Story and Photos By SWN's Tom Baker For Showdown Series

WINTER HAVEN, FL –February 9, 2024 -- New York 602 Modified racer Max Handley started on the pole and led every lap of Friday’s 602 Modified feature at the Winter Showdown Series at Auburndale Speedway in Winter Haven, Florida.  William Kems, Austin Taylor, T.J. Moon, and Austin Brockhouse also collected victories on a night when the TQ Midget feature was cut short due to a serious crash that sent popular racer Jimmy Wilkens to a local hospital.  
 
 602 Modifieds
 
The 30-lap 602 Modified feature was full of storylines going in.  North Carolina racer Cody Norman picked up the win on Thursday night.  He was starting on the pole.  Max Handley led all but the last ¼-lap of Thursday’s first main but a bout with the wall stopped him short.  He was starting on the outside pole.  
 
Jack Baldwin, who inherited the win from Handley, was starting third. New Englander Nick Baer was looking to make his mark in the final Auburndale event for the weekend and he would start fourth.  Younger brother Luke Baldwin blew a motor in practice on Friday afternoon, but the crew changed it in time for the main, and he would start fifth.
 
When the race started, Handley jumped out to the early lead.  Jack and Luke Baldwin ran second and third, with Norman and Baer following.  They stayed that way until lap 17 when Baer spun in turn two.  He restarted at the tail. 
 
On the ensuing restart, Luke passed Jack to take over second and set sail after Handley.  With two laps to go, it was a three-car race to the finish.  Handley held off the two brothers and Jack made his way back by Luke to finish second.  Luke finished third followed by Norman and Baer. 
 
Jack Baldwin is the leader in the Showdown Series New Smyrna points challenge with a win and two seconds so far on the week.   
 
602 Modified Feature Finish:
 1. 49-Max Handley
 2. 7NY-Jack Baldwin 
 3. 7NC-Luke Baldwin  
 4. 12-Cody Norman  
 5. 12B-Nick Baer 
 6. (DNS) 68-Kenzie Adams 
 7. (DNS) 13-Micah Adams
 
 
Mighty TQ Midgets
 
The Mighty TQ Midgets lined up for their 25-lap feature after heat wins by Andy Jankowiak, Ronnie Flaim, and Charlie Schultz.   
 
Kyle Hutchinson jumped out to the early lead, but a lap one caution saw James Stanley spin in turn three, followed by contact from Andy Jankowiak, who had no way to avoid.  Jankowiak’s day ended at that point while Stanley restarted at the tail of the field. 
 
Once the race was restarted, Hutchinson sped off and put some ground between him and second-place Tyler Wagner.  Wagner had plenty of competition behind him as well, in the form of Ronnie Flaim, Charlie Schultz, Thursday night’s winner Josh Patterson, and Dominique Smith.  
 
Schultz and Smith battled back and forth, fighting over fourth position, with Patterson joining in until lap 12 when Mark Schultz spun his No. 62 in the second turn and brought out the second yellow of the event. He was pushed off and lined up at the back of the field. 
 
On the restart, as the cars came down the front straightaway, contact between several cars led to the No. 11 of Jimmy Wilkins getting turned toward the outside wall.  His car rolled over upon violent impact, made contact one more time, and flipped back upright, bringing out a red flag.  
Wilkins, a 60-year-old veteran of the sport, was transported to a local hospital with broken bones and bruises but he was alert and communicative with both track and medical personnel throughout the process.  
 
The race was suspended at that point, and the final 13 laps will be run at 7 pm Eastern as the opening race event on Saturday’s Showdown Series card.  
 
Our thoughts and prayers will be with Jimmy, his family, and his care team in the days and weeks to come.  
 
Mini Stocks
 
William Kems and Fred Martin led the Mini Stock division to the green flag for their 25-lap feature event.  This race turned out to be a wild one, as Martin took off with the early lead and brought the No 99 of Corey Edelman with him to second.   Kerns ran third for much of the race, battling hard with the two leaders right from lap one. 
 
Martin led the first 13 laps before Edelman finally got enough room to dive underneath on the back straightaway and make the pass.  Kerns followed him through the hole and Martin was now in third place.  
 
A spin by Tyler May on lap 18 brought out the yellow, but it didn’t do anything to cool the intensity, as the top three went right back to their battle royal once the green lights came on again.  Edelman held the advantage, fending off all challenges, until the final lap.  
 
With the white flag waving, Martin made his move, moving Edelman, and Kerns followed once again to take second.  Edelman and Martin started banging off each other and kept right on doing that until neither one was on the track surface, and both came to the finish line racing in the infield as Kems crossed the line and picked up the win! 
 
Dakota Cushing wound up second after the crazy last lap.  Kevin Grant finished third, Tyler May ended up fourth, and Edelman and Martin scored fifth and sixth because neither of them crossed the finish line on the track.  
 
Mini Stock Feature Finish
 1. 69-William Kems 
 2. 54-Dakota Cushing 
 3. 7G-Kevin Grant Jr.
 4. 77-Tyler May
 5. 99-Corey Edelman
 6. 9-Fred Martin
 
Crown Vic
 
Austin Taylor started first in the 25-lap Crown Vic feature, and he took the lead at the drop of the green flag.  Taylor’s No. 2 was working well, and he opened a comfortable advantage until the 12^th lap when the No. 86 of Michael Bower chased him down from his sixth-place starting spot. 
 
Bower worked Taylor as hard as he could, and the No. 1 of Roger Blevins joined the fun in the closing laps in a thrilling three-car battle.  With two circuits left, Blevins drew alongside Taylor, who then cleared him to retake the lead on the back straightaway.  As the power trio entered turn three, Bower forced his way underneath Blevins and spun him out! 
 
The race was under yellow once again and would restart for just one lap, as the green and white flags would be displayed together and a one-lap shootout to the finish would occur.  
 
Taylor was the leader and was up to the task, as he took the checkered flag ahead of Zach Briggs, Jonathan Wallace, Anthony Mahon, and Brandon Wolfanger.  
 
The Crown Vic division will compete for $1000 to win on Saturday night, provided 30 or more cars are entered for competition.   
 
Crown Vic Feature Finish
 1. 2-Austin Taylor 
 2. 89-Zach Briggs 
 3. 9W-Jonathan Wallace
 4. 22-Anthony Mahon 
 5. 3-Brandon Wolfanger 
 6. 86-Michael Bower 
 7. 1-Roger Blevins 
 8. 9-Michael Smith 
 9. 01-Joe Clites 
 10. 11-Niko Garrand 
 11. (DNS) 7T-Todd Bower
 
Bandoleros
 
The Bandolero division once again put on a fantastic show in their 20-lap main event, as all the drivers have improved tremendously on the ¼-mile oval over the week.  T.J. Moon and James Faulkner have battled all week and they continued to do that on Friday right from the drop of the green. 
 
A quick yellow flag on the opening lap delayed the duel momentarily, but as soon as the green lights came back on, the pair went right back to putting on great racing. Blake Crooms has shown tremendous improvement in his No. 32 through the week, and he was running strong in third.  Joseph Weiss, in his first race out of the beginner class, raced his way to sixth before a spin set him back momentarily. 
 
Moon and Faulkner also had a challenge from Hudson Ruff, but Ruff faded back at the finish.  At the checkers, it was Moon snagging another victory over Faulkner, with Crooms third.  Weiss worked his way back up to fourth in a very impressive drive.  Mandi Lee finished fifth.  
 
Bandolero Feature Finish
 
 1. 9O-TJ Moon 
 2. 007B-James Faulkner
 3. 32B-Blake Crooms
 4. 34B-Joseph Weiss
 5. 41O-Mandi Lee
 6. 14O-Samantha MacDonald
 7. 3B-Sadie Parsons
 8. 13O-Addison Martinez 
 9. 83B-Hudson Ruff
 10. 2O-Lily Whynot
 11. 5B-Christopher Flynn
 12. (DNS) 11B-Addison Veinotle
 
Legend Cars
 
Ayrton Brockhouse got the win in a green-to-checker 30-lap feature for the Legend cars. Brockhouse had Wyatt Philyaw and Evan Bookmiller chasing him the entire way, and Philyaw was able to get close enough to look inside, but Brockhouse was up to the challenge.  
 
At the stripe, it was Brockhouse, Philyaw, and Bookmiller heading to the podium, with Tyler Ledbetter finishing fourth and Laquan McCoy fifth.  
 
 1. 12-Ayrton Brockhouse
 2. 22-Wyatt Philyaw
 3. 4-Evan Bookmiller
 4. 64-Tyler Ledbetter
 5. 26-Laquan McCoy 
 6. 13-Tim Brockhouse 
 7. 51-Rose Borntreger 
 8. 97-Jake Baker 
 9. 23-Teagan Dempsey
 10. 68-Dean Bonessi
 11. 92-Quentin Weiss
 12. (DNS) 28-Nick Kocis
 13. (DNS) 124-Jackson Denton 
 14. (DNS) 99-Michael Bradshaw 
 15. (DNS) 9-Austin Thompson
 
The action continues Saturday, February 10th with the TQ-Midgets concluding Friday night’s feature and running a full Saturday program, joined by the Mini Stocks, Legend Cars, Bandoleros, and a Crown Vic feature that will pay $1000 to win if 30 or more cars enter. 
 
Fans and teams attending racing at Auburndale are encouraged to download the TrackTune app for their device so they will be able to plug a set of protective earpieces (available at the TrackTune booth in the pit area) into their device and hear the PA system all week long even during the racing. 
 
Grandstands open at 3 pm for the Saturday night action. Racing starts at 7 pm.  If you cannot be at the track, a PPV livestream will show all feature action throughout the week and is available at SeriesShowdown.com. 
 
For the latest information, follow Showdown Series on Facebook or visit their website at www.seriesshowdown.com. 
  
The 2^nd Annual Winter Showdown Series would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of our event.  Track Tune and Auditory Defense, Sunoco Race Fuels, American Racer, Kyle Beattie Racing and SKE Karts, Southern Racing Fuels, Race Wraps, Redhead Racing, Mission Towing and Fleet Recovery, and Aqua Duck Water Transport.