Chase Does It Again; Wins His Second Snowflake 100

Chase Elliott with Snowball and Miss Snowball Derby after winning the Snowflake 100.

Chase Elliott has won on many occasions at Five Flags Speedway including the 2011 Snowball Derby and the 2010 Snowflake 100, but the Dawsonville, Georgia teenager proved once again that he is wise beyond his years in Saturday night’s running of arguably the biggest pro late model race of the year.

Elliott and fellow young gun Kyle Benjamin from Easley, South Carolina ran identical lap times in qualifying; however, it was underfunded Alabama competitor Justin South who surprised many by setting the fast time for the 100 green flag lap event.  South himself was not surprised, remarking that “we expect nothing less.”  He proved this was the case as he shot into the lead from the start and pulled away from the field for the first 23 laps.

Elliott bided his time, which was the focus for the race.  “We got to be there when it counts and go get this thing,” Chase said over the radio to his team prior to the green flag.  Elliott began his move to the front following a brief caution and cleared South for the lead a quarter way through the race.  South was not finished yet and took the lead back two laps later and led past the halfway point.

At this point in the race, South’s machine began to free up allowing Elliott to move back to the lead in turn three.  Benjamin followed to second.  Another caution would fly shortly thereafter, but Elliott proved that he is a master at restarts in these cars.  Throughout a longer green flag run towards the closing laps, Ben Kennedy was moving swiftly through the field.  Kennedy started seventh, but slipped back a few positions before making his run to the front later on.  Closing in on the ten lap to go mark, Kennedy had driven past Benjamin for second and set his sights on the leader.

Things would change at lap 91, when during a caution Kennedy was forced down pit road with an oil leak.  A series of cautions and restarts then culminated in a nine car pileup in turn two forcing a red flag period.  South caught a part of the wreck and was relegated to a 17th place finish.  Following the race, South recapped that “it was a matter of time before they would get us.  We felt we could be there for all 100 laps, but we weren’t.”

After a brief break in the action the race resumed and despite another caution period, Elliott continued to get the jump on the competition.  Five Flags Speedway pro late model champion Mike Garvey ran in the top five the entire race, but didn’t make his move for second until the closing laps.  Benjamin settled for third.

It was once again Elliott’s night though:  “I knew the late caution would come out…that never fails.  I knew to be prepared for multiple restarts and we were able to hold on.”  Most importantly, the over 100 laps on the track will prepare Elliott once again for a possible Snowball Derby repeat and could result in him being the first driver to win both Sunday’s prestigious race and the Snowflake 100 in the same weekend.

Snowflake 100 qualifying results plus Snowball Derby last chance race starting lineups

I’m currently sitting in the infield on Five Flags Speedway so I can’t get into the SB Nation system to post stories. But I wanted to be able to post something from the track so I hope you don’t mind stopping by the Racing Observer Online blog.

The blog is a place where me and my occasional photographer Aaron Creed post niche racing content. For example, the post below this is a recap of last night’s Snowball Derby Southern Modifieds feature.

So check that out if you feel particularly inspired.

Meanwhile, Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model qualifying just wrapped-up with Justin South winning the pole for Saturday night’s main event. Chase Elliott, Kyle Benjamin, Mike Garvey and Austin Luedtke complete the starting top-5.

Elliott, Benjamin and Garvey are amongst those looking to win both Saturday’s Snowflake 100 and Sunday’s Snowball Derby.

Here’s the qualifying results for the Snowflake 100:

