Being on top of your game, often seemsto come and go. Sometimeswhen you drop outofthatpositionit’slikeittakesforeverbeforeyoureturntobeingontopagain.Thatisexactlywhathappenedtooneofthemostpopulardriverswhohaseverturnedalaphere..Doyouknowwhothatmightbe?

You guessed it. Wayne Niedecken, Jr.Hehasbeenahugecrowdfavoriteat“America’sFavoriteHomeTrack”fordecades,andhedoesn’tseemtobeslowingwithage.Aftergoingthroughwhat Icallaslumpover the lastcoupleofyears,heseemstobebackwithfireinhiseyes,toprovetotheyoungstersthathecanstillgetthejobdone.Afteragreatruninlastyear’sAllenTurnerHyundaiSnowflake100hehasfoundnewlife.Heis3for3 in theProLateModelDivisionatMobile Inter-nationalSpeedwayandhopestokeepthatstreakalivehereathishometrack.

Willitbeacakewalkyoumightask?Abso-lutelynot!!WeexpectagoodcarcountintheProLates for our first 20/30 shootout. Drivers fromTexas,Georgia,Alabama,andofcourseourlocaldriver’swillbeouttostopNiedecken’shotstreak.

Also racing will be the Sportsman, ProTrucks, Bombers and Vintage. This is a greatchanceforsomeofournewerfanstocomparethedifferencesbetweentheracecarsfromthepasttothenewmodernversions.Whatadifferencetimemakes. It doesn’tmatter if its technologyor racecars,everythingchangesintime.

Enoughfornow-!Seeyaattheraces!!!

Pro Late, Vintage, Pro Trucks, Bombers & Sportsmen

By Chuck Corder

Can Spears Threepeat?

BenSpearsreferstoFiveFlagsSpeedwayas“myDaytona.”Foramanwhohasaspecialconnectiontothefamedhalf-mileasphaltoval,racingPensacola’shighbanksalwayssendsanadrenalinerushthroughSpears.

Hehopestocontin-uehiswinningwaysFridaynightathisbelovedtrackwhentheSouthernVintageRacingAssociationreturns.

“It’sthefastestwegoallseason,”saidthe36-year-oldSpears,whowonthelasttwoVintagefeatureshere.“It’sthebiggesttrackwe’llsee,too.There’sathrillofgoingthere.Thefactthatwegettogotoanasphalttrackisjustacherryontopofwhatwegettodoonanormalbasis.”

TheSouthernVin-tageRacingAssociationiscomprisedof1934FordandChevycoupesandsedansthattypicallycompeteonnearbydirttracks,suchasFlomaton(Ala.)SpeedwayandSouthernRacewayinMilton. --Continued on page 2--

Spears Continued

Car Photos Tom Wilsey

251-597-4747

Video Ted Baber850-458-2501

July 10Pro Late Double 20/30SuperStock,Sportsmen,andBomber

July 24SuperLateBlizzard #3,PlusProTruck,SportsmenandBomber

Aug 7Modifieds of Mayhem#7SuperStock,Sportmen,BomberPLUSFasterPastorandDemolition Derby

Aug 28Pro Late Double 20/30PlusProTruck,SportsmenandBomber

Saturday, Sept 19ProLateModel100Allen Turner Tune-Up,SuperStock,SportsmenandBomber

Saturday, Sept 26BlizzardProTruck,SportsmenandBomberDSC Night of Champions

Friday-Sun Oct. 23NOPI Nationals

Saturday, Nov. 21Snowball Preview

Thursday, December 3 - Sunday Dec 6th48th Annual Snowball Derby

“We’retryingtomakeitthreeinarow,”SpearssaidofhisquestforararehattrickatFiveFlags.“Idon’tknowwhatmakesussogood.I’mstillwonderingmyselfwhywe’refasterthaneverybodyelse—some(drivers)thathavebeendoingthisalotlongerthanIhave.

