The Fast and the ‘Flory’ious

Sports Editor

John Flory may be living a few decades too late, and probably a bit too far north of the equator. Like Jekyl and Hyde, his laid back demeanor, good 'ol boy facade and muted conversation masks a fiery competitive beast behind the wheel.

Flory just seems like he would have been the perfect fit as a bootlegger running 'shine back in the 1940s in Georgia. Or in a more contemporary setting, he could have made Cooter the star of the Dukes of Hazzard.

When confronted with the fantasy of being a moonshine runner, Flory broke into a grin and said, "That would have been fun."

And why wouldn't he think that? A popular belief has the very birth of NASCAR rooted in bootleggers and their cars. Moonshine runners used to hold informal races against one another, just for the chance to say they were the fastest.

Legend has it this weekend jousting of egos evolved into a sanctioned sport which has become one of the most popular in the nation today.

Now Flory is too smart to really want to do something to dodge the law, but the idea intrigued him for the driving end of it. Flory is all about the driving and has been doing it since he was 19 years old, something he's continually reminded of in his No. 19 bright red IMCA modified race car. Now at 44, he doesn't appear to be slowing down any.

"It's fun, and I like to win," said Flory.

It's probably that simple statement for Flory that makes him one of the crowd favorites at the Williston Basin Speedway. Everyone likes a winner, and everyone likes to have fun.

He'll have one of the biggest cheering sections when he battles for his third title in the 9th annual Can-Am Modified Shootout tonight and Saturday.

While he enjoys seeing the shirts and fans of his in the stands, like a professional wrestler, he doesn't mind being the heel either.

"It's great to have those people cheering you on, but I have always thought if you're getting booed, you must be doing something right too. They don't care for me much in Dickinson," said Flory.

That kind of carries over to the rest of the racers as well. Flory isn't necessarily friends with everyone on the track.

"If you're running up front, you're probably going to have some people mad at you. If you run in the middle or the back, you can get along with everyone."

He isn't too worried about his image or how many people he can invite to a barbecue. He has a built in support group which is pretty strong.

"My brothers, my family and their families are all pretty much into racing. When we go out of town we all go together," said Flory.

Helping John in the pits are his son, Dustin, 22, and his brothers Jason and Jerry. Joe also helps when he's not busy racing his own Hobby Stock ride.

His son, John, 8, wants to be in the pits, but the elder John has to keep reminding him he's too young yet. John's wife, Heidi, isn't hurrying to get in the pits, but she has been involved in a number ways, going so far as to pick up garbage Sunday mornings after the races.

The family has been a close knit one and has been threaded into the racing fabric of the Speedway with James, John's dad, helping get the Williston Basin Racing Association on its feet.

With the two things being so intermeshed, family tragedies have really struck hard, said Flory. The family lost father James in 2000, oldest brother Jimmer in 2002 on the Fourth of July to heart trouble during a swim, and niece Stephanie, Jerry's daughter, to a horrible car accident last summer.

"They're all hard, but Steph's was especially tough. It was two days before I was supposed to race. Jerry was telling me to go to Minot, but I said no way. It really takes the wind out of your sails, and it is hard to get your head back in it," said Flory.

Like his brother, Joe, John has the names of James, Jimmer and Stephanie stuck to his car where the passenger seat would be, if there was one, to keep them in the racing scene and in his memories.

It was the family involvement in racing that got John behind the wheel. The family moved to Williston in the early 70s and James started Beeline Service which specializes in alignment.

John grew up playing sports such as football, wrestling and basketball, while he started working summers at the shop when he was 13.

He broke his leg his freshman year and didn't get back on the football field. Looking for some place to tame his competitive spirit, John told his dad he wanted to race.

"So we built a car and I started to race and have been ever since," said Flory, who also took over the family business and now runs Beeline for his mom, Shirley, who owns it.

Now Flory is running into the same thing with his son. Except it's not Dustin.

"Dustin hasn't really said he wants to race too badly, but John really wants to race. He told me he was going to build the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard and I was going help him. Then he said he was going to run away from the police and I said, 'I don't think so.'," said Flory.

Flory started out in the super stock class, but raced in that car for just one year, before moving up to the limited late model for seven years, then the Wissota Modifieds before moving to IMCA where he's run for the past 10 years.

Surrounded by trophies on two walls, Flory wasn't sure how many season championships he's won. A quick glance at the trophies ensured at least three, but it could be as many as five. Flory lives in the moment and the past is just a few good memories, but not something to dwell on.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he hadn't won the Dakota Modified Tour. "That's one I would like to win, I have been close a few times," he said.

That one comes to town July 8-9.

One move he's made to try to accomplish that goal is to purchase a new car this year. "I got a Chevelle frame to replace my Impala frame. So far I think it's a faster car," he said.

However, it is also a different car, and he said things that worked on the old model don't work out so well on the new one.

"The new one is a lot touchier to adjustments and in general runs a bit tighter. Our first race in Minot this year, it was so tight I couldn't hardly drive it, but then we went back the next week and won it," he said.

In whatever car he's in, Flory is a race leaders nightmare. It doesn't seem to matter where Flory is in the pack, he finds a way to get to the front and is nearly always in the running.

"With a lot of years comes confidence in yourself and if your car is going good, there's no reason you can't get to the front unless you get crashed," he said.

He admitted he has been a very aggressive driver, especially in his younger days, but now he picks his spots a bit more judiciously.

"I can get aggressive, but I don't like to. It's too expensive to slam into stuff and tear up your car these days," he said.

Being in mechanics most of his life, Flory said working on the car can be fun in itself, unless of course he has to spend a lot of time on the body. "If you have to fix a wreck, it's monotonous, if you don't have to do a lot of body work, it's not bad," he said.

However, the driving is still the thing.

The race itself has also become important. He enjoys the bigger races with the bigger purses and the bigger atmosphere.

While he doesn't have a favorite memory in his racing career, a few moments he did recall had to do with winning some bigger races, the Roughrider in Minot, and a big one in Dickinson.

"It's just a lot more fun with more cars on the track. Big prizes don't hurt either. The Can-Am would just be another night of racing if we didn't have a bigger payout and few more cars," said Flory.

The big stage also provides a chance to expand his horizons. He said he can still learn from going to some bigger races where there are guys that race for a living.

"There's so much new stuff technically with cars," said Flory.

He also is passing on some of the knowledge, mentoring Jason Storbakken who's new to the street stocks.

When Flory's not racing the bigger events, he can key on a few fun rivalries with Minot's Marlyn Seidler, Williston's Mike Hagen and Sidney's Hank Berry.

"I think the grandstand makes out a bigger rivalry between me and Hank than what's there, but we still like to beat each other," said Flory.

Berry is currently leading the WBS standings, with Hagen second, and after a slower start, Flory has climbed to eighth. Seidler leads the state IMCA points, while Berry is third and Flory is seventh.

So what's the battles like on the track?

"Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's frustrating," said Flory.

Flory said he'd like to go south and race more in the winter, but has yet had the time or money to do it. He also said he'd like to get into late models or sprints, but again the expense is greater with no races close to home, except for a few specials run on occasion.

Meanwhile, he'll continue racing in front of a friendly home crowd.

"With the price of fuel now, a few more doubleheaders at home is welcome and some bigger payouts would be nice too," said Flory.