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Caseys Celebrate: Smith Wins $10K Southern Super Series Title, Roderick Captures First Blizzard Crown; Pollard Takes Advantage of Wilson’s Late Trou

By Chuck Corder

By Chuck Corder
The Night of Champions certainly didn’t disappoint.

Bubba Pollard capped a bizarre night for the Super Late Models in the Deep South Crane Rentals Blizzard Series/Southern Super Series finale by capturing the Deep South Crane Rentals 150 courtesy of the untimely demise of Donnie Wilson.

Wilson, whose fellow drivers freely admitted was the car to beat Saturday, watched his lead evaporate on Lap 130 when his No. 2 began to putter down the front stretch.

Pollard, who led the first 82 laps before Wilson emerged as the favorite, pounced

“We had a good car,� Pollard said. “I felt like something was going wrong because the car didn’t react like it normally does. But, we were able to keep it up front and save our tires.

“I hate it for Donnie. He was fast, and had the dominant car, for sure.�

It was an inexplicable end for Wilson, the Oklahoma City driver whose curse at the famed half-mile asphalt continued Saturday.

Wilson had the 2010 Snowball Derby victory snatched from his grasp when Pensacola’s Johanna Long marched to her historic win, leaving Wilson to collect runner-up honors.

He had no answer for his run of bad luck Saturday.

“We dunno what happened,� Wilson said. “I think we dropped a valve or something in the motor. You can’t control that. Hopefully, we’ll bring it back to the Derby, and have better results.�

Saturday he seemed poised to get the monkey off his back. Wilson qualified well, something that has plagued him at Five Flags previously, and quickly moved up from his eighth starting position in the opening laps.

Wilson was second by Lap 20 and began hounding Pollard around the racetrack for the next 60 laps, and sized up Pollard each time he and the Senoia, Ga., driver went into the turns.

Wilson finally got underneath Pollard on Lap 83.

After initially yielding the lead back to Pollard on Lap 104, Wilson reclaimed the lead on Lap 109 and it seemed smooth sailing from there.

With Casey Roderick sitting three spots behind him, Wilson was in line to capture the Deep South Crane Rentals Blizzard Series title. It would’ve also been his first career win at Five Flags.

That all changed on Lap 130 when Wilson’s No. 2 began puttering down the front stretch. He eventually brought it to the pits on Lap 137 and a disgusted Wilson yanked his helmet off before climbing out of his car bearing a wry smile.

Wilson’s struggles opened the door for Roderick to capture the Blizzard Series season championship at Five Flags, his first career track title at Pensacola’s high banks.

Roderick, who won the Blizzard race held in May, finished second to Pollard on Saturday. Preston Peltier was third.

“You never know how these races are gonna turn out,� Roderick, of Lawrenceville, Ga., said. “That’s why you never give up. Donnie had the best car tonight.

“I’ve always wanted be the Blizzard Series championship, and I’m glad I finally got it.�

It marked the 10t time in 11 seasons that a different Blizzard champion was crowned.

“It just shows you how tough it is to win this title,� Roderick said. “Everybody shows up here at Pensacola wanting to be a champion. This gives us momentum going into the Snowball Derby.�

 

Casey Smith has had good runs at the Snowball Derby. But like Wilson, Smith, too, has never closed the deal at Five Flags.

While he wasn’t too happy with his 10th-place finish Saturday night, it was plenty good enough for the Austin, Texas, driver to lock up the Southern Super Series crown and the $10,000 winner’s purse.

“It has been a great year,� Smith said. “We were strong all year. Tonight, was our worse race all year. But I couldn’t be happier. We’ve had an awesome year.�

Sixteen-year-old Garrett Jones, a past Pro Late Model champion at Five Flags, finished eighth and collected Rookie of the Year honors in the Southern Super Series.

 

Better Tool Boxes Pro Trucks

Fifty-something Brian Weimer has driven a lot of racecars in his many years of racing, filling his trophy case with track championships along the way.

Never had he claimed one from Five Flags Speedway, though. Now, he can.

Steven Davis bested Bubba Pollard to win the 35-lap Better Tool Boxes Pro Trucks feature Saturday at the famed half-mile asphalt oval and the $1,000 that came with it courtesy of Better Tool Boxes.

But, Weimer easily took home the Pro Trucks track crown.

“This is pretty awesome,� said Weimer, who finished third Saturday night. “Getting in the truck this year, it’s just more icing on the cake.�

Weimer led for 15 laps Saturday, but got chewed up in the intense battle between Davis and Pollard, the late model star who competes with the Pro Trucks for fun.

Pollard came into Saturday three-for-three in Pro Trucks features at Pensacola’s high banks. But Davis was the class truck of the night, setting the fast time in qualifying (18.390 seconds).

As they battled to reach Weimer on Lap 8, Pollard maintained second with Davis in tow. The duo raced around the racetrack side-by-side until Davis completed the pass on Lap 11.

“This is for all the hard work from all the guys at the shop,� said Davis, who finished second at the previous Better Tool Boxes Pro Trucks feature last month. “I like racing Bubba. He races me clean. He was waving me on the straightaway and I was waving back.�

 

Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman

Teenager Connor Okrzesik has a story he’ll regale his grandkids one day.

The 13 year old from Grand Bay, Ala., beat Steve Buttrick at Five Flags Speedway, Buttrick’s home track and a venue he has been so dominant at both in 2015 and for the last five years.

Okrzesik got his first career victory at the famed half-mile asphalt oval Saturday, winning the 25-lap Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman on the track’s Night of Champions.

“We had a great car tonight,� Okrzesik said. “I can’t complain about that. There were a few incidents in the first laps that were terrifying, but luckily we avoided that.�

Shanna Ard wasn’t able to avoid mechanical troubles in his No. 29, cursed by a battery cable that came loose.

But it mattered little. The Milton driver had an insurmountable points lead en route to his second straight track championship in the Sportsman division.

“It feels pretty good,� Ard said. “Maybe, we can make it three in a row next year. At the beginning of the year I wasn’t gonna race. If it weren’t for all my sponsors, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this. I’m very grateful to all of them that came aboard and helped us with this championship.�

Buttrick had six feature victories, winning half of the 12 races that were waged, coming into Saturday.

But Okrzesik took the lead on Lap 3 and never broke a sweat the rest of the way. Brannon Fowler rounded out the podium.

 

Butler U-Pull-It Bombers

Geno Denmark left no doubt.

Already the Butler U-Pull-it Bombers track champion coming into the Night of Champions on Saturday, the 21 year old from Dauphin Island, Ala., came home in style.

Denmark captured his seventh checkered flag of the season, once again dominating another 20-lap feature to put an exclamation point on an incredible year.

“It feels great,� Denmark said. “I have to thank everybody that prepared this hot rod for me. This thing’s fast. They know how to set it up. It’s just a team effort. I don’t do anything, but wheel it. These guys make it fast.�

Denmark took the lead from Carl Dodson coming out of Turn No. 4 on Lap 2 and never relinquished it.

Fellow Alabamian David Johnson, a winner at Five Flags a week ago, gave chase but never could close a 2.5-second gap by the time Denmark crossed the start-finish line for the final time.

 

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