1 43 Justin South 16.905
2 9 Chase Elliott 16.978
3 71 Kyle Benjamin 16.978
4 1 Mike Garvey 17.030
5 6 Austin Luedtke 17.106
6 22 Augie Grill 17.152
7 96 Ben Kennedy 17.164
8 29 Spencer Davis 17.181
9 12 Brandon McReynolds 17.204
10 83 Scotty Ellis 17.208
11 3 Brandon Kelley 17.211
1211Johanna Long17.220
1314Corey Deuser17.230
1466Korey Ruble17.235
15O2Matt Smith17.242
161CCody Coughlin17.253
174JErik Jones17.260
1864David Jones17.280
1929BAnderson Bowen17.295
2054Daniel Hemric17.328
214Donald Long17.365
2277Bryan Silas17.368
23121Joseph Meyer17.372
244PKyle Plott17.381
2536Rodney Benefield17.418
2645Dwayne Buggay17.444
2781Brandon Odom17.452
2891Zak Hausler17.480
2988Garrett Jones17.480
3029TAustin Theriault17.490
3198Russell Fleeman17.492
32112Kenzie Ruston17.498
335Chase Miller17.505
3433Wes Griffith, Jr.17.525
3541Chris Davidson17.543
3656Gus Dean17.544
3799Wayne Niedecken, Jr.17.595
3824Kyle Wolosek17.596
3979Kyle Bryant17.707
4089Bobby Reuse17.840
414MElliott Massey18.040
4230Rusty Sanford18.254
4310Matt MontineriNT
44O7Kevin DonahueNT
4516Terry ClarkNT

Also here’s a the staring lineup for Saturday’s 50-lap Snowball Derby Last Chance Race:

1 20 Brian Campbell
2 10 Paul Kelley
3 29 Austin Theriault
4 83 Landon Cassill
5 47 Allen Karnes
6 1 Stephen McCurley
7 42 Dennis Prunty
8 56 A.J. Frank
9 29 Anderson Bowen
10 10 Danny Bagwell
11 23 Dalton Grindle
12 67 Jeff Fultz
13 31 Kyle Grissom
14 73 Cole Powell
15 43 Dennis Schoenfeld
16 99 Jr. Niedecken
17 29 Spencer Davis
18 21 Scott Carlson
19 02 Matt Smith
20 1 Tim Martin
21 39 Kenzie Ruston
22 88 Roger Reuse
23 7 Erik Darnell
24 9 Brandon Watson
25 8 11Mason Mingus
26 17 Chuck Tuck
27 92 Ron McDonald

Follow me on Twitter @MattWeaverSBN for complete on-site coverage.

Billy Melvin Uses Opportunity to Grab First Snowball Derby Modified Victory

Modified race winner Billy Melvin in victory lane with track mascot Snowball and Miss Snowball Derby.

It certainly did not look like Billy Melvin’s race to win until the first turn of the last restart during Friday night’s edition of the Snowball Derby weekend featuring the IMCA type open wheel modifieds.  The Trussville, Alabama veteran driver started towards the front, but did not reach the five until close to halfway through the 50 green flag lap event.

Central Florida resident John Sappraicone Jr. claimed the pole position, but it was another Alabama native Jeff Letson who grabbed the lead from the outside.  The green flag racing would not last long when a multiple car wreck towards the rear of the field caused the red flag to be displayed for cleanup to occur in turn two.

When the race restarted, Letson and Sappraicone battled side by side with Sappraicone maintaining the high line.  As the laps started going by Letson pulled ahead and Snowball Derby driver this weekend Bubba Pollard slipped into second.  Pollard began to pressure Letson and took the lead on lap 16; however, a caution reset the field to the previous lap’s order.

A lap into the restart, triple duty driver Augie Grill’s tire went down and his notable #112 went into the turn one wall with several drivers plowing into the turn trying to check-up initiating another red flag.

Sappraicone had another head of steam and took the lead prior to halfway as Letson’s car appeared to fade, but as the race went on Pollard powered to the inside of the start-finish line to grab the lead.  Another driver climbing through the field was 16 year old Texas native Bayley Curry, who moved into second in the closing laps.  It looked like it would be all Pollard and Curry, but a caution slowed the field with only three laps remaining.

On the controversial start, Curry showed the advantage coming to the start-finish line, while Melvin drove past Pollard as well and dove under Curry for the lead and the win into turn one.  This was Melvin’s second win this season during a high-level short track racing weekend, as he claimed the rain-shortened victory at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville during All American 400 weekend.

Pollard recovered to claim second, but when asked about the final restart he simply replied “the leader is supposed to start the race.”  Curry maintained third, and although he was somewhat dejected about not coming away with the victory it was an impressive run for the young Texan.

