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Clean Sweep: Odom Qualifies First, Wins Both Allen Turner PLM Features in Convincing Fashion

By Chuck Corder

Brandon Odom wanted desperately to bring his Pro Late Model to Five Flags Speedway.

The DeFuniak Springs native got his family on board and what a rocket ship he brought enjoyed Friday to the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Odom was the fast qualifier and then swept both the 20- and 30-lap features to put a definitive exclamation point on the evening.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge, but that’s why come here,� Odom said. “Now, I’ve got a car in one piece. I hope we put on a good show. It was fun.�

It was a head-turning show Friday, especially in the 30 lapper, the night’s finale. After winning the opener, Odom and the rest of the winners headed to the tail end as the field was inverted.

Odom patiently bided his time early on while the rest of the 12-car field shuffled in front of him.

John Thompson led for some of the race before falling back and getting involved in a tight affair with Junior Niedecken for second.

The pair made contact on Lap 18. Niedecken had the line, but Thompson came across him and Niedecken couldn’t avoid him.

“I’m not sure what exactly happened down there,� said Niedecken, who finished third.

That brought out the night’s second caution, and gave Odom the incentive to make his move.

While Tommy Rollins was eyeing his second PLM win of the season, Odom was picking off pretenders left and right.

On Lap 28, he finally caught and passed Rollins, who came home with runner-up honors.

“I couldn’t turn it in three and four,� a chagrined Rollins said. “(Odom) had a strong car.�

That’s how it was all night.

Odom threw up a pair of 16.7’s (16.723, 16.725), the only driver to go that low, to snatch the pole.

He quickly opened up a 10-car length lead while 17-year-old Bryce Dulabhan and 13-year-old Garrett Jones beat and banged behind him.

Jones took a couple of peaks, looking to shoot inside of Dulabhan, but never made it stick. He backed off down the stretch and never put another sweat into Dulabhan, whose growing fan base erupted in Victory Lane.

“They’re crazy, but they follow me everywhere,� Dulabhan shared.

 

Modifieds

It’s not often a feature winner gets overshadowed.

But that’s what the Modifieds delivered in their 20 lapper.

Brandon Howell won for the third time this season, but the subplot to follow all night long came in the form of runner-up Chris Cotto and third-place Donnie Hamrac.

“We had a really good car tonight,� Howell said. “Last time we struggled. It’s good to be back in Victory Lane.�

Hamrac had several chances to climb to second. He was on Cotto’s bumper with eight complete. He tried to go inside of Cotto two laps later, but the defending track champion was cut off in Turn 2.

Cotto was protecting his position perfectly. A persistent Hamrac tried his luck again, this time on the high side, but Cotto followed him right up the racetrack on the back straightaway.

Cotto pinched Hamrac down on Lap 17 going into Turn 2. It happened again on the back stretch.

It was the door-to-door, clean action fans come to expect at Five Flags.

Instead of the two commending each other in Victory Lane, though, a fiery Cotto spun the tires leaving, but not before lambasting Hamrac for still unknown reasons.

“I think we had a second-place car,� Hamrac said. “I tried my best to pass him, but I drive everybody clean. That’s just the way it goes.�

 

Sportsmen

Steve Buttrick has been the class of the Sportsmen field the entire season. Friday night was no different as he collected his fifth 25-lap victory of the season.

The Cantonment driver started second in the 14-car field, but took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back while pole sitter Shanna Ard and Brannon Fowler finished second and third, respectively.

“I don’t know if I could’ve passed either one of those cars behind me,� Buttrick said. “Everybody was the same speed.�

That made his decision to shoot out front once the opening green dropped that much more crucial.

There was no waiting around. It was quite the demonstration of sheer power and driving ability. In other words, typical Steve Buttrick.

Ard and Fowler didn’t let the three-time defending Sportsmen Snowball Derby champion build a huge lead, though.

Both kept a close distance and Ard was lighting up the tires in the turns and doing everything he could to slide by Buttrick.

“I wish I was there instead of him,� Ard said of Buttrick. “We’re getting better, though. The car didn’t take off like I wanted it too. But we’ll get it.�

It was the seventh top-three finish for Fowler this year.

 

Bombers

Michael Nelson had his No. 03 on rails for 18 laps.

Then disaster struck for the Bombers series points leader.

Coming out of Turn 4, Nelson went up the racetrack and banged the wall. As he came across the start-finish line, still with the lead, his right front tire was sparking and barely holding on.

It opened the door for Tracy Soles, who snagged his fifth 20-lap Bombers feature victory of the season.

“Michael had a rocket ship tonight,� Soles admitted. “If it wasn’t for that right front tire, we weren’t gonna catch him. But it’s good to be back up in Victory Lane and get points on him.�

Soles weekend just started, but it’d be hard to imagine it getting any better.

He graduated from Tate High. Then went out and won on Friday at Five Flags. And today, he turns 18.

Nelson qualified first and sat on the pole with Soles on the outside of him and sixth-grader Ryan Worsham third.

Worsham and Soles quickly swapped spots on the opening lap and continued to wage a wonderfully clean door-to-door battle for the next 13 laps.

While all Worsham-Soles war raged on, Nelson opened up a commanding lead.

Soles finally got his second spot back going into Turn 3 on Lap 14. He pursued the leader and pounced once Nelson’s night went haywire.

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