Tyler Roahrig Makes History with Smitty Memorial Win at Russell's M-40 Speedway

Tyler Roahrig made history on Saturday night, becoming the winningest driver in the history of the Reveal the Hammer Outlaw Super Late Model Series.

Roahrig scored the victory at Russell's M-40 Speedway in the sixth running of the Smitty Memorial. Roahrig took the lead on lap 36 and maintained the top spot for his eighth career Reveal the Hammer win. That win breaks a tie with three-time series champion Steve Needles for most with the series.

"Steve's pretty much been the benchmark of this series," said Roahrig in victory lane. "It's unfortunate he can't be here racing tonight, but hopefully soon. He's always a top contender and we enjoy racing with him.

"We've probably ran half the Hammer races in history, I'm guessing. That's just a testament to my team. I definitely can't do it without them. It's a lot of work trying to take care of this car and all the other racing we do as well."

The Smitty Memorial proved to be a battle of attrition, with several competitors falling by the wayside due to incidents and mechanical issues.

"Yeah, this was a bit of a marathon. That's unfortunate to see, you know, so many yellows and stuff, whether it was from over-aggressive driving or mechanical failures, but I definitely don't like to see that. These cars are really expensive, and they take a lot of work, so hopefully we can move past that."

While Roahrig won last year's Reveal the Hammer event at Russell's M-40 Speedway, he felt he pushed too hard in the early stages and jeopardized his chances in that race. He planned a more methodical approach on Saturday, especially after starting 16th following the redraw.

Still, Roahrig took the car that set a track record in qualifying and put it out front by lap 36, passing Zack Cook for the fifth lead change of the evening.

"Last year, I kind of felt like I wore my tires out pretty bad," Roahrig explained. "About 30 laps in, even though I was leading, I felt like I went a little too hard. This year, I was trying to be a little easier. We got to the lead pretty early and not really by design. You're getting chased by Phil Bozell, Zack Cook, Kyle Crump, Mark Shook. You can't really lay in the weeds at that point.

"I had to run a little harder than I really wanted to, but the car stayed balanced the whole time, so that was good."

Phil Bozell finished second after starting alongside Roahrig on the eighth row. While both drivers efficiently navigated traffic following the invert, Roahrig passing Bozell before getting to the front of the field proved important.

"We actually got through pretty clean through traffic," said Bozell. "Surprisingly, we got there early and Tyler got around us there on that restart. We didn't have much for him there. We had a good little bit on the restart, but the last 15 laps, it started missing. I didn't have nothing for him after that."

For the second race in a row, Zack Cook finished third with the Reveal the Hammer Series. Cook led seven laps before turning over the top spot to Roahrig.

"We've been pretty good. I just can't thank everybody enough that helps me get here," said Cook. "It feels really good. I just want to beat these guys. We're getting better, though."

Mark Shook finished fourth, with Kyle Crump rounding out the top five.

The Reveal the Hammer Outlaw Super Late Models next head to Berlin Raceway to celebrate Independence Day with the Spirit of 76 on Saturday, July 4.

-Photo credit: Cally Jean Media

6th Running of the Smitty Memorial Results