2 Donnie Wilson 2h Brett Holmes 4 Kason Plott 5 Dalton Armstrong 9 Logan Boyett 9 Jeff Choquette 11 David Rogers 11 Logan Boyett 14 Connor Okrzesik 15 Christian Eckes 18 Casey Roderick 19 Kyle Plott 26 Chandler Smith 26 Bubba Pollard 26 Travis Braden 30 Jessie Dutilly 30 Bobby Knox 33 Dustin Smith 33 Carter Stokes 43 Dennis Schoenfeld 47 Allen Karnes 51 Cole Rouse 51 Stephen Nasse 55 Cole Anderson 58 Tyler Ankrum 78 Corey Heim 79 Kyle Bryant 79 Joe Aramendia 83 Scotty Ellis 88 Garrett Jones 97 Steven Davis 98 Paul Kelley 99 Casey Smith 99 Chase Purdy 112 Augie Grill 114 Preston Bores
1 Donald Crocker 4 Bill Cooley 4 Todd Jones 7 Kody Brusso 9 Kody Jett 14w Wesley King 14 Lee Carter 15 Kevin Chase 17 Chris Cotto 17 Chance Adkins 22 Jeremy Pate 26 Corbitt Moseley 28 Rick Ortell 30 Ricky Vice 31 Jr. Niedecken 32 Stuart Dutton 33 Joe Bathea, Jr 41 Troy Grisaffi 54 Conner Sutton 57 Charlie Skipper 84 Joe Mahuron 88 Brandon Spreen 92 Bubba Winslow 92 Ron McDonald 94 Jason Johnson 95 Phillip Crownover 96 John Heil 96 Rick Pollaro 97 Hunter Lambert 98 Scotty Anderson 151 Gary Sutton 311 Michael Johnson
Against a Stacked Field, Teenage Driver Okrzesik Looks for First SLM Win An impressive lineup will descend upon Five Flags Speedway on Friday night. The SERF 125 marks the third of four Deep South Crane Rentals Blizzard Series races the famed half-mile asphalt oval will host this season. The calendar may read July, but drivers and their Super Late Model teams are already staring out at December through their windshields. Friday night’s race and the Deep South Crane Rentals Blizzard Series finale on Sept. 22 are the final live opportunities SLM teams will get at devising gameplans to counter what Five Flags throws at them in order to conquer short-track’s most prestigious race, the 51st annual Snowball Derby. (Dec. 2).
No one has conquered Pensacola’s high banks more of late than Casey Roderick. Roderick enters the SERF 125 on a six-race Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series winning streak at Five Flags and leads the Blizzard Series points race after winning last month’s Universal Fabricators 125. “You always wanna work harder and be a little better, but we’ve had a lot of good runs at Pensacola,” Roderick said. “We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do this year. We want to continue that success.” Roderick will attempt to capture his seventh late model win in eight chances at Five Flags against a blockbuster field that includes fan favorites, such as Bubba Pollard, Augie Grill and many other Derby-caliber drivers. With plenty of big names in a field that expects to be near 25 or more cars, one driver to keep a watchful eye on will be the young man behind the wheel of the redand-black No. 14. Just a few years ago, Connor Okrzesik was swapping paint and mixing it up in The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen division. This year, the 16-year-old from Grand Bay, Ala., has strung together five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 13 late model races, developing into one of the sport’s best stories of the year.
Car Photos Eddie Richie 251-232-8836
Video Ted Baber 850-458-2501
National Anthem Zoey Ogan
Navarre Student
Aug 3 Demo Derby, Mods, SP, PS Aug 17 PLM 100, PT, PS Sept 15 Championships for OS, PT, SP, PS Sept 22 Championships for Blizzard & PLM
Schedule
Friday, July 20 1:00pm Pits Open 1:15pm Tech Open, Qualifying Tire Selection 3:00pm SSS Crew Chief / Driver’s / Spotter’s Meeting (Tech Station) 4:00pm – 5:00pm SSS Practice 5:30pm SSS Cars to PreQualifying Tech (by group) OS, PS Practice (2 rounds) 7:00pm SSS Qualifying 7:30pm OS, PS Driver’s Meeting (Victory Lane) 7:55pm Pre-Race Festivities 8:00pm OS Heats PS Heats SERF 125 PS Feature (20 Laps) OS Feature (25 Laps)
Champ from 10 years back, where is he now?
