It’s somewhat rare for a track to host Super Late Models as one of its yearly divisions, but one track’s SLM class stands out above the rest by a significant margin – the historic Five Flags Speedway.
The Florida short track is the home of the Blizzard Series, a championship consisting of four SLM races throughout the year. These events have been brought to the forefront of the SLM scene, with big ramifications that crescendo to the discipline’s biggest event of the year: the illustrious Snowball Derby.
For starters, the Blizzard Series champion is locked into the Snowball Derby field. An automatic bid to the biggest race on the SLM calendar is a big enough prize in itself, but there’s more to it than just that.
The same starting provisional that could go to the Blizzard Series champion could theoretically go to any competitor who finishes in the top ten in Blizzard Series points. The highest-finishing competitor in Blizzard Series points who does not qualify for the Snowball Derby in time trials gets the provisional, leaving a last-ditch opportunity for any semi-successful Blizzard Series driver.
The provisional almost always becomes a factor come Snowball Derby qualifying day in December. With the country’s elite SLM competitors in town and NASCAR stars joining in on the fun each December, locking yourself into the top 30 on qualifying day can prove to be a tall task. Local competitors get two options to jump the queue if they can’t manage the pace – the Blizzard Series provision or a similar provision for the highest possible candidate in Southern Super Series points.
But while the Blizzard Series is manageable, the 15-race-long Southern Super Series schedule can be intimidating to run, especially for racers in other parts of the country aside from the deep south. Running four races is more doable. Just ask 2023 Blizzard Series champion Jeremy Doss.
Doss and his team that year, Bob Lyon Racing, were based out of California. Coming all the way from the west coast, the crew managed to secure the Blizzard Series championship and the spoils that came with it.
While prize packages are varied each year, with different sponsors coming and going, it’s a usual occurrence for the Blizzard Series champion to receive some sort of prize in addition to the guaranteed Snowball Derby starting spot.
For Doss in 2023, that prize came in many forms. The Californian was awarded with a plethora of benefits for his success, with the most notable prizes including a free private test session prior to Derby weekend, a Five Star Bodies reskin kit, free Snowball Derby registration, and four sets of Hoosier Racing Tires.
While there is no set prize for Blizzard Series champions each year, there’s often something to aid in their aspiration for Snowball Derby success. The Blizzard Series has also proven to be monumentous for its competitors in events aside from the Snowball Derby.
In 2022, a special opportunity presented itself for Blizzard Series competitors, with the best competitor over a doubleheader weekend getting a starting spot in that year’s Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) race at Five Flags. That driver ended up being SLM star Bubba Pollard, who went on to finish in second place in the SRX event behind four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves.
So far in 2025, the Blizzard Series has been the Cole Butcher show. The wheelman has piloted his Wilson Motorsports machine to three Blizzard Series victories, looking to complete the clean sweep when the series returns for its fourth and final event in September.
While Butcher’s speed has proven to be largely unmatched this year, a lot of uncertainty remains between now and September. That’s not even mentioning the unpredictability of the Snowball Derby in December.
Butcher’s pursuit of the Blizzard Series championship could prove to be vital come December. The Canadian could make history by sweeping all four Blizzard races, but the potential consequences of that sweep could prove to be more impactful.
A good Blizzard series campaign could possibly be the only thing that locks Butcher (or any other competitor) into the most prestigious SLM race in the country, showing just how crucial and important the Blizzard Series has proven to be.
We don’t know what the rest of 2025 has in store for Butcher or anyone else in the Super Late Model landscape, but it would be foolish to think that the Blizzard Series won’t play a significant factor in the year’s conclusion.