BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 19) — Brock Pinkerous unbuckled his safety harness, took off his helmet and climbed atop the roof of his car. Arms raised, checkered flag waving, Pinkerous was welcomed by a rousing round of cheers from the Volusia Speedway Park crowd.
Kids. They get all the attention.
Pinkerous, of Ellenville, N.Y., was one of four 20-lap, semi-feature winners during Friday’s Rogers-Dabbs Performance Parts Crate Racin’ USA-sanctioned Winter Shootout Series action at the high-speed, half-mile. Adorned with the customary straw hat given to Sunshine Nationals winners—and better suited for someone five times his age—the 13-year-old sensation calmly explained to the audience how it felt to win during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks.
Pinkerous stole the spotlight by motoring by early leader and recent Talladega Short Track Ice Bowl winner Will Roland of Jasper, Ga., and went on to a half-second victory in the fourth and final qualifying feature of the night.
“The other guys were telling (Roland) to go to the top and he did, so when he did I just had a good run and snuck underneath,” Pinkerous said after getting smothered by hugs and high-five handshakes back at his family-owned team’s hauler sitting adjacent to Volusia’s famous Gator Pond in the lower pit area. “It was a pretty good move and we just took the lead from there. Then I just (needed) to calm down and hit my marks, not mess up. I made a few mistakes with leaving the bottom and trying to search (for a better line), but it is what it is.”
It was an astonishing accomplishment for a youngster making just his second appearance at the half-mile oval, but also beginning only his second season in a Late Model. Pinkerous joined Dillon Brown of Gaffney, S.C.; Richie Stephens of Phenix City, Ala.; and Austin Yarbrough of Little River, S.C.; as a semi-feature winner. Each earned $1,500.
Pinkerous and Roland finished ahead of Riley Hickman of Ooltewah, Tenn.; Trynt Lloyd of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Lincoln Smith, Belmont, Ohio.
In the first feature, Brown outran David Showers of St. Augustine, Fla., by 0.678 of a second. Rye Faulk of Dublin, Ga., finished third, with Caleb Gay of Dublin, Ga., and Rob Pitcher of Oak Hill, Fla., rounding out the top five.
Stephens won the second 20-lapper, finishing nearly a full second ahead of runner-up Cole Exum of Valdosta, Ga. Loudon, Tenn.’s Matt Henderson finished third, with Clay Harris of Jupiter, Fla., and Jason Garver of Starke, Fla., completing the top five.
Yarbrough cruised to a convincing 2.292-second win over Nevin Gainey of Ft. White, Fla., Joey Love of LaPlata, Md., finished third with Demetrios Drellos of Queensbury, N.Y., fourth and Zack Carley of Freedom, N.Y., fifth.
Action continues at the facility on Saturday, Jan. 20, with the $10,000-to-win Sunshine Nationals finale. With 69 cars signed through the pit gates for the weekend, Friday’s winners put themselves in prime position for a five-figure payday.
“This (should) put us in a good starting position for the feature (Saturday),” said Pinkerous. “Our intentions for tonight were mainly to get a win (or) just ride around (and finish) second. (Winning) makes me more hungry for the finale because now I know we have a really fast car, and we can go out there and win.”