It was certainly an emotional night for Melvin, who was racing with a collapsed lung.  To add to that after sitting on the pole and leading laps in years past, he was able to bring home the Snowball Derby trophy that has eluded him until now.

Snowball Derby Moment (1989): Rick Crawford wins first Derby before long NASCAR career

Track action in the 1989 Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway Photo Credit: ESPN Speedworld Clip

The Snowball Derby begins in just a little under a week. With that in mind, the countdown is on to the most prestigious race in short track late model racing. We’re going to spend the next few weeks here at Racing Observer Online reliving some of the most famous moments, all leading to Snowball Derby week which begins on Nov. 28 and lasts through Dec. 2 and the 45^th Running of the Super Bowl of Short Track Late Model Racing.

This isn’t so much a Snowball Derby moment as much as a cool internet discovery.

There are a lot of classic racing gems on the internet if you’re willing to dig deep enough to find them. The following video is one such example and includes clips of Ray Evernham and Martin Truex Sr. competing in the Thanksgiving Turkey Derby Super Modified race as well as clips of some promising open wheel prospect by the name of Jeff Gordon.

Video embedding has been disabled by request but you can watch the clip by clicking here.

But we’re going to focus on the portion of the clip starting around the 2:20 mark. There you’ll see a retro-looking Five Flags Speedway, without a pit road, playing host to the 1989 Snowball Derby. Rick Crawford won that race after making a late pit stop for tires and passing Rich Bickle Jr. and Bobby Dotter – his only career victory in the event.

Joe Nemechek finished seventh in that event, good enough to clinch the All-Pro Series championship by just five points over Crawford.

Crawford eventually translated his late model success into a NASCAR career where he gained popularity in the Camping World Truck Series, winning five times and starting 336 races – a Series record, all after turning 38 years old.

He was 31 at the time of his Snowball Derby breakthrough and was just a few seasons removed from winning track championships at both Pensacola and his hometown Mobile International Speedway – a track he promoted from 2011 to 2012.

The complete 1989 Snowball Derby Results can be found after the jump.

The 45^th Annual Snowball Derby is set for Sunday Dec. 2, 2012 with the green flag dropping at approximately 2 p.m. CST.

PASS to Provide Live Updates of Season Finale and Announces 2013 Schedule

It’s time to give credit where credit is due.

The Pro All-Stars Super Late Model Series (PASS) announced a deal earlier this week to provide play-by-play coverage of this weekend’s Mason Dixon Meltdown 200 at Concord Speedway – the culmination of the PASS National and PASS South Championship season.

This comes after PASS officials defended their no social media policy amongst attending reporters, a stance that was met with harsh resistance by fans hungry for a play-by-play service. PASS decided to provide the service itself after securing a partner in NCRaceParts.com and will provide flag-to-flag updates of the race via the Cover It Live platform.

“We have so many fans in New England and with Northwest Champion Garrett Evans making the 3,000-plus mile trip from Washington State, we are getting a lot of interest in this race from fans from all over the country,” PASS President Tom Mayberry said. “So we feel that this event would be a great way to bring the excitement to fans that can’t make the trip to Concord,”

The PASS National Championship is down to just two drivers in Ben Rowe and Jay Fogleman.

Fogleman took the championship lead from Rowe two weekends ago at Caraway Speedway by winning the race and capitalizing on a frustrating day for Rowe that included an accident with Jordan Anderson and a 16^th place finish.

Fogleman enters the final race of the season with just a 15 point lead, meaning anything can and probably will happen on Saturday afternoon at Concord.

Live! coverage will begin at 8AM on Saturday November 24^th and will continue until the completion of the Mason Dixon Meltdown. Visit www.proallstarsseries.com or www.passracinglive.com to enjoy the Live! broadcast.

PASS Announces 2013 Schedule

PASS also announced its extensive 2013 schedule on Thursday, a campaign highlighted by races in Auburndale Speedway (FL), Oxford Plains Speedway (ME), South Boston Speedway (VA) and three races in Canada.

