8/4/2021
Five Flags Speedway
Boyett Bouncing Back in 2021, Hunting Down Track Championships in Two Classes
Boyett Bouncing Back in 2021, Hunting Down Track Championships in Two Classes at Five Flags
By Chuck Corder
Logan Boyett has wheeled just about anything imaginable around Five Flags Speedway.
But, for all Boyett’s wins and championships he has celebrated and all the crashes and challenges he has endured at the famed half-mile asphalt oval, the 31-year-old Pensacola driver knows his lane.
And it is not behind the wheel of a Demolition Derby car.
“I have never participated in a Demolition Derby and I definitely don’t have a desire to do so,� Boyett said. “And that’s only because I don’t know how the people don’t damage their necks and not much support in the cars. Heck, if I sleep wrong, I need to go to the chiropractor.�
While Boyett bowed out gracefully, there will still be a dozen or so junkyard specials Friday night at Five Flags for the track’s annual Demolition Derby. The winning driver of the last car running will walk away with $1,500.
“They love it,� Boyett said of the Demo Derby circuit. People devote their entire lives. Some chase it around the entire country and put $40K into those cars.�
The Demo Derby will be the last race of a busy Friday night at Five Flags. The Faith Chapel Outlaws have big money to compete for, too, as $2,500 will go to the winner of the Outlaws Buggy Worx 50. The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25 laps) and Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks (20) also share the Friday marquee at Pensacola’s high banks. Gates open at 5 p.m. Friday and racing is slated for 8 p.m. Admission is $5 for all fans except children ages 11-and-under who will still get in for free.
With wife Alissa and four kids depending on his safety and health, Boyett knows discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to a Demo Derby race. And seriously, why would he take on another adventure when 2021 has provided the type of joy and satisfaction he has been desperately seeking since his Proxy Equipment Pro Trucks track championship in 2018?
Boyett, a Super and Pro Late Model staple for more than a decade, is squarely in the hunt for Pro Trucks and Faith Chapel Outlaws track titles thanks to a weekend sweep during last month’s Michles & Booth Twin 100s. Boyett won the EscaRosa Tree Service 30 for the Proxy Equipment Pro Trucks on Friday night and tacked on a victory in the Faith Chapel Outlaws 35-lap feature Saturday evening.
Before this year, Boyett had not won a Proxy Equipment Pro Trucks race since 2019 and tensions were simmering between he and Gerald Boyd, truck owner of the No. 9 that Boyett drives.
“We got behind and down on ourselves,� Boyett explained. “None of us were communicating like we should. We sat back down at the drawing board and Gerald went to work on it again, and we got it all straightened out.
“We’re back on Gerald Boyd’s setup and back where we need to be. It’s a group effort, but Gerald knows what he’s doing. It’s a little of the wall sometimes, but he doesn’t like to be the same as everyone else. He wants to win by half a track not car length.�
The results have paid off. Boyett has won twice, which ties him for the season lead in victories with Gavin Graham. He also has four other top-five finishes in five races, which currently puts him third in points and 11 shy of Hunter Johnson.
“We had the points lead at one point and the next race we broke a trailing arm,� Boyett said of the unfortunate instance several months ago. “Otherwise, we’d be leading the points. However, it would still be a close battle with how good Gavin and Hunter and Jason (Kimball) and everybody is.�
The path to success in his Outlaws rookie season has come quick. Boyett has that win from the Michles & Booth Twin 100s weekend and another top-five finish to position him fifth in points.
Boyett is teamed with longtime spotter and close friend Mark Biles, who owns the black No. 1 that used to belong to Tracy Goodson.
“He’s part of the family,� Boyett said of Biles. “We’re best friends and talk once a day, at least. He comes to all the kids’ birthday parties and all the big dinners our families have.�
Bubba Pollard was scheduled to race Biles’ Outlaw at last year’s Snowball Derby but was forced to focus on his Late Model program at the time. Boyett hopped in instead.
He enjoys the Outlaws class because of the sustainability the series gives the sport of short-track racing. Most Outlaws are old Late Models that have been cut and reclipped.
“I like the fact that the level of competition is so high and that it is such an eclectic class,� Boyett said. “You can have different motor packages for different weights. It really allows you to take an old Super Late Model that you simply don’t have the money for and update it for another series. This takes money outta the equation.�
He has taken to the Outlaws like a duck to water, and the pairing with Biles seemingly would exceed most drivers’ expectations for an inaugural campaign.
But Logan Boyett is not most drivers. He has an insatiable appetite to keep feature wins and track titles in his native Pensacola.
“Until the win, we were a little bit under where we expected to be, honestly,� he said. “We tried so many different things and every nuance with the car to see what it likes and needs. We expected to have more top-fives. The win took some time, but I also knew we could do it.�
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