Five Flags Speedway

Must See Racing Winged Sprints Return to 5 Flags, Aim to Take Down Track Record

10/1/2025

Five Flags Speedway

Must See Racing Winged Sprints Return to 5 Flags, Aim to Take Down Track Record

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Track records didn’t stand a chance at Five Flags Speedway this season.
Five of the eight classes that regularly race at the famed half-mile asphalt oval set new fast times throughout the course of 2025. Jim Hanks knows his drivers are confident another will fall come Friday night at Five Flags.
Hanks is the series operator of the Must See Racing Series presented by Perfit-Parts.com and Racing America. Must See Racing returns to Pensacola’s high banks on Friday for the first time in 11 years.

Close to 30 winged pavement sprint cars will take their shot during the Southern Shootout at topping 13.046 seconds, a mark that Brian Gerster in 2014.
“We’re the world’s fastest short-track racing cars. There’s no doubt,” Hanks said. “Our series owns 27 track records around the country. We’ve got the best guys out there.”
Hanks would know. He’ll bring a field of teams hailing from eight states and Canada. The 410-winged sprints will be joined by Legacy cars and the Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks.

Gates open at 3 p.m. Friday with qualifying set to kick off at 6:15 and racing slated for 8. Admission is $20 for adults; $17 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; free for kids 5 and under.

While the Crown Stocks crowned Adam Salter as their track champion during last Saturday’s Night of Champions No. 2, Friday’s exhibition race will have extra money up for grabs for the entry-level class. Drivers that race both Five Flags on Friday and at Montgomery Motor Speedway (MMS) on Saturday will be entered into a drawing for $500. Additionally, the highest average finisher of the two nights will earn an extra $500.
The Sprints will compete for a winner’s purse of $10,000 at both Pensacola’s high banks Friday and MMS on Saturday to complete the back half of the Southern Shootout.
“We’re very excited to be back in Pensacola,” Hanks said. “We’ve got some serious hitters coming. There are about six to eight guys, and I wouldn’t bet against anyone of them.”
Joe Liguori is closing in on another Must See Racing championship. He currently holds a commanding 64-point lead over Ryan Litt. Kevin Mingus sits in third place currently 41 points behind Litt.

Must See Racing has competed at legendary racetracks across the country, including Bristol Motor Speedway, and race nothing larger than half-miles. The series puts an emphasis on safety and their drivers are skilled enough that caution flags are rare.
“We raced two full days in Michigan, had full fields and just one yellow flag,” Hanks said of a recent Labor Day event. “Safety has always been No. 1 for us. It’s non-negotiable with our drivers and the tracks we race at. We require tracks to supply all the necessary fire protection, EMTs, ambulances, etc.
“In each and every race, our race director meets with the local safety people and goes over all protocols for safety. He makes sure they understand what a sprint car is about, where fuel shutoff is and other safety issues.”
The collaboration and focus on safety ensures edge-of-your-seat racing at every stop on the Must See Racing schedule that started in May and ends with this weekend’s Southern Shootout.

Hanks knows his group of winged sprints will close the season in style down South. He can’t predict whether Gerster’s record will fall, but he promises that all his drivers will give their best shots.
“Something that plagues car racing these days is sandbagging. That doesn’t fly with us,” Hanks said. “On Labor Day, we broke the track record four times in Michigan in 2 days.
“We’re about to let our game do the talking and our game is performance. We’re talking about the fastest 30 laps in anything anywhere.”