Montgomery, Alabama (October 19, 2026) — The 2026 season came to a climactic conclusion at the year’s season finale, the Alabama State Asphalt Championship.
The night featured a stacked lineup consisting of four feature events. The evening was headlined by the Show Me The Money Pro Late Models with their 100-lapper. The Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsmen held a special 73-lap contest, with the Shelby Concrete Street Stocks and Hometown Automotive Solutions Crown Stocks also joining in on the action.
All in all, winners emerged and champions were crowned throughout this eventful night of racing.
Casey Roderick Returns to Victory Lane with Ronnie Sanders, Presley Johnson Claims Series Title
Late-race chaos allowed Casey Roderick to return to victory lane with a team he knows quite well.
Roderick joined forces with Ronnie Sanders Racing for the Alabama State Asphalt Championship, piloting the no. 18 Pro Late Model for the first time in eight years. The reunion came about as a result of Jake Finch participating in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Phoenix Raceway. Finch had piloted the machine all year long at Montgomery to much success, including a victory in the Alabama 200.
Roderick ran in the top five all night long, finding himself in third position with two laps remaining. Leaders John Bolen (no. 2) and Presley Johnson (no. 82) made contact on the exit of Turn 4, leading to a spin for Bolen and a green-white-checkered restart. Roderick held off a hard-charging Jim Wall (no. 91) to secure the victory.
“I appreciate everyone coming and watching us. I’ve always loved coming here to Montgomery. I want to thank Ronnie for giving me the call Wednesday. It was a last-minute deal, but man, it felt like home,” said Roderick in victory lane. “I had a lot of good races with Ronnie back in 2016, ’17 and ’18, some of ’19. I really enjoyed that time of my life. I don’t think I’d be who I am today without those years driving the number 18 with Ronnie. A lot of good memories, man. It’s kind of surreal that we pulled it off tonight.”
Despite being involved in the late-race incident with John Bolen, Presley Johnson secured a fifth-place result, enough to secure his first ever championship in the Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series.
“First thing, getting into John, I feel horrible about that,” said Johnson post-race. “Hard racing deal. Hats off to those guys. If it weren’t for them, GMS Race Cars, Tony [Eury] Jr., Pops, Spencer Davis.
“It’s kind of surreal. It hasn’t set in yet. We started out last year in this deal and struggled a lot, wrecked a lot of stuff. We started off really good at the 200, ran fourth, and kind of just built more momentum. This was one of them that got away, but we’ll be back next year, for sure.”
Behind Roderick, Jim Wall originally crossed the line second, but was disqualified in post-race technical inspection over left-side weight. As a result, Gage Rodgers (no. 1) officially finished second with 13-year-old Keeton Harris (no. 07) rounding out the podium in third.
Sally Mott (no. 08) finished fourth, with Presley Johnson rebounding to a fifth-place finish.
Show Me The Money Top 5 Qualifiers
- #18 Casey Roderick – 19.524 seconds
- #5 Garrett Gumm – 19.605 seconds
- #2 John Bolen – 19.619 seconds
- #82 Presley Johnson – 19.659 seconds
- #91 Jim Wall – 19.670 seconds
Alabama State Asphalt Championship 100 Results
- #18 Casey Roderick
- #1 Gage Rodgers
- #07 Keeton Harris
- #08 Sally Mott
- #82 Presley Johnson
- #11 John Wilkinson
- #12 Christopher Tullis
- #2 John Bolen
- #22 Ryan Herbert -20 laps
- #5 Garrett Gumm -37 laps
- #6 Chris Whorton -38 laps
- #91 Jim Wall – DQ
Wagner Wins Late Model Sportsman 73-lapper, Hartley Claims Championship
The special 73-lap contest for the Black Sheep Woodlands Late Model Sportsmen proved to be an exercise in patience and timing for the no. 5 machine of Chris Wagner.
Despite setting the fast time in Bama Budweiser qualifying, Wagner found himself rolling to a fifth-place position on the starting grid by virtue of the dice roll. Wagner quickly moved up to second, biding his time behind the no. 12 of J.R. Hartley before ultimately making the race-winning move with on Lap 68, leading the final six circuits en route to Front Porch Grill victory lane.
“We ran a little bit harder than I wanted to early on, so I had to keep [Hartley] close by,” said Wagner. “I knew as long as I could keep him in striking distance, if he’d mess up I’d have a chance. We had a mishap last race, a mechanical problem, so I feel like three [wins] is pretty good for the year.”
Hartley’s second-place effort was enough to secure the 2026 Late Model Sportsman championship. Hartley’s closest championship rival, Thomas Hartzog (no. 00), suffered from a practice crash and did not make the feature. Hartley made the most of this opportunity to end the season on a high note with a more comfortable points situation.
“We’ve been working on it. I’ve got to thank everyone for helping me a lot in the shop the past week or two. It’s another full-time job keeping up with [these cars], working in the shop at night when you get off work. It’s another job, for sure.”
