Keelan Harvick wins Snowflake 125 in early morning hours at Five Flags (Pensacola, FL)

PENSACOLA, FL – For days, race teams, drivers and fans have waited out the weather as Mother Nature refused to let up in Pensacola. Finally, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Keelan Harvick took home the Allen Turner Snowflake 125 win at Five Flags Speedway. Harvick became the youngest winner in event history in his first attempt at the race.

“It’s really special,” Harvick told Matt Weaver. “Like I said, just to win it for my guys that put in a lot of hours for me to be able to do this. All my family, my sponsors, it just wouldn’t be possible without all of them.”

The day was set to start around 12:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, with Snowball Derby qualifying up first on the docket. After persistent rain throughout the afternoon pushed Snowball qualifying festivities well into the evening, Pro Late Model drivers were set up with a late night for their Snowflake portion of the day.

After 59 cars attempted to qualify, 30 were locked-in in on time with four more coming from a pair of 20-lap Snowflake LCQ’s (two per LCQ), and the final three spots handed out via provisional.

The Snowflake went green just past 1:30 a.m. CT Sunday morning, with polesitter Luke Baldwin leading the field to green. Defending Snowball Derby winner Kaden Honeycutt quickly jumped out to the early lead, seemingly having the dominant car early in the running. Meanwhile, Harvick quickly began working through the field after qualifying down in 15th. Harvick cracked the top-five for the first time on lap 39 and continued his march forward from there.

At the front, Honeycutt continued to lead all the way to the mid-race break at lap 75. The mid-section of the race was marred by several multi-car accidents both before, and after the halfway break that took out several big names including Jade Avedisian and Casey Roderick.

Just past halfway, Harvick stole the lead away from Honeycutt on a lap 78, but gave the lead right back after a mistake on a restart shortly after. While Harvick faltered, Honeycutt briefly reassumed the lead before Tristan McKee took the top spot away on lap 83. McKee held that spot while Harvick worked from fifth back to the rear bumper of the No. 7, eventually muscling his way to the inside of McKee in turn one with just 25 laps to go.

Harvick led the final 25 circuits, holding the field at bay on a late race restart to secure the first Five Flags Speedway win of his career.

With the checkered flag flying right around 3:30 a.m. CT, fans, teams and many drivers now have just a few short hours to rest up before turning around and facing the biggest race in pavement short track racing, the 58th Snowball Derby.

025 Snowflake 125 results (NOTE: Duplicate numbers are scored by their computer with a letter next to their car, first letter of their surname most likely; electronic scoring knows which is which) Position Car Number Driver 1 62H Keelan Harvick 2 7 Tristan McKee 3 54 Kaden Honeycutt 4 25 Isaac Kitzmiller 5 51 Luke Baldwin 6 35 Luke Yarborough 7 00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr 8 24B Gabe Brown 9 50 Evan Szotko 10 44 Conner Jones 11 99 Craig Slaunwhite 12 20 Sylas Ripley 13 29 Cole Robie 14 11 Dylan Cappello 15 54 Jarrett Butcher 16 67 Colin Allman 17 54 Matthew Craig 18 6 Brandon Lopez 19 42 Alex Labbe 20 15 Jace Hale 21 29 Dylan Zampa 22 96 Spencer Davis 23 24A Jade Avedisian 24 62R Casey Roderick 25 1 Kasey Kleyn 26 91 Jim Wall 27 68 Aiden Potter 28 33 Albert Francis 29 18 Jake Finch 30 55 Haeden Plybon 31 22 Chase Burgeson 32 46 Cole Williams 33 82 Rafe Slate 34 27 Vito Cancilla 35 67 Zack Dixon 36 51 Stephen Nasse 37 33 Dustin Smith

Thirteen-year old Keelan Harvick wins the Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 125 Pro Late Models at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. Technically an "outlaw" Pro Late Model (reduced power) race, Harvick outlasted a field including this season's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finalist Kaden Honeycutt (who won last year's Snowball Derby), who will be assigned to the 2025 champion Tricon Garage No. 11 Toyota team in 2026 in addition signed to a Toyota works driver deal.

The 100 green flag lap Pro Late Model race was extended to 125 green flag laps in 2025. The green flag waved at 1:30 AM CT and finished just after 3:24 AM CT.

Harvick surpasses Hunter Robbins, 14 when he won the Snowflake 20 years ago, and now husband of 2010 Snowball Derby winner Joanna Long, as the youngest winner of the Snowflake. The driver of the No. 62H Hunt Brothers Pizza Holden Commodore for Rackley Roofing Willie Allen Racing passed Tristan McKee, a developmental driver for TWG Global's Spire Motorsports, who was looking to make it three-for-three in the past seven days (Supercars championship with WAU, Formula E Sao Paulo race win with Andretti Global Saturday morning, and this for Spire), on Lap 101 of the 125 green flag lap race, spoliling TWG's attempt for domination, fending off another restart on Lap 116 with McKee and Honeycutt. No safety car laps count.

