Jason Hogan Regains ASA SAT Points Lead With a
Runner-Up Finish at Montgomery
The talk of the racing community throughout the Southeast was the return of a major touring series to the Montgomery Motor Speedway for the first time since re-opening at the beginning of the 2009 season after remaining dormant for the last three years. With a packed grandstand section watching thirty cars taking the green flag the hype lived up to what it was worth.
Fans saw a familiar face at the top of the speed charts all day long as Georgia native Jason Hogan, who has claimed his fair share of wins at the half mile facility in years past, set the fastest time in qualifying. Hogan qualified his #92 Hogan Lumber Chevy Impala more than a tenth quicker than his next closest competitor, easily showing his knowledge of how to get around the Alabama speed plant as compared to many younger racers who have never laid eyes on the place. After the series’ mandatory redraw, Hogan would take the green flag from the eighth position for the 100 lap event.
It was a conservative yet swift trip to the front for Hogan as he took the lead a third of the way into the event. While it was a familiar sight to see the #92 machine out at the front of the field, the track itself was anything but familiar when it came to tire wear according to Hogan. “I was just focused on saving my tires all race long. I made it to the front pretty easily but I kept telling myself that this place doesn’t have the grip it used to and it can eat your tires in a hurry, so I have to play it safe and just save my stuff.”
With around twenty laps to go while Hogan was still saving his stuff for the finish, a fellow Georgia native T.J. Reaid passed Hogan for the lead. With the hopes that the younger driver would have gone for the win a bit too early Hogan didn’t panic staying on his team’s game plan for the finish. Unfortunately, it was the move of the race for Reaid as he went on to win the Gateway 100 with Hogan notching his ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour season best finish of second. The runner up finish, along with setting the fastest time in qualifying and leading the most laps throughout the event, all awarded bonus points which catapulted Hogan back into the series points lead after former leader Max Gresham was relegated to a twenty-fifth place finish.
“I thought we were finally going to get us one, but it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. I saved and saved all race long to try to have something for the end just in case we had to race someone hard for the win but I just didn’t have a right rear left at the end of the night. T.J. was just better than us and had more than we did at the end, plain and simple. Overall though it was a great points weekend for us, we picked up as many bonus points as possible and got a much needed good finish on a night when (Max) Gresham didn’t, so we’ll take it,” added Hogan, the new series points leader.
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Elliott Leads ASA SAT Field with 20 to go; Racing Incident Results in DNF
Chase Elliott’s record in the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour has seen highs and lows. With strong runs against many experienced drivers, including three top-10’s, the 13-year-old Dawsonville, Ga., native also suffered his only career DNF in the competitive series, and his run Saturday night at Montgomery (Ala.) Motor Speedway encompassed the high and the low. After moving the No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine into the lead on lap 81 of the Gateway 100, Elliott looked to be on his way to his third career win with one of the strongest cars in the field. Unfortunately, that run was cut short when another competitor took him out and handed Elliott his second career DNF.
“It was a weekend of learning at Montgomery,” Elliott said as he reflected on the race. “Not only about racing and saving your equipment for the end, but also realizing who you are racing around. It was disappointing, but we will go back better prepared with the knowledge we gained.”
After qualifying sixth in a field of 28, including series hotshots TJ Reaid, Jason Hogan and Jeff Choquette and MMS veteran Augie Grill, Elliott drew a “three” to move him up to third for the start of the ASA SAT Gateway 100.
As the green flag waved, Elliott opted to set his own pace to save his tires for the end of the 100-lap race, dropping him to fifth, where he stayed until the No. 92 of Hogan got around him on lap 11. After dropping back to ninth on the first restart on lap 14, Elliott moved his way back up to seventh by lap 27.
On lap 34, Elliott reported that one of the cars in front of him was leaking fluid, covering his windshield as Elliott worked the Aaron’s Dream Machine around the half-mile oval. Even with the obstructed view, Elliott still managed to get around John Bolen on lap 55 to take over sixth place. The yellow flag flew on the next lap, and officials determined that the No. 6 was indeed leaking fluid and directed him to pit road, moving Elliott into fifth for the restart.
