Snowball Derby
Encyclopedia
The Snowball Derby is a 300-lap super late model
stock car automobile race held annually at the half-mile Five Flags Speedway
in Pensacola
, Florida
. The race has been contested every year since 1968 and is always run on the first weekend in December. The race has a reputation for attracting some of the bigger names in short track racing
because it is run after most tracks and touring series have concluded their seasons, and drawing an occasional NASCAR star or two from the major series (but usually not Sprint Cup because it usually conflicts with their end of the year banquet since it was moved in 1981). The 2009 event featured winner Kyle Busch
, Steve Wallace, Bobby Gill
, Bill Elliott
's son Chase Elliot, Matt Kenseth
's son Ross Kenseth, David Stremme
, and Cale Gale
.
Because of the "all-star" nature of the race, the Snowball Derby is considered by many to be the most prestigious race in late model racing. The drivers entering the race are frequently from nearby states, although some drivers travel across the United States to compete. The race has been won by three NASCAR national series champions, five Sprint Cup race winners (1974-76, 1985, 2009), and five Camping World Truck Series race winners.
Historically, the race has been 100 laps, 200 laps, 300 plus plus the number of runnings of this race, and back to a straight 300 laps with a rule mandating no laps under the safety car
count in the final five laps, with no limit to number of safety car sessions in those laps. It has been sanctioned in the past by NASCAR; it is now an independent race. It is known for it enforcing the rules which sometimes lead to controversy Only one year was the Snowball Derby a NASCAR sanctioned event. Though over half the current NASCAR Championships have been won by racers who raced at Five Flags Speedway, sanctioning is a "pay for" service that the speedway has not found necessary to be successful.
Late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
stock car automobile race held annually at the half-mile Five Flags Speedway
Five Flags Speedway
Five Flags Speedway is a paved ½-mile auto racing oval in Pensacola, Florida. It opened in 1953 and is located on Pine Forest Road. It is christened after the nickname of Pensacola—“City of Five Flags.”...
in Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The race has been contested every year since 1968 and is always run on the first weekend in December. The race has a reputation for attracting some of the bigger names in short track racing
Short track motor racing
In North American auto racing, particularly with regard to NASCAR, a short track is a racetrack of less than one mile in length. Short track racing, often associated with fairgrounds and similar venues, is where stock car racing first got off the back roads and into organized and regulated...
because it is run after most tracks and touring series have concluded their seasons, and drawing an occasional NASCAR star or two from the major series (but usually not Sprint Cup because it usually conflicts with their end of the year banquet since it was moved in 1981). The 2009 event featured winner Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...
, Steve Wallace, Bobby Gill
Bobby Gill
Bobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami...
, Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...
's son Chase Elliot, Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing...
's son Ross Kenseth, David Stremme
David Stremme
David Andrew Stremme is an American stock car driver. He is most notable as the 2003 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, winning the award while running a part time for several different teams. He currently drives the #30 Chevrolet Impala for Inception Motorsports.-Early life:Stremme was...
, and Cale Gale
Cale Gale
Cale Gale is an American NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado for Eddie Sharp Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.-Karting:...
.
Because of the "all-star" nature of the race, the Snowball Derby is considered by many to be the most prestigious race in late model racing. The drivers entering the race are frequently from nearby states, although some drivers travel across the United States to compete. The race has been won by three NASCAR national series champions, five Sprint Cup race winners (1974-76, 1985, 2009), and five Camping World Truck Series race winners.
Historically, the race has been 100 laps, 200 laps, 300 plus plus the number of runnings of this race, and back to a straight 300 laps with a rule mandating no laps under the safety car
Safety car
In motorsport, a safety car or pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track. During a caution period the safety car enters the track ahead of the leader...
count in the final five laps, with no limit to number of safety car sessions in those laps. It has been sanctioned in the past by NASCAR; it is now an independent race. It is known for it enforcing the rules which sometimes lead to controversy Only one year was the Snowball Derby a NASCAR sanctioned event. Though over half the current NASCAR Championships have been won by racers who raced at Five Flags Speedway, sanctioning is a "pay for" service that the speedway has not found necessary to be successful.
List of Snowball Derby winners
- 1968 Wayne Niedecken
- 1969 Friday HasslerFriday HasslerRaymond "Friday" Hassler was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver.-Summary:He made his debut in 1960 but only drove a handful of races per year until 1967 when he drove 21 of the 49 races for Red Sharp and finished 32nd in points. He improved to 27th for Sharp the next year and...
- 1970 Wayne Niedecken
- 1971 Dickie DavisDickie DavisDickie Davis is an English former footballer who played for Sunderland and Darlington as a striker.-Club career:...
- 1972 Ed Howe
- 1973 Dickie Davis
- 1974 Pete HamiltonPete HamiltonPete Hamilton is a retired American NASCAR racer. He won four times in his career , three times driving for Petty Enterprises. His father was a Ph.D. from Harvard University....
