12/4/2017
RacinBoys
Kyle Busch claims second Snowball Derby trophy
By Chuck Corder (Pensacola, FL) -- Kyle Busch turned his glitter into gold.
Busch, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series superstar, won the 50th annual Snowball Derby and hoisted the Tom Dawson trophy Sunday at Five Flags Speedway courtesy of a perfect game plan.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kyle Busch
After leading a handful of laps just before the midway point of the 300-lap Super Late Model, Busch timed his charge to the checkered flag when it mattered most.
Running third with 22 laps remaining in the country’s most prestigious short-track race, Busch passed Late Model legend Bubba Pollard for second before getting by then-leader Jeff Choquette on Lap 284.
Busch pulled away, as Choquette and Pollard could only settle for runner-up and third-place finishes, respectively.
“Everybody dreams of winning the Snowball Derby,” said Busch, who has now twice won the Derby. “I never ran anything this big when I was coming up through the ranks. This is special. And it’s amazing the way this community supports this race.”
A standing-room-only crowd roared with delight when Busch climbed out of the window of his No. 51 SLM and marked an historic victory with an exuberant fist pump.
Official Results
50th Annual Snowball Derby
Super Late Models
300 Laps
- 51 Kyle Busch
- 9C Jeff Choquette
- 26 Bubba Pollard
- 12 Harrison Burton
- 13 Cassius Clark
- 18 Casey Roderick
- 26S Chandler Smith
- 81 Chase Purdy
- 99 Raphael Lessard
- 20 Brandon McReynolds
- 32D Tyler Dippel
- 18G Noah Gragson
- 75 Jeremy Doss
- 53J Boris Jurkovic
- 53B Cole Butcher
- 00 Anthony Cataldi
- 91 Ty Majeski
- 4 Kyle Plott
- 15 Christian Eckes
- 36 Dan Fredrickson
- 19 Kason Plott
- 5 Jerry Artuso
- 55 Spencer Davis
- 07 Corey LaJoie
- 46 Cole Rouse
- 11R David Rogers
- 14 Chris Davidson
- 01 Jake Crum
- 112 Augie Grill
- 14C Connor Okrzesik
- 5M Mason Mingus
- 48 Preston Peltier
- 9K Derek Kraus
- 2W Donnie Wilson
- 11B Logan Boyett
- 51N Stephen Nasse
- 88 Garrett Jones
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott