From Tim Bryant
Pensacola, FL -May 25th 2011- Oops, we’re 1 day late, but nevertheless, we would like to invite you to join us this Friday Night as we kick off the Memorial Day Weekend with race #2 in the Buddy’s Home Furnishing Blizzard Series, the Papa Johns 100. 
The lightning fast Super Late Models put on one of the most competitive races in recent memory in the Series opener on March 25th. (more…)
By Chuck Corder
From the four flags that waved to the fiery tempers, the color red seemed to be a fabric woven through Friday night’s action at Five Flags Speedway.
Okie Mason preferred black and white.
Okie was better than OK, taking home a pair of checkered flags Friday. Mason began his historic night by capturing the Pro Challenge exhibition race.
More importantly, though, he outlasted nine cautions to win the Super Stocks 50-lap showdown.
“The other cautions didn’t bother me until that last one,” said Mason, who won his first Super stocks feature in more than a decade. “I decided to go for it around Lap 31 and I thought that decision might come back to bite me.”
Luck was clearly on his side Friday. Mason wasn’t going to compete last Friday when the 50 lapper originally was scheduled before rain postponed it to this week.
He took his good fortune to the lead on Lap 37 and was able to comfortably cruise to the victory despite all sorts of action happening behind him.
The scariest incident came with 46 laps complete when Mike Moore’s No. 55 went up in a fireball down the front straightaway.
“It blew up,” Moore said, somehow managing a smile. “It was running hot all night. That was a scary one to get out of, I tell you that.”
Mason and Jessie Reid, old high school classmates, battled for the lead for most of the race.
The pair raced door to door for most of the race, as they exchanged the lead on several occasions. Mason went by Reid on Lap 19 before Reid took it right back two laps later.
They went back and forth like that until Reid was way off the pace in Turn 4 as the 16-car field approached 40 laps.
“Me and him go way back,” Mason said of Reid. “We’ve raced each other on dirt and I respect him and he respects me.”
Another one to respect Friday was that of Regan Baker’s No. 86.
Baker set the track record in the qualifying. The first car to qualify, Baker sped around in a blistering 18.747 seconds. He started 10th, though, after the dice-roll invert and had all sorts of problems throughout the 50 lapper, pitting on more than one occasion.
Still, though, Baker managed to battle from the back of the pack to finish as the runner-up.
Paul Jean also fought his way from the rear of the field to finish fourth. It wasn’t the win Jean hoped for, but he simply happy to be racing.
The Cordova, Ala., driver has spent the last month cleaning up his hometown after it was scattered because of one of the F4 tornadoes that tore up northern Alabama last month.
The night began slowly for the Super Stocks. There were three cautions in the opening two laps.
One of those included Bubba Winslow, who came into the night as the points leader. Winslow snapped a drive shaft and was kaput.
All the while, Mason never let the theatrics ruffle him. And, he did it all in a car that is up for sale.
Maybe, Mason and car owner Eric Wood will think twice now.
“It’s the best car I’ve sat in for the Super Stocks,” Mason said.
Super Stocks 50 Lap Feature Results — 1. Okie Mason, 2. Regan Baker, 3. Shannon Jackson, 4. Paul Jean, 5. Jessie Reid, 6. Randy Thompson, 7. Tommy Praytor, 8. Darin Matthews, 9. Joe Mahuron, 10. John Shuffler, 11. Corbitt Moseley, 12. Mike Moore, 13. Charlie Skipper Jr., 14. Brandon Harris, 15. Michael Ledlow, 16. Bubba Winslow
Sportsmen
Stevie Mercer finally found a way to beat Steve Buttrick.
Start on the pole and let the man chase you. Mercer won for the first time this season, holding off a late charge from Buttrick, who has dominated this class the last two seasons.
“That makes it easy when you start up front and race the track,” Mercer said. “I was worried about the car the whole time. I heard everything. I was nervous, but I got back in the groove.”
Buttrick did well just to be a part of the feature. His car appeared to be destroyed in an ugly wreck during a heat race earlier in the night.
While trying to pass for the lead, Buttrick did a 360 down the front straightaway and sustained severe damage to his No. 33. He walked away OK, visibly shaken though by the sequence of events.
Somehow, though, he managed to make enough repairs in time to get it back ready for the feature and captured a respectable runner-up spot.
Sportsmen 20 Lap Feature Results—1. Stevie Mercer, 2. Steve Buttrick, 3. Randy Thompson, 4. Brannon Fowler, 5. Bubba Winslow; 6. Michael Couture, 7. Jimmy Goodwin, 8. Lee Reynolds, 9. Jim Pokrant, 10. Marty White, 11. Charles English, 12. Thomas Faddis, 13. Justin Babb, 14. Tina Davidson, 15. Wayne Burkett, 16. Jared Courtney
Bombers
In typical wild and crunchy fashion, the Bombers didn’t disappoint.
