PENSACOLA, FL :: An expanded Southern Super Series roster had nothing for Augie Grill on Friday night as the two-time Snowball Derby champion won the Miller Lite 125 at Five Flags Speedway, returning to Victory Lane in a Super Late Model for the first time since October of last season.
The win is also his first victory in the Super Series since June 1, 2013 at Montgomery Motor Speedway in the AR Bodies 125. Grill started on the pole and led 109 of 125 laps, overcoming several obstacles in the process, including two tumultuous restarts behind rookies Denver Foran and Todd Gilliland who were on older tires.
Grill has led the second most laps this season but had not won a race until Friday. Following the event, he said it was tougher than how he ultimately made it look.
“The car was really good but I had to wheel it, don’t get me wrong,” Grill told Race22.com. “It being as good as it was made it a lot easier. Even dealing with lap cars and those restarts, that was made easier when you have a car that was running this good.
“I was able to get by those guys there at the end and take care of my tires and make it last until the end.”
Now that he has broken through with a win, Grill feels as though he is primed to contend in some of the biggest races of the season, including the Winchester 400, Governor’s Cup and the upcoming Snowball Derby.
“I think we’re really strong right now,” Grill added. “I think we’ve led over 500 laps over the last three races combined so I think we’ve turned the corner, put our right foot forward or however you want to put it. We kind of hit on some things over the past few races and we’ve expanded on that and it has paid off.”
The major upheaval of the race occurred after the halfway break on lap 75 when Gilliland and Foran assumed the front row. Gilliland spun his tires and the chain of events led to a multicar accident where Anderson Bowen and Kyle Grissom drilled the outside retaining wall in Turn 2 with Steve Wallace also receiving minor damage.
Bowen felt like the two youngsters, both making their first Five Flags visit, should never have been placed in that situation to begin with.
“(Gilliland) and (Foran) had no business being in the front after running in the back all night,” Bowen said. “We have guys out here running for the championship and it makes us sick to our stomach. We were working on it during the break and thought we would have a better car in the second half and I just wish we could have got the chance to see.”
The leaders were left unscathed but were again forced to deal with Gilliland and Foran who regained the front due to the leaders never completing a lap. Grill was ultimately able to work his way past Gilliland and Foran, who quickly fell to the back, winning over Mike Garvey, Jeff Choquette, Bubba Pollard and Donnie Wilson.
With his fourth-place finish, Pollard now leads the Southern Super Series championship by 13 points heading into the final race of the season on Saturday at Mobile International Speedway. As has been the case all season, Pollard isn’t allowing himself to talk about the championship until the final flag falls on Saturday night.
“We just got to go win,” Pollard said when asked about the prospects of a championship.
Hemric, who finished sixth, was still optimistic that a title was within grasps, especially given the parity of the Southern Super Series this season.
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Hemric said. “I just hope that fans pack the house tomorrow and we’ll give them a show.”
2013 Finale Revisited: Sights and Sounds
Race22.com will be on-site tomorrow for the Southern Super Series championship race in Mobile — the Sunoco 125. Follow him on Twitter @MattWeaverSBN. The official results of the Miller Lite 125 can be found below.
- Augie Grill
- Mike Garvey
- Jeff Choquette
- Bubba Pollard
- Donnie Wilson
- Daniel Hemric
- Casey Smith
- Dalton Sargeant
- Ross Kenseth
- Casey Roderick
- Johanna Long
- David Rogers
- Jeremy Pate
- Baley Currey
- David Odell
- Kyle Bryant
- Garrett Jones
- Allen Karnes
- Denver Foran
- David Green
- Jake Perkins
- Steve Wallace
- Todd Gilliland
- Harrison Burton
- Anderson Bowen
- Kyle Grissom
- Will Gallaher
- TJ Reaid
- Spencer Davis
- Tim Martin
- Brandon Odom
