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More Money, More Problems: Bounty Hangs Over Bombers Track Champ, Points Leader Goodwin

By Chuck Corder

Fishing is Gary Goodwin’s business and business has been good of late.

Goodwin captains a charter fishing boat out of nearby Orange Beach, Ala. Thanks to a bountiful red snapper season, he has been working overtime these days.

But no matter how good his full-time job has been, Goodwin always makes sure to take every other Friday off this time of year.

That’s because as the defending Butler U-Pull-It Bombers champion and current series points leader, Goodwin is pretty darn good at his hobby, as well.

So good that a $200 bounty will be on his No. 23 when the Bombers gather Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.

“If they weren’t talking about you, you wouldn’t be doing very well,� said Goodwin, a winner four times in five features this year. “It gives (fellow drivers) a little more incentive. But I think they wanna beat me anyway. Well, I would anyway if I was in their position.�

Goodwin and Co. will help highlight an explosive Friday night both on and above Pensacola’s famed half-mile asphalt oval.

With the annual fireworks display showering the night sky, the Super Late Models return for the Coors Light 100, the fourth Buddy’s Home Furnishings Blizzard Series race of the season.

The Sportsmen also renew their close battles when the gates open at 5 p.m. Friday.

Grandstand admission is as follows: $15 adults, $14 seniors, $12 military/students (ages 12 thru 17), $5 children ages 6 to 11 and free for kids under 6. Pit passes are $25.

Goodwin, who won the track title in just his first year of asphalt racing, is excited about being the focus of his rivals’ attention.

“It might be more like a bull’s eye than a bounty,� he joked. “It’s pretty neat to have one put on you.�

Goodwin currently has a 263-234 lead in the points, ahead of only Brandon Burks.

The 19-year-old Milton driver has enjoyed a pretty good season himself. Burks won the season opener March 25 and has finished runner-up to Goodwin three times.

His lone disappointment, a 13th on May 11, came not on his own doing but bad luck with his No. 12.

“The rotor broke and a tire came off,� Burks lamented. “That really upset our car. We’re trying to get it back to where it was before that. It was a pretty wild ride. Other than that, I’m real proud of all the work from the sponsors and everybody that has been helping on the racecar.�

He and Goodwin developed a fairly heated rivalry in 2011 as they battled for the outright points lead to the very end of the regular season.

While both drivers’ tempers seemed to have simmered the past few months, their engines have yet to cool down.

“Every once in a while, we get under each other’s skin,� Burks said. “To be honest, I’m not worrying about Gary or the money this week.

“I just want to go out there and try to win a race. I don’t wanna get caught up in any incident being stupid for an extra $200. But, if I can get the $200, that’d be nice.�

And what a catch it’d be for Burks if it meant coming at the expense of his arch enemy.

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