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Grill Gets Monkey Off Back, Collects First 5 Flags Victory of 2012 in Allen Turner PLM Series

By Chuck Corder

Augie Grill crossed the finish line, checkered flag whipping madly in the wind, and pumped his fist.

This has to seem like a typo, but Grill’s victory in the Allen Turner Pro Late Model 100 on Friday at Five Flags Speedway was his first of the season in Pensacola.

“To win … after the early summer and spring we had, it’s nice,� said Grill, the all-time leader in Blizzard Series victories for Super Late Models. “It’s a tribute to the team we have here.�

Grill took the lead from Mike Garvey at the end of Lap 47 and the pair put on a show the rest of the way, as only two cautions came out.

Garvey never allowed Grill to escape, but couldn’t quite put the bumper to Grill either.

“We just got too free at the end,� Garvey said. “We tried to save something, but it was a good race. We ran as hard as we could, but came up second.�

Two more drivers had to like their nights at the famed half-mile, asphalt oval.

Brandon Bendele, the Texas driver who made his first appearance at Five Flags in 2012, collected a podium result with an impressive third after starting the 100 lapper in 12th.

“It was a little surprising to me,� said Bendele, who won the final PLM 100 race in 2011. “Track position was key at the end.�

The other driver who was all smiles was 15-year-old Mason Massey.

Driving the Bill Elliott Racing No. 9 and with defending Snowball Derby champion Chase Elliott acting as his spotter, Massey drove an Elliott-like race.

After starting 11th, he began to eat away cars after the 22-car field crossed the halfway point of the race. Unfortunately, Massey’s move through the field came a little late and was good enough for fourth.

Korey Ruble started on the pole after fast-qualifier Hunter Robbins (17.015 seconds) rolled a 10 to set the invert.

The crowd rose to its feet on Lap 5 when hometown favorite Junior Niedecken, a longtime Five Flags fixture whose father won two Snowballs many moons ago, took the lead.

Niedecken led 28 laps before yielding to Garvey, who was no doubt the class of the field along with Grill.

“Hats off to Mike Garvey,� Grill said. “I think he let me go, thinking we’d get another caution. We were awfully equal there at the end.�

 

Super Stocks

While there might not have been much drama, Darin Matthews didn’t seem to mind.

The Pascagoula, Miss., native will take wins like this every time.

Matthews led all 25 laps of the 12-car Super Stocks feature to capture his first victory at Five Flags Speedway in 2012.

Former track champion Randy Thompson finished as the runner-up and defending champ Bubba Winslow took home third.

“I just wanna thank my family, wife and all my kids,� Matthews said.

Thompson was desperately chasing his first trip to Victory Lane at Five Flags in several years. He battled Brandon Harris for that second spot for much of the race before finally laying claim to it. Thompson just didn’t have enough for Matthews.

“I was hoping to get a little closer to (Matthews) and make a better race of it,� he said.

Winslow made an eye-popping move inside of Charlie Skipper to move to fourth with two laps remaining. Then, on the final lap, he nudged Harris out of the way for third and collected some hard-earned points to stay ahead of Thompson in the season standings.

“We’ll take that,� Winslow said. “We had to earn it, that’s for sure.�

 

Sportsmen

Steve Buttrick had the perfect position for a caution-plagued race.

As the yellows flew fast and furious in the 25-lap Sportsman feature, six times to be precise, Buttrick got to watch it all in his rearview mirror.

Buttrick won for the fifth time this season to inch a little closer to series points leader Brannon Fowler, who finished third.

“We had a little bad luck 2 weeks ago when we blew a motor,� Buttrick said. “This feels great to come back like this.�

Especially in a feature that saw six cautions come out.

Buttrick started sixth, but as his custom, had climbed to second by the end of the first lap thanks to the outside groove.

He had the lead by Lap 4, passing Michael Couture. That’s when things began to get interesting.

The first yellow waved from the flag stand when Paul Mathis hit the outside wall coming out of Turn 2.

As he was trickling down the racetrack, he tattooed Wayne Burkett that added to the confusion.

Four more cautions would interrupt the rhythm in the next eight laps.

Meanwhile, back out front, Buttrick was off on a Sunday drive.

A terrific four-car battle ensued for the second position before Bubba Winslow finally stuck his No. 44 in there for good.

 

Bombers

Ryan Fowler won the war of attrition for the Bombers on Friday.

The dirt-track dynamo, who made his debut in May with a third-place finish, took his first career checkered flag on asphalt in a 20-lap feature that saw plenty of carnage.

Just five of the 15-car field remained at the end of the race.

“I like it a lot. I think I’m gonna retire now,� Fowler joked.

Robert Balkum took second and Hunter Ward rounded out the podium.

Fowler survived thanks to a smart strategy while the other drivers were aggressive from the opening green flag.

The scariest sequence came with 8 laps complete when Kenny Williams was trying to hold on to the lead and thwart a hard challenge from series points leader Gary Goodwin.

The duo initially made contact in Turn 3 before Williams began to get loose coming down the front straightaway.

The two checked up right before the start-finish line and avoided each other momentarily. Their tires screamed and both cars careened into the inside wall.

Most of the field managed to avoid the pair until Tommy Lowery crashed into them along with Brandon Burks.

Burks, who came into Friday third in points, tried to return but he eventually came to the pits for good once the race got under green again.

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