Lowe Dominates Five Flags for Second Consecutive Victory Amid Tire Attrition

Pensacola, FL — The Bootleg Racing League Late Model Invitational Series returned to the Sunshine State for Season 33, Round 3, with Five Flags Speedway once again playing the role of unforgiving judge. Under the league’s rules, the 100-lap feature demanded that drivers survive the entire distance on their starting tires with no fast repairs available, all while navigating an inverted starting grid. What followed was not just a race against competitors, but a prolonged duel with tire wear itself, one that James Lowe mastered better than anyone else.

Joe Segalla led the field to green from the pole alongside Todd Liston, but it quickly became apparent that Five Flags was going to reward patience over ambition. The preferred inside lane formed into a tight freight train almost immediately, punishing anyone caught on the outside. Drivers such as Kurt Smith and Lowell Jewell found themselves losing ground rapidly as they searched for grip where very little existed. Smith, in particular, tried to muscle the high side in an early bid for the lead, but the effort came at a cost. Extended time outside chewed through his right-front tire, a mistake that would haunt him later in the run.

While others fought the track, James Lowe and rookie standout Chris Worrell quietly went to work. Starting 11th, Lowe wasted no laps forcing passes, instead threading the needle along the bottom groove and letting opportunities come to him. Worrell followed a similar script, and by the middle portion of the race, both had worked their way into the heart of the top ten without unnecessary drama.

The turning point came with a mid-race caution involving Adam Schoen and points leader Brennan Myers. Myers was caught squarely in the chaos and sustained heavy damage, with Jeffrey Harden also collected in the incident. Despite the battered machine, Myers elected to stay on track, knowing that surrendering track position at Five Flags often comes with no guarantee of recovery. The restart reshuffled the deck, and it was there that the true contenders emerged.

By lap 38, Lowe had taken control of the race. Once in clean air, his advantage became less about outright speed and more about discipline. Worrell attempted to keep pace but gradually fell back as the long green-flag run exposed the limits of his tires. Behind them, attrition began to define the story. The relentless surface claimed right-front tires one by one, ending strong runs for Ruben Altice, Jeffery Harden, and Tom Hilbert. Even Kurt Smith, who had hovered near the front earlier, was reduced to nursing a wounded car around the closing laps.

As others fell away, Tre Blohm and Ed Foster emerged as the final challengers. Blohm, starting 14th, showcased remarkable restraint early on and was rewarded late, charging up to second place as fresher tires elsewhere simply didn’t exist. Foster mirrored that approach, climbing steadily from eighth and overtaking a fading Myers in the closing laps to secure third.

Out front, however, there was no denying James Lowe. Leading the final 62 laps, he never overstepped the narrow margin Five Flags allows. His line was clean, his exits straight, and his pace just quick enough to keep the field at arm’s length without abusing the tires beneath him. When the checkered flag waved, Lowe had secured his second consecutive victory of the season, once again proving that at Five Flags, finesse beats force every time.

Blohm and Foster completed the podium, followed by a resilient Brennan Myers in fourth and Kyle Feimster rounding out the top five after starting deep in the field. With momentum firmly on his side, Lowe now turns his attention to Round 4, where the inverted grid will again place Joe Segalla on the pole and give the rest of the field another chance to crack the code before the tire attrition claims them too.