Augie Grill had his hands full Saturday night.
He was struggling to cradle a shiny new, but bulky winner’s trophy and a coveted checkered flag while he posed for photos in victory lane at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
“You act like you hadn’t done this before,” someone said in Grill’s entourage.
Truth be told, it had been more than two years since Grill had celebrated a win at the raceway.
That long drought ended in a major way Saturday night at the famed half-mile asphalt oval, as Grill thrilled a packed house with a victory that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Grill was his vintage self in capturing the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 for Pro Late Models on Saturday, making a mad dash from his 21st starting position and then wrestling the lead away from defending Snowflake champion and NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series regular John Hunter Nemechek.
“It has been a rough last couple of years,” an uncharacteristically gushing Grill said. “Sometimes we’ve had good cars, but then they’ve gone kaput.
“This is a big race. It may not be the Snowball (Derby), but it’s still the best Pro cars in the country. Outrunning John Hunter is special, but to go from 21st to first, that’s what is really special.”
Grill’s efforts for almost three years now has been primarily focused on building Late Models for his Grand American Race Cars customers, who are among short-track racing’s elite.
A year after winning the Snowflake, Nemechek finished a bitter runner-up and Jasper, Georgia’s Chandler Smith rounded out the podium in third.
Grill, now 40, was overcome with emotion in victory lane, letting out multiple fist pumps, screams of adulation and sharing long embraces with his team, family members and friends.
It was his third-career Snowflake 100 win, tying him with Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year Chase Elliott for the most all-time victories in the most prestigious race for Pro Late Models.
Grill, the grizzled veteran, will look to pull of the unprecedented weekend sweep at the 49th annual Snowball Derby Sunday when the opening green flag drops at 2 pm.
With three Snowflakes under his belt, Grill hopes he can become just the second driver to win three or more Snowball Derby races, the 300 lapper for Super Late Models. Rich Bickle with five Derby victories is atop the record books.
No matter what Grill’s end result is Sunday, his weekend at Pensacola’s high banks won’t be one he soon forgets thanks to outdueling a field of 36 cars, including Nemechek.
The son of NASCAR veteran Joe Nemechek, John Hunter earned two wins on the NASCAR Trucks Series this year and had come to Pensacola the last two seasons walking away with Snowball Derby (2014) and Snowflake 100 (2015) victories.
“Honestly, I thought this was possible,” Grill said. “It feels better to me being a 40-year-old man and getting to outdrive these kids.”
The legend of Augie Grill, some thought just a myth over the last few years, continues.
He wasted no time moving forward from his starting position in the middle of the 36-car pack, and set his eyes on the top-five where Nemechek and Lawrenceville, Georgia’s Casey Roderick were swapping leads in the early going.
Nemechek won the pole thanks to a blistering 16.671-second lap and shot off early until Roderick took the top spot 17 laps into the race.
Roderick would lead the next 32 laps until Nemechek overtook him and reclaimed the lead as the race approached the halfway point.
“I saw Casey up there after a caution when I was in sixth, and I thought that maybe he’d get by (Nemechek),” Grill said.
But that battle gave way to a classic waged between Grill and Nemechek beginning when Grill passed Roderick for second on lap 70.
Grill quickly began reeling in Nemechek like his No. 112 had a gravitational force echoing from it.
It set the scene for two of short-track racing’s most aggressive drivers to slug it out down the stretch. Grill has never been one to shy away from giving the bumper to slower cars. Nemechek made an infamous name for himself with some aggressive driving during a NASCAR Truck race in Canada earlier this summer.
Following a restart on lap 87, Grill powered around Nemechek on the outside and pulled away.
The 19-year-old Nemechek, though, accused Grill of jumping the restart, which didn’t sit kindly with the standing-room only crowd at Five Flags.
“I thought the leader was supposed to start the race,” a visibly frustrated Nemechek said, as fans showered him with a chorus of boos. “But I guess that’s the race director call. But I think we learned something for Sunday.”
For his part, Grill was adamant he didn’t use any competitive advantage to take the lead.
“I took off when (Nemechek) did and beat him to the flag,” he said.
Simply put, Augie Grill was faster than everybody on the racetrack Saturday.
A familiar, if not long overdue, refrain for Grill at Five Flags.
Parker Takes Late Lead, Scores Pro Truck Victory
In the now five years Five Flags Speedway has staged the race, the Beef “O” Brady’s Pro Trucks 50-lap championship typically closes the show on the third night of Snowball Derby.
Saturday night followed the same script at the 49th annual running of short-track racing’s most prestigious weekend of racing.
Another tradition that mercilessly continued Saturday was an aggressive brand of driving that led to a long night.
Big pileups and tangled crashes around Pensacola’s high banks, along with multiple spins, led to more than a dozen cautions. The race’s average net speed, with those yellows included, was a paltry 16.667 mph.
Not a bit of that matters now to Jarrett Parker, though.
The 21-year-old driver capped a breakout Pro Trucks rookie campaign the best way possible. Parker won the 50-lap Pro Trucks Snowball Derby, his third victory at Five Flags this season.
“I’m unbelievably happy right now,” he said. “I gave it my all. It feels amazing.”
Parker started third and was in the top-five all night in the caution-marred race. He made his push for the lead on lap 47 while running second.
