6/25/2016
Five Flags Speedway
Choquette Sweeps PLM Twin 50s; Pokrant Holds off Buttrick; Bombers Add Fuel to Rivalry
 By Chuck Corder
Wherever he goes, Jeff Choquette seems to carve out his own path to victory.
It was no different Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.
Choquette, an accomplished late model driver from West Palm Beach, chose the outside groove all night and led every lap of the opening Allen Turner Pro Late Model twin 50-lap features Friday.
Choquette went high of polesitter Steven Davis at the drop of the opening green flag and took the lead on the back straightaway. He never relinquished it despite three cautions.
“It has its pros and cons being on the outside, as it is with any place you go,� said Choquette, who finished second to Erik Jones in the 2012 Snowball Derby. “I can’t say enough about my guys. It felt like it was 250-degrees out here earlier and not one of them stopped to take a break.�
Defending Super Late Model champion Casey Roderick finished second and PLM points leader Bret Holmes extended his margin with a third-place finish.
In the 50-lap nightcap, Choquette started from the pole, inside Row 1, and never had to bother with a preferred line.
“You can never be relaxed down here,� Choquette said of the famed half-mile asphalt oval. “It’s the best of the best here. To get a win here, in anything, is an accomplishment.�
The only anxious moments he endured came when he encountered lapped traffic late in the second of the twin 50s. But, with Roderick hot on his trail, Choquette deftly maneuvered through the stragglers and found his way to Victory Lane to complete the PLM sweep.
In fact, the top three from the opener stayed the same in the closing act, as Roderick and Holmes once again assumed their second- and third-place positions on the podium, respectively.
“We had a good car for long runs tonight,� Roderick said. “We’ve gotta get better to pull off a win here.�
Race leaders have the option as to where to restart following each caution.
On each of the three in Friday’s first feature, Choquette chose the high side. It’s a decision few drivers have the guts to make. But, it paid dividends for Choquette, as he blew the doors off his closest competition following each restart.
Holmes, who won the nightcap of the April doubleheader at Five Flags, showed his mettle and proved his skills as one of the up-and-coming late model stars.
Holmes’ best sequence was the battle he engaged with fast-qualifier Justin South. Holmes took third midway through the race and rode comfortably home for his third podium finish in three races this season.
“It’s really tough competing against these guys,� Holmes said. “Both cars (Choquette and Roderick) were really good. You’ve gotta be on your game to beat ’em. I had fun. I’m glad to get two top-threes after the weeks we’ve been having.�
Roderick, who won a Blizzard Series race in April, and Choquette had words in Victory Lane after the first race. Choquette didn’t take kindly to the way Roderick managed his restarts.
“He was the one pinching me down,� Roderick said. “If you don’t like it, don’t turn into me. I’m gonna hold my ground. We got tight there at the end. I’ve always respected (Choquette) over the year. Whatever.�
Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks
Taylor Jorgensen isn’t the only rookie making waves in the Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks division.
Jarrett Parker is a 21-year-old Pensacola State College student and Molino native who is competing in his first season behind the wheel of a full-bodied racecar.
He looked like a savvy veteran Friday, though, en route to his first career victory at Five Flags Speedway. This comes on the heels of a decorated career in go-karts.
“We only drove big circuits growing up; we didn’t run a lotta local races,� Parker said. “The trucks are the best things to start with, I think.�
Parker has eyes toward a Super Late Model future. On Friday, though, he was smooth against the likes of Jorgensen — the fantastic female driver who has taken Pensacola’s high banks by storm in 2016 with two wins — and veteran short-track drivers, such as defending track champion Brian Weimer and Donnie Hamrac.
Weimer finished second and Howard Langham rounded out the podium.
“It has been awhile since I’ve been here,� said Weimer, who posted his first top-three of the season Friday. “We had a good truck. We just needed one more position.�
Jorgensen had a nightmarish evening all around. She qualified near the back of the 14-car field, which isn’t all that unusual for the 19-year-old from Stockbridge, Ga. Then, just three laps into the feature, she found herself unceremoniously collected in a crash that leveled the field.
Subsequently, Jorgensen came to the pits twice to fix handling issues before she and her team finally waved the white flag of surrender and sustained their first “DNF� of the year.
The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsman
Earlier this month, Pokrant changed his car’s number to No. 6 as a way to pay his respects to fallen Blue Angels pilot Jeff Kuss, who died tragically during a practice flight in Smyrna, Tenn.
On Friday, Pokrant — a long devotee and support of the armed forces — drove The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsman race of his life in holding off perennial feature winner Steve Buttrick.
Pokrant took the lead on Lap 2 from Dayton Sidner and withstood everything Buttrick threw at him to score his first 25-lap feature win of the season.
“We’ve been working so hard this year in getting this thing faster,� Pokrant said of his team. “I was digging awfully hard. I drove it as hard as I could. I’m finally glad I got one on him because it’s been a long time.�
While putting the fear of God into Pokrant on numerous occasions Friday, Buttrick saved his best scare for last. On the final lap, Buttrick ducked down to the inside groove and tried to rattle Pokrant off his lead.
Buttrick knocked into Pokrant’s left-side door. Undeterred, Pokrant stayed the course and edged Buttrick at the start-finish line by a radiator.
“It was good racing with Jim,� an elated Buttrick said. “He did a fine job. My car was wicked loose. I felt like my car was gonna wash up into him and I didn’t want to cause a mess.�
Sidner, improving every week, took home third.
“That was a pretty good show from my seat,� Sidner said of the Pokrant-Buttrick duel. “That’s the best the car has run over 25 laps. We’re getting closer and closer. Maybe by the end of year, we’ll get a checkered flag.
Butler U-Pull-It Bombers
B.J. Leytham put the Mobile flag back on top Friday night at Five Flags Speedway for the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers.
Leytham prevailed for his fourth victory of the season in a contentious 20-lap feature that saw plenty of beating and banging among Leytham, Pensacola’s Robert Balkum and Mobile driver Robert Loper.
The Mobile drivers had taken exception with Balkum’s claims earlier this week that they were bending the rules.
“It seems like the (No.) 52 (Balkum) wanted all the track,� Leytham said. “But this is my spot. This is not the (No.) 52’s spot.�
Balkum did maintain the “P1� position for much of the first half of the race despite a heavy onslaught of Leytham and Loper. The pair slammed into Balkum numerous times through the opening three laps with one Leytham push sending both he and Balkum screeching sideways through the turns.
The professional drivers they are, both hung on and Balkum stayed out front. But on Lap 6, Leytham ultimately pushed his wide-bodied No. 8 to the lead while Loper was intent on settling the score with Balkum.
Loper spun the No. 52 as the two headed into Turn No. 1. Because both were involved in the accident, both started near the tail end of the field, per Five Flags rules.
On the restart, both Balkum and Loper made mad dashes for the front and were again second and third, respectively, behind Leytham by the time they made it back to the flag stand.
Balkum and Loper see-sawed for second for a number of laps until Loper finally reclaimed it for good with just two laps remaining.
“We can only take so much,� Loper said. “He has been beaten on us. Now was the time for payback.�
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