- 1975 Donnie AllisonDonnie AllisonDunkiny "Donnie" Allison is a former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. He was part of the "Alabama Gang," and is the brother of 1983 champion Bobby Allison and uncle of Davey Allison...
- 1976 Darrell WaltripDarrell WaltripDarrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
- 1977 Ronnie Sanders
- 1978 Dave Mader IIIDave Mader IIIDave Mader III is an American auto racer from Maylene, Alabama. He competed in ten NASCAR Winston Cup races between 1988 and 1992, including leading seven laps at Martinsville Speedway in 1992. In the Busch Series, he raced in 22 events between 1986 and 1992, with nine Top 10 finishes...
- 1979 Freddy FryarFreddy FryarFreddy Fryar is a retired NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1956 to 1971 . Fryar participated in 772 laps of racing; equivalent to of racing. His average start position is 27th while his average finish position is 21st...
- 1980 Gary BaloughGary BaloughGary Balough is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who has competed from 1979 to 1992.-Summary:Balough has only led one lap out of 4033 - the equivalent of . He started an average of 21st place and finished an average of 25th while bringing home a career grand total of $90,900 . Balough's...
- 1981 Freddy Fryar
- 1982 Gene MorganGene MorganGene Morgan , was an American actor. He appeared in 111 films between 1926 and 1941.He was born in Racine, Wisconsin, USA and died in Santa Monica, California.-External links:...
- 1983 Mickey Gibbs
- 1984 Butch LindleyButch LindleyButch Lindley was a short track racer, who has raced in various NASCAR series.-Winston Cup career:Lindley made his debut in the Winston Cup in a special appearance in 1979...
- 1985 Jody RidleyJody RidleyJody Ridley is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing....
- 1986 Gary BaloughGary BaloughGary Balough is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who has competed from 1979 to 1992.-Summary:Balough has only led one lap out of 4033 - the equivalent of . He started an average of 21st place and finished an average of 25th while bringing home a career grand total of $90,900 . Balough's...
- 1987 Butch MillerButch Miller (racing driver)Butch Miller is a racecar driver. He drives the #07 Toyota Tundra part time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on a limited basis, and is also a crew chief for SS-Green Light Racing. He is a multiple champion in the now-defunct American Speed Association stock car series...
- 1988 Ted MusgraveTed MusgraveTheodore Musgrave is an American race car driver.-Pre-NASCAR:Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wilmot, Wisconsin before moving into asphalt late models in the American Speed Association and...
- 1989 Rick Crawford
- 1990 Rich Bickle, Jr.Rich BickleRichard "Rich" Bickle, Jr. is a journeyman NASCAR driver. Bickle, who has never completed a full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has a long history in short track racing.-Early career:...
- 1991 Rich Bickle, Jr.
- 1992 Gary St. Amant
- 1993 Bobby GillBobby GillBobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami...
- 1994 Tammy Jo KirkTammy Jo KirkTammy Jo Kirk is a racecar and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She has not driven in NASCAR since 2003....
- 1995 Jeff PurvisJeff PurvisJeff Purvis is a former race car driver in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. He is a 15-year veteran with four wins and 25 top-five finishes. Purvis is still recovering from a massive brain injury suffered in 2002. He races "Late Model Crates" at Golden Isles Speedway.- Winston Cup Series Career :Purvis...
- 1996 Rich Bickle, Jr.
- 1997 Bobby GillBobby GillBobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami...
- 1998 Rich Bickle, Jr.
- 1999 Rich Bickle, Jr.
- 2000 Gary St. Amant
- 2001 Wayne AndersonWayne AndersonWayne Anderson is an American late model race car driver. Anderson was born in Wildwood, Florida, and graduated high school in 1986. He has two championships in the NASCAR Pro-Series, which were in 1999 and 2001. Anderson also participated in the Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series,...
- 2002 Ricky Turner
- 2003 Charlie BradberryCharlie BradberryCharlie Bradberry was an American NASCAR driver who ran part time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2003 and 2004. His best finish was 6th at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in 2004...
- 2004 Steve Wallace
- 2005 Eddie Mercer
- 2006 Clay RogersClay RogersClayton Rogers is an American stock car driver. He has competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, and is the 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2010 champion in the USARacing Pro Cup Series series...
- 2007 Augie Grill
- 2008 Augie Grill
- 2009 Kyle BuschKyle BuschKyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...
- 2010 Johanna LongJohanna LongJohanna Long is an American stock car racer from Pensacola, Florida. She was the winner of the 2010 Snowball Derby and currently drives the #20 Group3 Asphalt Toyota Tundra for her family owned Panhandle Motorsports team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.-Background:Long's father raced late...