3/29/2017
Five Flags Speedway
Roderick, Choquette Set to Write New Chapter in Budding Rivalry at Allen Tuner PLM Series OpenerÂ
By Chuck Corder
Casey Roderick and Jeff Choquette made short-track racing great again last summer.
It didn’t really need it, mind you. But the pair elevated late model racing with their intense game of cat and mouse around Pensacola’s famed half-mile oval.
The dynamic duo had the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series by the throat and the rest of the field at their mercy. They waged an epic four-month battle for Pro Late Model supremacy at Five Flags Speedway.
Emotions between the two, often boiling over, ran hotter than an engine overheating in July. Choquette, 30, got the better of Roderick, 24, to the tune of five straight victories. Roderick gritted his teeth and could only muster wry smiles, settling for runner-up honors each time.
What, pray tell, will this odd couple do for an encore when the Allen Turner PLMs open their season Friday at Pensacola’s high banks?
“I haven’t talked to him about any of it,� Roderick said, a sentiment Choquette also echoed. “It oughta be interesting to see how strong he is. Hopefully, we have a good battle. I feel like we have a better car than the one we raced against him last year.�
Roderick, who is the reigning two-time Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series champion for Super Late Models, certainly has the proof to back up his claims.
The Lawrenceville, Ga., native won the southeast’s first two PLM races in January and was perfect in three starts before a fuel pickup issue cost him a potential fourth consecutive win earlier this month at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Ala.
Choquette’s season hasn’t been too shabby either. He won an eye-popping five times during Speedweeks, a nine-night affair held at New Smryna Speedway.
“Hopefully, we can carry on right where we ended last year,� Choquette said of his return to Five Flags. “We’ll take what we’ve done on other weekends and apply that to this week’s game plan. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.�
While all eyes will surely be on where Roderick and Choquette qualify around 6:45 p.m. Friday, the real action begins at 8 p.m. when features get underway. The Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks (30-lap feature), The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25) and the Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks (20) will continue their respective 2017s after opening the year on March 5.
Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday and admission is as follows: $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids 5 and under.
No one should miss witnessing the highly anticipated showdown between Roderick and Choquette when dusk approaches Friday.
If the rematch is as good as last year, Five Flags fans are sure to be in for a treat.
“Basically, it was their show last year,� fellow PLM driver Justin South said of Roderick and Choquette. “I don’t take anything for granted when I go up against guys like that.�
It was captivating and scintillating from the very beginning with the two exchanging words in Victory Lane when Choquette took exception to Roderick’s aggressive tactics following their first PLM matchup at Five Flags.
It was no-holds-barred. It was freewheeling. And, it was certainly chippy. The dynamic duo closed the regular season the way they began their rivalry: more rounds of swapping paint. Friction wasn’t only happening between the rubber and the asphalt.
“It was good for short- track-racing,� Roderick said. “You gotta have rivalries in this sport. If you didn’t have that, it wouldn’t be a good show.�
For now, it seems as though cooler heads are prevailing. While both drivers pledge to leave all their blood, sweat and tears on the racetrack, they’re not getting caught up in the hype.
After all, the Jett Concrete Team has plans to debut a No. 9 for Choquette on Friday, this one equipped with a new Fury Race Cars chassis.
“A lotta things get said and done in the heat of moment,� Choquette said. “When I calm down, he calms down. We know how each other races. It always makes for good racing when you take two cars that are close to the same speed on the racetrack.�
Enough with all these pleasantries and platitudes! Bring on the beatin’ and bangin’ and door slammin’!
“I look forward to racing against him and having some good, hard racing,� Roderick said.