Behind Wagner and Hartley, Trey Grimes (no. 51) rounded out the podium. Cody Weaver (no. 81) finished fourth, with Billy Melvin (no. 59) completing the top five.
Late Model Sportsman Top 5 Qualifiers
- #5 Chris Wagner – 20.467 seconds
- #75 Branon Bishop – 20.531 seconds
- #59 Billy Melvin – 20.533 seconds
- #51 Trey Grimes – 20.640 seconds
- #12 J.R. Hartley – 20.881 seconds
Late Model Sportsman 73 Results
- #5 Chris Wagner
- #12 J.R. Hartley
- #51 Trey Grimes
- #81 Cody Weaver
- #59 Billy Melvin -1 lap
- #05 Hunter Tyus -1 lap
- #28 Mike Silvey -2 laps
- #88 Larry Hughes -15 laps
- #75 Branon Bishop -45 laps
- #00 Thomas Hartzog – DNS
Dawson Parker Scores a Hard-Fought Victory as well as Street Stock Championship
It was a nearly perfect night for Dawson Parker (no. 16) on Saturday, scoring the victory in the 25-lap Street Stock feature in addition to claiming his first ever Shelby Concrete Street Stock championship.
It was a somewhat chaotic path to Front Porch Grill victory lane for the no. 16 machine. Parker inherited the lead roughly ten laps into the event following an incident between leaders Chase Spradlin (no. 24) and Charles Davis (no. 17). Contact from Davis sent Spradlin for a spin, with both drivers going to the rear of the field. As the laps winded down, Parker found his mirror full with Spradlin and Davis charging hard through the field in an attempt to reclaim the lead. Fortunately for Parker, he was able to hold them off in an epic battle for the win.
“We were stable the whole year. We got it done, finally,” said Parker in victory lane. “I want to thank everybody that comes out here and helps us with this car. We finally got it in a really good spot and at a perfect time.”
Behind Parker, the hard-charging Spradlin and Davis settled for second and third respectively. Daniel Jacks (no. 1) finished in fourth, with Nickey Pate (no. 08) completing the top five.
Street Stock Top 5 Qualifiers
- #24 Chase Spradlin – 22.376 seconds
- #16 Dawson Parker – 22.603 seconds
- #17 Charles Davis – 22.760 seconds
- #33 Chad Bearden – 22.774 seconds
- #1 Daniel Jacks – 22.809 seconds
Street Stock 25 Results
- #16 Dawson Parker
- #24 Chase Spradlin
- #17 Charles Davis
- #1 Daniel Jacks
- #08 Nickey Pate -1 lap
- #31 Dwayne Wesenberg -6 laps
- #7 Tommy Lemley -7 laps
- #35 Chris Cunningham -9 laps
- #14x Tre Huff -18 laps
- #33 Chad Bearden -21 laps
- #5 J.C. Cleckler -21 laps
- #32 Kameron Wesenberg – DNS
Austin Reeves Caps Off 2026 Season with Another Victory and a Championship
Saturday night’s feature event for the Hometown Automotive Solutions Crown Stocks proved to be a microcosm of Austin Reeves’s year as a whole.
The no. 06 machine was the car to beat all day long, scoring the fast time in practice, topping the charts in qualifying, and eventually leading all 20 laps during the feature event en route to his fifth victory of the season. The win was another great achievement for Reeves and crew, but the cherry on top was his feat of claiming the 2026 Crown Stock championship at Alabama’s House of Speed.
“We’ve had a hell of a season,” said Reeves. “Spencer and Maddison [Bragg] gave me a hell of a car all year. I just can’t be more thankful to them. We went from winning two races last year to winning two titles and eleven races this year.”
Spencer Bragg (no. 8) had to settle for second, with Tracy Soles (no. 60) rounding out the podium in third place. Rock Clifford (no. 12) finished fourth, with Marty Bean (no. 15) coming home fifth.
Crown Stock Top 5 Qualifiers
- #6 Austin Reeves – 24.655 seconds
- #8 Spencer Bragg – 24.751 seconds
- #51 Trey Grimes – 24.832 seconds
- #15 Marty Bean – 24.894 seconds
- #60 Tracy Soles – 24.965 seconds
Crown Stock 20 Results
- #6 Austin Reeves
- #8 Spencer Bragg
- #60 Tracy Soles
- #12 Rock Clifford
- #15 Marty Bean
- #51 Trey Grimes
- #21 Jason Welch
- #9 Chris Landers
- #151 Billy Maxie
- #427 Kyle Gray
- #151m Lee Mason
- #115 Andy Stanfield -1 lap
The Alabama State Asphalt Championship served as the conclusion of the year’s activity at Alabama’s House of Speed. Fans, drivers, and teams are encouraged to follow Montgomery Motor Speedway’s website and social media accounts in the coming weeks for more information on the 2026 awards banquet, the 2027 racing schedule, and more exciting news.