Reigning Pro Truck track champion Taylor Jorgensen, whose three regular season wins helped sew up the title in September, was in front of Parker when the pair approached lapped traffic.
After not making many mistakes all night and looking as smooth as silk as she made her passes, Jorgensen struggled in the stretch run to navigate trucks trying not to go a lap down.
With Parker on her bumper, Jorgensen picked the wrong lane and Parker made a professional pass. His patience had been rewarded.
Jorgensen of Stockbridge, Georgia, finished second with and Cody Haskins of Dawsonville, Georgia in third.
“There was a lapped car coming outta turn No. 4 and I messed up,” Jorgensen said. “I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win, but to finish second in the Snowball Derby, that’s a huge accomplishment for me.
“Although, I would’ve liked to win. My family has sacrificed a ton. I’m really thankful for them. I’m still happy because that’s an awesome finish.”
Parker’s No. 46 marked the second straight year that the truck ended up as the Pro Trucks Snowball Derby champion.
Last year, Steven Davis won in it before Parker took it off his hands. This year, Davis had the fast time in qualifying (18.621 seconds) and was a top contender early before being a part of one of the many accidents in the Pro Trucks race Saturday.
“This was an amazing truck to begin with, but we made it my own,” Parker said.
Now all attention turns to Sunday, and the 49th annual running of the Super Late Model Snowball Derby. NASCAR driver William Byron will lead the field to green in his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, with Ty Majeski starting alongside in second.
A trio of Peach State drivers make up the rest of the top five starters, with Dawsonville, Georgia’s Spencer Davis set to roll off third. Senoia, Georgia’s Bubba Pollard will start in fourth and Marietta, Georgia’s Kyle Plott starts fifth.
Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Casey Roderick, Corey Lajoie and Cole Anderson rounds out the top ten starters.
For more information, visit 5FlagsSpeedway.com.
5 Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL
Snowflake 100 (Unofficial) – Dec. 3, 2016
1. Augie Grill
2. John Hunter Nemechek
3. Chandler Smith
4. Kyle Ivey
5. Ryan Paul
6. Cole Butcher
7. Cole Anderson
8. Stephen Nasse
9. Anthony Cataldi
10. Mason Diaz
11. Derek Scott, Jr.
12. Jeremy Pate
13. Spencer Davis
14. Jeff Choquette
15. Scott Tomasik
16. Derrick Griffin
17. Carter Stokes
18. Bailey Currey
19. JR Niedecken
20. Justin South
21. Kyle Plott
22. Connor Okezesik
23. Chase Purdy
24. Travis Braden
25. Dalton Grindle
26. Brandon Oakley
27. Bret Holmes
28. Bill Burba
29. Casey Roderick
30. Brandon Johnson
31. Bobby Knox, Jr.
32. Cole Daffron
33. Kyle Donahue
34. Zach Knowles
35. Christopher Tullis
36. Dustin Smith
5 Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL
Snowball Derby – Dec. 4, 2016
Sunday’s Starting Lineup
1. 9B William Byron – Charlotte, NC
2. 91 Ty Majeski – Seymour, WI
3. 29 Spencer Davis – Dawsonville, GA
4. 26 Bubba Pollard – Senoia, GA
5. 4 Kyle Plott – Marietta, GA
6. 51 Christopher Bell – Norman, OK
7. 5G Noah Gragson – Las Vegas, NV
8. 7 Casey Roderick – Lawrenceville, GA
9. 07 Corey Lajoie – Cornelius, NC
10. 97 Cole Anderson – Northfield, MN
11. 3 Kaz Grala – Westbrough, MA
12. 15 Christian Eckes – Cornelius, NC
13. 9 Jeff Choquette – West Palm Beach, FL
14. 14 Chris Davidson – Pearland, TX
15. 67 Clay Jones – Mooresville, NC
16. 16 Brandon McReynolds – Mooresville, NC
17. 12 Harrison Burton – Huntersville, NC
18. 43T Derek Thorn – Bakersfield, CA
19. 5 Jerry Artuso – Sault Ste Marie, ONT
20. 8 John Hunter Nemechek – Mooresville, NC
21. 98 Daniel Hemric – Mooresville, NC
22. 42 Chad Finley – Dewitt, MI
23. 2W Donnie Wilson – Oklahoma City, OK
24. 83 Scotty Ellis – Forsyth, GA
25. 77 Zane Smith – Huntington Beach, CA
26. 26S Chandler Smith – Jasper, GA
27. 99 Casey Smith – Austin, TX
28. 82 Grant Enfinger – Montrose, AL
29. 112 Augie Grill – Hayden, AL
30. 01 Derek Scott – Franklin, TX
31. 11 David Rogers – Ocala, FL*
32. 99 Stephen Nasse – Pinellas Park, FL^
33. 55 Dalton Sargeant – Boca Raton, FL^^
34. 99L Raphael Lessard -, St. Joseph, Quebec^^
35. 9DK Derek Kraus – Stratford, WI^^
36. 14 Connor Okrzesik – Grand Bay, AL^^
* – earned Blizzard Series provisional
^ – won Derby Last Chance Race
^^ – finished in top-5 of Derby Last Chance Race
