8/10/2011
Five Flags Speedway
Sponsor’s Spotlight: Rubber & Specialties Gets Its Lines Ready for Blizzard Race
Ronnie Burt is like most average race fans.
The Pensacola branch manager of Rubber and Specialties loves to see good, close driving when he comes out on Fridays to Five Flags Speedway.
And, also like most average Five Flags fans, Burt has a bit of a vice when it comes to racing.
“I like to watch the crashes,� he said with a bit of a chuckle. “Obviously, I hope nobody gets hurt, but I like to watch neck-and-neck races.�
Burt surely will get his wish come Friday when his company sponsors the fourth of five Blizzard Series races for the super late models this season at America’s favorite home track.
The Rubber and Specialties 100 will feature some of the top short-track drivers in North America.
Hometown girl Johanna Long, the defending Snowball Derby champion and NASCAR trucks rookie, leads a field whose racing resumes might make you blush.
Two-time Derby king Augie Grill’s lead in the points race is only two against Grant Enfinger. Enfinger, coincidentally, also sits second in the Automobile Racing Club of America series, a national circuit that often runs the same tracks as NASCAR’s elite.
Bubba Pollard is looking for Win No. 12, an unfathomable number with so much of the late model season to go. He had a dozen in 2010 alone.
Reigning Blizzard Series king Chase Elliott, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rookie and the son of Motorsports Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, promises to wow the crowd again.
And more recent fan favorites, such as Kenzie Ruston, Pensacola's Logan Boyett and Mobile's D.J. VanderLey, round out a class of stars that shine brightly up and down the entry list.
The Modifieds also will compete in a 35-lap showdown, along with the Sportsmen (20 laps) and Bombers (20 laps) when the grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. Friday. Admission is as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors/Military; $12 Students; $5 Child (6-11); Under 6 is Free.
The pits open at 1 p.m. with passes costing $25.
Rubber & Specialties, Inc. has supplied the Gulf Coast and other selected areas with the best and most reliable industrial rubber products backed by excellent customer service for more than 35 years. Our 22,000-square-foot warehouse in Pensacola is stocked with everything from garden hoses to flexible metal hoses.
They supply hoses, hydraulic couplings, and parts for heavy industrial equipment in manufacturing operations and contractors, but also carry products for everyday customers, too.
Rubber and Specialties also provide fuel, oil and high-pressure brake lines on racecars, including some that will compete in the local classes Friday.
Longtime Five Flags enthusiasts will remember Rubber and Specialties sponsoring Clay Brown’s car years ago. Founder and president Charlie Cook is a diehard racing fan.
“We’re hoping it helps get our name out there for people that don’t know about us,� said Burt, who has worked for Rubber and Specialties for 32 years. “It should be a fun night.�
If there’s door-to-door racing late in Friday’s race, Burt certainly will be a happy camper.
For more information on Rubber and Specialties, which has branches throughout the southeast, please call their headquarters at 850-478-9778 or visit their web site at rubberandspecialties.net.
