Some tracks fit certain drivers and teams like a glove. Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL) is that comfortable fit for Donnie Wilson Motorsports. The team went to victory lane with William Sawalich in the last ASA Southern Super Series race at Montgomery. Although Sawalich is not racing this weekend, the Wilson Motorsports stable will be ready with 16-year-old Gio Ruggiero and 18-year-old Jesse Love.
“As a team we are ready to race at Montgomery Motor Speedway,” said Wilson. “They (The Knox Family) have done a great job with Montgomery over the years. We are excited because we have had some success there over the years. Stan (Narrison), the track’s General Manager, also does a great job with the facility there in Montgomery.”
Wilson was a three-time winner in ASA Southern Super Series action when he was running full time with the series. The 2016 ASA Southern Super Series Champion is tied with Bubba Pollard for the most SSS wins at Mobile with three. With 11 starts at Montgomery and completing 98% of his laps, Wilson has posted 10 “Top 10” finishes.
“I always ran well at Montgomery and liked racing there, so that helps when you can like a racetrack before you even get there for the event,” added Wilson. “It fits my style with those long straight-aways. The biggest thing is you have to save tires and be there for the final segment of the race.”
While Sawalich won last year, the effort with Gio Ruggiero might be a stronger effort as he won the Show Me the Money Pro Late Model Championship at Montgomery in 2022 with two wins in six starts. Ruggiero ran all 725 laps last season and that is three times more laps than most of the Super Late Model drivers have run since the last event at Montgomery.
“Ruggiero has the laps around Montgomery,” explained Wilson. “He knows he will need to save tires till the end of the event. He is knocking on the door for a victory in the Super Late Models and could be winning races for us real soon.”
“Love has not raced there, but the last time he ran with us at a track he hadn’t seen he was in the top 10. If we can have our guys racing in the top five, then we know we are in the mix for the finish. I have always said you just need to be consistent and in the top five each week and soon those results will turn to wins.”
While Wilson himself is not racing this weekend, he’s not done by any stretch of the imagination. Right now, he’s wearing the car owner hat, but he could pull out the helmet bag at any point in time and climb back into his Super Late Model.
The 2023 Rumble by the River 125 will be the 17th ASA Southern Super Series race at Montgomery Motor Speedway (AL). The famed half-mile track has produced 10 different winners in the first 16 races.
Racing gets underway at 7:30pm CT on Saturday, April 15th. The ASA Southern Super Series will be joined by the local Outlaws division for 40 laps and the Late Model Sportsman who will go 40 laps as well. There will be an on-track autograph session at 6:3pm CT
For more information on the ASA Southern Super Series visit the series website www.southernsuperseries.com and visit the ASA Stars Tour site https://starsnationaltour.com for invocation on the next national event on May 7th at Madison International Speedway in Madison, Wisconsin.
