Brad Keysor Wins at 5-Flags Speedway, Dave Ohh Takes Second SUPRS Florida Speedweeks Championship
February 10, 2023 – Pensacola, FL…After a week of great racing through the “Sunshine State,” Brad Keysor closed out the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), 2023 Florida Speedweeks with a win on Friday in the 50 lap supermodified sim racing feature at 5-Flags Speedway. It was Keysor’s second win at the 1/2 mile oval, but it wasn’t enough to propel him to his second Speedweeks Championship. Keysor came up 15 points short of beating Dave Ohh, who won his second Speedweeks Championship since 2021, and finished second to Keysor .071 seconds behind for the closest SUPRS feature finish yet at 5-Flags.
Real Fast
The winner was somewhat surprised at the speed of, not only the race, but the entire field on night that had 13 entries. “It was real, real fast,” he said. “The last couple of years, the speed of the field has just gotten faster and it’s impressive and these are amazing lap times we’re running so it was tough getting up through the field.”
“I used the same set up as last year and just focused on hitting my marks,” Keysor said explaining how he pulled off the win. “I missed the qualifying set-up, not that it mattered, but traffic was respectful, and there were some great two and three car battles that were fun to watch as we came up to lap them.”
Focused on Fun
He may have lost his second Florida Speedweeks Championship, but the driver of the BMK Logistics roadster never lost sight of the big picture. “First of all, thanks to 1st to Finish Race Servers, BreezeGraphics.com, Icings on Top, and my sponsors for making this week happen,” he began. “Congrats to Dave, it was a competitive week and some great racing. He got the bonus points for Speedweeks, but I got a couple of track records to try to offset the overall championship battle.”
Keysor then went on to say, “It was great racing with Derek again, it’s great to have him back and to crack into the Elite 8 in qualifying, it shows he’s the class of the field.”
“It was amazing to see 15, 16, cars on the track, there’s a lot of speed in the field, and it’s good to see guys like Greg do well, and getting Keith back on track. Some had a bad start, but a good finish, but in the end, we’re leaving here tonight as friends and keeping the important things in focus.”
Ohh is Fifth Multi-Time Speedweeks Champ
Dave Ohh wrapped up his second SUPRS Florida Speedweeks Championship on the final night of the five night swing, making himself the fifth driver to have won the grueling week long battle more than once. Ohh joins Ray Sand, Jr., Myles Maxon, Rob Warren and Keith Powell on that small list and is proud to be a part of it. “When you can add your name to a list like that, it’s pretty special,” he remarked. “It was a good week and a close battle with Brad, I was looking for those bonus points.”
Ohh made all five nights of SUPRS Florida Speedweeks, and he made every one of those nights count. With wins at Desoto on Monday, and Wednesday at Dodge, he finished no lower than second in the other three. He set fast time two of the five nights, and out of 200 feature laps run, Ohh led 54 of them-at least one on each night of Speedweeks. He also had the fastest lap in the feature at four of the five tracks.
Backus Back
After nearly a year away from the SUPRS sim racing track, Derrick Backus of Mexico, NY knocked the dust off of his IAFF sponsored, Disturbed Motorsports supermodified and hit the track at 5-Flags. Backus is a former Silver Crest Champion and winner of the 2018 SUPRS All-Star Classic 200 at Star Speedway and showed that he hasn’t forgotten how to get around an oval and made the Elite 8 in Time Trials.
However, the hard charging driver, while have a good time, acknowledged a change from the last time he raced. “It was a blast to be back on track,” said Backus. “Dave and Brad are tough, but fun. It’s so competitive now. I was happy to see a little speed tonight and it was a good jumping off point.”
“I definitely missed this, it’s so fun and it’s something I like to do and I wish I could do more often. I want to thank everyone for helping out this week getting me set up. Bobby, Brad, Dave, even Keith gave me some pointers to get get rolling again.”
Backus said that he hopes to return to the track again as soon as three weeks down the road to try to become a two-time SUPRS All-Star Classic 200 winner. “I checked my calendar, and I’m off work that day, so I hope to get to run it.”
