It didn’t matter that storms on Friday night pushed racing action to Saturday afternoon. Despite the delay, Hunter Robbins scored the Pro Late Model feature victory at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
Driving the red No. 18 owned by Georgia Racing Hall of Famer Ronnie Sanders, Robbins blew past Gio Ruggiero on the high side to take the lead for good on lap 18 and held off Monroe, Georgia’s Jake Garcia over the closing 13 laps to take the win.
“It was pretty good weekend all around,” Robbins said. “These races are always tough because you just don’t know if you’re going too hard or not. If you go too hard, you risk giving up track position. So, I’m thankful to be back here. You never know when you’re going to have your last win.”
Robbins battled the 15-year-old Ruggiero early on as the pair swapped the lead several times. Ruggiero’s day ended much earlier than the teenager expected courtesy of a black flag. With 20 laps completed, Ruggiero jumped the restart following the race’s fourth caution.
Garcia, the 2019 Allen Turner PLM track champion and defending Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series champ, finished second. The 17-year-old saw his best shot to get around Robbins and reach clean air come on lap 87.
He closed in as the pair dove into turn 4. But Garcia couldn’t get the nose under Robbins, who fought back by pulling away in turn 2 moments later.
“Hunter was a little bit better than us today,” Garcia said. “I kept a good line the whole time and he didn’t make the mistake I was waiting for.”
Casey Roderick, who sat on the pole after Friday’s fast time, finished third. Roderick struggled early but found something late in the race to hustle back for a podium finish.
“I couldn’t roll the center as well as (the leaders) could,” Roderick explained. “I was just trying to keep it together to get to the end of the race and let it rip for the last few laps. We want to get a win in Pensacola. We’ll come back strong.”
Robbins had the strength Saturday. Whenever he needed it, there was plenty of steam in the tank of the No. 18.
“There are a lotta good cars in this series right now,” Robbins said. “If we keep making smart decisions, we’ll stay up here. Ronnie’s, obviously, the glue that holds it all together. It shows on race day.”
Sportsmen
The odds were certainly in the Langham Family’s favor when they returned to Five Flags Speedway on Saturday afternoon. They had half the cars left in the field after Friday night’s postponed program because of rain.
Turns out it was young Maddox Langham’s day to shine on a blistering hot afternoon.
The teenager took the lead from his father, Howard Langham, on the opening lap and cruised to a comfortable victory in The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen 25-lap feature. It marked his first victory of 2022 and third in his career at Pensacola’s high banks.
“I had to show up and show out against my dad and brother,” Maddox said of dad Howard Langham in fifth and older brother Jonathan in sixth. “I make it my main goal to beat them, so all around it was a great weekend.”
Darryl McDonald III turned plenty of heads with some smooth maneuvering around the half-mile asphalt oval en route to finishing second. Brannon Fowler, the series leader after opening the season with two wins, came home third.
Pure Stocks
Robert Loper welcomes all challengers in a talented and fairly balanced Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks class.
He is sure to get stiff competition May 27. That’s when Loper will have a $200 bounty placed upon him. If a rival tops Loper — which no one has done in five consecutive races at Five Flags Speedway dating back to last year, including at the 54th annual Snowball Derby — that driver walks away with the bonus.
The bounty comes after Loper made it three feature wins in a row for 2022 on Saturday afternoon at Five Flags. Rain washed out Friday’s night schedule.
“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Loper said, reacting to news of the bounty live in Victory Lane. “Come get you some.”
Cameron finished in second, with Caleb Burkett rounding out the podium.
For more information on Five Flags Speedway, visit 5FlagsSpeedway.com.
Five Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL
Race Results – May 14, 2022
Pro Late Models
1. 18 Hunter Robbins
2. 35 Jake Garcia
3. 14 Casey Roderick
4. 12 Justin Bonnett
5. 14 Chris Davidson
6. 89 Dylan Fetcho
7. 28 Timothy Watson
8. 9 Hudson Halder
9. 12 Christopher Tullis
10. 67 Colin Allman
11. 29 Hunter Wright
12. 11 Jolynn Wilkinson
13. 89 Chase Spradlin
14. 28 Chase McLemore
15. 24 William Sawalich
16. 1 Graham Campbell
17. 81 Gio Ruggiero
18. 2 John Bolen
19. 95 Derrick Griffin
Pure Stocks
1. 15 Robert Loper
2. 8 Cameron Leytham
3. 24 Caleb Burkett
4. 29 Parker McDonald
5. 51 Trevor BowenL
6. 343 Ben Cranford
7. 33 Ira Roberts
8. 6 Mason Johnston
9. 91 Satah Dority
Sportsmen
1. 1 Maddox Langham
2. 19 Daryl McDonald
3. 0 Brannon Fowler
4. 7 Jim Pokrant
5. 11 Howard Langham
6. 1 Jonathan Langham
