\u00a0Flashbacks washed over Augie Grill at Five Flags Speedway on Friday. The uneasiness caused him to squirm a little his Super Late Model seat.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The two-time Snowball Derby champion lost the Blizzard Series season opener when on a late caution he began leaking fluid, putting a sudden and dramatic end to his night. When another came out on Lap 91 during the U.S.A. Digital 100 on Friday, Grill was bound to not let history repeat itself.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson learned, as Grill made a dominant return to Victory Lane. \u201cThat first race was heartbreak,\u201d said Grill, who was dominant from qualifying and thereafter. \u201cI didn\u2019t smell in the car anything this time. I thought we\u2019d be all right when everybody got back out. Fortunately, I was able to pull away.\u201d He drove away from the youngster Chase Elliott, who won here last month and unofficially took the Blizzard points lead after finishing as the runner-up.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elliott led a good portion of the race early, but could not close the door when Grill came barreling down on him in the middle of the race. \u201cI worked as hard as I could, but Augie was too tough,\u201d the 14-year-old said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be our goal from here on out to win every week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On a night full of bright pink, purple, green, orange and more fireworks, yellow was the color that stole the show at Five Flags. An inaugural competition yellow promised to add a bit of drama to the Blizzard Series. Yet, as expected, it had little effect on the usual cast of characters that drive up front. \u201cBasically, it worked out like it would\u2019ve had everybody pitted on Lap 80, you know,\u201d Grill said. \u201cIt was nothing too different, except I didn\u2019t have to beat everybody out in the pits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He had his white No. 112 running on all cylinders, even though he didn\u2019t make it easy on himself. Fastest in qualifying, Grill partook in the other Blizzard Series adjustment Friday ? a field invert. On the roll of the die, he figuratively rolled the dice by slamming the die into the asphalt. The gamble did not pay off and the field was set to an eight-car invert. It didn\u2019t matter on this night.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe didn\u2019t have the car we liked to have on the last race,\u201d Grill said. \u201cWe worked on it and got it back to like it was for the first race. We had a really good car tonight.\u201d Among Grill, the fireworks and the series changes, the night\u2019s other highlight was an ultra-competitive battle between Bubba Pollard and Casey Smith late in the race. The pair were door-to-door just prior to Lap 85 as they battled for third and stayed that way for several laps. They sandwiched around Eddie Mercer, down a lap, before Smith finally passed Pollard at the start of Lap 90.
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\nSportsmen
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stevie Mercer just would not be denied. Starting fifth, Mercer was determined to return to steer his black No. 72 back to Victory Lane. The veteran got his wish, forcing the issue all night to pick up his first win since earlier this season.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThese cars don\u2019t know it\u2019s an asphalt track,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cLoose cars, trading paint, that\u2019s how we like to race. We\u2019ve been in a dry spell. It feels like we\u2019re getting back there.\u201d He topped series points leader Steve Buttrick along the way, as Mercer and Buttrick ran away from the rest of the 12-car field for most of the 25 laps. Mercer passed Buttrick on Lap 14 and never looked back. Not even lapped traffic late in the race could put the brakes on Mercer\u2019s runaway night.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe car was good, but it was not enough to get by (Mercer),\u201d Buttrick said.
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\nBombers:
\nCurtis Faircloth continues to be a thorn in the side of Mike Goraum. For the second time in three races, the Pace native topped the series points leader to find his way to Victory Lane. The bad news for the rest of the Bombers? Faircloth seems destined to be a thorn in more than just Goraum\u2019s side. That was clear from the outset when Faircloth got a good run as the green flag dropped yet, but his hard driving spooked Tracy Soles in the No. 6 and caused a quick caution.
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\nSuper Stocks
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Randy Thompson continued to pad his series points lead with another victory. Two weeks after his first career victory, Earl Polk finished as the runner-up. Chris Cotto rounded out the top three despite early car troubles.
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\nFive Flags Speedway, Official Results, June 25, 2010<\/p>\n