Montgomery Motor Speedway

261 Laps of Bear Hunting in Montgomery


March 4, 2025 Montgomery, Alabama

61st Annual Alabama 200 Hunt for the Bear at Montgomery Motor Speedway
By Liz McFarland

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Montgomery Motor Speedway hosted the 61st Annual Alabama 200 Hunt for the Bear on March 1, 2025. The event held a 200-lap, 10k-to-win pro late model race, and the 61-lap, 2k-to-win Modifieds of Mayhem Tour season opener. 45 race teams from 7 states and 2 countries traveled to Montgomery, Alabama in hopes of leaving with the beloved bear trophy.


On Friday, February 28, 40+ racecars touched the Montgomery asphalt for the first time in 2025. In preparation for Saturday’s Alabama 200 Hunt for the Bear, the Modifieds of Mayhem and the Show Me the Money pro late model series had 4 hours of open practice to dial in their cars after the 4 months + 1 week off-season, but who’s counting?
#81 Carson Brown from New London, North Carolina topped the board in Friday’s practice in the Anthony Campi Racing pro late model. An Anthony Campi Racing car won the Alabama 200 in 2024 with Casey Roderick behind the wheel, Two Canadian drivers rounded out the top-3 pro late models in Friday’s practice. #54 Jarrett Butcher in the Donnie Wilson Racing machine was 2nd fastest and #14 Chase Pinsonneault Piloting the Carson Hocevar Racing pro late model was 3rd.
Another #81 topped the board in Friday’s practice, this time in a modified. #81 Jeremy Williams from Birmingham was fastest in the Modified open practice. Williams finished 3rd in the Modifieds of Mayhem 2024 points standings. Veteran driver #71 Johnny Brazier from Lick Skillet, Alabama was 2nd fastest and #71 LJ Grimm from Seffner, Florida rounded out Friday’s top 3.


Saturday consisted of 2 half-hour rounds of practice for each division, followed by qualifying, an autograph session, and then onto feature racing. #81 Carson Brown was fastest during Saturday’s practice, followed by Friendswood, Texas’s #14 Chris Davidson, and the defending Show Me The Money champion #18 Jake Finch from Lynn Haven, Florida. Madison, Alabama’s #131 Jeff Letson was the quickest modified during Saturday’s practice. #81 Jeremy Williams was 2nd fastest, and #71 Johnny Brazier was 3rd fastest.
After practice was complete, drivers lined up to qualify at MMS for the first time in 2025. “The Godfather of Modifieds” #131 Jeff Letson took the Rogers-Dabbs Performance Pole Award during the Modifieds of Mayhem Tour qualifying. #18 Kevin Peel, #71 Johnny Brazier, #2 Brad Bowman, and #72 LJ Grimm completed the top 5.


Veteran driver #54 Matt Craig won the Bama Budweiser Pole Award in Show Me The Money qualifying. #81 Carson Brown, #14 Chris Davidson, Statesville, North Carolina’s #96 Spencer Davis, and #18 Jake Finch rounded out Saturday’s Show Me The Money Fast Five.


After a weekend full of preparing the cars, the stands were packed and the drivers were pumped as the Modifieds of Mayhem rolled off for their 61-lap Hunt for the Bear feature race. After the redraw, #131 Jeff Letson and #2 Brad Bowman led the field from the front row followed by #31 Brad Stell and #18 Kevin Peel in the 2nd row. #2 Brad Bowman took the lead on the initial start and led over half of the race. The first caution came out for #145 Billy Melvin on lap 27, followed by a 3-car accident on the restart involving #F0 Mike Fields, #62 Buddy Anderson, and #42 Jered Moore. On lap 34, a red flag was thrown for #31 Brad Stell’s hard crash in turn 1, luckily he walked away ok.
With 12 laps to go, #18 Kevin Peel took the lead from Bowman and #25 Ryan Price took the 3rd position from Letson. After defending the lead for the final 12 laps of the race, Chipley, Florida’s #18 Kevin Peel took it all the way to the Front Porch Grill Victory Lane.
It was an emotional win for Kevin Peel as his grandmother is in her final days on this earth. “I love racing and I love each and every one of these fans right here but this one right here is for my grandma that’s going to be shining above me,” Peel said.

#2 Brad Bowman finished 2nd in his Montgomery debut all the way from Clearwater Florida. It was an impressive performance by #25 Ryan Price , as he won the Swift Springs Hard Charger Award gaining 11spots during the race and finishing 3rd in his Modifieds of MAYHEM debut.

