---

Third Time the Charm? Ragan Takes Pole for 45th Annual Snowball Derby

By Chuck Corder

David Ragan seems to be straightening out his learning curve at Five Flags Speedway.

In two previous trips to Pensacola for the annual Snowball Derby, the NASCAR veteran didn’t crack the top 15 and watched another driver celebrate in Victory Lane.

Ragan took a giant leap closer to short-track racing’s most prestigious prize by grabbing the pole for the 45th running of the 300-lap Super Late Model race at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Georgia native, who now lives in Concord, N.C., turned a fast time of 16.485 seconds to better 59 other drivers during Friday night’s qualifying.

“It’s just gratifying to come down and run with the best of the best,� said Ragan, whose run was two-tenths off the track record (16.290) set by Bubba Pollard during last year’s qualifying.

“It gets harder on Sunday.�

He knows that all-too well. Ragan finished 27th in his first appearance at the 2010 Derby when hometown driver Johanna Long hoisted the Tom Dawson trophy on a memorable Sunday.

Last year, he finished a distant18th while watching Chase Elliott outduel D.J. VanderLey for the checkered flag.

“The first two (trips), I learned a lot and I have a good feeling we’re getting better and better,� Ragan said. “We had some good preparation before we got down here.�

Ragan and 29 others punched their tickets into the Derby while another 27 were left to compete in Saturday’s last-chance races, which begin approximately at 4 p.m.

Steven Wallace, the son of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace, was outside the top 30, but will likely avoid any anxious moments Saturday and use his provisional as a past champion (2004) to slip into Sunday.

Mike Garvey and Logan Boyett, a pair of local drivers, earned two other provisional spots by posting top-10 finishes in the Blizzard Series points standings during the regular season.

Long, who recently completed an impressive rookie season in the Nationwide Series, seemed content with her qualifying run (21st).

“We’re in the race, and that was the main thing,� she said. “There’s a lotta good guys here, so we feel fortunate to be in the race. My guys gave me a good piece to qualify in.

“We’ve got a little work to do, but we should be good.�

Elliott the defending champion hopes to be in prime position to repeat after posting a top-five lap.

The 17-year-old son of “Million Dollar� Bill Elliott is looking to become the first driver to win back-to-back Snowballs since Augie Grill did it in 2007-08.

Speaking of Grill, who qualified 13th on Friday, the fan favorite is eyeing more history tonight with a second consecutive Snowflake 100 title for the Pro Late Models tonight.

Bubba Pollard, another familiar face at Five Flags, had a fast lap of 16.592 seconds that was good enough for seventh.

But Pollard, who won the Blizzard Series track championship this season, knows the hard part begins Sunday.

“I’m glad it’s over with,� he said of qualifying. “The biggest thing is to put yourself in the top 10 and try to stay outta trouble. That was a good start to a long weekend.�

 

45t Annual Snowball Derby

Pole Qualifying Results
Super Late Models
Friday at Five Flags Speedway

(Top 30 are in; *earned past champion provisional; ^earned 2012 Blizzard Series provisional)

1	77	David Ragan	16.485
2	8	John Hunter Nemechek	16.524
3	41R	T.J. Reaid	16.535
4	51	Kyle Busch	16.578
5	9	Chase Elliott	16.579
6	4	Jeremy Pate	16.587
7	26	Bubba Pollard	16.592
8	98	Daniel Hemric	16.623
9	4J	Erik Jones	16.630
10	51N	Stephen Nasse	16.631
11	0	Brad Rogers	16.644
12	22	Hunter Robbins	16.651
13	49	Augie Grill	16.657
14	29C	Jeff Choquette	16.662
15	45	Dwayne Buggay	16.673
16	77	Chuck Barnes Jr	16.677
17	71	Kyle Benjamin	16.685
18	96	Ben Kennedy	16.695
19	84	Clay Alexander	16.703
20	10D	Steve Dorer	16.721
21	10	Johanna Long	16.723
22	99S	Casey Smith	16.745
23	5	Nelson Piquet Jr	16.748
24	2W	Donnie Wilson	16.755
25	25	Ross Kenseth	16.765
26	2	D.J. Vanderley	16.770
27	11	David Rogers	16.793
28	41	Chris Davidson	16.797
29	21J	Kyle Jones	16.802
30	36	Grant Enfinger	16.808
31	20	Brian Campbell	16.810
32	1	^Mike Garvey	16.811
33	10K	Paul Kelley	16.830
34	29T	Austin Theriault	16.835
35	83	Landon Cassill	16.844
36	47	Allen Karnes	16.845
37	1MC	Stephan McCurley	16.850
38	42	Dennis Prunty	16.851
39	56F	A.J. Frank	16.857
40	29B	Anderson Bowen	16.858
41	10B	Danny Bagwell	16.860
42	11	^Logan Boyett	16.862
43	23G	Dalton Grindle	16.877
44	66	*Steven Wallace	16.921
45	67	Jeff Fultz	16.932
46	31	Kyle Grissom	16.937
47	73	Cole Powell	16.938
48	43	Dennis Schoenfeld	16.938
49	99	Wayne Niedecken Jr.	16.956
50	29	Spencer Davis	16.957
51	21	Scott Carlson	16.981
52	1M	Tim Martin	17.055
53	39	Kenzie Ruston	17.058
54	88	Roger Reuse	17.064
55	O2	Matt Smith	17.100
56	7	Erik Darnell	17.103
57	9W	Brandon Watson	17.170
58	811	Mason Mingus	17.218
59	17	Chuck Tuck	17.242
60	92	Ron McDonald	17.773

Back to News