Not even a spin could rattle Carson Brown on Friday at Five Flags Speedway.
The 2024 Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series champion took the track for only five laps during Friday's practice session at the Pensacola, Florida oval for the Allen Turner Snowflake 100. Those five laps included a spin exiting turn two, but also the fastest lap of the day.
First, there was the spin.
“We ended up taking it three wide off of pit road," Brown told Racing America. "A car kind of cut us off. I went to go around him and then he blended. I was like, I guess I’ll go high. I went up the apron, and as soon as I got up the apron, the right-rear got on the banking and the left-rear wasn’t. I did a full 360 and kept on going. It was actually pretty smooth, a full 360 to start off the mock run.”
Despite the spin, the mock qualifying run ended with the fastest lap during Friday's two practice sessions for Pro Late Models, a time of 16.543 seconds.
The lap was so fast, Brown's No. 81 Anthony Campi Racing entry went on jackstands following the mock run and didn't return to the race track for the remainder of the afternoon.
“It was kind of a one-and-done deal, which is rare for such a big event like this," said Brown. "You want to keep practicing and make the car better, but we were really happy with it.
"I didn’t even realize it was a mock, but we ended up mocking the first session. Just had some three-lap scuffs, and were two-tenths faster than everybody else and we were really happy with it. We put the car on jackstands, I got out of my suit and we watched the second practice, saw what was happening and where everyone was at.
“We thought about going out again, but we were like screw it, we’re fine. We’re happy with it. We’ll continue on tomorrow. We’ll probably run a mock run tomorrow, see what we have. Kind of a relaxed day today at Five Flags.”
Following the brief but exciting practice effort, Brown is confident heading into Saturday.
Unlike the Snowball Derby, where teams qualify Friday in hopes of locking their way into Sunday's main event, both qualifying and racing take place on Saturday, December 7 for the Allen Turner Snowflake 100.
Brown is fortunate as the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series champion that he is guaranteed a spot in the Snowflake 100 via points provisionals. However, he believes his car will be fast enough to earn a starting spot near the front of the field and avoid using that provisional.
“I feel like our speed is showing right now. We’re confident going into it, and I think we’ll be really good. We’re definitely locked in since we won the Allen Turner championship. Really no stress going into qualifying. We’ll just see what we can do.”
Snowflake 100 qualifying takes place at 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET on Saturday, followed by the Last Chance Qualifiers for both the Snowball Derby and Snowflake 100. The Allen Turner Snowflake 100 takes the green flag at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America
