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Drivers and fans gear up for Opening Night at Five Flags

Written by Chuck Corder News Journal correspondent

It was a scene worthy of a double take.

Augie Grill on a knee, arms draped over the door, lending an attentive ear and offering shrewd advice to a fellow driver about Five Flags Speedway's abrasive asphalt.

Had Grill traded in helmet for headphones? Fortunately for Super Late Model fans and, perhaps, unfortunately for his rivals, the answer is no.

Grill was at Five Flags earlier this month, providing tips to Bobby Good Jr., who was testing one of the Grill-built Grand American Race Cars.

He was doing the same for Rob Hanks, another client, at Thursday's open practice.

"It's hard to give drivers information," Grill said with a wry smile, "but it's a business. That's what makes the world go round.

"But, with apologies to Alice Cooper, there will be no more Mr. Nice Guy when the season gets under way tonight at Five Flags in a major way with the Pepsi Max 100 — the first of five Blizzard Series races this year.

Super Stocks, Sportsmen and Bombers also kick off their respective seasons when the grandstands open at 5 p.m. today. There will be an autograph session with Blizzard drivers at 7:30 p.m.

"The first time I came here, I knew what to expect," said Grill, a two-time Snowball Derby winner. "I knew the track's do's and don'ts. Knowledge of a track is always way more important to me than shocks or springs.

"It's easy to see why counterparts have come to pick Grill's brain. At 34, he is looked upon as a Five Flags oracle for all his success at the half-mile oval.

"Nobody gets around here better than Augie," Good said.

Grill won two Blizzard Series races last year and is one of the early favorites to charge for the 2011 title. Reigning champ Chase Elliott will make it to Pensacola for at least two Blizzard races, according to his website, but he has acknowledged it will be tough for him to defend his championship.

The 15-year-old son of legend Bill Elliott, Chase signed a development deal with famed Hendrick Motorsports in the offseason and will devote most of his attention to NASCAR's K&N Pro Series.

There is one young driver who's chomping at the bit to reach her pit at Five Flags tonight. Pensacola's Johanna Long, a Camping World Truck Series rookie, will make a return to her home track less than four months after the 18-year-old's historic Snowball Derby victory in December.

"It's fair to say, she's been the most popular driver here the last few years," Five Flags general manager Tim Bryant said of Long. "The Snowball Derby was the flag on top of the mountain. We're certainly glad to see her racing here again.

"The usual cast of Blizzard characters from Grill to Long to Bubba Pollard to Mike Garvey to local veteran Junior Niedecken all will compete tonight.

Newcomers, such as D.J. VanderLey, will be a part of the mix. VanderLey won Pro Late Model titles at both Five Flags and Mobile International Speedway last year.

He will continue his Pro Late Model duties, but the Auburn freshman is ecstatic to get behind the wheel of Eddie Craig's No. 4 Super Late Model.

VanderLey, 18, just hopes he can catch his breath at some point.

"Running three cars, plus school on top of that, it's been a lotta work," he said. "But it's all worth it.

"Quite a busy schedule.

Now that's something to which Augie Grill the driver and Augie Grill the entrepreneur can relate.

This article first appeared in Friday's edition of the Pensacola News Journal.

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