As always, qualifying for the 53rd annual Snowball Derby was a sweat.
The most anxious 90 minutes of Derby week isn’t always the 300-lap race, but qualifying night at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida when more than 50 drivers vie for the 30-plus spots.
It once again lived up to the hype with Californian driver Derek Thorn clocking a time of 16.258 seconds to snatch pole honors for the second consecutive year. Eddie Mercer was the last driver to accomplish that feat in 1996-97.
Just as big of a story was who didn’t make the race on time and will have to attempt to make the field during the last-chance races on Saturday at Pensacola’s high banks.
While past NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Derby champ Kyle Busch made the show, reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Xfinity driver Noah Gragson both failed to do so. Both drivers are past winners, with Dawsonville, Georgia’s Elliott a two-time Derby winner (2011, 2015) and Gragson hoisting the Tom Dawson Trophy for his first an only time two years ago.
Late Model veterans Bubba Pollard and Augie Grill were outside the bubble, but only Grill – a former two-time Derby king – will race in Saturday’s last-chance races. Pollard, of Senoia, Georgia, will use his provisional option as the reigning Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series champion as the winner of more than 100 career Late Model races will look for that elusive first Derby triumph.
The night grew tenser when there was a scoring issue with young racer Sammy Smith, a Kyle Busch Motorsports driver. When Smith originally came out, race officials incorrectly recorded just one lap on time before showing him the checkered.
Race director Nicholas Rogers gave Smith the option for a complete restart because of the error. The KBM team – with Busch pacing around the car offering crew members a helping hand – took nearly 30 minutes getting the No. 51 back as close to its original form, going as far as putting on fresh qualifying sticker tires.
But, Smith’s chance at redemption proved futile. He failed to knock Jesse Dutilly off the bubble, and Smith will also compete in Saturday afternoon’s last-chance races.
Action in the 53rd annual Snowball Derby continues on Saturday with see the last chance qualifying race for the Snowball Derby, a 50-lap Outlaws feature and the Pro Late Model Snowflake 100.
That all leads up to the 53rd annual Snowball Derby on Sunday, with the green flag scheduled to fall at 2 pm CST.
For more information, visit 5FlagsSpeedway.com.
5 Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL
Snowball Derby – December 4, 2020
Friday’s Super Late Model Qualifying Results*
1. 43T Derek Thorn 16.258
2. 2 Kaden Honeycutt 16.277
3. 91 Ty Majeski 16.346
4. 53B Cole Butcher 16.354
5. 51N Stephen Nasse 16.377
6. 43D Daniel Dye 16.380
7. 75 Jeremy Doss 16.392
8. 54C Matt Craig 16.393
9. 51B Kyle Busch 16.395
10. 11 Logan Boyett 16.397
11. 4P Kyle Plott 16.407
12. 54P Preston Peltier 16.410
13. 25 Casey Roderick 16.415
14. 9K Derek Kraus 16.416
15. 18 Hunter Robbins 16.423
16. 78 Corey Heim 16.428
17. 32 Grant Enfinger 16.432
18. 7D John DeAngelis 16.434
19. 7S Paul Shafer, Jr. 16.443
20. 39 Kyle Sieg 16.453
21. 14D Chris Davidson 16.454
22. 3 Ross Kenseth 16.459
23. 53J Boris Jurkovic 16.460
24. 16 Cayden Lapcevich 16.461
25. 36 Dan Fredrickson 16.461
26. 35 Jake Garcia 16.472
27. 24 Mason Diaz 16.473
28. 51A Michael Atwell 16.473
29. 14B Travis Braden 16.499
30. 30 Jesse Dutilly 16.509
*The top 30 qualifiers are locked in on time
Last Chace Race Participants (Top 4 Advance To Snowball Derby)
Bubba Pollard**
Augie Grill
Casey Johnson
Kodie Conner
Austin Nason
Noah Gragson
Carson Hocevar
Derek Griffith
Gabe Sommers
Dalton Zehr
Hudson Halder
Chase Elliott
Connor Okrzesik
Sammy Smith
Jeremy Pate
Kyle McCallum
Kason Plott
Perry Patino
Justin Johnson
Ryan Crane
Kyle Bryant
Colton Nelson
Chandler Smith
**Will advance on Blizzard Championship provisional