Mid-Winter Break
After a grueling “Gator Grind” and a week that saw some fantastic supermodified sim racing in Florida, the SUPRS drivers and officials will get a a much needed week of rest and relaxation starting on February 11 and lasting through February 17. SUPRS next race is the BMK Logistics Presidents’ Day Special at Lee USA Speedway on February 21.
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SUPRS 2023 Florida Speedweeks Race 5
- February 10, 2023
- 5-Flags Speedway
- Pensacola, FL
- Race 26 of 38
- 50 Laps
- SUPRS rFactor W v7.3 modification
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap highlighted; Elite 8 eligible for Feature Inversion)
- 3-Brad Keysor; Liverpool, NY; Chasing Cameras; BMK Logistics: 13.462, 13.429 NTR
- 11-Dave Ohh; Union, CT; TMS Wolfpack: 13.459, 13.448
- 13-Ryan Cloonan; Oswego, NY; Simability: 13.821, 13.811
- 12-Anthony Corsoniti; N. Syracuse, NY; T’sForecast.com: 13.957, 13.881
- 26-Greg Breen; Liverpool, NY; Lindsey Aggregates: 14.036, 13.988
- 28-Steven Vincent; Cicero, NY; Creative Assistant: 14.202, 14.028
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Horseshoe Kitty, RW Woodworking: 14.182, 14.082
- 61-Derrick Backus; Mexico, NY; IAFF, Disturbed Motorsports: 14.116, 14.193
- 10-Gary Waldron; Wyoming, MI; Kenowa Auto Supply, Michigan Hill Gang: 14.488, 14.239
- 14-Bobby Hayduk; Brook Park, OH; Gannon Auto Sales, Bronx Country: 14.265, 14.598
- 168-Daniel Nans(R); Baldwinsville, NY; Haun Welding Supply, Nans Brothers Racing: 14.467, 14.438
- 08-Danny Ray; Goshen, IN; Smokie Bone’s Downhome Kitchen, White Lightnin’ Transportation: 14.641, 14.559
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang: 15.035, 15.216
Supermodified Feature – 50 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, starting place/bonus/best lap/distance behind winner-reason out)
- 3-Brad Keysor: P7 / * / ** / 13.430
- 11-Dave Ohh: P6 / ! / * / 13.426 / +0.071
- 13-Ryan Cloonan: P5 / * / 13.843 / +7.982
- 26-Greg Breen: P1 / * / 14.023 / +12.073
- 28-Steve Vincent: P2 / 14.035 / +15.142
- 25-Bob Gangwer: P3 / 14.127 / +1 Lap
- 12-Anthony Corsoniti: P4 / 14.051 / +1 Lap
- 10-Gary Waldron: P9 / 14.420 / +1 Lap
- 168-Daniel Nans(R): P13 / 14.197 / +1 Lap
- 14-Bobby Hayduk: P10 / 14.226 / +1 Lap
- 08-Danny Ray: P12 / 14.347 / +3 Laps
- 42-Carl Becker: P11 / 14.711 / DNF; Accident; 26 laps completed
- 61-Derrick Backus: P5 / 14.225 / DNF; Accident ; 17 laps completed
Time of Race: 16:29.145
Race Notes:
- Lap Leaders: Greg Breen: L1-7; Ryan Cloonan: L8-25, Brad Keysor: L26-29, Dave Ohh: L30-31, Brad Keysor: L32-50
- Lead Changes: 4 amongst 4 drivers
- Cautions: 2 for 8 laps
- Most Positions Gained: Brad Keysor- +6
* Denotes Lap Led
** Denotes Most Laps Led
! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
^ Denotes Most Positions Advanced from Starting Place (SUPRSCharger when in effect)
(R) Denotes Icings on Top Rookie of the Year Candidate
“Supermodified Sim Racing for the Right Reasons” since 2004
SUPRS Note of Transparency: A. On 2/13: Corrected dates of Mid-Winter Break at bottom of post to actual dates of February 11-17 from: February 11-12, 2023. B. On 2/13: Corrected next race from SUPRS 13th Annual All-Star Classic at Star Speedway to read: BMK Logistics Presidents’ Day Special at Lee USA Speedway.