PENSACOLA, Fla. — Chase Purdy isn’t certain this weekend’s 51st annual Snowball Derby will be his final sendoff behind the wheel of a race car, but he’s at peace with the notion if it turns out to be the case.
Purdy, who raced full time for MDM Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards this year and also made select NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, told SPEED SPORT during Snowball Derby inspection day on Wednesday that “this might just be my retirement race.
“I don’t know for sure,” Purdy admitted. “I know that right now, I have no plans to be in a race car next year. Whether that means this is the last one … we’ll see where life goes from here, I guess. But I’ve prepared for it. I’ve known for a couple of months that this might be it.”
Purdy will drive for Anthony Campi Racing in the team’s familiar No. 81 entry for both the Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100 on Saturday and the Snowball Derby on Sunday. He’s had success with the team, winning the ARCA Midwest Tour Dixieland 250 earlier this season in his series debut.
His ARCA and Truck Series efforts came with a few more growing pains and struggles through the year. Purdy earned 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 20 ARCA starts, but was never able to break into victory lane, while he posted a best Truck Series run of 13th at Arizona’s ISM Raceway on Nov. 9.
Like many young racers trying to break into the upper levels of the sport, Purdy noted the financial strain of competing at a high level has been a factor in his decision to step out of the driver’s seat.
“It’s so expensive to do everything right in this sport. It’s tough,” Purdy admitted. “It’s taken a lot to get to this point and sometimes, decisions like this do come, even if they aren’t easy to make.”
The Meridian, Miss., teenager noted that he’s tried not to think about the fact Sunday’s race might be the final time he climbs behind the wheel of a race car, instead focusing on the excitement and energy of returning to the one of biggest weeks of late model racing in the country.
“Man, I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back at the Derby,” Purdy smiled. “I feel like we have two really good race cars and I’m really looking forward to getting on the track this week and getting everything right so that hopefully, we can contend to win both the Snowflake 100 and the Derby.
“It is a little bittersweet, though. I’ve been trying not to think of it like the end and just focus on running the race, but it is there in the back of your mind,” he added. “It’ll sink in more, I think, after I get out of the car at the end of the weekend. We’re here to have fun, though, and chase a couple victories.”
Purdy pointed out there would be no sweeter way to potentially close out the racing chapter of his life than by kissing the snowball on the Tom Dawson Memorial Trophy after 300 laps on Sunday night.
“That would be the ultimate,” said Purdy of grabbing a Snowball Derby victory. “It would be a huge win, easily one of the biggest that I’ve ever had, for sure.”
Regardless of what the future holds for him, Purdy noted he’ll likely still be around the race track — he just might not have a driver’s suit and helmet on going forward.
“I’ll still be here and there,” he said. “It might just be different going forward, but I love racing. That won’t change.”
