Only twoweeksofracingremainbeforewecloseonthe2015racingseasonhereatFiveFlagsSpeedway. Both will be Saturday night races andChampionshipsinalldivisionswillbedecided.Thenalldriverscanstartpreparationsforthe48thAnnualSnowballDerby.

Let’s get down to business and talk aboutwhatyougreatfanscanexpectthisSaturdaynightaswewillplayhosttotheAllen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model 100lapper.Ryan Luza,fromCypress,Texaswillsteptotheplateasthepoint’sleaderandwillbelooking toholdoffadeterminedWayneNiedecken,Jr.forthepoint’stitle.AfterthreestraightwinsatFiveFlags,Luzawillbe looking forwinnumber four.Hewillalsoberacinginsafemodeandhopesforjustagoodfinishtoguaranteehisfirsteverchampionshipatthefasthalfmile.LookforagreatfieldofcarstobeonhandbecausethiswillbethelasttimetheywillraceuntiltheAllen Turner Snowflake 100inDecem-ber.

Alsoracingforthe2015titlewillbetheSuperStocksasRandy ThompsonholdsaveryslimleadoverGary Sutton. This one will certainly go downto thewire. (SeeChuckCorder’sstory inside).TheSportsmanandBomberswillbeonthisweek’scardbut theywillhave towaitanotherweek todecideachampionineachdivision.

Also this Saturday night we expect to treatthe fanswithaspecialappearanceofawell-knowndriver.I’mspeakingoftwotimeDaytona500winner,Sterling Marlin,whoplanstomakehisfirsteverProLateModelstartatFiveFlags.Marlin,fromColumbia,Tn.,haselevenNascarCupwinsunderhisbeltandtrack championshipsat hishome trackatNashvilleFairgroundsSpeedway,butwithallthetalentthatwillbeherehewillhavehisworkcutoutforthewin.

Hope you fans don’t miss these next twoweeksbecauseitshouldbesomeofthebestracingwe’veseenallyear.“SEEYAATTHERACES’

Sterling Return: Marlin Enters PLM Tune-Up 100 Field, Three Decades Af-ter Lone Snowball Finish

Three decades ago, Sterling Marlin came to Five Flags Speedway to test his mettle.

He’s hoping his return appear-ance proves more triumphant.

Marlin, the two-time Daytona 500 winner (1994, 1995) whose NASCAR career spanned some 33 years, finished 31st in the 1983 Snowball Derby.

It was the only time Marlin faced the famed half-mile asphalt oval. Until tonight.

Marlin, winner of 10 Sprint Cup Series races in an historic career, highlights what prom-ises to be a blockbuster Pro Late Model field for the Allen Turner Tune-Up 100..

“It’s like riding a bicycle,” Marlin said of returning to Pensacola’s high banks. (Con’t on next page).

By Chuck Corder

Marlin Continued-

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. “Once we start riding, it’ll be OK. No doubt, we’ll need some tweak-ing here and tweaking there.”

Making adjustments will be part of not only Marlin’s gameplan, but the strategy for a slew of PLM drivers.Drivers and their crews will take all the mental and physical notes they can muster in preparation for the ’Flake, one of short-track’s crown jewels.

“We hope to gain more track position this time,” Marlin joked, referenc-ing the disappointing finish at the ’83 Derby. “We’ll just need to be smooth on the gas and we’ve just gotta race.”

While Ryan Luza, the 19-year-old Texan, has the Allen Turner PLM series track championship virtually locked up thanks to his streak of three consecutive victo-ries, most of his competitors just want to find a winning edge come December.

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It didn’t take Marlin too long to come out of retirement when he left NASCAR in 2009. The Columbia, Tenn., native returned to his roots at his beloved Fair-grounds Speedway in Nashville. Marlin was an instrumental reason in preserving the iconic .596-mile short track in 2011.

Then, a year after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Marlin began wheel-ing his No. 114 PLM in 2013, strictly around Fairgrounds Speedway. “It took a little bit of time to get used to ’em,” Marlin said of the late models. “But we’ve been competitive, especially here of late.”

