T
he time has arrived that all of our local fans and racers have been waiting for since the middle of December. It’s time to kick off the 2015 racing season at Five Flags Speedway, and we don’t want anyone to expect a boring, dull season opener. Tonight we are going to kick the door wide open with the “KING OF THE WINGS” Sprint Cars.
M
aybe you are wondering about the new series of sprints called King of the Wings. Let me give you a little insight on Davey Hamilton’s new National Tour Series. If Hamilton’s name seems to ring a bell, that’s because you have probably heard it if you have ever watched the Indy 500. He has run in several 500’s with some great finishes. He decided to form a new Sprint Car Series and do it on a national basis. That means his series will run in all 4 corners of the U.S. and Canada. See story by Chuck Corder inside on Hamilton.
T
onight’s action will also include the Super Stocks, Sportsman and Bombers, so sit down and fasten your seat belts for a wild and fast paced night of action. Thanks for being patient for the one week delay.
H
amilton (shown above) and Tony Stewart, who recently purchased the All Star Circuit of Champions Dirt Sprint Car Series, stay in close contact with each other and work hard to make them the two best Sprint Car Series in the U.S. This weekend will be a double header for them as they will move over to Mobile International Speedway on Saturday night. Both events will be point’s races for the King of the Wings.
A
ll the lady race fans will have someone to cheer for as Sierra Jackson, a hot shoe from Idaho, is expected to be in the lineup both nights. Jackson already has several wins under her belt in some of the biggest Sprint Car events in the Western United States.
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e return next week with the first of four Deep South Crane Blizzard Series races. FASTEST FOOT EVER HERE AT 5 FLAGS.
Brian Gerster Fishers, Ind. 137.97 mph
Slidin’ and Smokin’
April 24 Super Late Model DSC Blizzard #1Plus Pro Trucks, Sportmen and Bomber
Drifting Last Week
May 8 Pro Late Model 100 Plus Super Stock, Sportsmen and Bomber May 22 Rubber & Specialties Blizzard Plus Pro Trucks, Sportmen and Bombers June 12 Modifieds of Mayhem #5 Plus Super Stock, Sportsmen and Bomber June 26 Pro Late Double 20/30 Pro Truck, Sportsmen, Bomber, Vintage July 10 Pro Late Double 20/30 Super Stock, Sportsmen, and Bomber
Existing
Records
Super Late Model Chase Elliott 16.133 (111.57 mph)12/6/2013
Pro Late Model
July 24 Super Late Blizzard #3, Plus Pro Truck, Sportsmen and Bomber
Augie Grill 16.259 (110.71 mph) on 12/5/2014
Aug 7 Modifieds of Mayhem #7 Super Stock, Sportmen, Bomber PLUS Faster Pastor and Demolition Derby
Donnie Hamrac 17.265 (104.26 mph) on 3/29/2013
Aug 28 Pro Late Double 20/30 Plus Pro Truck, Sportsmen and Bomber Saturday, Sept 19 Pro Late Model 100 Allen Turner Tune-Up , Super Stock, Sportsmen and Bomber Saturday, Sept 26 Blizzard Pro Truck, Sportsmen and Bomber DSC Night of Champions Friday-Sun Oct. 23 NOPI Nationals Saturday, November 21 Snowball Derby Preview Thursday, December 3 -Dec 6th 48th Annual Snowball Derby
Modifieds
Super Stock Patrick Thomas (Oviedo FL) 18.125 (98.85 mph) on 12/5/2014
Pro Trucks Rick Pollaro 18.467 (97.471 mph) on 12/7/2013
Sportsman Brannon Fowler 20.398 (88.24 mph) on 4/14/2014
Bomber Gino Denmark 21.716 (82.88 mph) on 7/11/2014
Winged Sprints Brian Gerster 13.046 (137.973 mph) on 4/11/2014
Video Ted Baber Updated 12/5/201 Tom Wilsey 850-458-2501 251-597-4747 Car Photos
After an inaugural run throughout California and the midwest, Hamilton has expanded his circuit to include the southeast and the northeast.
