Niedecken Breaks Five Flags Drought With PLM Victory

With a soft smile and a causal wave to an overjoyed crowd, Wayne Niedecken, Jr. broke free from the clutches of a thousand-pound gorilla.

There has been a cornucopia of checkereds handed out at since “Junior,” as Niedecken is simply known, has won a feature at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL.

Too many to count. Too many to care to count.

Riding a lightning bolt of success across the bay in Mobile, Junior ended a miserably long Pensacola drought late Friday night.

The 58-year-old driver drove to victory lane and drove the grandstands berserk after winning the closing 30-lap feature for the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Models.

Sixteen-year-old Derek Scott, Jr. narrowly held off Ryan Luza in the 20-lap opener three hours earlier Friday.

“I wondered when it was gonna happen,” an exasperated Junior said. “We have a streak going over at Mobile (International Speedway), and I started to wonder if it was going to bleed over into Pensacola. Tonight, it happened.”

Indeed it did. Junior, who finished fifth to Scott’s win, took the lead on lap 19 from 25-year-old Zachary Knowles and never bobbled the rest of the way despite a closing caution.

Junior had come close to wins in recent years at the famed half-mile asphalt oval. He finished second in a nail biter to young Garrett Jones last year.

But something clicked with his program during Snowball Derby week. He finished a respectable seventh in the Snowflake 100 last December and carried that karma into 2015.

“It’s all about momentum with these cars,” Junior said. “We’ve just been dotting our “I’s” and crossing our “T’s” and paying attention to the details.”

He raised eyebrows by winning the Pepsi 100 last month in Mobile. Then, two weeks ago, again at MIS, he backed his victory up by sweeping the same 20-/30-lap format Five Flags entertains.

Back on home turf Friday, Junior was bound and determined to snap his losing skid. An aggressive brand of driving and good fortune to avoid two cautions were Junior’s recipe for success.

“The cards have to fall in your favor,” he said. “We race very frugal, on a shoestring budget, against some teams that have a lotta money.”

Class warfare matters little, though, once you reach victory lane.

Blinding flashes from smart phones and heavy-duty cameras danced against the night sky’s pitch-black backdrop.

“I can’t remember the last time,” a relieved Niedecken exclaimed.

One thing’s for sure. Champions never forget how to celebrate.

Junior was as meticulous in victory lane as he was hitting his lines in the final few laps. He made sure every friend and family member got a picture to cherish — freshly-minted retiree Marty White was among the droves.

Sponsors, too, enjoyed the celebration. Even if Junior had to steer them into their spots to ensure their logo would be proudly displayed.

When it came time for a photo with just the car and its sweaty driver, Niedecken made sure everything was in its place. With the flair of a matador, he displayed the checkered flag to the popping lenses like a server presents a bottle of wine, tableside.

Niedecken crouched next toward the rear of his car, the white No. 99 beaming underneath the track’s lights.

“It’s a good thing to see again,” a close buddy remarked to Niedecken.

Indeed it was.

Scott Edges Luza In PLM Opener

A Texas tornado roared into Five Flags Speedway on Friday.

Derek Scott, Jr., 16, from Franklin, Texas, and Ryan Luza, 18 and from Cypress, Texas, provided a great finish for the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Scott, who dominated much of the 20-lap race, held off a hard-charging Luza at the line for his first career Five Flags victory. It was Luza’s second consecutive runner-up finish.

“This is great,” Scott said. “It’s nothing more than what I expected. We came here wanting the win, so I’m happy.”

Luza had several opportunities in the closing laps, but his best shot came on the final lap. Out of Turn No. 2, the young guns were side-by-side headed down the back stretch.

They made contact coming out of turn No. 4 and Scott held on at the line by a radiator. If that, really.

“It was definitely a close race,” Luza said. “We were a little loose coming off the corners. We both raced each other clean and didn’t tear any cars up.”

Southern Vintage Racing Association

Chris Bayhi saved his best for the stretch run Friday at Five Flags Speedway.

Ben Spears, in his quest for a three-peat at Pensacola’s high banks, had firm control for much of the 20-lap race before a slew of cautions opened the door for Bayhi.

Bayhi got a great jump on a lap 16 restart and the two were wheel-to-wheel. Bayhi, the Vintages current points leader, pounced on the opportunity and had firm control of the lead by the time the two made it back to the flagstand.

“We’ve spent the last three nights putting the car together,” Bayhi said. “I can’t even think of all the people that have helped me.”

Spears couldn’t make up ground and fell short of his goal of three consecutive wins for the class of 1934 Ford and Chevy coupes and sedans.

“We just ran outta tires at the end — that’s all there is to it,” Spears said. “That and too many cautions.”

Pro Trucks

Okie Mason showed the heart of a champion Friday at Five Flags Speedway.

The defending series champion took the lead from Ryan Worsham on lap 3 and never had to sweat his first victory this season in Pensacola.

“Praise God that he gave me this ability,” Mason said.

Nearly overshadowing Mason’s win was the battle for second between the father-daughter dup of Brian and Jami Weimer from Cumming, GA.

Jami Weimer, 20, moved into second on late restart and held that position on the 25th and final lap when Brian Weimer made a last-ditch effort.

But Jami wasn’t budging for dear ol’ dad, five days after celebrating Father’s Day. She finished ahead of him for the first time since she started racing.

“I won’t hear the end of this one,” Brian Weimer joked (kind of). “She drove a helluva race. She’s proven herself.”

Sportsman

No win can or should be marginalized.

But even Brannon Fowler will admit his victory Friday night in the 25-lap feature at Five Flags Speedway paled in comparison to the chaotic battle for second.

