By Chuck Corder

Jerry Bohlman has fleeting visions of his father’s glory days on asphalt.

Longtime fans of Five Flags Speedway might remember the name “Gary Bohlman� during the early 1970s. The elder Bohlman brought his No. 43 1968 Camaro — two facts the younger Bohlman recalls with ease — to Victory Lane several times until he left the sport in 1975.

If Jerry Bohlman’s memory is a little foggy about those years, he can be excused. He was still in diapers when Gary Bohlman started racing; barely out of them when his dad stopped.

“I remember being in the pits with the other kids playing,� Jerry Bohlman, now 44, said. “We didn’t care much about the racing. All we wanted to do was take the tools out and dig around in the dirt with them. And then, we’d get into trouble because we’d eventually lose some tools.�

Jerry Bohlman will have all his tools at his disposal come Friday as he tries to follow in his father’s victorious footsteps.

Bohlman will be a part of a deep field when the Southern Vintage Racing Association fueled by Sunoco makes its return to Five Flags.

The local touring series that competes on both dirt and asphalt tracks along the Gulf Coast is comprised of 1934 Ford and Chevy coupes and sedans. The throwbacks sit on open-wheeled frames and boast V8 engines under the hood.

“It puts the fun back into racing,� said Jerry Bohlman, who raced late models for a few years at Five Flags. “There’s no other way around it. They’re inexpensive, for one, and a lotta fun. I enjoy it for those reasons. Plus, everybody helps each other out at the racetrack.

“Nobody fights or argues. That, I thoroughly enjoy.�

The Vintage class will share the Friday night marquee with the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Models, which will continue its season with its first doubleheader (20-/30-lap features) of 2015.

Also, on the night’s card are Pro Trucks, Sportsman and Bombers. The gates open at 4 p.m. Friday and admission is as follows: $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids under 6.

While Jerry Bohlman struggles to reel off details about his father’s racing accomplishments, it’s easy to tell the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

The first clear sign of the father-son connection comes when you notice the number on the side of Bohlman’s ’34 Ford Coupe. Just like his old man, Jerry Bohlman proudly displays the No. 43.

The second clue of Jerry Bohlman’s pedigreed passion reveals itself when he describes, in intricate detail, the rush of maneuvering around the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

“I like the feel of throwing it into the corners at Five Flags,� said Bohlman, who competed in both Vintage races staged last season at Pensacola’s high banks. “Driving it in there as hard as I can, it’s a blast. There’s a little slipping and sliding, but that’s just the thrill of the speeds we travel.�

A regular pavement poet.

Much like his foray into the sport of racing itself, Jerry Bohlman got involved with Vintages because of Gary Bohlman. Once the family patriarch started fooling around with them, his two sons weren’t far behind.

Gary Bohlman Jr. bought a Vintage car shortly after Senior’s pursuit, but because of lingering back issues, he handed it over to kid brother Jerry.

To this day, Jerry’s biggest helping hands in the pits and at the shop remain the two Garys.

“Gary Jr. does 90 percent of the work and makes sure we are at the track each time out,� Jerry Bohlman said. “My dad taught me a bunch about keeping these cars under you.�

Now 71, Senior has once again gone into semi-retirement — “Dad gets in every now and then,� Jerry Bohlman said. These days, son drives father’s old Vintage.

When both were still driving Vintages a few years ago, the Bohlman boys did get numerous chances to compete against each other. Those races often had predictable finishes.

“Nine times outta 10 he won,� Jerry Bohlman admitted, marveling at his father’s skills late in life. “I tried to pass him if I could. I never could get around that car for whatever reason.�

Must have been payback for all those lost tools 40 years ago.