PENSACOLA, FL — The ASA STARS National Tour made its latest return to action at the Sunshine State 200 at Five Flags Speedway Sunday for the second race of the 2025 season.
It was an event that possessed several potential variables for drivers to navigate. But for Cole Butcher and Wilson Motorsports, the race looked exceptionally easy. Butcher picked up the victory, his second-consecutive triumph in the Sunshine State 200.
Butcher’s dominant performance was just one of multiple noteworthy storylines from the event.
From an up-and-down day for one of the discipline’s biggest names to an updated track surface, here are our three takeaways from the Sunshine State 200.
Wilson Motorsports Dominance Continues
Wilson Motorsports remains unbeaten in its pursuit of the 2025 ASA STARS title. First winning with Gavan Boschele in the Clyde Hart Memorial, the team scored another victory with Butcher and did so in dominant fashion.
From the start of Stage 2 to the drop of the checkered flag, Butcher had virtually zero opposition. The seemingly easy feat for Butcher was partially due to a pit road penalty for Stage 1 winner Carson Brown, which sent Brown to the back before a brake issue officially ended his day.
This issue for Brown meant smooth sailing for Butcher en route to the victory. Even an overtime restart and a hard-charging Jake Garcia couldn’t persuade Butcher to give up his seat at the front of the field.
“I think we got a little lucky with [Brown] missing pit road,” Butcher told Frontstretch. “Honestly, I wish he kept racing. We were both pretty good. Wilson Motorsports gave me a great race car. Can’t thank everyone on my crew enough to get us here today.”
It was also a solid day for Wilson Motorsports teammate Boschele, who led the ASA STARS point standings coming into the Sunshine State 200. Boschele, who had been running in the top five towards the end, had to settle for a sixth-place result when the checkered flag flew.
While points standings have not been updated as of the time of this story’s creation, Boschele is likely to remain in contention to lead the standings with Butcher making a sizeable jump towards the top.
A Turbulent Day for Bubba Pollard
The Sunshine State 200 likely did not play out the way Pollard would have preferred, having suffered a mechanical issue early on in the event.
Pollard fell off the pace on lap 11 out of 200, having to pull into the pits so his team could diagnose the issue. After mending the mechanical gremlin (presumably under the hood), Pollard returned to the track, though at a severe disadvantage with a seeming lack of power.
Multiple accounts at the track noted that the engine in Pollard’s No. 26 sounded like it had possibly dropped a cylinder, potentially bringing an ignition issue into question.
It should be noted that this is the second race in a row where Pollard has experienced mechanical issues behind the wheel of a VanDoorn Racing Development chassis. This is noteworthy, because Pollard has previously been a longtime Senneker Race Cars driver.
This pairing between Pollard and VanDoorn is not the first, with them having partnered for the 2020 Snowball Derby. But that outing suboptimal for the Georgian, too, ending in 34th.
Despite Sunday’s early issue and the seemingly perpetual woes when he partners with VanDoorn, Pollard did manage to salvage the day with a ninth-place effort – leaving him in contention for a strong ASA STARS title run in 2025.
It will be interesting to see what happens next for Pollard and VanDoorn.
Updated Track Surface Draws Mixed Reviews
The track surface at Five Flags Speedway was the topic of several discussions at last year’s Snowball Derby, with the surface having to be repaired multiple times throughout the weekend due to chunks of asphalt coming undone and causing damage to cars.
Track staff kicked off a massive overhaul of the surface over the offseason, placing down several new patches of pavement around the facility.
Some drivers, such as Butcher and Snowball Derby winner Kaden Honeycutt, didn’t see much difference in the track’s quality after experiencing the new patches throughout the Sunshine State 200 weekend.
“Honestly, it’s the same old Pensacola with a quarter-or-sixteenth more grip. (There’s) nothing that’s gonna change this place,” Butcher said of the surface.
When asked about the asphalt, Honeycutt explained. “I think Tim [Bryant] said he did over a hundred patches and they’re very, very small,” he said. “Really, nothing changed for the race track, thankfully.”
Not everyone agreed with their perspective. Stephen Nasse wasn’t a fan of the patches and how they altered his approach to the race.
“I’m not a fan, to be honest,” Nasse told Frontstretch. “They put patches on the bottom in (turns) 1 and 2, and I don’t feel like it needed it. There was no issue over there, and I love this place to begin with because of the runs you can get over there. They really messed up this place.”
Nasse then reiterated that point with perhaps the spiciest quote of the weekend.
“I don’t know whose dumb idea it was to put the patches down there, but that guy probably needs to be fired,” he said.
It remains to be seen what the long term effects of the patches will be at Five Flags Speedway, but it’s safe to say that the updated surface’s debut for the year sparked mix reviews.
What’s Next?
The ASA STARS National Tour travels to Dominion Raceway on Saturday, April 5th, for the Appalachian Sucker Punch 250 presented by Jones Utilities.