Davey Hamilton has been to Five Flags Speedway before. It was two seasons ago when the former Indy Racing League IndyCar Series stalwart helped ring in Opening Night in Pensacola with a host of winged pavement sprints. It was a milestone night for the veteran driver who qualified and competed in 11 Indianapolis 500s, his highest finish coming in 1998 when he came home fourth when Eddie Cheever enjoyed a milk-soaked victory. Hamilton, 52, returns to the famed half-mile asphalt oval this Friday for another opening night, as Five Flags gets its 2015 schedule started with a bang. This time, though, the Jamestown, Ind., resident will be running the show as Hamilton brings his fledgling “King of the Wing” series and the nation’s top winged sprints drivers back to Pensacola. “ It was one of our goals to compete at quality racetracks,” Hamilton said of the series in just its second year. “We’re really trying to make sure we can be at tracks where we can perform well for fans, and Five Flags is the perfect spot.” King of the Wing holds the distinction as being the only pavement national touring series currently competing.
Thanks to several years of research and development, studying precisely what type of restrictor would be needed to even the 410 cubic-inch (ci) engines from the 360 ci engines, Hamilton believes he has established a fair package of rules that levels the playing field.“You have to make sure to treat everyone fairly,” said Hamilton, who said some drivers Friday will run only 410s, some only 360s while some will challenge each other. “We’ve got drivers from West Canada, California, Washington, Florida, Idaho — no matter where you’re from, our rules are the same for everybody. That’s the key. Hamilton’s short-track roots run deep. The Idaho native still occasionally competes in super modified events, and he takes tremendous pride in a career that saw him make 56 IndyCar starts. Hamilton is also a walking miracle. At an IndyCar race in 2001 at Texas Motor Speedway, he was involved in one of his sport’s most gruesome accidents. The subsequent injuries left his lower extremities mangled and doctors feared amputation might be needed. Instead, a series of 23 surgeries helped reconstruct Hamilton’s legs and feet and five months following the crash he was standing.“Making it to IndyCar was the ultimate for me. It’s where I wanted to end up,” he said. “I was fortunate to do it. I had ups and downs, but there are no regrets. I loved every minute of it.” These 4 fans won tickets on Facebook. Congrats! Joyce Telle. John Nolen,Chuck Zamary, Catherine Freeman.
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03 52 22 27 11 15 83 77 1
Michael Nelson 1624 Robert Balkum 1620 John K Merritt 1503 Tommy Lowery 1421 Courtney Rodrigues 1363 Preston Prevatte 1074 Tim Wilmot 1048 Rick Culbertson 948 Hunter Ward
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928 771
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654 570 394 321 309 218 185 173 170 127
FINAL 6 98 99 1 16 50
26 72 47 56
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
29 00 77 33 07 12 33 42 83 10 31
1628 1510 1446 1377 1141 1115 1069 Randy Thompson 976 Bo Resmondo 884 Johnny Greene 883 Shanna Ard Brannon Fowler Shawn Laws Steve Buttrick Jim Pokrant Thomas Faddis Kenny Williams
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FINAL
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Okie Mason Jay Jay Day Teras Hodivsky Howard Langham Jessie Reid Ty Roberts Ray Hoey Greg Leachman Andy Wojtaszczyk Darryl Rudd
763 633 594 385 314 312 298 284 281 254
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9 12 9 42 5 33 84 57 18 94
Todd Jones Bubba Winslow Dave Nolen Randy Thompson Kevin Chase Dave Mader III Joe Mahuron Charles Skipper Jessie Reid Jason Johnson
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441 420 397 378 352 303 301 274 259 245
FINAL 734 727 654 594 446 440 373 347 163 97
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 88 99 14 21 30 4 33 9 51
Johanna Long Garrett Jones Jr. Niedecken Ryan Luza Larry Blount Rusty Sanford Elliott Massey
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765 763 747 623 568 540 538 496 454 450