“I had all but clear track ahead,” Fowler said. “There seemed to be a lotta action and excitement behind me. It was a good night.”

That honor ultimately went to Shanna Ard. But only after his No. 29 car got sideways coming out of turn No. 4 and nosed out Steve Buttrick for runner-up honors.

The two were so close that as Ard crossed the stripe barely ahead of Buttrick, the No. 29 shoved the No. 33 into the inside wall.

It was the second time Friday the pair had collided with one another.

With four laps left, the roles were reversed. Buttrick held second and Ard wanted it desperately. As Ard tried to go under Buttrick in turn one, the friendly rivals went for a spin before making contact along the apron.

“I hope y’all fans enjoyed that!” Ard cried out. “You can’t get any better than that. I thank Buttrick for good, hard racing.”

Bombers

With his car up for sale, Colin Kraft went for broke Friday night.

Kraft, the son of Camping World Trucks Series legend Rick Crawford, successfully negotiated a four-wide battle moments after the green flag dropped en route to his first official win in Pensacola.

“When you drive a winning car is easier to smile,” Kraft said. “We wanted to bring it out one last time to show it is a winning car. We worked our butts off. Dad, especially, spent night and day getting it ready. I’m glad I could bring it up here to victory lane.”

Geno Denmark appeared to have something for Kraft late in the race. Trouble with lapped traffic, though, was Denmark’s untimely undoing and he settled for second.

“The car drove really good,” Denmark said. “We were running Colin down. It was taking me forever, but we were reeling him in.

“But, then, we came down on the lapped car and he got me sideways. I couldn’t do anything after that.”

Five Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL
Race Results – June 26, 2015

Pro Late Models

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Finish	Start	Car	Driver	Hometown	Race Points
1	14	99	Wayne Niedecken, Jr.	Milton , FL	100.00
2	6	33DS	Dustin Smith	Mobile , AL	97.00
3	15	81	Brandon Odom	Defuniak Springs, FLl	94.00
4	17	14L	Ryan Luza	Cypress , TX	91.00
5	18	01	Derek Scott Jr.	Franklin , TX	88.00
6	5	51K	Zachary Knowles	Houston , TX	85.00
7	16	2H	Bret Holmes	Munford , AL	82.00
8	19	00	Anthony Cataldi	Umatilla , FL	79.00
9	12	X2	Dennis Reno, Jr.	Tarrant , AL	76.00
10	11	55R	Ronnie Osmer	Pearl River, LA	73.00
11	4	115	Ryan Humphrey	Shreveport , LA	70.00
12	8	91	Christopher Freeland	Bastrop , LA	67.00
13	2	36B	Rodney Benefield	Flowery Branch, GA	64.00
14	1	41G	Troy Grisaffi	Kenner , LA	61.00
15	3	30S	Rusty Sanford	Seminary , MS	58.00
16	7	7B	Kody Brusso	Pensacola , FL	55.00
17	9	113	Bill Bethea, Iii	Montgomery , AL	52.00
18	13	1MG	Garrett Jones	Mooresville , NC	49.00
19	10	89BR	Bobby Reuse	Hoover , AL	46.00

 

Sportsmen

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Finish	Start	Car	Driver	Hometown	Race Points
1	1	00F	Brannon Fowler	Molino , FL	100.00
2	4	29	Shanna Ard	Milton , FL	97.00
3	3	33B	Steve Buttrick	Cantonment , FL	94.00
4	8	60	Jimmy Goodwin	Robertsdale , AL	91.00
5	6	28	Dayton Sidner	Cantonment , FL	88.00
6	10	07	Jim Pokrant	Milton , FL	85.00
7	2	6	Michael Ledlow	Eight Mile, AL	82.00
8	11	36	John Ward Jr	Pensacola , FL	79.00
9	9	97	Hunter Lambert	Pensacola , FL	76.00
10	7	51	Albert Pirez	Lillian , AL	73.00
11	5	14	Connor Okrzesik	Grand Bay, AL	70.00

 

Bombers

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Finish	Start	Car	Driver	Hometown	Race Points
1	8	18	Collin Kraft	Mobile , AL	100.00
2	9	88D	Gino Denmark	Dauphin Island, AL	97.00
3	7	15L	Robert Loper	Theodore , AL	94.00
4	11	83	David Johnson	Mobile , AL	91.00
5	6	29D	Carl Dodson	Milton , FL	88.00
6	1	B52	Robert Balkum	Pensacola , FL	85.00
7	5	22M	John Kevin Merritt	Pensacola , FL	82.00
8	4	91D	Sarah Dority	Pensacola , FL	79.00
9	2	15	Preston Prevatte	Lillian , AL	76.00
10	3	24B	Kerner Kafka	Pensacola , FL	73.00
11	10	42s	Brandin Sidner	Cantonment , FL	70.00
12	12	06	Waylon Wolfe	Cantonment , FL	67.00

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Pro Trucks

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Finish	Start	Car	Driver	Hometown	Race Points
1	5	6	Okie Mason	Kushla , AL	100.00
2	2	47W	Jami Weimer	Cumming , GA	97.00
3	8	40	Brian Weimer	Cumming , GA	94.00
4	7	17CB	Curt Britt	McDonough , GA	91.00
5	6	47	Andy Wojtaszczyk	Weatherford , TX	88.00
6	3	R7	Ryan Worsham	Niceville , FL	85.00
7	4	1	Howard Langham	Irvington , AL	82.00
8	1	23	Joe Pike	Monroe , LA	79.00