4/23/2026
Five Flags Speedway
Patrick Looking to Settle in for the Pro Late Model Opener Friday at 5 Flags
Patrick Looking to Settle in for the Pro Late Model Opener Friday at 5 Flags
By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter
James Patrick spends his days and nights surrounded by cars.
In addition to ensuring everything runs right on his Pro Late Model car, the 41-year-old Mobile native works on vehicles at Mercedes Benz of Mobile.
“You gotta do a 9-to-5 to fund a 5-to-9,” Patrick joked.
He hopes his No. 11 is clicking on all cylinders Friday night at Five Flags Speedway as the Road to the Snowflake begins its four-race stretch for the Allen Turner PLM Series.
Patrick is coming off his best career PLM finish just a week ago at his home track of Mobile International Speedway.
“It’s definitely a momentum builder,” he said. “A top-five finish with the competition (at Five Flags) will, basically, be a win for me.”
The PLMs will share Friday night with the Gulf Real Estate Group Pro Trucks, The Dock on Pensacola Beach Street Stocks, Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks, Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks. Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday with PLM qualifying set for 7 and racing at approximately 8.
Download the Ticket Hoss app (https://tickethoss.com/track/2) to purchase tickets.
A stacked field on PLM drivers are set to wage a 100-lap battle around the famed half-mile asphalt oval.
Patrick enjoyed a decorated career as a Street Stocks driver earlier this decade, winning multiple Snowball Derby titles (2020, 2023) and securing a series track championship in 2024.
He made the jump to PLMs two years ago after receiving some encouragement from Justin Smith, manager of The Dock on Pensacola Beach and a longtime sponsor or Patrick.
“I was going to put an older car together for Mobile,” said Patrick, who lives just minutes from MIS. “Justin said, ‘Lets’ get a good car.’
“He’s a great supporter of the Street Stocks class and my racing. I couldn’t do it without him and Billy Clark Bail Bonds.”
Patrick grew up around MIS, attending races with his father and grandfather. In no time, he was helping in the pits for several drivers.
“I was eight or nine the first time I went, and I’ve been at the racetrack ever since,” he said.
Patrick started drag racing at MIS as a teenager but quickly turned his attention to oval racing.
“Drag racing only lasted a few seconds. Maybe you make six to seven runs a night,” he explained. “At circle tracks, there is a lotta competition and the adrenaline rush is something different. I built a car and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Patrick has driven Street Stocks, Modifieds and now PLMs for the last two years.
“If it’s a decent car, and I fit in it comfortably, I’ll drive it,” he said.
Patrick has set reasonable expectations for himself to have a solid season and be in line for a provisional to compete at this year’s Snowflake 125 in December during the 59th annual Snowball Derby. He has missed the last two Flakes, falling one spot shy in the last-chance race each season.
For Friday, Patrick knows his gameplan well.
“I wanna maintain pace with leaders, and, hopefully, run a clean race,” he said. “We hope to be there at the end of night and finish with a top-eight or top-five.
“I expect a big field, so it may turn into a survival race. Everybody will be itching to get out front.”