Marlin’s newfound youth has led him to expand his schedule this year. Last month, he raced in Montgomery.

“That was real neat,” a humbled Marlin said, describing a scene of well-wishers flooding the racetrack. “There must’ve been 30 or so people coming outta the stands to say hello and wish me luck and share their memories. It was pretty neat.”

When he’d talk on the phone to longtime friend James Finch, the Panama City busi-nessman encouraged Marlin to come down and race Pensacola. Finch was an integral sponsor for the likes of Jeff Purvis, Eddie Mercer, Chase Elliott and Erik Jones during their respective Snowball Derby wins.

“(Marlin) kept asking me when I was gonna come up there to Nashville and see him race,” said Finch, whose Phoe-nix Racing team fielded cars for both Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series races from 1990 to 2013 when he sold the team. “And, I told him, he should come down here to Pensacola.”

As a young, fresh-faced 26 year old, Marlin came to Pensacola in 1983 to compete in short-track racing’s version of Daytona.By that time, Marlin already was one a heck of a hotshoe who had deep racing bloodlines. He won three consecutive track titles at his beloved Nashville from 1980 to 1982 and had dipped his toe into Sprint Cup.

Read the rest of Chuck’s story on our web site: www.5flagsspeedway,com

National Anthem: Eglin AFB Armament Directorate Quartet

By Chuck Corder

Super Stocks Champ To Be Decided Tonight

By Chuck Corder

One race. For all themarbles.WhoeverendsupontopastheFaithChapelSuperStockstrackchampionSaturdaynightwillletoutamightyexhalebeforeawildcele-brationensues.

CantonmentdriversRandyThompson,36,andGarySutton,34,can’texactlyexplainhow they’re in championship contentiongoingintotheSuperStocksseasonfinale.

Bothhavestruggledwithmotorissuesallseason.Thompson,wholeadsSuttonbyaminiscule7points,hasbornethebruntofhandling issues.Sutton,whocapturedthe 2012 Super Stocks Snowball Derby,has driven a modified Sportsman carseveraltimestostayinthehunt,andthenwreckedduringtheSuperStocksfeaturelastmonth.

“Italkedto(Sutton)acoupleofweeksago,andtoldhimIdon’tdeserveit,”Thompsonsaidofthechampionship.“Hesaid,‘Idon’teither.’”Yetheretheyare.Andnooneisneartheduo.ThompsonandSuttonhavenearly lapped thefield.BubbaWinslow sits third, but trails Thompson by 84points.

“It’slikewe’retryingtogiveittotheotherone,butneitheroneofuswilltakeit,”Suttonsaid.

Suttonheldthepointsleadinthesummerthanksto a pair of early-season podium finishes. Butwhenabrand-newmotorblewupduringpracticeforthefourthrace,Suttonwasleftscramblingtostaypointsracing.HetwicedroveKennyWilliams’Sportsmancarjusttoremaininthehunt.

“It’sprettyfrustrating,honestly,”saidSutton,whois looking to improve on sixth- and fifth-placefinishes in his last two races. “Every time I’vebeeninmycar,it’sbeensuper-fast.Butwhenthenewmotorblewup,wehadkindaputalloureggsintothatbasket.

“But stuff like that happens in racing. I’m notsayingwe’dbeleadingthepoints—notbyalongshot—but the season definitelywouldn’t havebeenasfrustrating.”SuttonhasracedoffandonatFiveFlagsfortwodecades.

Thehusbandof15years(Valerie)andfatheroftwo — 7-year-old daughter Emery; 13-year-oldson Darren — took last year off while helpingotherswiththeircarsinsidetheMikeWilliamsonRaceCarsshop.

In his spare time, with best friendWilliamson’shelp, Sutton put the finishing touches on hisSuperStocksride.“Minetookalittlelongerthaneverybodyelse’s,”hesaid.

Read the rest of Chuck’s story on our web site: www.5flagsspeedway.com

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...it’s the final lap.

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