Short Track Racing’s Best Set to Compete with Best in the World at Pensacola’s Snowball Derby
Pensacola, Fla. - The NASCAR season ended at Homestead but the racing doesn’t have to.
The Snowball Derby in Pensacola picks up exactly where the Sprint Cup season left off with high stakes and even higher rates of attrition.
Fifty-seven cars have been entered for 37 starting spots making this race one of the most difficult to earn your way into. The local Blizzard Series guarantees two spots with the defending winner (Johanna Long) also guaranteed to start.
If the top two in the Blizzard standings (Augie Grill and Grant Enfinger) make the race on time or in the last chance race, then the provisional starting spots move down the standings through the top 10.
It’s a track that rewards its local stars and then invites some of the best in the world to compete against them. The race has been won by Darrell Waltrip (1976), Ted Musgrave (1988), Rick Crawford (1989) and even Kyle Busch (2009).
Crawford cut his teeth on the track before becoming one of the founding fathers of NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He paved the way for Long, the defending race winner, to begin carving a similar path to NASCAR greatness.
Long has started in 24 Truck Series races over the past two seasons and hopes to impress enough to earn a full-time ride in 2012. Winning back-to-back Snowball Derby races against some of the toughest competition appears be the most impressive way to earn a shot at the big leagues. Long is just 19 years old.
The same can be said of the 26-year old Enfinger, who recently inked a deal to run part-time in the Sprint Cup Series for the start-up Sinica Motorsports. The team is owned by American businessman George Sinica and is seeking additional sponsors to go full-time by 2013.
It would be a major coup if Enfinger could win his first Snowball Derby and reap the benefits of such a victory. Last year, images of Long’s Snowball triumph was streamed during Speed’s television broadcast of Daytona Speedweeks. Enfinger is looking for the same treatment, approaching his first Daytona 500 in February.
Coming full-circle, the Snowball Derby may not be the Sprint Cup Series but for many of this weekend’s competitors, a victory could mean a shot at NASCAR super-stardom.
Beyond the jump is a list of past winners and the entry list for this weekend’s Snowball Derby. Check it out!
Entry List for the 44th Annual Snowball Derby, December 4, 2011
7 Landon Cassill Charlotte, NC
02 Matt Smith Houston, TX
09 Randy Gentry Easley, SC
1 Mike Garvey McDonough, GA
1 Stephan McCurlely Humble, TX
1 Tim Martin Amite, La
10 Johanna Long Pensacola, FL
10 Steve Dorer Lakeland, FL
10 TBA#5 ,
11 David Rogers Orlando, FL
112 Augie Grill Hayden, Al
12 Thomas Praytor Mobile, AL
14 Ken McFarland Hueytown, AL
154 Hunter Robbins Montgomery, AL
16 Brandon Odom DeFuniak Springs, FL
17 Derrick Griffin Indianapolis, IN
2 D J Vanderley Mobile, AL
21 Scott Carlson Pensacola, FL
22 Jeremy Pate Pensacola, FL
25 Ross Kenseth Spring Valley, IL
26 Andrew Pollard Senoia, GA
260 Derek Thorn Bakersville, FL
29 Allen Karnes Sharpsburg, GA
29 Andy Loden Stanley, NC
29 Jeff Choquette West Palm Beach, FL
30 Bobby Knox, Jr. Clanton, AL
39 Kenzie Ruston El Reno, OK
4 Erik Jones Byron, MI
40 Tyler Miles Pulaski, TN
41 Chris Davidson Pearland, TX
41 T J Reaid Acworth, GA
42 Dennis Prunty Knowles, WI
42 Tony Clark Sharpsburg, GA
43 Dennis Schoenfeld Van Buren, AR
45 Dwayne Baggay Canton, GA
48 Cecil Chunn Springhill, TN
49 Josh Hamner Harpersville, AL
5 Jerry Artuso Sault Ste Marie, ONT
51 Boris Jurkovic Manhattan, IL
51 Stephen Nasse Pinellas Park, FL
6 David Ragan Concord, NC
61 Johnny VanDoorn Coopersville, MI
66 Steven Wallace Mooresville, NC
67 Jeff Fultz Mooresville, NC
7 Michael Lance Dacula, GA
71 Kyle Benjamin Easley, SC
75 David Odell Lawrenceville, GA
811 Mason Mingus Brentwood, TN
82 Donnie Wilson Oklahoma City, OK
82 Grant Enfinger Concord, NC
83 Cale Gale Winston Salem, NC
84 Clay Alexander Franklin, TN
9 Chase Elliott Dawsonville, GA
96 Benjamin Z. Kennedy Daytona Beach, FL
97 Cade Dillard Robeline, LA
99 Casey Smith Austin, TX
99 Wayne Niedecken, Jr. Pensacola, FL
57 TOTAL ENTRIES
Complete List of Past Snowball Derby Winners
* 1968 Wayne Niedecken
* 1969 Friday Hassler
* 1970 Wayne Niedecken
* 1971 Dickie Davis
* 1972 Ed Howe
* 1973 Dickie Davis
* 1974 Pete Hamilton
* 1975 Donnie Allison
* 1976 Darrell Waltrip
* 1977 Ronnie Sanders
* 1978 Dave Mader III
* 1979 Freddy Fryar
* 1980 Gary Balough
* 1981 Freddy Fryar
* 1982 Gene Morgan
* 1983 Mickey Gibbs
* 1984 Butch Lindley
* 1985 Jody Ridley
* 1986 Gary Balough
* 1987 Butch Miller
* 1988 Ted Musgrave
* 1989 Rick Crawford
* 1990 Rich Bickle, Jr.
* 1991 Rich Bickle, Jr.
* 1992 Gary St. Amant
* 1993 Bobby Gill
* 1994 Tammy Jo Kirk
* 1995 Jeff Purvis
* 1996 Rich Bickle, Jr.
* 1997 Bobby Gill
* 1998 Rich Bickle, Jr.
* 1999 Rich Bickle, Jr.
* 2000 Gary St. Amant
* 2001 Wayne Anderson
* 2002 Ricky Turner
* 2003 Charlie Bradberry
* 2004 Steve Wallace
* 2005 Eddie Mercer
* 2006 Clay Rogers
* 2007 Augie Grill
* 2008 Augie Grill
* 2009 Kyle Busch
* 2010 Johanna Long
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, Fla. The race has been contested every year since 1968 and is always run on the first weekend in December. NASCAR Ranting and Raving has provided live coverage every year since 2009. Check back to the blog in the coming days as we will provide daily up-to-the-minute news and results from the Speedway.
Ranting and Raving Content Editor Matt Weaver is on-site in Pensacola and providing additional content on Twitter @MattWeaverSBN. Check it out!
