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Tennessee Teen Sutton Enjoys Memorable Debut at 5 Flags with Season-Opening PLM Win

Tennessee Teen Sutton Enjoys Memorable Debut at 5 Flags with Season-Opening PLM Win

By Chuck Corder

5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Five Flags Speedway has a way of chewing up and spitting out rookies.

Typically, drivers who unload at Pensacola’s high banks for the first time experience a learning curve of a few races before they get acclimated to the speedway’s nooks and crannies.

Seventeen-year-old Dawson Sutton didn’t get the memo. The Tennessee driver was absolutely masterful Friday night at Five Flags as the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Models celebrated their season opener with the first of four 100-lap races this season.

Sutton stayed cool and composed en route to the victory, deftly maneuvering his way through lapped traffic and holding off a hard-charging Matt Craig down the stretch.

“This team gave me a rocket ship,” Sutton said. “I love this racetrack. I’m speechless. We had such a fast car. It feels great to be in Victory Lane. Hopefully, we get more wins. I’m super excited to come back here and get another one.”

Craig and 15-year-old Gavin Graham took home second- and third-place honors, respectively.

Sutton was a young man on a mission Friday night. Despite never having raced the famed half-mile asphalt oval before Friday, Sutton set the tone early by putting down the fastest qualifying time (16.769 seconds) of the 24-car field. He became the first PLM driver since Colby Howard in 2019 to win the pole and the feature race at Five Flags.

Sutton leans on a decorated Legends Car career to help him get acclimated with the PLMs.

“Legends taught me a lot,” he said. “It feels like I already know how to drive (PLMs). This is awesome. I’m thankful for everybody that works on these cars.”

Craig was a top-five car all night but was hoping for a late-race caution to even things up on a restart. Instead, the yellow never came, as the 100-lapper was clean al night.

“These young guys are good,” Craig said. “They’re hard to beat. We were pretty good. I came on in the middle of the race, but we probably ended up burning the right front up. Right when I caught him, it started giving up on me.”

There was no give-up in Graham on Friday. Despite his continued struggles with qualifying, the Lakeland teenager had a magical run from his 10th starting spot. Graham had climbed to fifth by Lap 30 when he slid under short-track legend Augie Grill.

Graham, too, had zero issues working his way through lapped traffic despite the cars being all over the track and not cutting the leaders any breaks.

“We didn’t start off good, and that’s on me for a bad qualifying lap,” Graham said. “I knew I had to save tires, but also push enough to pass a lotta cars to get us in position at the end. I definitely feel like we had the fastest car at the end of the race. If we keep racing like this, we’ll get a win coming soon.”

The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen

It didn’t take long for The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen to make a statement in 2023.

Just a month into the season and one of Five Flags Speedway’s most competitive classes made history throughout Friday. The track record fell twice in qualifying, and the 25-lap feature saw a pair of brothers battling it out for the victory.

Maddox Langham held off older brother Jonathan Langham, as the younger Langham got his first Sportsmen win of the year.

“A win is a win, and I’ll take it and run,” Maddox Langham said. “I don’t think we had the best car by far tonight. But we drove as best we could.”

The Langham Family finished 1-2, as Jonathan finished runner-up, and Chad Robinson rounded out the podium.

It was a dream come true for Jonathan Langham, who had been hoping for a family sweep for quite some time.

“For the past two years, I’ve been wanting us to get a 1-2 finish. We got us one tonight,” Jonathan Langham said. “I couldn’t get him tonight. He wheeled that thing like a son-of-a-gun.”

The track was cool for group qualifying following afternoon showers. B.J. Leytham was first to break the track record, putting down a fast time of 19.525 seconds and topping the previous mark of 19.613. Minutes later, James Patrick went lower and his time of 19.483 seconds is the new Sportsmen standard.

Neither were much of a factor in the 25-lapper, as the 12-car field set an aggressive tone from the drop of the opening green flag.

“It was a little hectic in the beginning,” Robinson said. “We’re getting better. We’ve worked on the car steady since the start of the season. We’re gonna get up to the front, but it needs more love.”

Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks

The ’Bama battle is on.

Mason Johnston and Colby McDonald have stolen the early-season headlines in the Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks division in 2023. They were back at it again Friday at Five Flags Speedway, fighting for the win and their teams nearly coming to blows in Victory Lane.

When the dust settled, it was McDonald who finished first on the track for what appeared to be his second straight Pure Stocks 20-lap feature victory. However, McDonald was stripped of the win when he failed post-race technical inspection. Johnston, who finished runner-up unofficially, was awarded the victory and now has two wins in three features this year.

“I just drive my wheels off,” Johnston said.

The two traded verbal jabs in Victory Lane when Johnston expressed his displeasure for the way McDonald drove him. A sheriff’s deputy separated the two parties and cooler heads prevailed.

McDonald was fastest in qualifying and surged out front in the opening laps after getting around Robert Barber.

“It’s a blessing to have a great group of guys behind me and helping me,” McDonald said. “We have a hot rod this year. We didn’t do anything to it since last time except unload it out of the trailer. I hope it stays that way. We’re looking to have a good year, but it’s gonna be a tough one.”

Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks

Ryan Bleich Sr. wanted more from the inaugural Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks feature race last month at Five Flags Speedway. The Pensacola driver wanted to bring home the checkered flag. Instead, he settled for runner-up honors that March night.

Bleich made up for that bitter taste Friday at Five Flags. He controlled the tempo of the 15-lap Crown Stocks feature and handily won for the first time at Pensacola’s high banks.

“This is a great feeling,” Bleich said as he celebrated with his family and friends in Victory Lane. “I’m happy to bring this one home. I can’t thank my guys enough and everybody has supported me since started. I’m kinda speechless.

“It was tough to lose the first race to someone from out of town. It stung a little bit. We wanted to keep that win here in Pensacola. Hopefully, it’s the first of many.”

Colby Goodwin and Ryan Maxwell finished second and third, respectively.

Bleich took the lead on Lap 2 and the battle was on for second between Goodwin and Maxwell. The two exchanged the spot throughout the 15-lapper only for Goodwin to ultimately prevail by a radiator.

“I wasn’t really expecting the white flag to come out that quick,” Goodwin said. “I got a good run and that helped me a lot. When I got around him, I thought I was going to hit the wall coming outta (Turn No.) 4. I’m glad my tires got me around for 15 laps.”

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