Jake Finch Powers to Alabama 200 Victory at Montgomery

Jake Finch added his name to the list of Alabama 200 winners on Saturday night at Montgomery Motor Speedway, piloting the No. 18 Ronnie Sanders Racing entry to another win in the prestigious Pro Late Model event.

Finch, who won the 2024 Show Me the Money Series championship for Pro Late Model competitors at the Alabama half-mile in 2024, took the lead from Dylan Fetcho on lap 152.

He appeared to be cruising to the victory, but a late caution as John Bolen's car came to rest shy of pit road with six laps to go. The Florida driver held off his challengers on the following restart, adding the first Alabama 200 hand-carved bear trophy to his collection.

With the win, Finch joins a list of competitors such as NASCAR Hall of Famer Inductees Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Red Farmer, as well as NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott.

"It's pretty cool," said Finch after the win. "It was fun. We had a really good race car, probably one of the best I've ever driven. Luckily, we got to put on a show. I'm super proud of everyone on this Ronnie Sanders team. I can't thank them enough.

"It's good to finally get this one. We had a good car last year and had some problems, and the year before we finished second."

With the 200-lap race, there were many ebbs and flows, as well as an element of pit strategy that typically does not play out in Pro Late Model events. At times, Finch was further back in the field than he would have liked as part of the winning strategy, but he kept his cool and persevered to the win.

"I got a little worried in the car when we were sitting there," said Finch. "I didn't know if it was the right decision or not. I just need to shut up and drive, and that's my job. I'll not do the thinking from here on out and just do my job."

Fetcho finished second to Finch, as the three-time Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway track champion led most of the first half of the race and well into the second half before Finch assumed the top spot.

"Long race," said Fetcho. "We definitely had something figured out on that restart, went from sixth to first. I was pretty confident, and just lost the right-front again after that. Congrats to Jake, and thank you to all these people right here and my sponsors, of course.

"I think the fall-off was two seconds. It's definitely a tire-saving track. I don't know, hopefully I made it interesting for y'all on that restart."

Gage Gilby, making the trip from Nova Scotia, finished third. He fell back as far as 16th before the halfway mark of the race, but jumped from fifth to third in the closing laps.

"I'm really proud of our group today," said Gilby. "We fought all day, the day didn't go good at all at the start. Bruce and Tyler kept on me, and the boys in the pits put in the work."

Presley Johnson and Christopher Tullis rounded out the top five.

The Show Me the Money Series returns to action on May 2 at Montgomery Motor Speedway with the Spring Explosion 100.

-Photo credit: Rory Malloy

62nd Alabama 200 Unofficial Results