John Bolen Dodges Crash, Cashes in Fall Brawl 100 Win at Montgomery

John Bolen was in the right place at the right time to win Saturday's Fall Brawl 100 at Montgomery Motor Speedway.

Bolen moved into the lead on lap 61 of the 100-lap feature for the Show Me the Money Pro Late Model Series, capitalizing when Presley Johnson and Weston Marthaler came together battling for the lead. From there, the veteran racer led the rest of the way for his sixth career Show Me the Money victory.

It was Bolen's first race since an ASA Southern Super Series event at Montgomery this spring, and it led to the Alabama native's return to victory lane. With the victory, Bolen has at least one Show Me the Money Series win each season since 2023.

"We've been out of the race car since late May," said Bolen in victory lane. "A kid wiped us out in a Super race down here. We regrouped, went home, we all went to work. We're a family deal. I can't thank the Eurys and everybody at GMS enough. This is just a testament to the Eurys and everybody that helps us in North Carolina. We're down here in Alabama, we're kind of on an island. Without them, we wouldn't have the speed we do."

After a mandatory caution at the lap 50 mark, Bolen liked his chances of passing Johnson and Marthaler for the win. However, he patiently waited for an opportunity to pick them off one by one, and instead took over the top spot after their incident on the frontstretch.

"I knew I was better than them, but I was trying to let them play it out and see how that worked out. I had to pick them out one by one. I hate it for Presley. He's basically a teammate of ours at GMS. He had a really good car, ran strong. I hate he kind of got wiped out and it worked out that way for him. I feel like we had a really good long-run car. It just didn't fall off, kept running."

Garrett Gumm continued his search for his first career Show Me the Money victory on Saturday, coming up one spot short with a runner-up finish.

"I thought we [had a chance to win] when we got around the 18 [of Jake Finch] and 82 [of Grant Thompson]," said Gumm. "We had a really fast Mid-South Steel Chevrolet tonight. I don't know what happened on that one restart. I think the left-front fender was rubbing the left-front there. We fell way back. I was happy to get up to second with that. When I got by the 18 and 82, I thought we had something. They put together a really good race car, and we were just too far back to get to them."

Johnson rallied from his lap 61 incident to a third-place finish. He believed he also had a shot at the win, but was happy for Bolen in his victory.

"We should be sitting where John is," said Johnson. "Karma, you know? Karma sucks. I'm happy for John, you know. GMS Race Cars put on a show tonight. I feel like I had the car to win. Some stuff happened, but we showed them how hard Tony has been working, Spencer and John. These cars are hot rods. I think everywhere we go, we're a force to be reckoned with. We're really excited."

Jake Finch finished fourth, with Ryan Herbert rounding out the top five. With a seventh-place finish, Grant Thompson secured the 2026 Rogers-Dabbs Performance Pro Late Model Challenge championship.

The Alabama State Asphalt Championship marks the conclusion of the 2026 Show Me the Money Series season. That event is scheduled for Saturday, October 17.

-Photo credit: Montgomery Motor Speedway

Fall Brawl 100 Unofficial Results