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Sponsor’s Spotlight: Miller Lite Proud to be a Huge Part of Five Flags’ Rich History

By Chuck Corder

Five Flags Speedway has a rich history that spans nearly 60 years.

L.H. Williamson opened the track in 1953, but Rick Solchenberger claims to have invented a thrilling childhood pastime outside the famed half-mile, asphalt oval.

What he calls the “pizza box slide� down the grass hill behind the grandstands has long since faded away, but Solchenberger can still see the indelible impression he made these days.

“There’s a sign now that says, ‘Please keep off the hill,’ � Solchenberger said. “You had to first eat the pizza, then open box all the way. If anybody knows me, they can tell I wasn’t a small child, so you had to open the whole box and lay it flat to get a good nice slide going down the hill.�

These days Solchenberger still cuts an important figure out at Five Flags, as the on-premise sales manager for Goldring Gulf Distributing Company.

Goldring distributes Miller Lite to seven counties in the Panhandle from the “Florabama line to Tyndall Air Force Base,� as Solchenberger puts it.

And Solchenberger will be on hand Friday to help drop the green flag for the Miller Lite 100, the Buddy’s Home Furnishings Blizzard Series season finale for the Super Late Models.

“We’re always grateful for the partnership we have with Five Flags Speedway,� said Solchenberger of Miller Lite, which has been a part of Friday night racing at Five Flags for close to a decade.

“Being out at Five Flags, it’s a huge partnership for us because of the racing fans in Pensacola. We not only touch fans on race days, but during promotions at local venues throughout the year with everything culminating to the Snowball Derby.�

The Super Stocks, Sportsmen and Bombers will join the Super Late Models on the second to last race night of the year and the final Friday. The Night of Champions falls on Saturday, Oct. 8.

The grandstands open at 5 p.m. Friday with admission as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors/Military; $12 Students; $5 Child (6-11); Under 6 is Free. The pits open at 1 p.m. and passes cost $25.

Beyond his pizza box derby days, Solchenberger has fond memories of growing up around Five Flags thanks to his father.

He remembers some of the classic Snowball Derby victories, such as Tammy Jo Kirk in 1994, Eddie Mercer in 2005, NASCAR star Kyle Busch in 2009 and, of course, local she-ro Johanna Long’s memorable win last year.

On a personal note, he fondly recalls winning a “Spirit of ’76� go-kart during a raffle drawing when he was 11.

“They didn’t draw the ticket until late in the night and most of the kids had fallen asleep. I toughed it out,� Solchenberger said. “And, doggone it, they pulled my ticket.�

And with Miller Lite’s close relationship with Five Flags, Solchenberger feels like he has won the lottery every day, especially when it comes to the Snowball Derby in December.

“For us, it’s a part of being a Pensacolian,� Solchenberger said. “It’s out Super Bowl, our Talladega, our Daytona. It’s part of the aura growing up here and loving it.

“Once the Monday after Thanksgiving hits, I’m at Five Flags Speedway and it’s the Snowball Derby. And it has been going on for 44 years.�

Albeit minus the pizza box derby.

 

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