5/6/2021
Five Flags Speedway
Wanted:
WANTED: Families, Fans of All Ages to Enjoy Bandit Big Rig Series Racing at 5 Flags on Saturday
By Chuck Corder
No matter if it’s the Snowball Derby in December or a Friday night between March and October, Five Flags Speedway always does it big year round.
It’s going to do it a lot bigger come Saturday. Approximately 20 of the biggest, baddest, and best from the Bandit Big Rig Series will invade Five Flags and race before what promises to be a packed house for this unique event at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.
If you enjoy watching local division and Late Model drivers swap paint, imagine six tons of metal and muscle, measuring 22-feet long barreling into the turns and leaning against each other for 30 laps all across Pensacola’s narrow high banks in hopes of claiming the $10,000 winner’s purse.
“The winner is always a driver who has the (intestinal fortitude) to go three-wide in a corner and hope the truck sticks coming out to carry their momentum down the straightaway,� Bandit Big Rig Series General Manager Jason Johnson explained. “When you stack that many trucks out there that are that long, it (darn) nears looks like a 40-car field.�
If you’re not a Five Flags regular, don’t fret because the Bandits will appeal to you, too. The series goes out of its way to be family friendly, especially involving children. A few lucky young fans will get to draw the starting lineup for the feature race and have a chance to win $100 during the Bandits shootout races.
Choose your $20 general admission seat wisely and, perhaps, pack some goggles if you want to sit close to the action. Kids 8-and-under get in free.
“At some tracks when these rigs are closer to the track, you can feel their engines idling and revving through the ground,� Johnson said. “It’s always a challenge to keep people back. Sometimes that black smoke gets in your eyes.�
Tickets will be sold at the gates once the grandstands open at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid the long lines and participate in the meet-and-greet with Bandit drivers beginning at 5. Heat races begin at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Bandits came to Five Flags in 2019. Luke Whitmire won that night and is expected to be back in Saturday’s field. Other drivers to watch include three-time Bandit Big Rig Series champion Ricky “Rude� Proffitt, Craig “The Godfather� Kruckeberg in a Ford big rig, Mike “Mack Vader� Morgan, and Allen “Turbo� Boles.
The Bandits roster includes drivers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Each wheelman owns their semi-trucks and, once at the event, race officials bring the trucks through technical inspection to ensure they stay within Bandit Big Rig Series rules.
“There’s a strong fan base of racing fans down in Pensacola,� Johnson said. “Five Flags was first time we got ourselves into Florida, so it’s a special place for all of us. It’s a great track.
“We scout each track because we’re driving larger vehicles than a lotta tracks are used to. We have to make sure we’re not banging the flag stand, touching the fence – that kind of stuff.�
The Bandits began in 2016 after the failure of a similar series left big rig drivers competing for beer money in front of standing-room-only crowds at short-tracks up and down the Carolinas.
“People were eating it up and we all said to ourselves, ‘We have something here,’ “ Johnson said.
With a more structured approach, the Bandits were borne and began wowing fans across the southeast. The appeal of big-rig racing hits every demographic imaginable, Johnson explained.
“Little kids love big trucks,� he said. “But really, everybody is tied into the trucking industry in one form or another. Our basic economy runs on these kinds of trucks.�
Walking the walk, Johnson and the Bandit Big Rig Series are encouraging any local fans who owns big rigs to bring them out Saturday. As yet another testament to the fan-friendly atmosphere the Bandits create, the crowd will vote for their favorite local big rig and that truck will serve as the pace truck for the races.
“To a normal person, we’re just a racing series,� Johnson said. “But, to us, we operate it as an event. We put on show to make sure the fans have a good time. For our one-lap shootout races, we go into the stands and hand out cards that represent a truck. If your guy wins, you win $100. Everyone who has a card will get a T-shirt and we’re shooting shirts throughout the night. It makes it fun and interactive.
“Fans are what support us. Who better to spread the word than fans who had a great time? When we have the support of a great track like Five Flags, we love going the extra mile to make sure we all have a great time.�
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