Believe it or not, we are atthehalfwaypointinthe2016racingseason.Idon’tthinkasinglefancancomplain about the racing actionduring the first half, and expect nolessinthesecondhalfprogram.

Friday night will be thesecond appearance for the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Modelsandagainitwillbetwin50lappers.ThefirstProLateModelshowbackonApril15thwitnessedaverylargecarcountandsomefantasticracing.

Weexpect the same this time.DerekThornfromCaliforniaandBretHolmes from Alabama walked awaywiththefirstplacetrophiesinApril.Whoknowswhoitwillbethistimearound?

TheProTrucks,SportsmanandBomberswillbe inactionaswellandwe all know what kind of action we’llseefromthosethreedivisions.

Congratulations to Wesley King, Super Stocks, and Robert Balkum, Bombers, on their first everfeature win. And to Steve Buttrick,Sportsman, on his “who knows how

many”featurewins.

The Modifieds of Mayhem will return onJuly 8th along with SuperStocks, Sportsman andBombers.

Visitusonourwebsiteat5flagsspeedway.com, tokeepupwithalltheupcom-ingeventsanddates.

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7/8 Mods of Mayhem,SuperStocks,Sportsmen,Bombers.7/22 SERFBlizzard 125,ProTrucks,Sportsmen,Bombers.8/5Demolition Derby,Modifieds ofMayhem,Sportsmen,Bombers.8/13 Drifting9/2 Pro Late Twin 50’sSuperStocks,Sportsmen,Bombers.9/17Allen Turner Tune Up 100forPLM,ProTrucks,Sportsmen,Bombers.9/24 Season Championships,Blizzard150,SuperStock,Sportsmen,Bombers.10/1Drifting 11/19 Snowball Derby Preview12/1-449th Annual Snowball Derby

By Chuck Corder

National Anthem

National Anthem AS1 Angela Adair Aviation Support Equipment Technician (AS) Instructor at Naval Air Technical Center

Future Vision: Ambitious Young Holmes Enjoy-ing Spoils of Success on Late Model, ARCA Tours

Bret Holmes’ life has felt like a Disney movie script recently.

Every time the Munford, Ala., late model driver believes, at any moment, he’ll wake up from this dream, fantasy contin-ues to morph into reality.

Highlighted by a pair of top-10s as a driver and a win as an owner, the 19-year-old Holmes generated an immediate buzz in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Series.

Holmes’ storybook season only got sweeter after an April trip to Five Flags Speedway. In the first set of 50-lap doubleheaders that the revamped Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model Series is featur-ing this season, Holmes came away with a runner-up and, most notably, his first career victory at Pensacola’s high banks.

“Two years ago … I was lead-ing and got spun out. Since then, I’ve been trying to get a win at Pensacola,” Holmes recalled. “I had every intention of winning that second race.

I was really happy we got that one. That first win is always the hardest. Next time, there will be a little less pressure.”

Holmes, a sophomore majoring in building sciences this fall at Auburn, has enjoyed his whirl-wind of success. After months of weekly two-hour drives from Auburn to the shop, which sits next to his family’s home in Munford, Holmes is ecstatic to finally see the fruits of his labor.

“I don’t have any intentions of rushing things,” he said. “I’ve got time. I know series are always looking for younger drivers.” Read the rest of Chuck’s story on our web site.

Who is at the Wheel?

5DerekLong;BayMinette8BJLeytham;Mobile13JimmyHollingsworth,Mobile15RobertLoper,Irvington16BradMosley;8Mile22JohnKMerritt;Pensacola22ZackCarpenter,Loxley,AL24CalebBurkett,Pensacola29MattThompson,Wilmer,AL34CoryPittman,Cantonment42BrandonSidner,Pensacola44BobbyJones,Mobile49JayWhalen,Pensacola52RobertBalkum,Pensacola56KernerKafka,Pensacola78TimWilmot,Cantonment80ZackJordan,Pensacola86JonathanSmith,Theadore88GenoDenmark,Dauphin91SarahDority,Pensacola95RobertRiley,GulfBreeze

00BrannonFowler,Molino1JonathanLangham,Mobile07JimPokrant,Pensacola09HunterMcNair,Cantonment13PaulMathis,Pensacola28DaytonSidner,Cantonment29ShannaArd,Milton31JohnnyGreene,Daphne,AL33SteveButtrick,Cantonment51AlbertPirez,Lillian,AL60JimmyGoodwin,Milton81TinaDavidson,Pensacola97HunterLambert,Pensacola99BillyHoover,Pensacola

By Chuck Corder

Balkum Battles Back in Pensacola - Mobile Bomber Rivalry Robert Balkum is just looking for a little fun. Whether it’s from the perch of his familiar No. 52 Bombers car at Five Flags Speedway or engag-ing in playful trash talk online or in the pits, the 38-year-old driver’s only goal in life seems to be enjoying it.

On or off the track, Balkum rarely gets rattled. But even Balkum’s cool head felt a rush of anger when he read Robert Loper’s comments before the season about Mobile-area driv-ers’ dominance of the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers division since late 2014.

“It doesn’t seem like the Pensac-ola guys have the will and the drive that we do,” Loper told to 5flagsspeedway.com back in March. “I guess they didn’t do their homework. They have the same abilities as we do. I don’t know what it is. I know we’re not scared to drive our cars.” Buoyed by those comments, Balkum renewed his focus.

Earlier this month, Balkum ended a nearly, two-year drought for Pensacola Bombers drivers when he scored just his second career feature win.“That interview with Loper may have put more fire in me this year, as far stepping up, than anything ever has,” (Read the rest of the story on the web site: www,5flagsspeedwaycom).

For points of all competitors, check our web site.

00 Anthony Cataldi 1 Perry Patino 2 Bret Holmes 7 Cole Daffron 9 Jeff Choquette 10 RS Senter 14 Chris Davidson 14 Connor Okrzesik 17 Okie Mason 18 Ryan Paul 19 Adam Johnson 21 Justin South 22 Jordan McCallum 23 Josh Hollis 26 Chandler Smith 27 Austin Wood 40 Keith Thorpe 41 Troy Grisaffi 51 Zack Knowles 55 Ronnie Osmer 80 C J Lockamy 81 Brandon Odom 89 Jeremy Pate 92 Ron McDonald 97 Cole Anderson 99 Johnny Greene 99 Jr Niedecken

1 Howard Langham 3 Taylor Jorgensen 6 Okie Mason 12 Brandon Burks 15 Mark Lindley 18 Jessie Reid 22 Matt Jackson 36 Rodney Benefield 40 Brian Weimer 46 Jarrett Parker 47 Jamie Weimer 64 Donnie Hamrac 68 Lori Lindley 87 Buddy Welch 95 Steven Davis

33

29

07

28

97

52

8

22

91

56

Steve Buttrick

ShannaArd

JimPokrant

DaytonSidner

HunterLambert

Robert Balkum

BJLeytham

JohnKMerritt

SarahDority

KernerKafka

Taylor Jorgensen

HowardLangham

OkieMason

StevenDavis

JarrettParker

Bret Holmes

DerekThorn

ChrisDavidson

RyanPaul

ConnorOkrzesik

2

9

14

18

14

Todd Jones

JasonJohnson

WesleyKing

CharlieSkipper

AndrueNolen

3

1

6

95

46

Zane Smith

KyleGrissom

CaseyRoderick

HarrisonBurton

CaseySmith

77

31

7

12

99

9

94

14

57

9