April 9, 2017, Montgomery, Al: The racing action continued Saturday as the night featured the Pro trucks along with the 3 local divisions. The crowd was thrilled to see some of the new rides that the teams had constructed over the off season.
Budweiser qualifying kicked off with the Coca Cola Street Stocks and the field looked strong. Charles Davis Set fast time at 23.209 followed closely by the “Smurfman” Josh Wilson at 23.348. 2 Rookies were next with the #51 of Trey Grimes 23.433 and Skyler Strength clocking a 23.488, Rounding out the top 5 was the veteran Daniel Jacks #1 at 23.851
Late model Sportsman Powered by WCI Parts.com were next in Budweiser qualifying. The top 5 cars were on separated by 3 tens of a second. Late Model ace Bill Bethea III set fast time at 21.025 in the Blacksheep Woodlands #13 car. #51 Perry Patino was just a blink behind at 21.027. Long time racer Dennis Reno Jr. grabbed the 3rd spot in the #1 Jeff Hunsinger ride with a time of 21.122. Millbrook’s Aiden Eldridge 8x looked strong in his first Late model Sportsman event clocking a time of 21.261 and 2016 Champion Roger Reuse #88 rounded out the top 5 with a time of 21.333.
Pro Trucks were next and Jason Welch #21 truck from Pensacola, Florida turned a 21.186 to best the field of trucks. Due to a procedural error his time was disallowed putting #1 Steven Davis from Theodore, Al on the pole. The dice roll put the 2 fastest trucks in the rear of the field and would make the upcoming race very exciting.
Modified Minis were the first feature of the evening. At the drop of the green flag it was 2016 Champion Rusty Alverson taking the point and holding off the field till lap 3 when Joel Collier #71 took the lead. Collier has had multiple championships in this division and his car seemed to look as good as it has been in years past. David Davis #22 tried to apply pressure to the #71 and pushed it a little too far when on lap 9 the ford Mustang broke loose and spun in turn 4. Joe “POPS” Wingard #33 showcased his new ride for 2017 along with Randy Dodd Jr. #35. Steve looney #21 and Ashley Bridgemon both had mechanical issues during the day and were not able to start the feature.
Modified Mini Results 4-8-17 (Unofficial)
- Joel Collier #71
- David Davis #22
- Rusty Alverson #7
- Joe Wingard #33
- Randy Dodd Jr. #35
- Steve Looney #21 DNS
- Ashley Bridgemon #2 DNS
The crowd favorite Coca Cola Street Stocks were next on the card and some young guns were ready to give Charles Davis 2016 Street Stock Champion a run for his money. After the inversion reshuffled the field it put the #1 Daniel Jacks on the pole with Skylar Strength #17 outside. Jacks took the lead on the drop of the green flag with the #17 in his tracks. Rookie Trey Grimes #51 took the top spot and held it till Davis #6 worked his way to the front by lap 20. Bad luck struck on Lap 12 as the #12 of Wilson had an oil line come loose and a fire broke out. The fans were treated to racing all through the field. In the end, it was Charles Davis #6 bringing home the checkers for the second time in 2017.
Coca Cola Street Stocks (Unofficial)
- Charles Davis #6
- Trey Grimes #51
- Brian “Bubba” Hutchinson #38
- Skylar Strength #17
- Daniel Jacks #1
- William Smith #7
- Blake Wilson #82
- Gaston Mills #88
- Terry Grimes #33
- Josh Wilson #12
Late Model Sportsman Powered by WCI Parts .com. Because of the inversion the front row had young gun Aiden Eldridge #8 starting next to veteran Dennis Reno Jr. #1. Montgomery Motor Speedway rules state that the Flagman starts the initial start of the race. Officials ruled that Reno jumped the start and was delivered the black flag and required to serve a pass-through penalty. Eldridge held the lead till he was passed by the #51 of Perry Patino. The race ran clean till lap 30 when caution flew for debris. It took a couple of times to get the race restarted as contact between the front row cars sent the #13 of Bethea into the pits with a flat tire and some suspension issues. The field was set again and Larry Speakman #8s shot up to the turn 2 wall and covered the track with fluid. The last 10 laps had the fast cars come to the front and saw Perry Patino grab his first win of 2017 followed by Roger Reuse #88 and Dennis Reno #1x.
Results Late Model Sportsman Powered by WCI Parts.com (unofficial)
- Perry Patino #51
- Roger Reuse #88
- Dennis Reno Jr. #1x
- Jason Furrow #21
- Jeff Dawkins #2
- Chance Adkins #17
- Lonnie Watson #07
- Blake Sears #22
- Bill Bethea III #13
- Aiden Eldridge #8x
- Larry Speakman #8s
- Jared James #4jr
- Travis Cleckler #5
- John Adams #19 DNS
Pro Trucks were the last feature of the night and with the inversion it placed the faster trucks in the rear. At the drop of the green flag Chris Wagner took the lead and stretched it out over the other competitors. Steven Davis #1 had his sights set on the top position as the Theadore, Alabama driver worked his way through traffic. Pensacola’s Jason Welch #21 was also working his way to the front. With 14 laps to go Davis made a move in the outside lane for the lead. The Pro trucks will be back in action on May 27th for the Memorial weekend Blowout.
Results Pro truck (Unofficial)
- Steven Davis #1
- Chris Wagner #9
- Jason Welch #21
- Okie Mason #6
- Ricky Vice #46
- Jesse Reid #18 DNS
#21
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action Saturday April 22nd for the “Show me the Money 100” presented by Blacksheep woodlands. The night will also feature the Coca Cola Street Stocks and the Modified Minis.
Mark your calendar for May 13th as the Bandit big rig series will visit Montgomery’s historic oval. Fans will also see the Late Model Sportsman in a 75 lap shootout.