Records Fall, Champions Crowned at Montgomery Motor Speedway
Motorcycles Steal the Show on Night of Champions
(Montgomery, AL) -- It was a record-breaking night on August 10 at Montgomery Motor Speedway. The track's "Night of Champions" event not only crowned four new season champions, but also saw two track records fall in qualifying, and a season-high car count for two of the four car divisions. If that wasn't enough for the fans, the SMARS Motorcycles put on a great show with Twin features, and for the first-time ever for SMARS, a race going the opposite direction around the track.
Things got kicked off with qualifying for all of the car classes. Track records were set by Perry Patino in the Buzz division, turning the half-mile in 24.018 seconds, and by Joe Bethea Jr in the Open Sportsman division, with a time of 21.618 seconds. Fast qualifiers in the other two divisions were Joe Bethea Jr in Street Stock, with a 22.912, and Chase Spradlin in Mini Mod with a 22.645.
We had a season-high nine car field for the Mini Modified 20 lap feature. Spradlin rolled a 4 on the giant die putting Ashley Bridgmon and Jeremy Williams on the front-row. Williams jumped out to the early lead on the outside, while Spradlin made a quick move to the top spot passing Williams on the second lap. Caution flew on lap 8 for a spin by Heath Williams. Spradlin jumped out to the lead on the restart and held off a hard charge lap-after-lap by defending champion Joel Collier. Collier fell just short of the victory, which went to Spradlin. Jeremy Williams, Bridgemon, and Heath Williams rounded out the top five. Joel Collier's second place finish was enough to capture his second straight Mini Mod championship.
In the Buzz 20 lap feature, Perry Patino rolled a 1 for a straight-up start with him and Mathew Robbins on the front row. Patino charged to the early lead while John Musgrove came from fourth to take second on the first lap. The caution flew on lap 7 for a spin by Darrell Cawley Jr, making his MMS debut. Patino jumped back out to the comfortable lead on the restart with Musgrove and Robbins trying to chase him down. With just four laps to go Patino dropped off the pace and into the pits, handing the lead and the win over to Musgrove. Robbins, Jonathan Johnson, Floyd Brown, and Darrell Cawley Jr rounded out the top five. Joshua Wood, although falling out on the first lap due to a mechanical failure, had enough points to take home the 2013 Buzz Championship.
The Open Sportsman division saw plenty of action, with their record field of 9 cars on the grounds. Fast qualifier Joe Bethea Jr rolled a 4 on the giant die, putting Darrell Cawley Sr and Jamie Ater on the front row. Ater jumped out to lead lap one, but Bethea wasn't going to wait around long to take the top spot, scooting past Ater on the second lap. A couple of early cautions kept the field bunched up behind Bethea. A caution on lap 18 for Cawley's blown engine left a slick spot in turn 3, and made for an interesting last few laps. Jamie Ater got out of line twice, hitting the oil-dry that was on the high-side of the track, spinning and bringing out cautions in the last few laps. Bethea held off a charge from Roger Cain to take the win. Jason Furrow, making his first ever start in a race car, overcame a spin on lap 8 to take the checkers third, with Shelby Reuse and Jeremy Burchfield rounding out the top five. Roger Cain was disqualified in post-race tech inspection, moving Furrow to second, Reuse to third, Burchfield to fourth, and putting Ater back in the top five. Although mechanical issues prevented him from starting the race, Bobby Reuse had enough points to be crowned the inaugural Open Sportsman division champion.
The final car race of the night was the Street Stocks. Their 30 lapper saw Joe Bethea Jr take the lead and never look back, holding off David Wood, Dwayne Wesenberg, Adam Freeman, and Chance Atkins who rounded out the top five. Bethea's win solidified his championship.
The SMARS Motorcycles were back in Montgomery for a unique and thrilling event. For the first-time-ever the SMARS group raced on an oval, the WRONG WAY around the track, reversing direction and going clockwise around the Montgomery oval. In the first feature, going the traditional direction, Rob McLendon took the checkers over John Cohorn, David Lank, Davo Majzun and Archie Boyer. In the second feature, turning the opposite direction around the speedway, it was David Lank coming out on top of Cohorn, McLendon, Mani Franquez, and Nick Nguyen.
Montgomery Motor Speedway will be back in action, and close out the season with the 49th Annual Alabama 200 on August 24, 2013. The Southern Super Series Super Late Models will compete for 200 laps, with regular features for Open Sportsman, Street Stock, Mini Mod, and Buzz divisions.
Wood Brother's Auto Sales and Veteran's Oil have teamed up to offer an additional $500 in purse monies for the Buzz division if 10 or more cars show up on August 10. The $500 will be distributed through the field.
For more information about Montgomery Motor Speedway, log on to the track's website at www.MontgomerySpeedway.com or call the speedway office at (334) 262-6101.
Official Results
August 10, 2013
Night of Champions/SMARS Motorcycles
SMARS Motorcycles Race #1 (Counter-Clockwise - 12 Laps)
1. 69 Rob McLendon
2. 411 John Cohorn
3. 105 David Lank
4. 47 Davo Majzun
5. 34 Archie Boyer
6. 44 Mani Franquez
7. 112 Nick Nguyen
8. 17 James Blake
9. 515 Tim Freeman
SMARS Motorycles Race #2 (Clockwise - 12 Laps)
1. 105 David Lank
2. 411 John Cohorn
3. 69 Rob McLendon
4. 44 Mani Franquez
5. 112 Nick Nguyen
6. 47 Davo Majzun
7. 34 Archie Boyer
8. 515 Tim Freeman
9. 17 James Blake
Open Sportsman (25 Laps)
1. 33 Joe Bethea Jr
2. 21 Jason Furrow
3. 49 Shelby Reuse
4. 37 Jeremy Burchfield
5. 39 Jamie Ater
6. 1 Darrell Cawley
7. 59 Jimmy Roberts
DNS 89 Bobby Reuse
DQ (2) 28 Roger Cain
Street Stock (30 Laps)
1. 33 Joe Bethea Jr
2. 24 David Wood
3. 31 Dwayne Wesenberg
4. 35 Adam Freeman
5. 2 Chance Atkins
6. 83 Todd Hill
7. 38 Whit Goode
8. 32 Kameron Wesenberg
Mini Mod (20 Laps)
1. 75 Chase Spradlin
2. 71 Joel Collier
3. 69 Jeremy Williams
4. 2 Ashley Bridgemon
5. 82 Heath Williams
6. 21 Steve Looney
7. 29 Lance Campbell
8. 93 Drew Uptain
9. 71r Jack Collier
Buzz (20 Laps)
1. 21 John Musgrove
2. 36 Mathew Robbins
3. 4 Jonathan Johnson
4. 48 Floyd Brown
5. 18 Darrell Cawley
6. 51 Perry Patino
7. 5 Joshua Wood