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He Does it Again: Elliott Captures Rubber and Specialties 100 for Second Blizzard Series Win of Year

By Chuck Corder

Chase Elliott has the blueprint for success at Five Flags Speedway.

What’s refreshing about the 16-year-old racing sensation is as good as he has been in his Super Late Model, he’s adamant that there is room for improvement.

In classic Elliott fashion, he saved his stuff for the end and captured the checkered flag for the Rubber and Specialties 100 on Friday.

The son of NASCAR icon Bill Elliott, Chase Elliott won for the third time in his last three races in Pensacola, a stretch that includes the 2011 Snowball Derby.

“We can be better, that’s a fact,� said Elliott, who won his second Blizzard Series race of the season. “Obviously, any win you can get is great. But as soon as the checkered flag dropped, this race is over and we gotta get ready for the future.�

He got to enjoy the present for a few minutes Friday.

Writing the script any late model driver would love to have, Elliott was content to stay in the top 10 for much of the race before making his move down the stretch.

He slipped past Bubba Pollard for the lead with 91 completed laps and pulled away when the race went to a green-white-checkered finish for a late caution.

T.J. Reaid, Elliott’s teammate, finished second and a visibly-frustrated Pollard took third.

“Shoot, man, we had a really good car,� Elliott said. “This wasn’t me. It was the racecar and it shows just how hard all the guys work.�

Elliot started eighth with a mediocre qualifying effort. Grant Enfinger, who has ties to NASCAR’s truck series, set the fast time at 16.758 seconds.

After Enfinger rolled a six on the die to set the invert for the 29-car field, it created an all-Pensacola front row with Logan Boyett and Jeremy Pate.

Kyle Benjamin, the 14 year old from South Carolina, led for the first half of the race until a who’s who of elite late model drivers reached his bumper halfway through the race.

Augie Grill was first to challenge Benjamin, finally completing the pass on Lap 55. Seconds after Grill found clean air, Pollard and Garvey sandwiched Benjamin down the backstretch and took it three-wide into Turn 3 with no one letting up off the throttle.

After hanging tough with the best in the business, Benjamin finally let up and Pollard and Garvey freight-trained the 14 year old, who gained 10 years worth of experience.

Elliott watched all the fireworks in front of him and then pounced for after the dust cleared.

“The car was definitely good, but we’ve got to improve come Snowball Derby time,� said Elliott, whose next appearance at Five Flags won’t come until he defends his crown in December. “I know with this group of guys we’ve got, we’ll do just that.�

Rubber and Specialties 100 Results—1. Chase Elliott; 2. TJ Reaid; 3. Bubba Pollard; 4. Mike Garvey; 5. Augie Grill; 6. Grant Enfinger; 7. Chris Davidson; 8. David Rogers; 9. Kyle Benjamin; 10. Logan Boyett; 11. Stephen Nasse; 12. Dwayne Buggay; 13. Donnie Wilson; 14. Hunter Robbins; 15. Michael Lance; 16. Jerry Artuso; 17. Casey Smith; 18. Clay Alexander
19. Danny Bagwell; 20. Jeremy Pate; 21. Bobby Good; 22. Brandon Odom; 23. Tony Clark; 24. Troy Grisaffi; 25. Anthony Sergi; 26. Scotty Ellis; 27. Allen Karnes; 28. Gary Sullivan; 29. Tyler Miles

 

Super Stocks

You wouldn’t have believed if you had witnessed it for yourself at Pensacola’s high banks.

Bubba Winslow stalked Okie Mason all night long, seemingly destined for his third Super Stocks feature win in three chances.

But, somehow, some way Mason held on for the 25-Lap feature win and snapped Winslow’s two-race winning streak.

“I gotta thank Bubba Winslow,� Mason said in Victory Lane. “He’s class. He could’ve easily have taken me out. But, he’s not a dirty driver. I told him I hope to return the favor if I ever get back here one day.�

Through a pair of cautions, Winslow followed Mason around for nearly the entire second half of the race.

As he did on the first restart, Mason pulled away from Winslow following the second caution.

As the final laps fell, Winslow, the 21 year old who won this division’s track championship last season, took several looks in the closing laps.

Mason was masterful in hitting his marks and protecting his lead. Winslow nudged Mason coming out of Turn 2 on the final lap, but failed to duck inside of him.

Winslow made one last-ditch effort coming out of Turn 4, but Mason held him off.

“I knew Okie wouldn’t run us dirty,� Winslow said. “We got schooled on the restarts. I spun the tires once and just wasn’t good. And you pay for it against a good driver like Okie.�

The race was delayed nearly 15 minutes when two sets of the speedway’s lights in Turn 1 suddenly went out.

What could’ve been a lengthy setback was quickly diminished with Five Flags’ officials on top of it.

Super Stocks 25-Lap Feature Results—1. Okie Mason, 2. Bubba Winslow, 3. Mike Moore, 4. Randy Thompson, 5. Darin Matthews, 6. Charlie Skipper Jr., 7. Brandon Harris, 8. Courtney Rodrigues, 9. Joe Mahuron, 10. John Shuffler

 

Sportsmen

Shanna Ard literally keeps driving the wheels off his car.

After recently replacing the whole rear end, Ard will surely be in need of more repairs after Friday night’s performance in the Sportsmen 20-Lap feature.

Unfortunately, Ard won’t be able to use the winner’s check to help.

After crossing the finish line first and giving car owner Tina Davidson what he thought was a fantastic birthday present with his second win of the season, Ard was disqualified in post-race technical inspection.

That moved defending track champion Brannon Fowler to the victory and two-time reigning Snowball Derby champion Steve Buttrick to runner-up. Calvin Cook, Ard’s teammate, was third.

“I think I burnt the right rear off again,� Ard said. “With eight to go, I didn’t think I was gonna make it.�

He did despite a hard-charging effort from Fowler, who collected his second runner-up finish of the season.

Both Fowler and Buttrick, who started ninth and 10threspectively, worked their way through the field to reach the podium.

Sportsmen 20-Lap Feature Results—1. Brannon Fowler, 2. Steve Buttrick, 3. Calvin Cook, 4. Randy Thompson, 5. Michael Couture, 6. Johnny Greene Jr., 7. James Patrick, 8. Marty White, 9. Ethan Hardin 10. Dayton Sidner, DQ. Shanna Ard

 

Bombers

Gary Goodwin watched Chase Elliott practice patience in his Rubber and Specialties 100 victory.

Goodwin was impressed, but that’s just not his style

Goodwin started 12th, but had the lead with four laps complete and won his fourth consecutive 20-Lap feature at Five Flags on Friday.

Goodwin is making a good habit out of checkered flags.

“That was a little tougher coming from the back,� he said with a smile. “There was a little beating and banging coming through there.�

Brandon Burks rebounded from a disappointing finish last time out to finish second to his rival Goodwin. Kenny Williams took third.

Burks and Williams battled for second for much of the feature, making contact all across the half-mile oval.

Unfortunately, while they fought for position, that allowed Goodwin to dart out to a bigger lead.

Bombers 20-Lap Feature Results—1. Gary Goodwin, 2. Brandon Burks, 3. Kenny Williams, 4. Leonard Craig Jr., 5. Robert Balkum, 6. Ryan Fowler, 7. Tracy Soles, 8. John Kevin Merritt, 9. Brandon Nettles, 10. Tommy Lowery, 11. Tim Norman, 12. Corey Pittman, 13. Michael Nelson, 14. William Davis

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