MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On Friday, August 22nd, the pits of Montgomery Motor Speedway began to fill in with fast race cars from all over the southeast, hoping to claim one of the Saturday of Speed trophies for themselves. Friday’s practice date was rained out, but Saturday’s race day had a forecast full of clear skies and great racing in the capitol city.
Saturday night’s agenda consisted of Twin 72s for our Show Me The Money Pro Late Models, a 72-lap race for our Shelby Concrete Street Stocks (celebrating 72 years of racing at MMS), and a 30-lap Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman race.
Saturday’s practice was dominated by #68 Aidan Potter in the pro late models, while Huntsville’s #77 Jeff Campbell topped the charts in Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman practice, and Jasper’s #19 Austin Evans led the Shelby Concrete Street Stock practice.
Bama Budweiser Qualifying put Lebanon, Tn’s #68 Aidan Potter on the pole for the first 72-lap Show Me The Money Race. #5 Chris Wagner and #6 Charles Davis won the Bama Budweiser Pole Awards for the Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman and the Shelby Concrete Street Stock divisions.
The first feature of the evening was the 30-lap Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman race, led to green by Boaz’s #5 Chris Wagner and Montgomery’s #12 JR Hartley, after Wagner rolled a 1 for the invert, using up all the luck he had for the night. The rest was talent; Wagner led every lap of the race and parked it in Front Porch Victory Lane for the 3rd time this year.
“It’s not as easy as it looks… we’ve been scared to change anything all year, but we finally tried some different things today, and I think I like the way we’re going. We didn’t have a lot of help today, but I can’t thank them enough,” Wagner said to Adam Otwell in victory lane.
Saturday of Speed Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman Results:
- #5 Chris Wagner
- #12 JR Hartley
- #77 Jeff Campbell
- #51jd Joey Holt
- #05 Hunter Tyus
- #88 Larry Hughes
The second race of the night was the 1st 72-lap Show Me The Money Pro Late Model race, led to green by Tennessee’s #68 Aidan Potter and Georgia’s #5 Garrett Gumm. Potter led all 72 caution-free laps and ended the night by parking his #68 machine in Front Porch Victory Lane, marking the 17-year-old’s first pro late model win ever!
“I love this feeling. I love winning, and it’s been a minute. Thank you to my grandparents who work their tails off for me, and thank you to Montgomery Motor Speedway,” Potter said after an emotional first pro late model victory.
Saturday of Speed Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Feature 1 Results:
- #68 Aidan Potter
- #5 Garrett Gumm
- #29 Hunter Wright
- #91 Jim Wall
- #2 John Bolen
- #12 Christopher Tullis
- #6 Chris Whorton
- #22 Taylor Corum
- #10 Connor Shelton
- #08 Spencer Bragg
- #11 Will Mack
- #11 Stacey Crain
- #91 Tre Huff
The 3rd race of the night was the 72-lap Shelby Concrete Street Stock race, led to green by #19 Austin Evans and #1 Maddox Langham. On the first lap, Evans dropped off the pace and pulled into the pits with a mechanical issue, ending his night much earlier than he had hoped. This gave the lead to #8 Will Smith early in the race, and he held onto it for nearly 10 laps before #6 Charles Davis took over.
A refueling caution on lap 35 saw #6 Davis, #8 Smith, and #16 Dawson Parker in the top 3, but by the end of the race, the only one left on the podium was Davis. Charles Davis drove his #6 to Front Porch Victory Lane for the second time this season.
“We made it, y’all, thank the Good Lord. This is good, y’all,” Davis says in Victory Lane while trying to catch his breath after a hot race.
Saturday of Speed Shelby Concrete Street Stock Feature Results:
- #6 Charles Davis
- #1 Maddox Langham
- #31 Ryan Logan
- #8 Will Smith
- #16 Dawson Parker
- #50 Bubba Deaton
- #08 Nickey Pate
- #81 Friday Hassler Jr
- #17 Richard McGuirt
- #19 Austin Evans
- #10 Darvin Lyons
- #14 Tre Huff
The final race of the night was the 2nd Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Feature, which was led to green by #29 Hunter Wright and #5 Garrett Gumm. On the first lap, the caution was thrown for a bad restart, and #08 Spencer Bragg got stuck on the inside wall, ending his night 72 laps too soon.
On lap 13, contact between the #68 of Potter and the #12 of Christopher Tullis sent the 12 around, which resulted in both cars being sent to the tail on the next restart. On the next lap, contact between the #68 of Potter and the #11 of Crain sent Potter hard into the turn 1 wall, ending his night early.
During the final green flag run, we saw lots of movement within the top 5, with rookie driver #22 Taylor Corum scoring her first top 5 finish at Montgomery after starting 8th, and points leader #91 Jim Wall taking 2nd place and extending his point lead going into the championship race on October 18th.
After many years of trying to win in Montgomery, Tennessee’s #29 Hunter Wright parked it in Front Porch Victory Lane for the first time of his career, marking his 5th pro late model win of the year.
“A little bit of luck never hurts. We drew a one, had more left side tire left over than the top two did after the first race. I’m just glad we finally got a win here. It’s a really fun track, and just really thankful for everyone involved in this thing,” Hunter Wright said in Victory Lane.
Saturday of Speed Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Feature 2 Results:
- #29 Hunter Wright
- #91 Jim Wall
- #5 Garrett Gumm
- #2 John Bolen
- #22 Taylor Corum
- #12 Christopher Tullis
- #11 Will Mack
- #6 Chris Whorton
- #10 Connor Shelton
- #11 Stacey Crain
- #68 Aidan Potter
- #08 Spencer Bragg
- #91 Tre Huff
Our next race is the Modified of Mayhem Homecoming on September 13th, with the Modifieds of Mayhem making their first return since the Alabama 200 in March. The event will also feature the Shelby Concrete Street Stocks, Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsman, and the Impact Zone Photo Outlaws.
Racing America’s full race replay: https://www.racingamerica.tv/montgomery-motor-speedway/season:1/videos/replay-show-me-the-money-series-plm-at-montgomery-al-8-23-25