“Ijustdriveit.Wetrytobringaverywell-preparedcarthere.Wewanttobethereattheendtowinit.”

FoundedbyBillDanielsandJerryVenablein2013,theSouthernVintageRacingAsso-ciationstartedsmallandmadeititsmissiontobringattentiontoafun,affordableclass.

ItquicklyexpandedfromitsoriginalhometrackofFlomatontoincludedirttracksdeeperintheFloridaPanhandle.SunnySouthinGrandBay,Ala.,andMobileInternationalSpeedway—bothasphaltsurfaces—havecomeonboardthisyear.TheSouthernVintageRacingAssociation’sseasonculminatesinAugustatMISandtheLeeFieldsMemorial.

Spears,whowastheserieschampionin2013andwasfivepointsshyofarepeatcrownlastyear,isscalingbackhisracingschedulethisseason.

“It’sallaboutgettingthewholeofthesum,makingthewholeorganizationbiggerandstronger,”Spearssaid.“Winningthatfirstchampionshipandthenfinish-ingsecond,itwasenoughforusforawhile.Wenevertrulygottofixthecarcompletelyeachtimesomethinghappenedtoitduringthosetwoyears.” --Read all of Chuck’s story on our web site.--

Jerry Bohlman has fleeting visionsofhisfather’sglorydaysonasphalt.LongtimefansofFiveFlagsSpeed-way might remember the name“Gary Bohlman” during the early1970s.The elder Bohlman broughthis No. 43 1968 Camaro — twofacts the younger Bohlman recallswithease—toVictoryLaneseveraltimesuntilheleftthesportin1975.

IfJerryBohlman’smemoryisalittlefoggy about those years, He wasstill indiaperswhenGaryBohlmanstarted racing; barely out of themwhenhisdadstopped.

“Irememberbeinginthepitswiththeother kids playing,” JerryBohlman,now44,said.“Wedidn’tcaremuchabout the racing.All we wanted todo was take the tools out and digaround in the dirt with them. Andthen,we’dget into troublebecausewe’deventuallylosesometools.”

JerryBohlmanwillhaveallhistoolsathisdisposalcomeFridayashetriestofollowinhisfather’svictoriousfootsteps.Bohl-manwillbeapartofadeepfieldwhentheSouthernVintageRacingAssociationfueledbySunocomakesitsreturn..

The local touring series that competesonbothdirtandasphalttracksalongtheGulf Coast is comprised of 1934 Fordand Chevy coupes and sedans. Thethrowbackssitonopen-wheeled framesandboastV8enginesunderthehood.

“It puts the fun back into racing,” saidJerry Bohlman, who raced late modelsforafewyearsatFiveFlags.“There’snootherwayaroundit.They’reinexpensive,forone,andalottafun.Ienjoyitforthosereasons. Plus, everybody helps eachotheroutattheracetrack.“Nobodyfightsorargues.That,Ithoroughlyenjoy.”

While Jerry Bohlman struggles to reeloff details about his father’s racing ac-complishments,it’seasytotelltheappledidn’tfalltoofarfromthetree.

Aclearsignofthefather-sonconnectioncomeswhen you notice the number onthe side of Bohlman’s ’34 Ford Coupe.Just like his old man, Jerry BohlmanproudlydisplaystheNo.43.

“Ilikethefeelofthrowingitintothecor-nersatFiveFlags,” saidBohlman,whocompeted in bothVintage races stagedlast season at Pensacola’s high banks.“DrivingitinthereashardasIcan,it’sablast.There’salittleslippingandsliding,butthat’sjustthethrillofthespeedswetravel.”

Aregularpavementpoet.-Read all of Chuck’s story on our web site.

By Chuck Corder

A-1 Lock & Safe850-455-4358

The Locksmith Leader

Driver Jim Pokrant (in blue shirt)hadsomenicecommentsonMartyWhite’sdriving2weeksago.