8/3/2024
Five Flags Speedway
Demolition Derby Doesn’t Disappoint: Daunis Deals Destruction; Outlaws Battle Tightens
Demolition Derby Doesn’t Disappoint: Daunis Deals Destruction; Outlaws Battle Tightens
By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter
Atop a soaked famed half-mile asphalt oval Friday night, 10 cars lined up near the flag stand. Their bumpers faced the crowd. All had wild graffiti paint schemes and most had a prop or two decorating their junkyard machines, including one with a cutout of a former U.S. President.
It could only mean one thing: The Demolition Derby had returned to Five Flags Speedway for the Back to School Bash.
Joshua Daunis was the last driver to survive when the final sparks flew, capturing his first-career Demo Derby at Pensacola’s high banks. The Elberta, Ala., native collected $1,500 and celebrated the win on top of his black No. 25.
Daunis put the finishing touches on second-place Zachary Roberts to secure the win. Dagan Guy finished third.
“I’d like to thank my family and my boss for letting me do this,” an ecstatic Daunis said.
Faith Chapel Outlaws
Carter Taylor’s youth belies his talent on the racetrack.
The teenager from Lucedale, Miss., turned in a dominant performance in the Faith Chapel Outlaws 40-lap feature Friday at Five Flags Speedway. He qualified first (17.429 seconds), rolled a “1” on the die to ensure the pole and then blew the doors off the 11-car field.
Taylor recorded his second win of the season and closed the gap on Outlaws series points leader Logan Boyett, heading into next month’s Night of Champions.
“It’s been a great season so far,” said Taylor, who now trails Boyett by just 4 points with the season finale remaining. “We made a few changes this past month while we were off. We were hoping it would work, and it did.”
To the tune of a commanding 2-second advantage against Boyett for much of the race. Boyett finished runner-up and now has three victories and three seconds in all six features this season.
“This is a strong finish for us here after starting sixth,” Boyett said. “We changed a lot of stuff, and to have this good of a car, there’s nothing to be upset about. It’s still a good points night, but we’ve got our work cut out for us in the end.”
Joe Bethea took home third.
The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen
James Patrick didn’t like the feel of second.
The hotshoe from across the bay in Mobile had a run of three consecutive runner-up results at Five Flags Speedway.
Patrick changed all that Friday night at the famed half-mile asphalt oval. He controlled The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen 25-lap feature and recorded his third victory of the year at Five Flags. Patrick carries a commanding points lead into the Night of Champions next month.
“It’s good to back in winner’s circle,” he said. “I have more fun being back there racing everybody, but this is a good to win.”
B.J Leytham challenged Patrick early before finishing second. Darryl “D3” McDonald rounded out the podium.
“These guys here are tough,” McDonald said. “It feels good to be back up here.”
Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks
Maddox Langham showed the temperament of a seasoned veteran Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
The Mobile teenage driver showed patience for 90 percent of the Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks 20-lap feature before choosing to make his move on friendly rival Mason Johnston, who led every lap except the final two.
Langham got by Johnston on Lap 18 and cruised to his fifth checkered flag of the season. Johnston finished runner-up and Pace’s Payton Guy came home third.
“We’re inching closer to the points title,” Langham said. “It’s not over yet. Mason ran a heckuva race. I had to work hard to get around him.
“He slipped up in (Turn Nos.) 1 and 2 there late, and I had to take it.”
Johnston will head into the Night of Champions on Sept. 21 trailing Langham by 12 points.
“I thought we had something for (Langham) tonight,” Johnston lamented. “Then, I saw him in my rearview mirror, and I was running for my life. I gave it all I had. Maddox just had the faster car tonight.”
Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks
The Story and Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks didn’t disappoint in front of a packed house Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
The second-year series entertained a massive crowd on one of the biggest stages Pensacola’s high banks host each year. Fans might’ve flooded Five Flags for the track’s annual Demolition Derby, but they were on the edge of their seats whenever the Crown Stocks were on the track.
Adam Salter capped a memorable night for the Crown Stocks, as the Andalusia, Ala., driver won his first career 15-lap feature at Five Flags. The Salter family now has two victories on the season, as brother Chris Salter won on June 14.
“It was a fun night,” Adam Salter said. “I knew my brother, Doug (Thorpe Jr.) and Okie (Mason) were coming back there. I tried to save as much as I could.”
Salter’s win followed a monumental trip to Victory Lane for Dee Davis in the fourth of four heat races earlier in the night. Davis, the daughter of two-time Snowball Derby champion Dickie Davis, won her first career race of any kind at Five Flags and became the first female driver to win a Crown Stocks heat race or feature.
She celebrated with a big hug from Mason, as the Five Flags’ faithful roared with excitement for Davis’ historical achievement. The six-lap heat races also saw series points leader Braeden Kitchen edge Thorpe by a radiator in one of the most intense battles of the entire season across all divisions.
The Salter boys swept the top two spots in the feature. Chris Salter finished runner-up and Spencer Reynolds rounded out the podium in an impressive result for his first trip to Five Flags.
“I feel super blessed to be here,” Reynolds said. “It’s my first time here. I was hoping for better, but there’s no one better to lose to than the Salters.”
Article Credit: David Kranak Photos
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