July 31, 2017 Montgomery, Alabama: Fans saw some of the best racing of the year last Saturday night. On the card were 5 different division plus kids bike races. Close finishes, last lap passes and some great side by side races were the theme of the evening.
Budweiser qualifying started with the Coca Cola Street Stocks. 12 cars were set to take time on the historic oval but #33 Joe Bethea Jr had mechanical problems and had to pull his car from competition. Fast time was set by the 2016 Champion and current points leader Charles Davis #6 at 22.958 followed closely by 2015 Champion Dwayne Wesenberg #31 at 22.972. Third spot was Brian “Bubba” Hutchinson in his 82 Wrecker / H&R Towing sponsored #38 at 23.270. Fourth position saw the #12 of Josh Wilson in his Dreamland BBQ / VERSUS Sponsored ride clocking a time of 23.343 and rounding out the top 5 was Trey Grimes #51 23.407
Late Model Sportsman Powered by WCI Parts.com were next on the clock. The field was stacked with great drivers and some very good cars. In the end it was Josh Hamner with quick time of 21.185. Jason Furrow #21, Perry Patino #51, Aiden Eldridge 8x and Dennis Reno Jr. x1 rounding out the top 5.
The first feature of the night were the Modified Minis. Birmingham’s Eddie Dodd was looking to debut his pinto at MMS for the first time in 2017 but had a catastrophic engine failure and covered the track with oil in turns 3 and 4 ending his night before the feature. The fans also saw a new car to hit the track as Chris Knight brought out his #37 Toyota for a spin around the fast ½ mile. Hueytown’s Joel Collier continued his winning ways as he led all laps and brought his #71 Ford Mustang to victory Lane.
Modified Mini Results (Unofficial)
- Joel Collier #71
- David Davis #22
- Rusty Alverson #7
- Joe Wingard #33
- Steve Looney #21
- Chris Knight #37
- Eddie Dodd #81 DNS
The Roadrunners hit the track next. The lineup was set on the last practice session. At the drop of the green flag it was #27 John Singletary taking the point position for the first 4 laps. Lap 5 saw the #3 of Tommy Kendrick push to the front and show his muscle. Kendrick held the top spot till lap 18 when Johnathon Johnson #17 made his way to the lead and looked like victory was his. The fans were on their feet as the pack of cars came off of turn 4 and #3 Kendrick made his move and nosed his way to the win. (The Staff and Management of MMS would like to thank the Roadrunner drivers for making the trip to Montgomery Motor Speedway and putting on a great show) The race ran caution free.
Roadrunner results (Unofficial)
- Tommy Kendrick #3
- Johnathon Johnson #17
- John Singletary #27
- Tim Peters #01
- Stephen Magwood #11
- Charles Ellis #28
- Houston Ingram #34
Next, we had the Mini Sportsman Cars on the track. It has been a few years since these cars visited Montgomery Motor Speedway and they did not disappoint. 15 cars started the 20 Lap feature with the #87 of Johnny Childree from Panama City Florida taking the lead at the drop of the green flag. #12 Gage Williams took the second position. The racing was fast and furious as they jockeyed for position. Lap 10 saw a lead change as #5 of Adam Sowell grabbed the top spot. There was plenty of side by side racing going on all over the track. A new leader was announced on lap 15 as the #29 of Herndon Buie from Dothan, Alabama locked in to the top spot for the remaining laps.
Mini Sportsman / Mini Cup Results (unofficial)
- #29 Hendon Buie
- #77 Thomas Smith
- #5 Adam Sowell
- #33 Ryan Cherry
- #6 Austin Reeves
- #87 Johnny Childree
- #91 Mark Floyd
- #10 David Bobo
- #99 Cameron Ross
- #9 Michael Chaney
11-15 place #12 Gage Williams #23 Michael Floyd #4 Jacob Beasock #06 Justin Ross #14 Les Brown (Not in actual order)
Kids Bike races were next starting with the 8 and under
- Bently Wingard
- JD Lee.
8-12 Bike race
- Caleb Armstrong
- Drue Midkiff
- Logan Strickland
Late Model Sportsman had a strong field of cars. At the drop of the green flag it was the #21 Blacksheep Woodlands car of Jason Furrow who took the lead and was on a rail with everyone else in the field looking at his rear bumper. Caution flew on lap 3 as the #19 of John Adams had mechanical issues and dropped a large amount of oil in turn 1. The race was red flagged so the cleanup crew could concentrate on the spill and get things cleaned as quickly as possible. The race resumed with Furrow in the lead and the rest of the field fighting for position. On lap 20 caution came out for the #8s of Larry Speakman as he got into the wall in turn 4. The caution was displayed 3 more times for minor spins. As the laps clicked off it looked like Furrow had this race in the bag but Dave Mader #118 had a different idea as he went underneath Furrow on the last lap to take the lead and the win.
Late Model Sportsman Powered by WCI Part.com (Unofficial)
- Dave Mader #118
- Jason Furrow #21
- Perry Patino #51
- Josh Hamner #88
- Aiden Eldridge #8x
- Dennis Reno Jr. x1
- Jeff Dawkins #2
- Travis Cleckler #5
- Mikell Rawls #1r
- Matt Belter #21
- Rick Oertel #28
- Larry Speakman #8s
- Keith Joiner #17
- John Adams #19
- Jeremy Ledbetter #1L
Coca Cola Street Stock were the last feature of the night and a sharp field of cars took to the track. A big shout out to Billy Joe Austin #51 returning to racing after a long layoff and a strong finish. At the drop of the green it was Dwayne Wesenberg #31 taking the lead. Lap 5 caution was thrown for debris on the back stretch. During the caution, the #12 of Josh Wilson was checked for an oil leak and sent to the pits. Lap 6 saw another yellow for a spin by Terry Grimes #33. Lap 7 as the field was racing off turn 2, caution was displayed again as the #38, #17 and the #33 all spun out. Under Caution the #38 displayed his displeasure with the #82 and spun him out ending the night for both teams. The big wreck happened on lap 10 as Daniel Jacks #1 and Skylar Strength got together on the front stretch sending the #17 nose into the wall ending his night. Contact between the #51 of Grimes and #31 of Wesenberg sent both of those cars to the rear of the field. At the end of the 30 contest it was Lapine’s Charles Davis #6 with victory #7 of the season. With Dwayne Wesenberg #31working his way back to second and Trey Grimes #51 making it back to 3rd.
Coca Cola Street Stocks (Unofficial)
- Charles Davis #6
- Dwayne Wesenberg #31
- Trey Grimes #51
- Billy Joe Austin #51
- Terry Grimes 33
- Daniel Jacks #1
- Glenn Frazier #5
- Skylar Strength #17
- Blake Wilson #82
- Josh Wilson #12
- Brian Hutchinson #38
- Joe Bethea Jr. #33 DNS
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action on August 12 for the Saturday of Speed 125 featuring the “Show me the Money” Pro Late Models along with a special appearance by the Outlaw Late Models in a 50 lap shootout. These cars run on a regular basis at Crisp motorsports Park and this will be their first visit to Montgomery motor Speedway. The Outlaw late models run an outlaw dirt type of body and should provide a great show for the fans. The Coca Cola Street Stocks and the Modified Minis will be on the undercard. Tickets for this show will be $15 for Adults, $10 Seniors and Military, $5 for kids 6-12 and 5 and under are always free. Grandstands open at 5 Budweiser qualifying at 6 and racing at 7.
