PENSACOLA, Fla. – Snowball Derby Sunday at Five Flags Speedway (Dec. 3) started with plenty of NASCAR flavor to go around.
It didn’t end that way. Yes, the eventual race winner was one Ty Majeski, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular. But he was also a super late model regular this season as the now two-time Derby winner also secured an ASA national late model crown earlier this season.
Outside of Majeski, the crown jewel of asphalt super late model racing proved to be a brutal mistress, with NASCAR’s regulars finding trouble left and right.
The last chance qualifier race didn’t wait long to take its toll. An accordion wreck on the first lap saw Truck Series regular Jake Garcia crashed before he even had a shot at forward progress. His short race led to a short response when asked about the incident.
The defining moment of the LCQ came later and again involved rising NASCAR talent. Battling for a transfer spot, contact between pending NASCAR Cup Series regular Carson Hocevar and NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor Sammy Smith ended Sunday’s Derby hopes for both drivers, as neither could make forward progress with their damaged cars following the incident.
Fast forward to Sunday’s feature and the bad luck continued. Cup Series regular Ryan Preece proved unable to recover from front end damage received in an early incident and parked for good around lap 165.
It was a less dramatic exit than the one endured by fellow Cup competitors William Byron and Erik Jones, who both saw top-10 performances evaporate when they were caught up in the lap 282 Big One. It was a wreck that was triggered by a missed shift from former Cup Series regular Noah Gragson.
The wreck capped an eventful feature race for Jones, who brought out the yellow flag on lap 278 after making contact with ARCA Menards Series driver Luke Fenhaus and sending him spinning. Fenhaus had some pointed comments for Jones after Sunday’s race.
As for Jones, being involved in the late incidents created a disappointing end to what had been an optimistic day. Jones had spoken to Frontstretch earlier about his appreciation for the Derby, an event that helped launch his big-time racing career after Jones bested Kyle Busch to win the 2012 edition of the event.
One other notable NASCAR name was at least able to make it to the finish. Former Truck Series champion Johnny Sauter finished 14th.
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