PENSACOLA, Fla. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Photo courtesy Bubba Pollard Racing archives —
By the time the checkered flag dropped on the 2014 Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100, the thought likely in everyone’s mind was — “It’s finally over.”
After a rain delay during qualifying and an extended Pro Truck feature pushed the start of the Pro Late Model classic beyond 3 a.m. local time, Bubba Pollard methodically sliced his way through the field and passed John Hunter Nemechek inside of the final 15 laps and drove away to his first career Snowflake 100 victory after coming close several times in the prestigious event.
Pollard led 14 of the race’s 100 laps en route to the win, which came just before 4:30 a.m. local time.
Nemechek held on to finish second, with Pro Late Model standout Garrett Jones driving from shotgun on the field — 36th starting position — to complete the podium in third.
Harrison Burton and Dillon Oliver rounded out the top five, with pre-race favorite Christopher Bell coming home sixth in his Kyle Busch Motorsports entry.
Augie Grill, who set a new Pro Late Model track record (16.259 seconds) in qualifying, started on the pole and led the first 72 laps of the event, ran into problems late in the going and retired from the race — completing just 77 circuits before his night officially ended.
Just before the Snowflake 100 kicked off, the Super Late Models took to the pavement for the last chance qualifier for Sunday’s 47th Annual Snowball Derby, where Travis Braden dominated the 50-lap event and claimed what looked to be one of the four transfer spots into the Derby. However, Braden was disqualified during post-race technical inspection for a left side weight infraction, handing the LCQ victory to the aforementioned Garrett Jones.
The 15-year-old, along with ARCA Midwest Tour champion Ty Majeski, former Legends car standout Kyle Plott and PASS South competitor Cole Timm, advanced to the Snowball Derby and will make up positions 31-34 on the grid. Anderson Bowen (Southern Super Series), David Rogers (Blizzard Series) and Clay Rogers (past event champion) fill out the 37-car field as provisionals.
With the Snowflake 100 in the books, the focus shifts to the 47th Annual Snowball Derby — kicking off at 3 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. local time.
