Racing News for June 26, 2015
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Transcript of Racing News for June 26, 2015
Being on top of your game, often seemsto come and go. Sometimeswhen you drop outofthatpositionit’slikeittakesforeverbeforeyoureturntobeingontopagain.Thatisexactlywhathappenedtooneofthemostpopulardriverswhohaseverturnedalaphere..Doyouknowwhothatmightbe?
You guessed it. Wayne Niedecken, Jr.Hehasbeenahugecrowdfavoriteat“America’sFavoriteHomeTrack”fordecades,andhedoesn’tseemtobeslowingwithage.Aftergoingthroughwhat Icallaslumpover the lastcoupleofyears,heseemstobebackwithfireinhiseyes,toprovetotheyoungstersthathecanstillgetthejobdone.Afteragreatruninlastyear’sAllenTurnerHyundaiSnowflake100hehasfoundnewlife.Heis3for3 in theProLateModelDivisionatMobile Inter-nationalSpeedwayandhopestokeepthatstreakalivehereathishometrack.
Willitbeacakewalkyoumightask?Abso-lutelynot!!WeexpectagoodcarcountintheProLates for our first 20/30 shootout. Drivers fromTexas,Georgia,Alabama,andofcourseourlocaldriver’swillbeouttostopNiedecken’shotstreak.
Also racing will be the Sportsman, ProTrucks, Bombers and Vintage. This is a greatchanceforsomeofournewerfanstocomparethedifferencesbetweentheracecarsfromthepasttothenewmodernversions.Whatadifferencetimemakes. It doesn’tmatter if its technologyor racecars,everythingchangesintime.
Enoughfornow-!Seeyaattheraces!!!
Pro Late, Vintage, Pro Trucks, Bombers & Sportsmen
By Chuck Corder
Can Spears Threepeat?
BenSpearsreferstoFiveFlagsSpeedwayas“myDaytona.”Foramanwhohasaspecialconnectiontothefamedhalf-mileasphaltoval,racingPensacola’shighbanksalwayssendsanadrenalinerushthroughSpears.
Hehopestocontin-uehiswinningwaysFridaynightathisbelovedtrackwhentheSouthernVintageRacingAssociationreturns.
“It’sthefastestwegoallseason,”saidthe36-year-oldSpears,whowonthelasttwoVintagefeatureshere.“It’sthebiggesttrackwe’llsee,too.There’sathrillofgoingthere.Thefactthatwegettogotoanasphalttrackisjustacherryontopofwhatwegettodoonanormalbasis.”
TheSouthernVin-tageRacingAssociationiscomprisedof1934FordandChevycoupesandsedansthattypicallycompeteonnearbydirttracks,suchasFlomaton(Ala.)SpeedwayandSouthernRacewayinMilton. --Continued on page 2--
Spears Continued
Car Photos Tom Wilsey
251-597-4747
Video Ted Baber850-458-2501
July 10Pro Late Double 20/30SuperStock,Sportsmen,andBomber
July 24SuperLateBlizzard #3,PlusProTruck,SportsmenandBomber
Aug 7Modifieds of Mayhem#7SuperStock,Sportmen,BomberPLUSFasterPastorandDemolition Derby
Aug 28Pro Late Double 20/30PlusProTruck,SportsmenandBomber
Saturday, Sept 19ProLateModel100Allen Turner Tune-Up,SuperStock,SportsmenandBomber
Saturday, Sept 26BlizzardProTruck,SportsmenandBomberDSC Night of Champions
Friday-Sun Oct. 23NOPI Nationals
Saturday, Nov. 21Snowball Preview
Thursday, December 3 - Sunday Dec 6th48th Annual Snowball Derby
“We’retryingtomakeitthreeinarow,”SpearssaidofhisquestforararehattrickatFiveFlags.“Idon’tknowwhatmakesussogood.I’mstillwonderingmyselfwhywe’refasterthaneverybodyelse—some(drivers)thathavebeendoingthisalotlongerthanIhave.