TWG holdings also include the Dodgers, Lakers, Sparks,

Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida held a 100 lap Late Model race with many of NASCAR’s top stars in an independent race (not sanctioned by NASCAR) on December 25, 1968. It paid a gold backed $1,000 to win. Petty and Allison (Bobby and Donnie) and timeless Charles “Red” Farmer (NHOF) tried but local driver Wayne Niedecken beat the stars in the Snowball Derby. Modified paid $5,000 as the big draw. Raymond Hassler (who was an independent Cup driver tragically killed at the 1972 Duels, codriver for Charlie Glotzbach in his 1971 Bristol winner that set a 500 lap Bristol race record that was intact until Kyle Larson broke it in 2024) won the 1969 race.

The Snowball became a 200 lap race in 1970. Ed Howe, a Michigan short tracker, won in 1972 when one driver didn’t keep track of lap scoring and let him by when that driver thought he was leading. Hand scoring proved wrong for that driver. Howe won with his chassis (they build SLM and TA2 chassis today).

In 1975, 107 cars battles for 50 grid spots. Ronnie Sanders and Bobby Allison (first to win pole with a 100 mph lap) had a duel that led to Sanders’ arrest. With 96 of 200 laps under the safety car, the track made the 1976 race 200 green flag laps only. Two Hall of Famers battles - Jaws and Handsome Harry. Jaws won. And looked to repeat in 1977 at 250 laps (all count), the track gave him the trophy but it was rechecked later and Ronnie Sanders won instead. The trophy has remained at Mr. Waltrip’s office (at his dealership).

Butch Lindley won in 1984 with a V6 engine. The rest of the top five were Butch Miller, Rusty Wallace, Jody Ridley and Dick Trickle, all four NASCAR national series winners. Lindley would be killed in a crash the ensuing April when his head struck the wall in a Bradenton crash that his Cup crew chief Larry McReynolds said was caused when he lead Lap 125 of 125 but with a last five must be green rule was extended. His son Mardy is the JR Motorsports crew chief. The race was part of a regional touring series, Bob Harmon’s All Pro Super Series.

In 1988, the Snowball went to 300 laps. In 1990, it became 300 plus edition. As the 23rd Snowball. It was 323 laps but the five lap rule (last five must be green, race will be extended) which pushed it to 332 laps.

The 25th race in 1992 (325 laps) went back to an outlaw race. The 1995 race was a USAR Hooters Late Model (now CARS Late Model). The 1997 race (30th) was the last with the 300 plus year. All races since 1998 are 300 laps with the must finish final two laps under green.

Three Cup champions and two Truck champions have won. Only Kyle Busch of the three 2025 Cup drivers qualified (Erik Jones and Noah Gragson failed).

Since the feature is called the Snowball, the support race is called the Snowflake since 1999. The idea was local Late Model drivers who did not want to race the big race had their own feature. Makes sense now with the name.

Hahahaha...well. I know very little about car racing below the surface-thank you for taking the time and effort to educate me!

I mean it-there are people who might take extreme umbrage at a frivolous comment like mine, but you took the opportunity to spread the lore of something I can tell you have great interest in.

That is refreshing...:)

I have a friend who drag races Model T “dragsters”, and I have been exposed to that world, and found it fascinating and fun. He has been involved for some years with a race called “The Race of Gentlemen” (T.R.O.G.) and he took me to an event recently which had many of the same people...

I thought the spectrum of people was great (same thing I hear about NASCAR) These people were enthusiastic, open, and very welcoming. If I saw people working on a car in a booth, they would often engage conversationally if you paused to watch as they worked, answered questions, etc. I am looking forward to going to the main event, which is usually held annually on a beach at the New Jersey shore.

Funny. I went my whole life without knowing much about car racing, and my good friend (who I get to spend more time with now that I am retired) and I had nearly an hour-long conversation on Hudson Hornets as we did some milling work in his friend’s garage filled with hot rods in various states of restoration. All I knew of Hudson Hornets was from the animated feature “Cars”, and I never thought it had much of a connection to anything real (Except the name of the car) but he is an authority on Hudson Hornets, as he has two of them completely restored to the version they had in the cartoon.

He gave me the history of that type of car, how it did, in a meteoric rise to the top, rule the Stock Car circuit for a few short years until new technology came along that made it non-competitive. He would show me an engine, point out the features, then take me to another one, and show the change in the V8 technology that caused the Hudson Hornet’s fall from the top.

It was fascinating.

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