Two laps into the green flag run, Elliott picked up fourth from Clay Alexander and then made his way around Grill to move into third on lap 58. After picking up two positions in three laps and still running with a dirty windshield, Elliott reported on lap 66 to his crew simply, “The car isn’t too bad.”
Elliott backed up that report on the next lap as he pressured No. X2 Dennis Reno for second just as the caution waved. Under the yellow, ASA SAT officials allowed the field to clean their windshields from the fluid leaked by the No. 6 earlier in the race.
After restarting third, Elliott rode around in third behind Hogan and Reno until the next caution on lap 80. On the restart, Reno made a pass on Hogan for the lead, and Elliott followed into second, bumping Hogan back to third.
On lap 81, Elliott – who appeared to have the strongest car in the 28-car field – cleared Reno for the lead. Reno, who spun his tires on the restart, drove hard into the corner and sent Elliott spinning, ending his night early. ASA SAT officials cited Reno for rough driving and moved him to the back of the line; Reno was then parked by series officials for the remainder of the race for an incident in the pits, not directly related to the on-track incident.
The penalty, of course, did little to ease the disappointment of running up front in the final laps as Elliott searched for his first win in the competitive ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour – only to come up short of the checkers. Ultimately, Elliott was credited with a 13th-place finish in the Gateway 100 at Montgomery Motor Speedway.
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Roderick on a Roll; Posts Fourth Straight Top-Three Finish
Casey Roderick has been the picture of consistency in 2009 and is on the verge of breaking through with his first Late Model win. The 16-year-old driver steered the No. 19 Hometown Community Bank Ford to his fourth straight top-three when he finished third in Saturday’s ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour RC Cola / Moon Pie 100 at Lanier National Speedway (Braselton, Ga.).
“We were so close tonight,” Roderick said after the race. “We just missed the setup by ‘that much’ again. We started off bad tight but the track came to us, and I was rolling in the top groove. We got our rhythm and were catching the leaders there at the end, but that last caution definitely hurt our momentum. But that’s another good finish for us, the fourth straight top-three for the team. We’ve been working hard, and the guys have been giving me great cars all season. We’ll take what we learned tonight and hopefully come back for the GAS race next weekend and get us that first win.”
Roderick placed the No. 19 Hometown Community Bank Ford at the top of the speed charts in the first of three ASA SAT practice rounds at Lanier on Saturday. After rolling out early in the qualifying order, Roderick’s time held for the seventh fastest in the 30-car field. Luck was on his side when it came to the draw for position; Roderick pulled a “two” to move himself to the front row for the start of the RC Cola / Moon Pie 100.
The field took the green flag and then the yellow just as fast for a multi-car wreck in the first turn. With no laps complete, the field lined up again for a second attempt to start the race. With two laps on the board, the second caution flew for a pile-up on the backstretch. Following a lengthy delay, the field took the green again and Roderick snuck to the inside behind race leader Paul Kelley in the No. 23.
Before long, the No. 36 of Tim Russell was pressuring Roderick for second. Roderick defended his position on the outside of the No. 36 for two laps and finally pulled ahead of Russell to move back into line and maintain second.
Contact between Russell and TJ Reaid brought out the third caution on lap 17, allowing Roderick to give his team a report on the No. 19 Ford. Roderick reported that the car wasn’t bad but that he hoped he didn’t use his tires up holding off the No. 36.
Roderick lined up on the outside of Kelley for the re-start and three laps into the green flag run, the leaders spread out single-file around the 3/8-mile track. On lap 25, the No. 98 of Russell Fleeman took a look inside the No. 19 for second. Roderick was able to hold him off on the outside for two laps before falling into line behind Fleeman for third.
As Fleeman pulled away and battled Kelley for the lead, Roderick maintained third position as the laps ticked off until the fourth caution on lap 39. Roderick lined up on the inside of the second row, alongside No. 24 Parker Hammons, for the re-start. Hammons was able to take third away from Roderick, who held off pressure from his BER teammate Chase Elliott in fifth.