“Ijustdriveit.Wetrytobringaverywell-preparedcarthere.Wewanttobethereattheendtowinit.”
FoundedbyBillDanielsandJerryVenablein2013,theSouthernVintageRacingAsso-ciationstartedsmallandmadeititsmissiontobringattentiontoafun,affordableclass.
ItquicklyexpandedfromitsoriginalhometrackofFlomatontoincludedirttracksdeeperintheFloridaPanhandle.SunnySouthinGrandBay,Ala.,andMobileInternationalSpeedway—bothasphaltsurfaces—havecomeonboardthisyear.TheSouthernVintageRacingAssociation’sseasonculminatesinAugustatMISandtheLeeFieldsMemorial.
Spears,whowastheserieschampionin2013andwasfivepointsshyofarepeatcrownlastyear,isscalingbackhisracingschedulethisseason.
“It’sallaboutgettingthewholeofthesum,makingthewholeorganizationbiggerandstronger,”Spearssaid.“Winningthatfirstchampionshipandthenfinish-ingsecond,itwasenoughforusforawhile.Wenevertrulygottofixthecarcompletelyeachtimesomethinghappenedtoitduringthosetwoyears.” --Read all of Chuck’s story on our web site.--
Jerry Bohlman has fleeting visionsofhisfather’sglorydaysonasphalt.LongtimefansofFiveFlagsSpeed-way might remember the name“Gary Bohlman” during the early1970s.The elder Bohlman broughthis No. 43 1968 Camaro — twofacts the younger Bohlman recallswithease—toVictoryLaneseveraltimesuntilheleftthesportin1975.
IfJerryBohlman’smemoryisalittlefoggy about those years, He wasstill indiaperswhenGaryBohlmanstarted racing; barely out of themwhenhisdadstopped.
“Irememberbeinginthepitswiththeother kids playing,” JerryBohlman,now44,said.“Wedidn’tcaremuchabout the racing.All we wanted todo was take the tools out and digaround in the dirt with them. Andthen,we’dget into troublebecausewe’deventuallylosesometools.”
JerryBohlmanwillhaveallhistoolsathisdisposalcomeFridayashetriestofollowinhisfather’svictoriousfootsteps.Bohl-manwillbeapartofadeepfieldwhentheSouthernVintageRacingAssociationfueledbySunocomakesitsreturn..
The local touring series that competesonbothdirtandasphalttracksalongtheGulf Coast is comprised of 1934 Fordand Chevy coupes and sedans. Thethrowbackssitonopen-wheeled framesandboastV8enginesunderthehood.
“It puts the fun back into racing,” saidJerry Bohlman, who raced late modelsforafewyearsatFiveFlags.“There’snootherwayaroundit.They’reinexpensive,forone,andalottafun.Ienjoyitforthosereasons. Plus, everybody helps eachotheroutattheracetrack.“Nobodyfightsorargues.That,Ithoroughlyenjoy.”
While Jerry Bohlman struggles to reeloff details about his father’s racing ac-complishments,it’seasytotelltheappledidn’tfalltoofarfromthetree.
Aclearsignofthefather-sonconnectioncomeswhen you notice the number onthe side of Bohlman’s ’34 Ford Coupe.Just like his old man, Jerry BohlmanproudlydisplaystheNo.43.
“Ilikethefeelofthrowingitintothecor-nersatFiveFlags,” saidBohlman,whocompeted in bothVintage races stagedlast season at Pensacola’s high banks.“DrivingitinthereashardasIcan,it’sablast.There’salittleslippingandsliding,butthat’sjustthethrillofthespeedswetravel.”
Aregularpavementpoet.-Read all of Chuck’s story on our web site.
By Chuck Corder
A-1 Lock & Safe850-455-4358
The Locksmith Leader
Driver Jim Pokrant (in blue shirt)hadsomenicecommentsonMartyWhite’sdriving2weeksago.