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A look at Pro Late Racing by Elgin Traylor

It's Allen Turner Pro Late Model Time at Five Flags

Now that the season is officially underway at Five Flags Speedway, it’s time to roll out the only division that has yet to be on the track in 2023. It’s time for the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model Series to kick off their first race of the year. 100 laps will be the distance on Friday night as the Pro Late Model drivers get ready to tackle the half-mile track.

“The level of racing we have seen in the Pro Late Models has been simply amazing,” stated longtime Five Flags Official Dan Spence. “We have been running Pro Late Models now at Five Flags for over 20 years and it’s picked up quite a following. We get to see a lot of young talent going toe-to-toe with some of the veterans who have found a home in the Pro Late Model ranks.”

Each year there has been new faces and new winners in the Pro Late Model division. The last five races, counting the Snowflake 100, have produced five different winners. Looking at the last two seasons shows that there has been eight different winners in 10 races. In all, there have been 59 different drivers to win Pro Late Model races at Five Flags since the series started in 2005.

The parity doesn’t stop there, as only four drivers have won the season points championship more than once. Chris Davidson, Casey Roderick, DJ VanderLey and Johanna Long are in a four-way tie for the most championships. "Will we see a new champion in 2023?" Points will be important for the track championship and potential provisional starting spots at the Snowball Derby.

Part of the draw to Five Flags for the Pro races is the extra distance events. The series shifted to 100-lap events in 2017 with four being contested each year. The final Pro Late Model race each year is the annual Snowflake 100, run the night before the Snowball Derby. The extra laps during the season helps the local drivers compete against the big-named drivers in December.

The 100-lap Pro Late Model race highlights the racing card on Friday night with the Sportsmen, Pure Stocks and the newest division at Five Flags the Crown Stocks. Racing gets underway at 8pm with Grandstands opening at 5pm CT.

The Pro Late Models will return to action on June 16th, August 25th, and September 23rd for the Allen Turner Tune Up 100.

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