Cole Williams Begins New Challenge Friday at Five Flags
Pensacola, FL — Cole Williams of Borden, Indiana has his sights set on a new challenge in 2017, and that new challenge begins this weekend at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. The 21-year-old Late Model driver has plans to contend for the championship in the track’s competitive Allen Turner Pro Late Model division.
“If everything goes well, if it ends up going perfect we will see. Right now, we are planning on running every race. If we can keep the car in one piece and everything is going well, then yeah, maybe,” Williams said.
Williams and his team are coming off of a championship season in which they captured the Pro Late Model championship at the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville (TN). Despite that, the former Lebanon I-44 Speedway (MO) track champion enters a new championship chase slightly behind his competition when it comes to experience at the historic half-mile speedway.
“This is actually only my second time ever running at Five Flags,” Williams explained.
Williams and his team are ready to take their success further South in an attempt to make their mark on the Deep South racing scene. The No. 46 team believes that Five Flags Speedway is the perfect place to take a shot at it.
“With it (Five Flags Speedway) being a popular track and having the Snowflake and the Snowball (Derby) and knowing the history behind the place, I definitely think going down South and being successful is a big achievement for a Late Model driver. It would be a huge achievement for our team if we could go do something like that.”
The trip to Pensacola, Florida is no jot across town for Williams and his team, as they will have to make the frequent 640-mile drive down to Florida to contend for the title.
Williams is currently attending Indiana University Southeast and will balance his schooling between his race schedule.
On the track, Williams knows how tough the competition will be at the prestigious Florida half-mile; however, he has already raced with many of the drivers in the field.
Like they did on their way to claiming the championship at Nashville one year ago, Williams feels his team can handle any pressure associated with their new challenge.
“It definitely shows that our team is capable of being consistent throughout a full season and running against them we kind of know what they’re capable of too,” Williams stated. “We know they’re all going to be competitive, but they also have way more laps. We are definitely going to have to work hard and try and figure out Pensacola as fast as we can especially with a car we have never taken there before. Hopefully we can be successful there.”
The season kicks off at Five Flags Speedway this Friday for their season opener.
The Pro Late Models will be joined by the Pro Truck division and the Pure Stocks. Pits open at 1 p.m. CT with qualifying beginning at 6:45 p.m. Racing begins at 8 p.m.
For more information on Five Flags Speedway and for a full rundown of this weekend’s schedule visit www.5flagsspeedway.com.
Sources: 51 Sports