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.