Sutton Claims Second Win at 5 Flags After Boschele Disqualification

On Friday, June 16th, the Allen Turner Pro Late Models hit the track at 5 Flags Speedway for their second race of the season. The Friday festivities kicked off a doubleheader weekend, as the Pro Late Models will also be racing at Montgomery Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 17th.

The PLM field started their day with two practice sessions. Tennessee driver Bryson Shaffer got out to a quick start, leading the field for Practice 1, with fellow Tennessee driver Dylan Fetcho being an extremely close second. Practice 2 would see both Rackley WAR cars up front, with Gavan Boschele setting the fast time with Dawson Sutton behind him.

Qualifying would see Bryson Shaffer win the pole. Shaffer rolled a 6 for the invert, however, so it would be Jasper, Alabama’s John Bolen who led the field to green.

Full Qualifying Results (Prior to Top-6 Invert)

With all pre-race festivities out of the way, the second race of the Allen Turner Pro Late Model season was ready to go for 100 laps. It didn’t take long for trouble to strike, as on lap 1, Gavin Graham made contact with Jolynn Wilkinson in turn 1. The contact ripped the nose off Wilkinson’s No. 11 car, and it also led to a blown left rear tire for Graham.

John Bolen got out to a great start, leading the way for roughly the first third of the race. Grant Thompson eventually fell back from the outside pole, as both Rackley WAR machines made their way towards the front. That progress would be temporarily halted as a bad incident on lap 37 brought out the red flag.

Anthony Cataldi and Kris Wright made contact in turn 1, resulting in both cars shooting up the track into the outside wall, with Cataldi’s car being spun around. Johnny Aramendia went to avoid the incident as soon as he heard word from his spotter, but he lost control of the car and hit Cataldi head-on. Thankfully, all drivers were okay afterward.

On the ensuing restart, John Bolen would lose the lead to Dawson Sutton. Sutton, who won the first Allen Turner Pro Late Model event this year, took off to a big lead. That lead would slowly and methodically be erased, as his teammate Gavan Boschele was closing in. With 27 laps to go, Boschele made the move on Sutton for the lead and never looked back.

Gavan Boschele crossed the line in 1st, with Dawson Sutton taking home the 2nd spot. Hunter Robbins put forth an epic drive to come all the way from the 12th starting spot to round out the podium in 3rd. These results would not stay that way, though.

In post-race tech, the No. 25 of Gavan Boschele was disqualified for excessive left-side weight. As such, Dawson Sutton was declared your winner, with Hunter Robbins in 2nd and John Bolen officially finishing 3rd.

“Like 0.1 [pounds] on the left side was, like, too heavy I’m pretty sure,” said Boschele. “I think any racer knows it wouldn’t really make much of a difference on the track, but it’s ok. We’ll do it again tomorrow and beat them even more.”

While not winning the way he would have liked, Sutton was still just as thankful for his team. Sutton told us, “It definitely sucks the way we won, you never want to win like that, especially when it’s your teammate. I know [the team] is going to bring me another fast car tomorrow. Hopefully, we can go two in a row, but hopefully not in tech.”

Allen Turner Pro Late Model Race Results

Most of these Pro Late Model drivers will hit the track at Montgomery Motor Speedway on June 17th for Bring Dad to the Races Night. In addition to the PLM drivers, the Grand National Super Series will also be in attendance along with Late Model Sportsman, Street Stocks, and Outlaw divisions. Stay tuned to Racing America for updates and race coverage throughout the day!

Written by: Reid Scott

Photo Credit: Liberty Racing Review / Steve Newbold