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Finch Secures Allen Turner PLM Season Opener; Watson, Davis, Salter Collect Wins at 5 Flags

Finch Secures Allen Turner PLM Season Opener; Watson, Davis, Salter Collect Wins at 5 Flags

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Pensacola’s high banks bit back Friday night.
The famed half-mile asphalt of Five Flags Speedway left drivers in several divisions perplexed, as the outside lane was slower and routinely brought out cautions.
Steven Davis and Adam Salter had no issues. The Alabama wheelmen each won their respective features—the Gulf Real Estate Group Pro Trucks and Story and Bleich Crown Stocks—with relative ease.
But the Allen Turner Pro Late Model season opener saw the 16-car field struggle to get a firm grasp on where the track’s best grip stood.
Jake Finch outlasted the competition to collect the checkered flag for the first of four Allen Turner PLM 100 races this season. Finch got his weekend started off on the right foot as he looks to defend his ARCA Menards Series title at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday morning.
“It’s super cool to come here and run the (No.) 18 car,” Finch said of the famed Ronnie Sanders’ Late Model. “I had a good racecar. Hopefully, we’ll get the job done tomorrow, too.”
The Lynn Haven 19-year-old started eighth and quickly went to work climbing toward the front. He was third by Lap 32, briefly held the lead just past halfway and reclaimed it for good at Lap 73.
Finch’s win makes it three straight PLM races, including the Snowflake 100, in which a Florida driver has won. That’s the first time that has happened since 2016.
Mobile’s Dustin Smith, who started ninth, finished runner-up and John Bolen (11th) finished third.
“We had a good car tonight, but we got tight at the end,” Smith said.
Bolen: “All my guys kept working hard and didn’t give up when I kept telling ’em I needed more. It’s my job to drive and make it go fast. We ran outta time. But it was a good race overall.”
Aidan Potter and Cole Williams, the front row, set a blistering pace from the drop of the opening green flag. Williams was the fast qualifier (16.735 seconds) and had to withstand an onslaught from Seth Christensen and Zack Dixon for the second position as Potter pulled away early.
But yellow flags started stacking up and Potter finally flinched on a restart with 33 laps complete. He spun his tires and Williams pounced at the opportunity.
Williams led for 38 of the next 40 laps before Finch blew by him and never looked back.
Finch split his Friday between Talladega and Pensacola on Friday, getting a few practice laps in at the iconic Alabama superspeedway before arriving at the iconic Florida short-track just a bit before qualifying got underway.
“I roll off 6,” Finch said of the General Tire 200 at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. “I’m excited to get there.”

Faith Chapel Outlaws
A slew of drivers jockeyed for the lead throughout the 35-lap Faith Chapel Outlaws feature.
Timothy Watson, who started sixth, bided his time and let the action play out in front of him. The former Outlaws track champion patiently waited to make his move down the stretch.
Watson took his first and only lead of the race on Lap 33 but handily pulled away from the rest of the 14-car field over the final two laps to secure his second victory of the season.
“Sometimes you’ve gotta be patient and wait on it,” Watson said. “I felt like we had the best car, but we were just having terrible luck, especially on the restarts.
“That was one heckuva race. I can’t believe we raced that way and didn’t wreck, but that was great.”
Logan Boyett took home runner-up honors and Jared Maupin collected third-place honors.
Boyett led a couple of laps down the stretch before Watson took the point.
“That was a great race,” Boyett said. “We started eighth and finished second. What more could you ask for. That was really good, clean racing. Nobody got mad.”

Gulf Real Estate Group Pro Trucks
Steven Davis continued his unblemished start to his season at Five Flags.
Just like he did on Opening Weekend last month, Davis once again set the fast time in group qualifying (18.316 seconds) on Friday before collecting the win in the Gulf Real Estate Group Pro Trucks 25-lap feature.
He was quick and methodical en route to clean air. Forced to start sixth as the previous race winner, Davis went from fourth to first in three laps and had the lead by Lap 6.
The Theodore, Ala., driver won easily, crossing the start-finish line to secure the victory with a more than two-second lead.
“We’ve started the year off right, that’s for sure,” Davis said.
Thirteen-year-old Matthew Laprade finished second and Maddox Langham rounded out the podium.

Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks
Adam Salter continued his recent dominance at Five Flags Speedway on Friday night.
The Andalusia, Ala., driver took the lead midway through the Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks 25-lap feature and recorded his fourth victory in his last seven races at Five Flags.
“It was a long race,” Salter said. “I thought it was never gonna end. It was fun and interesting, but it was long.”
Cameron Adams and Tyler Young finished second and third, respectively.
“It was a good race for everybody,” Young said. “Everybody’s getting really fast and really competitive. We’ve struggled a lot, but it feels good to be back on the podium. I hope we can build off this.”

Finish Order Friday April 25th
Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stock 10 laps for non-winners
Jason Lang, Warner Robbins, GA
Faith Chapel Outlaws
1 28 Tim Watson, Panama City, FL
2 1 Logan Boyett Pensacola, FL
3 23 Gary Goodwin, Pensacola, FL
4 96 Jared Maupin, San Antonio, TX
5 92 Bubba Winslow, Cantonment, FL
6 92 Cameron Henderson,
7 99 Memphis Villareal,
8 91 Chris Cotto, Milton, FL
9 8 Spencer Bragg,
11 32 Malcolm Spears, Baker, FL
10 10 Steven Campbell, Pensacola, FL
12 923 Carter Taylor, Lucedale, MS
13 36 Keith Thorpe, Milton, FL
14 92 Bobby Suarez,

Allen Turner Pro Late 100
1 18 Jake Finch, Lynn Haven, FL
2 33 Dustin Smith, Mobile, AL
3 2 John Bolen, Jasper, AL
4 46 Cole Williams, Memphis, IN
5 54 Seth Christensen, Pendergrass, GA
6 12 Chrisopher Tullis, Dacula, GA
7 68 Aiden Potter, Brentwood, TN
8 35 Luke Yarborugh, Cumming, GA
9 91 Jim Wall, Madison, AL
10 4 Elliott Massey, Lucedale, MS
11 82 Rafe Slate,
12 67 Colin Allman, Plant City, FL
13 51 Trey Grimes, Montgomery, AL
14 67 Zack Dixon, Lawrencevlle, GA
15 81 Jonathan Knee, Ft, Collins, CO
16 37 A. J. Wernette, Hondo, TX

Story & Bleigh Crown Stock 25
1 6 Adam Salter, Andalusia, AL
2 25 Cameron Adams, Milton, FL
3 44 Tyler Young, Pensacola, FL
4 97 Hunter Lambert, Pensacola, FL
5 5 Jason Lang,
6 1 James Oneal,
7 8 Austin Reeves, Enterprize, AL
8 19 Garrison Story, Pensacola, FL
9 17 Ryan Bleich, Sr. Pensacola, FL
10 75 Colton Rutherford, Cantonment, FL
11 12 Dee Davis, Walnut Hill, AL
12 1776 Steve Sidner, Pensacola, FL
13 24 Skylar Gibson, Crestview, FL
14 5 Andrew Farmer,
15 51 Kody Howard, Ponchatoula, LA
16 26 Blaise Boykin, Pensacola, FL
17 11 Cody Griggs, Pensacola, FL
18 68 Caleb Sanford,
19 27 Michael Chadwick, Ozark, AL
20 42 Lance Elliott, Laramie, WY
21 3 Nathan Danford,
22 3 Lee Fusler, Cantonment, FL
23 25 Cody Hobbs, Pace, FL
24 57 Jason Lang Jr,

Gulf Coast Real Estate Pro Tucks 25
1 79 Steven Davis, Theodore, AL
2 51 Carson Green,
3 54 Matthew Laprade, New Smyrna Beach, FL
4 1 Maddox Langham, Mobile, AL
5 96 Jared Mauoin,
6 99 Alexander Allen, San Antonio, TX
7 78 David Herndon, Laurel, MS
8 41 Kyler Bean, Pascagoula, MS
9 14 Sean Barnes, Pensacola, FL
10 3 Ray Herndon, Laurel, MS
11 18 Jonathan Smart,
12 18 Colton Kelly,

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