James Kimbrough, Pro Late Model
Track Champion 2008
James was home visiting his parents 2 weeks ago. Where is he now? It has been 10 years since he won the Pro Late track championship. He also was Super Stock champ in 2006. Today he works at the Stewart-Haas racing shop on the #14 car of Clint Bowyer in North Carolina.
2 Tony Boyd, Pensascola, 11 Johnathan Day, Mobile 11 Cameron Leytham, Mobile 12 T J Thonpson, Mobile 16 Brad Mosley; 8 Mile 16 Rocky Boyd; Pensacola 17 Lee Williams, Theadore, 19 Daryl McDonald III, Theadore, 25 Robert Loper, Theadore, AL 21 Butch Harvell, Pensacola 22 John K Merritt, Pensacola 24 Caleb Burkett, Pensacola 27 Jimmy Hollingsworth, Mobile 29 Matt Thompson, Wilmer, AL 30 Bobby Suarez, Pensacola 34 Cory Pittman, Cantonment 42 Brandin Sidner, Pensacola 49 Jay Whalen, Pensacola 52 Robert Balkum, Pensacola 80 Zack Jordan, Pensacola 86 Jonathan Smith, Theadore 91 Sarah Dority, Pensacola 95 Robert Riley, Gulfbreeze 97 David Johnson, Irvington, 97 Charles Barber, Mobile
Okrzesik finished fifth in the second Blizzard Series race June 22. Then, he followed that up a week later at Montgomery (Ala.) Motor Speedway with the best SLM finish of his young career. Okrzesik dueled with Bubba Pollard and Casey Roderick for the win, ultimately coming up with runner-up honors after he got around the red-hot Roderick late in the Rumble by the River 125. “We’re definitely meeting our own expectations,” Okrzesik said. “We’d like to get a win by the end of the year, but so far we’ve done everything we’ve wanted to. “For that first win, we’re right there. We’re so close. We just need a little bit more experience.” Since first sliding into a go-kart at age 4, Okrzesik has won at just about every level of racing he has competed in, including Legends and Bandoleros. So when the idea was floated a few years ago of Connor testing his mettle against short-track kings in the SLM world, the young hotshoe and his father, Wayne Okrzesik, were all-in. “They thought they could win right off the bat,” said legendary short-track and stock car driver Mike Garvey, who has served as Connor’s crew chief and setup man the last two years. “He had so much success in other classes, that it all seemed pretty easy for him. (Con’t on our web site).
52
Robert Balkum
3
Mark Barnhill
18
Casey Roderick
24
Caleb Burkett
55
Jimbo Walker
26
Chandler Smith
91
Sarah Dority
28
Dayton Sidner
88
42
Brandin SIdner
29
Shanna Ard
26
Garrett Jones Bubba Pollard
22
John K Merritt
07
Jim Pokrant
33
Carter Stokes
3t
Logan Boyett
7
Kody Brusso
18
Casey Roderick
95 Chris Comalander
4
Todd Jones
33
Dustin Smith
00 Brannon Fowler
1
Donald Crocker
14
Chris Davidson
21 Jason Welch
92
Bubba WInslow
66
Korey Ruble
56 Darryl Rudd
54
Conner Sutton
81
Giovanni Bromante
9
Now, that’s a flag! Skydivers delivered the flag during the National Anthem 2 weeks ago as we honored the retired military in the area.
Thanks Eddie Richie for the photo.
Photo by Eddie RIchie