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Legacys Coming to 5 Flags

Off-week story ...

Legacy Series Drivers ‘Grateful’ for Opportunity to Race at 5 Flags on June 27

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Nearly 30 years ago, the sons of motorsports legend Donnie Allison left their own mark on the sport.
Donald, Kenny and Ronald Allison wanted to create an affordable stock car class that didn’t require a ton of maintenance and appealed to average racing fans.

Enter the Legacy Series. The scaled-down chassis of 1990s NASCAR Cup Series feature Chevrolet Monte Carlos and Ford Thunderbirds pumping a Mazda B2200 truck engine. Drivers follow a stringent rule book that equals the playing field.
“It’s everything a racer is looking for,” driver Brian Benedict said. “You can come into the series and buy a car for a real good price and you can be instantly competitive. And you don’t need huge hauler.”
Benedict and 20-plus other cars will get to show off the Samson Performance and Restoration Legacy Series in a 20-lap feature Junes 27 at Five Flags Speedway. The Legacy field will be joined by the Super Late Models for their third Blizzard Series 100-lapper of the season along with the Modifieds of Mayhem (50 laps), Faith Chapel Outlaws (35), The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25) and the Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks (25).
Admission is $20 for adults; $17 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids 5 and under. Gates open at 5 p.m. with racing set at approximately 8.

From its popularity in the 1990s as an economical avenue to short track race, the Samson Performance and Restoration Legacy Series—supported by Hub Hawk and Wild West Motorplex—has made its way to road-course sanction bodies and asphalt ovals all throughout the south.
They can mostly be found in Texas nowadays, competing at Houston Motorsports Park. Drivers in next week’s field will hail from Mobile and Ocala along with Houston and San Antonio.
“It puts the talent in the hands of the driver,” said Benedict, a resident of Cypress, Texas. “That feeds to close racing on the track all the way through the field. You’ll see two- and three-wide racing.”
Benedict found the Samson Performance and Restoration Legacy Series in 2019 after a lengthy background in karting. He loved the challenge of wheeling the cars, the series affordability and the camaraderie among drivers.
“The cool thing about series is you have so many backgrounds where drivers come from,” Benedict said. “You have your veterans toward the end of their careers and a lotta up-and-comers.
“The atmosphere is extremely helpful. While it’s very competitive, everyone brings spare parts and helps each other out, which is really the way racing should be.”

For many drivers in the Samson Performance and Restoration Legacy Series, this will be their first glance at Pensacola’s iconic high banks.
Benedict got to see Five Flags up close earlier this year. The night before the division raced at Mobile International Speedway in April, he made the I-10 trek to Five Flags to see the famed half-mile asphalt oval for himself.
“What an experience and what a beautiful facility,” Benedict said. “Anything that was told to me about the track couldn’t do it justice.
“So many of our drivers are excited to say we raced at Five Flags Speedway. We’re grateful for any opportunity we have.”

While there aren’t many, if any, Legacy drivers calling Pensacola home, Benedict is confident that could change pretty quickly.
“After they get to see the series race at Five Flags, there’s definitely gonna be some interested folks,” he said. “I know we’d love to have some Panhandle drivers.
“We’ll answer any question the fans have. We’re all really excited to get the word out about the series and hopefully keep it growing."

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