Modifieds of Mayhem Hunt for the Bear 61 Results

  1. 18 Kevin Peel
  2. #2 Brad Bowman
  3. #25 Ryan Price
  4. #131 Jeff Letson
  5. #96 Jared Maupin
  6. #00 Brandon Curren
  7. #32 Andrew Whitacker
  8. #72 LJ Grimm
  9. #91 Ander Jackson
  10. #F0 Mike Fields
  11. #51 Tre Huff
  12. #42 Jered Moore
  13. #71 Johnny Brazier
  14. #31 Brad Stell
  15. #62 Buddy Anderson
  16. #145 Billy Melvin
  17. #1 Shane Jones – DNS
  18. #81 Jeremy Williams – DNS
  19. #88 Larry Hughes – DNS

After the Modifieds of Mayhem feature, 25 Show Me The Money pro late models drivers strapped in for 200 laps around the famed half-mile oval. After the redraw, the pole qualifier #54 Matt Craig started 6th with #96 Spencer Davis and #67k Zack Dixon starting on the front row and #14 Chase Pinsonneault and #81 Carson Brown on the 2nd row. The lead was quickly taken by Carson Brown within the first 20 laps which paved the way for Matt Craig to make his way to the front as well. Brown and Craig battled in the top 3 until lap 126.


A spin by Zack Dixon on lap 76 led to a controlled caution with half of the field pitting for tires, fuel, or repairs. Matt Craig took the lead on the restart just before an accident between 2 Middle Tennessee drivers #84 Steven Chunn and #116 Zach Johnson ended Johnson’s day prematurely. On lap 122, #18 Jake Finch lost power while racing in 2nd place which put #96 Spencer Davis and #112 Augie Grill on the front row of the next restart. With 71 laps to go, Carson Brown took the lead from Davis and the #2 John Bolen and #91 Jim Wall came from the 5th and 7th positions and quietly stole the last 2 podium positions during heavy traffic on the restart.


In the last 70 laps of the race, two separate cautions took out #84 Steven Chunn, #35 Gage Gilby, and #33 Dustin Smith. #54 Matt Craig’s night also ended early due to a mechanical issue in his car.


A late-race restart resulted in a 5-lap shootout which allowed Jasper, Alabama’s #2 John Bolen to take the lead from Carson Brown and win the Alabama 200 after finishing on the podium 4 times over the past 10+ years of trying to win.
“It’s been a long time coming, I feel like Earnhardt and the Daytona 500, just got away from us for so long. I probably hit the best restart I’ve ever hit right there and did what we’ve been trying to do for a long time,” Bolen said.


John Bolen has a laundry list of racing accolades, a few include 3-time Show Me The Money Champion, 2024 Rogers-Dabbs Performance Challenge Champion, 2023 5 Flags Speedway Champion, and finally an Alabama 200 Champion.

Alabama 200 Hunt for the Bear Results (Unofficial)

  1. #2 John Bolen
  2. #81 Carson Brown
  3. #91 Jim Wall
  4. #68 Aidan Potter
  5. #14 Chase Pinsonneault
  6. #14 Chris Davidson
  7. #2 Jaxon Bishop
  8. #54 Jarrett Butcher
  9. #96 Spencer Davis
  10. #1 Gage Rodgers
  11. #22 Taylor Corum
  12. #12 Christopher Tullis
  13. #35 Gage Gilby
  14. #33 Dustin Smith
  15. #54 Matt Craig
  16. #112 Augie Grill
  17. #84 Steven Chunn
  18. #18 Jake Finch
  19. #21 Jason Furrow
  20. #116 Zach Johnson
  21. #67 Zack Dixon
  22. #30 John Heil
  23. #6 Chris Whorton
  24. #9 Cody Bentley
  25. #32Tim Laurent
  26. #11 Clint Folsom – DNS

Racing returns to MMS April 5, 2025 For the “Spring Explosion 100” featuring the Stars of the “Show me the MONEY” Pro Late Models in a 100 lap contest plus Late Model Sportsman, Street Stocks and Crown Stocks

Watch the full race replay at https://www.racingamerica.tv/replays/videos/sub-3-1-25-alabama-200-at-montgomery-motor-speedway-al-03-02-2025-03-30-30
Photo Credit: Impact Zone Photos, Liberty Racing Review, Finish Line Photography, RPM Media

Landon Adams