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Second Verse, Same as the First: Familiar Faces Find Victories as Locals Kick Off Historic Weekend

By Chuck Corder
On a weekend when NASCAR makes its triumphant return to Pensacola for the first time in nearly two decades, Friday night belonged to the local boys.

The K&N Pro Series East NAPA Auto Parts 150 will be staged tonight at Five Flags Speedway, but first it was the Super Stocks, Sportsmen and Bombers wowing the fans with door-to-door action.

K&N still left its thumbprint on Friday, though, handing out $100 to the top-three finishers in each division.

Bubba Winslow won two Super Stocks features all of last year. He has already equaled that feat through two races in 2013 thanks to another dominant performance in a 35-lap victory Friday.

“I’ve gotta thank my crew,� Winslow said. “We really worked on this thing. We don’t just unload and expect it to be perfect. It was dialed in for the race.�

He was the fastest in qualifying, but started fifth after the invert for the 12-car field.

Okie Mason was on the point for the opening green flag, but it didn’t take long for the heavy metal to flex their muscle.

Winslow and Super Stocks Snowball Derby champion Gary Sutton were quick to Mason’s bumper just two laps in.

Sutton overtook Mason for the lead on Lap 3, bringing Winslow with him.

Following a caution, Winslow edged past Sutton for the lead on Lap 4 and never relinquished it.

“We definitely didn’t have it hooked up like we did a few weeks ago,� said Sutton, who eventually came home in third. “We’ll come back and I promise you we’ll be faster than tonight. Third wasn’t the goal. We want to be where (Winslow’s) orange car is.�

As the feature neared 20 laps, Dave Nolen at the end of the pack spun all by himself down the front stretch and nearly turned the entire race on its head.

Winslow quickly jerked the steering wheel to the left to avoid the stalled Nolen at the top of the track, as did Sutton and the rest of the leaders.

Defending track champion Randy Thompson made a valiant climb to second, screaming by Sutton on Lap 31, but never managed to reach Winslow’s back bumper.

“The car was awesome tonight,� Thompson said. “I wish we had a few more laps and we could’ve been right there with Bubba.�

Sportsmen

Perfect. Undisputed. Winner.

Any of those monikers fit for Steve Buttrick.

Through the first month of the season between Pensacola and Mobile International Speedway, the veteran Cantonment driver has yet to lose.

After collecting a 30-lap checkered Friday at Five Flags, Buttrick owns three feature and a heat race win at both tracks.

His early-season success has folks talking of a potential bounty.

“That’s never happened to me before, but that’d be fun,� Buttrick beamed.

Buttrick was the fast qualifier, but started on the outside of Row 2 of the 14-car field following the invert.

Shanna Ard led the way for the opening seven laps, but when the dirt tracker got loose coming out of Turn 2, Buttrick pounced on the opening.

Two-time defending track champion Brannon Fowler gave chase to Buttrick all night. He, in fact, edged past Buttrick on a Lap 15 restart, but it was merely a fleeting few seconds out front.

Two-time defending Bombers track champion Gary Goodwin, who has made the jump to Sportsmen, had an impressive showing.

He climbed the podium for the first time in his Sportsmen career with a third-place finish.

“I’m trying to get a little faster to catch these guys in front of us,� Goodwin said.

Bombers

The departure of the top two Bombers drivers to the Sportsmen class has jarred the door for new faces to take the point.

With Gary Goodwin and Brandon Burks moving ahead, Tracy Soles has kicked that door down.

The Pensacola youngster won his second feature Friday with a 25-lap victory. Soles would have a perfect three-for-three record in 2013 had it not been for a disqualification a few weeks ago for illegal brakes in post-race technical inspection.

“It feels good,� Soles said. “I got DQ’d, so it felt like I had to prove a point tonight.�

The most intriguing battle of the evening came for second as Kenny Bullard and Michael Nelson went toe-to-toe for most of the race.

A spin with 18 completed laps appeared to add a little drama to the feature as the 10-car field stacked back up for the restart.

But Nelson missed a shift and the storyline fell by the wayside until the cars reached inspection. Bullard crossed the line unofficially for second, followed by sixth-grader Ryan Worsham and Nelson in fourth.

However, Bullard was disqualified in the tech shed, pushing Worsham to second and Nelson to third.

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