After 35 laps of green flag racing, the longest stretch of the 100-lap race, Roderick found his rhythm as the track came to him. After pulling away from Elliott, Roderick put the pressure on Hammons to move back into third place on lap 75.
As he built momentum to make a run on the leaders, the fifth and final caution waved on lap 80. Roderick re-started in third and jumped ahead of Hammons in fourth to maintain position. As the final laps wound down, Roderick held off a run by Max Gresham in the No. 7-11 to finish third, his fourth consecutive top-three finish in the No. 19 Ford.
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Chase Elliott Earns Sixth Place in Strong ASA Southeast Field
Chase Elliott continued his stellar Late Model rookie campaign over the weekend with another solid sixth-place finish in the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour at his home track, Lanier National Speedway (Braselton, Ga.). The 13-year-old driver out of Dawsonville, Ga., started the 100-lap race in fifth and ran in the top-ten all night to finish sixth.
“That was a tough fight for sixth place,” Elliott said after climbing out of the No. 9 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine. “My car got looser as the night went on causing me to have trouble getting up off the corners. By the time I found a groove the car liked and could make up some time to the leaders we were out of laps to get there. The Southeast Asphalt Tour always has a strong field, and we were running all night with some of the best guys out there – so I’m definitely happy with another strong top-ten here tonight.
“We had Mr. Butler and Mr. Rudnick along with several other representatives from Aaron’s here tonight, and it was great to race in front of them and my hometown fans. We were able to watch Brett Butler in the Pro-Cup series come home in 4th and I think everyone had a great time. I can’t thank Aaron’s enough for all of the support they give me – along with all of our contingency sponsors – to go out and do what I love to do every weekend. And a big thanks to mom and dad and to everyone on the team for giving me another great car this weekend. I am looking forward to taking this knowledge and coming back to Lanier again this Friday to race in the Georgia Asphalt series race here again.”
After hovering near the top of the speed charts during all three practice rounds, Elliott qualified the No. 9 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine in fifth and kept his position after drawing a “five” for the starting line-up.
The 30-car ASA SAT field took the green flag for the RC Cola / Moon Pie 100 at Lanier but didn’t complete a lap before a scuffle in turn one resulted in the first yellow. On the official re-start, TJ Reaid stuck the nose of his No. 41 machine under the No. 9, causing Elliott to slip up the track going through turns three and four. Elliott got stuck on the outside and slipped back to seventh before he could maneuver the Dream Machine back into line.
After two quick laps, the race went under caution again for a pile-up on the backstretch. With only two laps on the board, only 19 of 30 cars remained on the track. Elliott lined up on the inside of the fourth row for the re-start and got shuffled to eighth before the next caution on lap 17, which was a result of Reaid spinning the No. 36 of Tim Russell. Elliott picked up two positions, one from Russell and one from Reaid who was moved to the back for aggressive driving.
Elliott re-started on the outside in sixth and quickly fell into line as the front of the field spread out single file after three laps. The laps ticked off and Elliott maintained his position until the next caution on lap 39. He reported to his crew that the car was stable and not too loose off, and he was eager to see what he and the rest of the field would have at the end of the race.
On the re-start, Elliott picked up fifth position from Austin Hill and found himself on the rear bumper of his Bill Elliott Racing teammate, Casey Roderick, where he followed for a good 20 laps. Elliott took a look to the inside of Roderick’s No. 19, but wasn’t able to pressure him for position. After Roderick moved up to third, Elliott pressured the No. 24 of Parker Hammons for fourth but wasn’t able to make a move before the final caution on lap 80 for a spin between Hill and Max Gresham just behind Elliott.
Elliott re-started in fifth but slipped to seventh as Gresham took a position on the outside and Reaid, who had the fastest car all night and was charging back to the front after his penalty, took another position on the inside.
With ten laps to go, Elliott held off pressure from behind by Keeton Hanks in the No. 09 and took over sixth position from Hammons on lap 93.
From there, Elliott had his sights set on cracking the top-five, but, as they say in racing, he just ran out of laps. The finish was Elliott’s 10th top-ten in 11 career LM starts since March 2009.
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