution was thrown out on lap 5, allowing the #21 Wood Brothers bus and #43 Petty blue machine to take the front. Going three wide into turn 1 on lap 6, the #21 and #43 were running window to window to window(HAHAHA). On the last lap, coming out of turn 4, the #21 wood brothers bus and yellow #58 were pushing for the win, with the #21 Bus piloted by Modifieds of Mayhem Points leader Zach Knowles coming out on top in what was a beautiful photo finish.
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action on Saturday June 16th for the “Bring Your DAD to the races 100, Featuring the “Show me the MONEY Pro late models, a 50 lap race for the Blacksheep woodlands late model sportsman and Coca-Cola Street Stocks. Tickets for this big event are only $15 Adults $10 Seniors and Military $5 kids 6-12 …5 and under are free.
Super Late Models are coming June 30th 2018 for the Rumble by The River 125 featuring the Southern Super Series.
Check us out on Face Book
https://www.facebook.com/montgomeryspeedway/
Modifieds of Mayhem Tour
https://www.facebook.com/modifiedsofmayhem/
Or Call for more information
Montgomery Motor Speedway
334-262-6101
Story By Elizabeth Mead
Photos by David Kranak Impact Zone Photos