“We are very pleased to have our 2013 schedules out for the PASS North and PASS South Super Late Models at such an early date,” PASS President Tom Mayberry said.  “It is my hope that our teams of talented racers and mechanics around the country can start making plans for next year and hopefully this schedule release will help out in their search for sponsors.

“I think the PASS fans will enjoy the tracks we are going to in 2013 and will have the chance to see some really great racing at some outstanding venues.”

Noticeably missing from the preliminary schedule is the All-American 400 from Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The Sanctioning Body is quick to announce that more races could be added. So stay tuned.

The complete press release can be found after the jump.

Late race Sadler crash gives Stenhouse 20-point advantage entering final race, Logano wins at Phoenix

For the second year in a row, Phoenix International Raceway all but crushed Elliott Sadler’s hopes of becoming the Nationwide Series championship. Joey Logano won the Great Clips 200, his ninth win of the season, but this post will focus on the consequences of Sadler’s weekend and how it will likely result in back-to-back NNS championships for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

First, during qualifying Sadler drove into the dog leg way too hard and couldn’t make it stick. He pounded the wall and needed to go to a backup. He would start at the rear of the field.

Meanwhile, Stenhouse qualified near the front and competed for the win for most of the evening even Sadler worked his way near the top-10. It was an admirable effort for a driver in a backup car and Sadler should have been happy to take a 10-point deficit into the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend.

Instead, Sadler was again overanxious in the closing laps, getting into the back of Cole Whitt and collected Brendan Gaughan in a violent three-car accident in turn three — the same spot where a crash dashed his championship hopes last season.

The accident resulted in a 10-minute red flag period and set-up a green-white-checkered finish that saw the race resume without Sadler, saw Logano win and saw Stenhouse finish third and take a demanding championship lead with only one race remaining.

Sadler and Stenhouse entered the penultimate race of the season tied, and Sadler was running only 10 points back at the time of his gaffe. His accident resulted in a 23rd place finish and a 20-point deficit — and he’s taking full responsibility.

“I just got loose. It’s hard to put this into words,” Sadler said. “It’s been a long, great season and my guys deserve a better effort from me than wrecking the car on the last lap… It was 100 percent my fault. I should have done a better job for these guys and I just apologize to them for putting them in this position heading into Homestead. We don’t have a dog in the fight, but I definitely dug ourselves a hole.”

This sets up the following clinch scenarios for Stenhouse:

Stenhouse needs to finish 16th or better at Homestead to become the sixth driver in Nationwide history to win consecutive titles. If he leads a lap, he’ll need to finish just 17th or better — a safe bet given that roughly 10 cars start and park each race in 2012.

That said, we’ve seen a lot of wacky things as race fans and both Sadler and Austin Dillon (-25) have mathematical shots entering the final race. In a campaign of 33 races, that’s all Stenhouse, Sadler and Dillon can ask for.

Well…

Probably not so much for Sadler.

The aforementioned Logano won the race, followed by Brian Vickers and Stenhouse to complete the podium. Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Michael Annett, Brian Scott, Brad Keselowski and Danica Patrick rounded-out the top-10. Complete results and video can be found after the jump.

NASCAR future and a championship battle is on display in tonight’s Pro Series West race

2011 Snowball Derby champion Chase Elliott will compete in tonight’s K&N Pro Series West race from Phoenix. Photo Credit: Matt Weaver

Forget the Nationwide Series; the most fascinating enhancement race of the weekend might be the Pro Series West season finale, which is live on SPEED at 7 p.m. EST tonight.

First, there’s a dramatic championship battle at stake with young prospect Dylan Kwasniewski leading defending champion Greg Pursley by just two points. Both drivers compete for Gene Price Motorsports, leading two the two looking evenly matched all year.

The incumbent Pursley has won four times and the 17-year-old Kwasniewski has won three times. We could easily see the closest championship battle in Pro Series history end up in a victory-deciding tie once the checkered flag drops.

