IT'S TIME TO RACE!!

April 18, 2005 FSCR Mercer wins opening Blizzard Series Race at Five Flags Eddie Mercer promised he wouldn’t lead many laps in the Blizzard Series Miller Lite 100 Super Late Model race But it was that strategy that allowed him to win the opening race Friday night at Five Flags Speedway. Race rules dictated no pit stops for fresh tires unless a driver had a flat. So Mercer was content to fall back at the beginning, going from second to 10th, but then he began to work his way back. “It was a tire management game,” Mercer said. “That was the rule and that’s fine by me. I’m not known for being patient, but I was tonight.” Mercer led the final 30 laps, passing Donald Long for the lead. Long finished second, followed by Scott Carlson, Ronnie Sanders, Josh Hamner and Jeremy Pate. Mercer, the defending Blizzard Series champion, pulled away from the rest of the field. The last of four cautions came on a restart on Lap 65. Stanley Smith tapped Ryan Crane going into Turn 1 as Smith tried to take second place. Both drivers spun in front of a pack of cars, forcing Dave Mader III and Wes Loyd into the pits. Jay Middleton led the first 35 laps as he led a pack of Smith, Mader, Long and Crane who pulled away. The other contenders settled for staying back, saving tires. Long took the lead on Lap 36 from Middleton as they worked through lapped traffic. As Long tried to lap Roger Reuse, he got into the back of him, spinning Reuse out, bringing out the second caution of the race and bunching up the field. At this point, Jeremy Pate was in sixth place after starting 21st. He was the fastest qualifier in time trials, but his time was disqualified during inspection. He worked his way up to fourth before developing an oil leak. He made several pit stops under caution, fixing the problem before working his way up to sixth. Michael Austin won the 20-lap Spectator Feature. Stevie Mercer was second, but he did not make it easy for Austin, staying right on his bumper most of the race. . On lap 8 Austin got Shanna Ard loose and took the lead. Mercer moved into second, while Ard finished 3rd. Points leader Jimmy Hardin slammed hard into the wall during the 4th lap as he and Ken Hatcher got together. Hardin came back on the track on Lap 14 and spun Hardin into the wall. Hardin was then blacked flagged. Steven Davis cruised to an easy victory in the Super Stock 25-lap feature. He is the points leader in the Late Models at Mobile International Speedway. James Alonzo and Chris Cotto battled hard for 2nd place for several laps with Cotto on Alonzo’s bumper the whole time. There was only one caution when Larry Perkins lost his drive shaft. On the restart Davis got a good jump and he was not challenged the rest of the race. Alonzo finished second followed by Cotto, Mike Murphy, Jesse Reid, and Ron Joyner. Randy Thompson took the checkered flag in the 15-lap Bomber feature. It was a battle the last few laps between Thompson and William Kitchen. Kitchen had the lead but slammed into the back of a lapped car on the final lap. Thompson pushed through the right hole and pulled out the win. However, the top three drivers ­ Thompson, Kitchen and and Mike Kitchen ­ were disqualified in postrace inspection. That gave the victory to Tim McIntosh, while Pete Kitchen was second, Joel Lesley Jr. third, Tony Mandel fourth and Tyler Chapman fifth. Blizzard Series results - 1. Eddie Mercer; 2. Donald Long; 3. Scott Carlson; 4. Josh Hamner; 5. Jeremy Pate; 6. Ryan Crane; 7. Jay Middleton; 8. Charlie Bradberry; 9. Joey Senter; 10. David Hole; 11. John Heil; 12. Roger Reuse; 13. Dave Mader III; 14. Stanley Smith; 15. Wes Loyd; 16. Danny Bagwell; 17. Justin Drawdy; 18. Andy Antinoro; 19. Eddie Craig. Super Stock results - 1. Steven Davis; 2. James Alonzo; 3. Chris Cotto; 4. Mike Murphy; 5. Jesse Reid; 6. Ron Joyner; 7. Larry Perkins Jr.; 8. Earl Polk Spectator results - 1. Mike Austin; 2. Stevie Mercer; 3. Shanna Ard; 4. David Moore; 5. Jim Pokrant; 6. Gary Robinson; 7. Bo Resmondo; 8. Rick Novak; 9. Thomas Faddis; 10. Cody Brake; 11. Chad Robinson; 12. Earl Polk; 13. Ken Hatcher; 14. Richard Moore; 15. Jimmy Hardin Bomber results - 1. Tim McIntosh; 2. Pete Kitchen; 3. Joel Lesley Jr.; 4. Tony Mandel; 5. Tyler Chapman; 6. Danny Burns; 7. James Beal III; 8. Ronnie Powell; 9. Tracy King; 10. Louis Finch; 11. Shannon Warren; 12. David Poole; 13. Richard Jensen; 14. Bubba Winslow; 15. Patrick Martin; 16. David Holland; 17. Tommy Warren III; 18. Tommy Lambert Jr.; 19. Scooter Fry; 20. William Davis; 21. Dayton Sidner; 22. Chris Mayer; 23. Cheyenne Edmonds; Randy Thompson DQ; Mike Kitchen DQ; Willie Kitchen DQ Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! news@karnac.org or send a letter to the editor!