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.”
