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Flyin’ Ryan Flies to Allen Turner PLM Sweep; Buttrick Scores Fifth Sportsman Victory

By Chuck Corder

Ryan Luza received a horrible surprise for his 19th birthday Thursday.

The Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model series points leader crunched his No. 14 car when he splashed through a patch of oil during practice at Five Flags Speedway.

Larry Blount knew exactly what to get Luza. Blount, a Jacksonville-area driver, yielded his No. 21 car so Luza could try to protect the 28-point cushion he carried into Friday.

And protect it, Luza did. The young Texan swept the evening.

He qualified first (16.574 seconds) ahead of 12 other drivers, led all 20 laps in the opening feature and pulled off a dadgum miracle in the 30-lap nightcap Friday at Pensacola’s high banks.

“I gotta thank Larry Blount for giving me this opportunity,� Luza said. “We had a terrible time with the (No.) 14 car. This car’s amazing.�

The driver and the Luza-Blount crews weren’t half bad themselves. The combined teams helped Luza overcome his biggest hurdle of the night to land his biggest highlight.

Luza was part of a vicious seven-car wreck that took out nearly half the field at the start of the 30 lapper. The entire inside line was involved.

As Luza came to the pits under a red flag, the two crews took their places.

“I thought the car was broke,� he said.  “It turns out, it was a left-rear flat and some damage to the front. Everybody worked their butts off fixing the front.

“Man, it was awesome. I don’t know (the Blount team) very well, but I know they give 1,000 percent effort. I can’t thank them enough.�

Luza came out, a man on a mission. On Lap 10 alone, he climbed two places to second to get behind Okie Mason, in Kurt Guillot’s seat. Luza took the lead on Lap 23, smoothly passing underneath Mason on the back straighaway.

Mason finished second while Pensacola’s Johanna Long — the recently-engaged Johanna Long, oh by the way — came home with a third after her fifth in the opener.

Dustin Smith and Anthony Cataldi rounded out the podium in the opener with Junior Niedecken finishing sixth.

Niedecken, who came into the night second in points, also endured troubles Thursday night. His variety involved the motor in the No. 99, specifically the valve train.

Niedecken turned to PLM rookie Johnny Greene for help. While Niedecken didn’t qualify well in Greene’s No. 31, he made a courageous run in the 20 lapper.

And he, like Luza, bounced back from that opening-lap wreck to finish the 30 lapper. Niedecken wasn’t the only driver struggling Friday.

Bret Holmes, the Auburn freshman from Talladega, Ala., saw his night end early in the opener when a broken “A� frame pushed him into the outside wall on Lap 15.

“I was trying to hang on there so we could, at least, start the second race,� Holmes said. “I ended up wrecking the racecar. It was all my fault. I hate to have an outcome like that. But I love racing here.�

Luza became the first PLM driver this season to not only capture his third win of the season, but win three 10consecutive features. Luza won the 30 lapper, the last time the PLMs raced at Five Flags in July.

No other driver has won more than one feature.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Pro Trucks

Of the five Pro Trucks features this season at Five Flags Speedway, only two drivers have taken checkered flags.

One of those is late model stalwart Bubba Pollard, who has won three times but was not in Pensacola on Friday night.

The other is 50-year-old Okie Mason. The Kushala, Ala., native got his second 25-lap feature win Friday night at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Mason held off a hard-charging Steven Davis on the final lap.

“I was probably a second-place truck. Steven was a lot faster,� Mason said. “But I’ll take a win anytime. We’ll keep working on it. There ain’t nothing like Pensacola.�

Andy Wojtaszczyk started on the pole and held the lead for a few laps while Mason made his push from him starting position back in eighth of the 10-car field.

After Ryan Worsham brought out the caution when he crashed into the outside wall on Lap 3, Mason had climbed all the way to third for the restart.

Mason took the lead on Lap 9, passing Wojtaszczyk on the back straightaway.

Davis, who set the track record (18.370 seconds) in qualifying, started at the tail end of the field thanks to a five-row invert.

He overcame some early-race issues and had a shot to move Mason for the lead. Instead, Davis showed the veteran Mason respect by driving him clean the rest of the way.

The two made contact in Turn No. 2 on the last lap, but Mason did a brilliant job of blocking all the way to the checkered flag.

Sportsman

A three-headed monster has owned the Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman series this season.

In some form or fashion, the triumvirate of Steve Buttrick, Brannon Fowler and Shanna Ard have finished on the podium in nearly every race.

The trio accounts for nine feature victories in 2015.

Steve Buttrick scored his fifth 25-lap feature win Friday night at Five Flags Speedway, holding off Ard in second and Fowler in third.

“Well, when there’s nobody in front of you there’s nobody to slow you down,� Buttrick summed up succinctly. “It was good racing with everybody.�

Buttrick started fourth, but took the lead from Hunter Lambert on Lap 7. Ard made a valiant charge to reach clean air, but he never could reach Buttrick’s back bumper.

“We were way too loose,� Ard said. “When you get behind (Buttrick) or Fowler, it’s hard to catch them.�

Bombers

Robert Loper led wire-to-wire for his third Bombers 20-lap feature win of the season at Five Flags Speedway.

“It was a handful to run, but, hey, that’s life,� Loper said. “ ‘Superman’ ain’t going to stay down long.�

The story of the race might have been the troubles of points leader Geno Denmark. Denmark, whose lead is nearly insurmountable, was involved in a three-car wreck late in the race while running fourth and posted his first DNF of the season.

“I know Geno’s devastated, but I had nowhere to go,� said Sara Dority, who couldn’t avoid Denmark after he collided with Jay Whalen.

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