Jake Finch Continues Hot Start with Pro Late Model Spring Nationals Win

Jake Finch added another Pro Late Model victory on the young 2026 season on Saturday night, taking the victory in the Georgia Watermelon Association Pro Late Model Spring Nationals at Cordele Motor Speedway.

Finch, already a winner in the Alabama 200 and the Baby Rattler this season, returned to victory lane in the Ronnie Sanders Racing No. 18 on Saturday night, finishing ahead of Cody Martell and Cole Denton. The Florida native passed Martell just before the 50-lap mark in the 75-lap contest en route to the win.

It continues a string of good fortune, both on and off the track, for Finch, which he hopes to continue for the foreseeable future.

"We've had good race cars the past few weeks," said Finch in victory lane. "Our car was good all night. We just had dirty air a little bit. Had a little bit too much gear to really chase them down there. I was a little worried about the gear. When we got a restart, I knew I could do my job to give myself a good position and get ourselves clear, and felt like we did, obviously, a good job of that.

"I can't thank Ronnie Sanders, my dad, Johnny Allen, everybody that helps with this team and Ronnie Sanders Racing. We have a good race car, and it's been a fun couple of weeks."

Along with his on-track successes, Finch was tabbed earlier this week for a five-race slate in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series with JR Motorsports, piloting the team's No. 9 Chevrolet.

"It's been a really good couple past weeks. I'm super excited to join JR Motorsports and that 9 team. Hopefully, we can keep knocking these wins off and have a lot of confidence going into our stint with them. I can't thank Dale and everybody over there at JR Motorsports enough for that opportunity.

"A lot of people have been asking me what's different. Nothing's really been different. I'm just showing up to the racetrack, executing the same way we know. It's just been falling in our favor lately."

Martell held on to a second-place finish, fighting a tight race car in the closing laps of the race.

"We were real tight on the bottom underneath of him," said Martell. "I could tell down in three and four, once they started moving to the top, we were real tight down there.

"I just couldn't really get to the gas without shoving up the track, and I'm not going to drive into them. I'm just glad to finish the race. The last couple ones have been pretty rough."

Cole Denton, making his Pro Late Model debut, finished on the podium. The young driver was happy to keep pace with Finch and Martell and learn from them in his first race with the division.

"These guys are really good," said Denton. "I'm glad I was behind them and able to learn a lot from them. I spun the tires on the initial start, didn't know what the car was going to do. The past few days have been the first time I've been in a 604 Pro Late, so it's been a lot of fun.

"Thank you to Ty King Motorsports and Mr. Doug Stevens, my crew chief, and the whole team, 77 Speed Shop for a super fast car."

Garrett Gumm finished fourth, with Stuart Dutton rounding out the top five.

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Pro Late Model Sprint Nationals Unofficial Results