If qualifying is any indication, tonight’s race should produce similar parity. Kwasniewski qualified fourth with Purlsey qualifying 11^th. Cale Conley won the Coors Light 21 Means 21 pole – an ironic title considering the number of teenagers in the tonight’s field.

Then there’s the All-Star nature of tonight’s Casino Arizona 50. Thirty cars will take the green flag for tonight’s race – a more than healthy field especially by Pro Series standards. That’s due in large part to the number of Pro Series East invaders entered into tonight’s race, including pole-sitter Cale Conley, Chase Elliott, Ben Kennedy and Bryan Ortiz.

Kennedy is the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and Elliott is the son of 1988 Sprint Cup Series champion, Bill Elliott. In other words, racing royalty is stopping by Phoenix for tonight’s race – a pleasant subplot when you toss in the competitive championship battle.

Back to qualifying: Conley is on the pole, looking to win his first West Series race after capturing a few East Series trophies in a part-time role for JTG Daugherty Racing. Michael Self, a winner of two West races this season, was second quickest. He was followed by Derek Thorn, Dylan Kwasniewski and Brett Thompson. Completing the top 10 were Bryan Ortiz, Chase Elliott, Johnny Borneman, Cameron Hayley and Ben Kennedy.

The complete starting lineup can be found after the jump.

The future is here and it is on display in the Pro Series West, but will you be watching?

Brian Scott wins Phoenix Truck Series race, Four drivers have mathematic championship shot

Photo Credit: Matt Weaver

The Camping World Truck Series promises to have an exciting championship conclusion next weekend at Homestead due in large part to what happened on Friday night in the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix.

In short, Brian Scott won just his second-career Truck Series race but an accident involving James Buescher will make it a four-team battle to decide the championship once racing resumes next weekend. Buescher will enter the finale leading by just 11 points over Timothy Peters and 12 over Ty Dillion.

Even Joey Coulter has an outside shot now as he faces a 29-point margin at Homestead. Once there, anything can happen, especially judging from what happened at Phoenix.

Parker Kligerman’s championship hopes were all but dashed in an accident on lap 54, getting loose off turn one and crashing into two other trucks. He entered the race third in point but finished 27^th. He’s now fourth in the standings — virtually eliminated from the championship.

And then there’s Ty Dillon who was caught up in an accident between German Quiroga and Brendan Gaughan on lap 110. The accident was so severe that it brought out the red flag for 10 minutes, giving Dillon and his crew ample time to diagnose the problem.  And once the caution resumed, they were able to keep Dillon on the lead lap. He finished 15^th and was the primary benefactor of the Buescher accident — title leader finished in 17^th.

The race was marred by nine cautions for 46 laps with the final yellow on lap 148 making the difference in the battle for the lead. Fresh off his K&N Pro Series East championship, Kyle Larson was pulling away from Scott in the closing laps until the final caution, for Buescher, set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Scott benefitted from the front row restart and pulled away from Larson to win by just over a half of second. Scott apparently learned from a restart with Ty Dillon earlier in the race and credits the championship contender for helping beat Larson.

“I probably have to give a dozen roses to Ty Dillon,” Scott said, “because he was able to get by me on a restart earlier by holding me down and driving in deep through the corner and just keeping position on me — and I learned from it.

“Luckily I was able to come back and have the opportunity to do the same thing to somebody else, somebody that probably wasn’t expecting it. Fortunately for us, I was able to apply something I learned earlier in the race. I just went into the corner really hard, held him down and got him a little loose.”

Joey Coulter, Timothy Peters and Ryan Blaney completed the top five.

Now back to the championship battle. The final race of the season can be summed up like this. Buescher needs to finish seventh or better without leading a lap, eighth with one lap led or ninth while leading the most laps. If he cannot then it is up to Peters, Dillon and Coulter to try and capitalize.

Sounds like a lot of fun. The complete race results and a box score can be found on the other side of the jump.

