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Packed House Enjoys Packed Night of Racing with Thrilling Faster Pastor, Demo Derby Finishes

By Chuck Corder

Forever a showman, Wes Alverez spun and won.

The pastor at My Father’s Vineyard in Pensacola held a healthy lead in the popular Faster Pastor feature as the checkered flag was just one slight turn of the steering wheel away.

As he came out of Turn 4, Alverez began to lose control of his car. He crossed the finish line first, sideways in a cloud of smoke.

Miraculously, he somehow kept it out of the inside wall and was able to laugh at his early celebration.

“I grew up watching Richard Petty and David Pearson, son!� said Alverez, whose congregation was ecstatic and on their feet following the win. “I’m sorry about the dents and bangs, but I think I brought home a ‘W’.�

Tim Payne, who led early, of Momentum Church in Gulf Breeze finished second and made a nifty maneuver around Alverez to not crash following the race.

“It was absolute awesome,� Payne reflected. “Absolutely incredible. Just pure adrenaline. I said I could either hit him or go around him.�

C.J. McBride of Abiding Love in Foley, Ala., and Matt Mills of Liberty Church in Pensacola were third and fourth, respectively.

 

Demolition Derby

Christopher Chapman outlasted an eye-popping 17 other cars to win the fourth annual Demolition Derby on Friday night.

Ronnie Smith had captured the previous three editions, but his night was over with about seven cars left.

Chapman put the final touches on Justin Babb and Pensacola lawyer Marcus Michles to earn the $1,500 winner's prize.

 

Home Depot Modifieds

This was Okie Mason’s kind of crowd.

With a packed house full of fellow believers for the Faster Pastor feature earlier in the night, the religious Mason wowed the crowd with his third Home Depot Modifieds feature win of the season Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.

The Eight Mile, Ala., native took the lead on Lap 3 of 25 and never looked back. Heath Mills of Opp, Ala., gave chase but couldn’t track down Mason. Pensacola’s Josh Goodwin was third.

“We had our work cut out for us to top that Faster Pastor race,� Mason quipped. “This crowd is awesome. It’s fun to win anytime, but I knew I had to get out there with Heath behind me.�

Mills had the fast time (17.707 seconds) during qualifying, but knew he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to catch Mason.

“He can wheel a car,� Mills said of Mason. “We’re making progress.�

 

Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman

Rarely does Steve Buttrick enjoy a win with as little fanfare as he did Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.

The four-time Sportsman Snowball Derby champion captured his fourth Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman feature of the season

“That was fun. It was good night,� Buttrick said.

But it was the action behind him that had fans glued to the edge of their seats. Shanna Ard and Brannon Fowler waged a captivating battle with Ard earning runner-up honors and Fowler rounding out the podium.

By virtue of finishing ahead of Fowler, Ard takes over the season points lead from Fowler, who came into the night with a five-point cushion.

“I’m not really big on points racing,� Ard said. “I come out here to win. I’m really out here for that first-place trophy every week. That’s where I wanna be.�

He took his shots at Buttrick in the closing laps, throwing caution to the wind in the middle of Turn Nos. 1 and 2.

Ard had a spot on Fowler as the two ran second and third for most of the race. Fowler continued to take peaks on the inside of Ard coming out of Turn 1.

The door opened for Fowler on Lap 12 when Ard clipped the inside wall. But as Fowler looked to past, he failed to get under Ard and a golden opportunity slipped through Fowler’s fingers.

 

Butler U-Pull-It Bombers

After a three-race stretch where he was shut out of podium finishes, Michael Nelson has rebounded in a big way.

Nelson made it two victories in two Butler U-Pull-It Bombers features, as he made a daredevil pass of close friend Robert Balkum on Lap 4 of 20 and Nelson never looked back for his third win of 2014.

“We went through a tough stretch earlier,� said Nelson, who is the division’s reigning track champion. “I couldn’t have done it without all the help I’ve received, and I think we’ve got the car where it needs to be again.�

Balkum finished as the runner-up and the series’ current points leader collected his seventh top-three of the season. John Kevin Merritt finished third.

“Michael’s got a fast car, but it’s always fun racing him,� Balkum said.

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