Brian Lane outlasted a multitude of cautions in the 15-lap feature to win for the first time this season and break a three-race win streak for division points leader Curtis Faircloth.
Lane’s win was quickly stripped of him, though, in post-race technical inspection. That bumped Gary Goodwin to his first win of the year with Kenny Bullard finishing second and Brandon Burks in third.
“That was a marathon right there, wasn’t it?” Lane said. “I didn’t think we were ever going to get through.”
Faircloth finished a distant 16th. After challenging for the lead, Faircloth’s No. 7 went off the pace and had to bring it to the pits.
Bombers 15 Lap Feature Results—1. Gary Goodwin, 2. Kenny Bullard, 3. Brandon Burks, 4. David Johnson, 5. Rusty Powell Sr., 6. Tally Warrick, 7. Leonard Craig Sr., 8. Robert Balkum, 9. Tracy Soles, 10. Hunter Ward, 11. Courtney Rodrigues, 12. Thom Crosslin, 13. Kenny Williams, 14. Curtis Faircloth, 15. Derek Long, DQ. Brian Lane, DQ. Michael Nelson
Pro Challengers
Okie Mason started and ended his night with a bang.
Before he took home the Super Stocks trophy, Mason cruised to the 15-lap feature exhibition victory of the 1,100 cc Pro Challenge cars.
Mason made a move on the outside to assume the lead on Lap 2 and never was challenged.
“I enjoy running here,” said Mason, who raced in the big Super Stocks 50-lap showdown later on Friday. “Let’s see if I can go to the Super Stocks and do the same thing.”
Mother Nature took home the checkered flag at Five Flags Speedway.
For the first time this season, rain postponed a race night at America’s Favorite Home Track. It looked like the night’s festivities would go on without a hitch. All three local divisions — the Super Stocks, Sportsmen and Bombers — were able to complete their practice sessions. But around 6:30 p.m. Central time, the heavens opened up and the heavy drops began to pepper the half-mile asphalt oval.
Track officials hoped for the best, but as the precipitation continued to fall, it was simply too daunting of a task to wait the rain out. The decision was made shortly before 7 p.m. to reschedule the same program for next Friday night with the Super Stocks 50-lap showdown highlighting the race action.
By Tim Bryant
You get ½ off!! Read on, more on this later. With an extra week off, area Racer’s are chomping at the bit to get back up to speed, and that is exactly what they’ll do this Friday Night when action returns to the high banks of 5 Flags Speedway for our Annual Super Stock Showdown. The Sportsman Division and the Bombers will also be on the program, along with the return of the popular Pro Challenge cars. (more…)
By Chuck Corder
Hunter Robbins’ faith never wavered.
While his Pro Late Model crew tried to plug a leak in his No. 18 car, the Montgomery, Ala., driver kept his focus.
Robbins was rewarded for his patience Friday night at Five Flags Speedway, as he came from the end of the line to win the Allen Turner Elantra 100 in the Pro Late Models’ season debut. (more…)
From 5 Flags Media
Pensacola, FL – Friday Night, April 22nd marks a new beginning for the Pro Late Model Division at 5 Flags Speedway. Known for several years as a stepping stone to the Super Late Model Series, the Pro Late Model racing became so popular that many of the top Super Late Model teams have actually added Pro Late Model cars to their stables. The beauty of it all, is that with the current rules package that is in place, even an upstart Pro Late Model team can compete with the veterans. And so, the Allen Turner Series was born for 2011. (more…)
From 5 Flags Media
Pensacola, FL – Construction has begun on a new office (finally) for 5 Flags Speedway. The contractor completed the slab, and plumbing last week. The framing of the outside walls, and the inside walls is now underway.
The office is next to the existing temporary office in a mobile home that was brought in after the hurricane in 2004.
We will keep you updated on the progress and hope to be inside by early summer.
He might be a seasoned veteran, but Nathan Ingersoll races like a brash rookie.
The 2009 Modifieds series track champion at Five Flags Speedway got his 2011 off to a roaring start Friday at the half-mile asphalt oval.
Ingersoll used some nifty driving late to capture the 50-lap Modifieds season opener.
“I let ’em get there and then I had something for ’em,” he said. “I can’t tell all my secrets.” (more…)
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From Tim Bryant, Five Flags Speedway Media
Pensacola, FL -April 5, 2011- WOW! That’s the only word we can think of, when we think back to opening night at 5 Flags Speedway. The atmosphere was electric as the 2011 Season began with a bang. (literally) For the first time ever, we came out of the gate with the opening round of the Blizzard Series, the Pepsi Max 100 to be exact. And the stellar field, consisting of a host of the nation’s finest drivers, did not disappoint the large opening night crowd. When it was over, Senoia, Georgia, driver Bubba Pollard found his way to Victory Lane, the first half of a weekend sweep that found him winning the Miller Lite 100 at Mobile International Speedway on Saturday Night as well. (more…)
