Montgomery, Alabama March 3, 2024:Casey Roderick and Anthony Campi Racing are already known to be an explosive combination in Super Late Models, and that pairing has the same level of success in the Pro Late Model ranks.
Roderick, who led throughout the entire last half of the Alabama 200, beat Jake Finch by a whopping 4.2 second margin to score his third win in the event, tying NASCAR Hall of Famer Red Farmer with three wins apiece. The pair sit behind only Augie Grill with five wins in the prestigious event.
Roderick cruised to victory lane after a restart on lap 118, never looking back and putting on a clinic by not only beating second place finisher Jake Finch by over 4 seconds, but by also beating everyone else by over 12 seconds.
“I didn’t wanna see that caution at [lap] 118,” said Roderick. “It all worked out and everyone came with us to take tires. We were all on the same strategy, and we were handling a little better, so we came out on top once we went back green.”
While the current ASA STARS National Tour points leader ran the beginning portion of last year’s ASA campaign with ACR, it’s been a little while since he has regularly competed in Pro Late Model competition. It’s also worth noting that while Roderick has seen immense success with Anthony Campi Racing, no future Pro Late Model starts are on his radar as of yet.
“Other than [the 2022 Snowflake 100], I haven’t been in a pro car since 2018 or 2019. A lot has changed with the cars and tires. The tire we’re on now repeats well, so we can tell more in practice I feel like. We don’t have another [Pro Late Model start] planned. ACR hasn’t won the Alabama 200, but we’ve won all the other races here. Once we clear tech here, we should have a W for Team ACR.”
Roderick did in fact clear technical inspection along with all other podium finishers.
Also returning from a Pro Late Model hiatus was Jake Finch, who will run some races with Ronnie Sanders Racing in Pro Late Models in 2024. Finch crossed the line in second position.
“I haven’t driven a Pro Late Model in like four years,” said Finch. “It’s a completely different strategy with this new tire that we have and no one really knew what to expect, right? I think the car had the pace, I just don’t think I know what I was doing that well.”
Third place finisher and 2023 Alabama 200 champion Seth Christensen brought home a battle-scarred race car to say the least, with damage stemming from an incident between him and Carson Brown.
“It probably was an issue that could have been avoided on my part,” Christensen told Liberty Racing Review. “Was just trying to fill a gap, and looking back on it, it probably wasn’t the right decision. We’ll learn from it, come back, and try to get another one here.
Another prominent storyline of the day was that of Augie Grill, who was black-flagged while leading the race in the early stages for his window net becoming unsecured. Grill would fall multiple laps down and not recover, ultimately finishing in 15th position.
Alabama 200 Results:
- Casey Roderick
- Jake Finch
- Seth Christensen
- Gavin Graham
- Dylan Fetcho
- Christopher Tullis
- George Phillips
- Dawson Sutton -1 lap
- Chase Spradlin -1 lap
- Harrison Halder -1 lap
- Hunter Wright -1 lap
- Clint King -1 lap
- Jim Wall -1 lap
- Gage Rodgers -1 lap
- Augie Grill -3 laps
- Chase Johnson -4 laps
- J.C. Cleckler -7 laps
- Jeremy Williams -24 laps
- Trey Grimes -94 laps
- Jonathan Knee -104 laps
- Carson Brown -116 laps
- Steven Chunn -134 laps
- Luke Yarbrough -165 laps
- Bryce Carver -181 laps
- Holt Halder -195 laps
- Wayne Willard – DNS