Snowball Derby Moment (2007): Kyle Busch and Stephen Wallace disqualified after time trials

Snowball Derby head technical director Ricky Brooks at his tech station at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacol, Fla.        Photo Credit: Matt Weaver

The Snowball Derby begins in just a little over two weeks. With that in mind, the countdown is on to the most prestigious race in short track late model racing. We’re going to spend the next few weeks here at Racing Observer Online reliving some of the most famous moments, all leading to Snowball Derby week which begins on Nov. 28 and lasts through Dec. 2 and the 45^th Running of the Super Bowl of Short Track Late Model Racing.

In 2007 Stephen Wallace and Kyle Busch were disqualified and banned from the track after failing post qualifying technical inspection.

Both drivers had made it into the field but Busch was tossed after failing to meet the minimum height requirement on his race car. Wallace’s car was found to be underweight when crossing the scales and Speedway officials allowed Wallace a second pass-through. He only made his predicament worse when during his second attempt, he was found to have stuffed his pockets with sockets, leading to an immediate dismissal from the Speedway.

This was notable because it further legitimized the policy of head tech-man Ricky Brooks. Disqualifying Busch and Wallace, two NASCAR drivers, showed the racing world that popularity would not earn you a free pass at Five Flags Speedway.

Ironically, Busch was overheard telling officials that he would never come back. But he did, in 2009, where he won the race and silenced the critics once and for all. Both he and 2004 race winner Wallace will be back in 2012, hoping to add another Tom Dawson trophy to their collection.

The 45^th Annual Snowball Derby is set for Sunday Dec. 2, 2012 with the green flag dropping at approximately 2 p.m. CST.

Pro All-Star Series stunting their own growth with archaic media policy

The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) features some of the best Late Model action in the country but you’d never know it unless you attended one of their events.

That’s because PASS doesn’t allow their media contingent to provide live updates during their races. Instead, they want to be the sole content provider, opting to direct everyone to go to their Facebook page and receive updates there.

This is problematic on several fronts. First not everyone has a Facebook account, especially PASS’ admittedly older demographic of middle-aged men and their families.

This weekend’s PASS North/South Challenge from Caraway Speedway is taking place but you won’t hear much about it. And how do I know that?

These are the same antics that plagued October’s All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, a race now sanctioned by PASS – also a race that I attended.

Before really shooting themselves in the foot in how they handled their rain-shortened procedure and how they eventually awarded Ross Kenseth the win, they damaged their reputation even further by telling the media that they were not allowed to provide any updates via social media or electronic news feed.

When we questioned the policy, a PASS official responded by telling us that it makes sense for a sporting organization to want to be the sole supplier of their content.

The response was an overwhelming, “No, it does not,” and we proceeded to do our jobs without their consent.

Imagine the NFL without ESPN or better-yet NASCAR without SPEED and Fox Sports. Brands can’t grow without trusted experts (journalists) telling their constituents that an event is important and that they should care.

Despite its status as a big four Super Late Model race, all of my NASCAR Twitter followers had no clue what the All-American 400 was, surprising considering the level of star power represented in the field that night. And it’s easy to see why when PASS doesn’t allow media to provide content to their quality race-starved fanbase.

This was even more confounding after I visited the hallowed PASS Facebook page, which had only 1700 followers and roughly 15 race updates over four hours. And before anyone asks, of course PASS doesn’t use Twitter — that’s too complicated for them.

For a racing organization to thrive in the digital age, they have to accept the evolving social media landscape and the reporters that use them to enhance the reputation and stature of their sport.

Speed 51 is the short track source and provides the most extensive coverage of short track late model racing in the country. Think of the Bob Dillner-led group as the SPEED of short track racing and even they aren’t even allowed to provide live coverage at this weekend’s PASS event.
Instead, 51 had to give this apology to their fans — motorsport diehards who want nothing more than to support PASS.

“The Pro All-Stars Series does not allow live coverage of its events. Speed51.com would be more than happy and able to provide more exposure for all PASS competitors and series sponsors as well as help promote the series’ event prior to the race.”

But they’re not allowed. Good luck getting that level of coverage on PASS’ Facebook.

Matt Weaver is a national motorsports columnist and reporter for SB Nation. You can find his content at SB Nation NASCAR.