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Finch Flawless at 5 Flags in PLM Opener; Bean Notches 1st Pro Trucks Win in Pensacola

Finch Flawless at 5 Flags in PLM Opener; Bean Notches 1st Pro Trucks Win in Pensacola

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Jake Finch had an extra bounce in his step when he arrived Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
Finch flew private to the famed half-mile asphalt oval following a solid practice session at Talladega Superspeedway earlier in the afternoon. Before heading back for today’s ARCA Menards Series race, he took care of business in Pensacola.
Finch was flawless Friday at Five Flags. The 20-year-old Lynn Haven driver checked all the boxes to kick off the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series. Finch set the fast time, rolled an opportunistic “1” to maintain the pole for the race invert and led all 100 laps en route to an impressive feature victory.
That now gives Finch four major PLM wins already in 2026 and marks three straight years he has won a PLM feature at Pensacola’s high banks.
“Hats off to everybody on this No. 18 team,” Finch said. “We’ve had a good year so far. We struggled a little bit today, but we were still better than most.”
Zack Dixon’s runner-up Friday was his highest finish to date at Five Flags. Luke Yarbrough finished third.
Finch has enjoyed a torrid pace to start the year. He won the Alabama 200 in Montgomery, the Baby Rattler at South Alabama Speedway and a high-stakes race at Cordele Motor Speedway before landing in Pensacola.
“We’re gonna keep at it, keep our heads down and try to get a few more this year,” Finch said. “The job’s not finished.”
The race was clean until the final six laps. There was one caution, with 29 laps completed, the entire night before the 14-car field entered the stretch run. That’s when things got squirrely.
The second caution flew with 94 laps completed and Finch watched his 1.5-second lead dissolve.
The field was only able to record one official lap before the yellow flag was waving. Two more cautions came out before another lap was completed, as the consolidated field jockeyed for key positions.
Dixon stole the second spot away from Yarbrough when he dove to the apron on Lap 97 and squeezed under Yarbrough to get the much-coveted spot.
“We had a good hotrod tonight,” Dixon said. “We were a little too tight at the end. You gotta get up on that wheel and manhandle it.”

Gulf Real Estate Pro Trucks
Kyler Bean and his team worked deep into the night this week to get his Pro Truck ready for Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
All the hard work paid off for the Mississippi team.
Bean recorded his first victory at Five Flags with a Gulf Real Estate Pro Trucks 25-lap feature Friday.
“It’s about time we’ve gotten one of these,” Bean said. “We’ve been working hard. And I’m learning more as a driver as the year goes along.”
Sean Barnes came home second and Clint Holmes rounded out the podium in third.

The Dock on Pensacola Beach Street Stocks
The field was small, but Chad Robinson still had his hands full Friday night at Five Flags.
Robinson won a fourth straight Street Stocks race at the famed half-mile asphalt oval, holding off a valiant charge from Jim Pokrant. His streak, which includes a Snowball Derby victory, dates back to last September.
Robinson won The Dock on Pensacola Beach Street Stocks 25-lap feature Friday after taking the lead on Lap 9 and never looking back.
“I can’t complain,” Robinson said. “The car has been on a rail for the past year. I’ve only had to do little stuff to it, which I like. It’s like driving a Cadillac right now.”
Pokrant collected second, his best finish in five years, and enjoyed the clean battle with Robinson.
“It’s fun racing with Chad and everybody out here,” Pokrant said.
Mason Johnston, the defending Pure Stocks track champ, finished third in his Street Stocks debut at Five Flags.
“This is a completely different ballgame,” Johnston said of the leap. “The way the (Street Stocks) car goes into the corner is incredible. It’ll just take a little seat time for me to figure it out.”

Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks
Ely Loper is a testament to his will to survive and the power of prayer.
A year ago, the 16-year-old was in a Cincinnati hospital bed, engaged in one of his many battles with chronic pancreatitis, which can cause unbearable abdominal pain.
Twelve months later, Ely was busy collecting his second Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks 25-lap feature victory of the season Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
“I had an amazing car,” said Ely, who was also the fast qualifier (21.366 seconds). “I couldn’t do it without God and everybody that helps me out.
“I’ve been fortunate to have some luck. Hopefully, we keep it going.”
Wesley King, of Seminole, Ala., and Pensacola’s Connor Odom finished second and third, respectively.
While he set the fast time, Ely started sixth after he set the invert with his die roll. In less than half a track, he had already climbed up to second behind pole sitter Caleb Burkett. Ely made quick work, reaching clean air on Lap 2 with a daring move on the apron of Pensacola’s high banks.
He never looked back.
“It was a good race,” Odom said. “I did everything I could to hold (Ely) off until he got under me.”
Odom and King began heating up in the closing laps as each one tried to stake their claim for that runner-up spot.
Odom held second until King began rattling his cage two laps from the checkered flag. As the pair exited Turn No. 2, King made a smooth pass of Odom and position the No. 343 in second.
King was driving Ben Cranford’s car Friday, and offered his glowing review of the orange-and-black racecar.
“I appreciate Ben for letting me drive this thing tonight,” King said. “It was in 10 pieces last night. These are the (most fun) ones to drive.”

Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks
At 61, Doug Thorpe Jr. doesn’t blink when thrown in the pressure cooker. In fact, Thorpe seems more motivated when he’s most uncomfortable.
An eye-popping 25 cars comprised the field for the Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks 25-lap feature Friday at Five Flags Speedway. Thorpe was able to outlast them all and notch his first Crown Stocks victory since August of last year.
He took the lead early on and navigated lapped traffic en route to the win.
“The good thing about these cars is they’re so forgiving,” Thorpe said. “You can drive ’em anyway you want if you’re brave enough. I’m just an old man trying to get the most outta this car.”
Zachary Curtis, the track record holder, chose discretion as the better part of valor en route to runner-up honors. Curtis had a handful of chances, down the stretch of the 25-lapper, to nudge Thorpe out of the lead. Instead, he settled for second and kept two racecars in one piece.
“Zach, thank you buddy,” Thorpe said afterward. “He had an opportunity to get under me and turn me and let me have it. I hate cautions.”
Austin Reeves came into Friday riding a two-feature winning streak. Even with a step up in competition, Reeves still mustered a podium finish in third.
“It looked like helluva show from my car,” Reeves sad.
Curtis was driving one of the cars out of the Bare Minimum Racing stable, a team that produced defending Crown Stocks track champion Adam Salter and his brother Chris.
Curtis pledged to be back again.
“It’s hard when you’re not starting on the front row like the old man up there,” Curtis joked of Thorpe. “We fell back for a while and was with all the squirrels.
“We were a lot faster than Doug, but we just ran outta laps. This was a freaking rocket ship. It’s one of the best cars I’ve ever drove.”

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