30th Annual Snowball Derby: Qualifying Report and Results
8 December 1997
Pensacola, FL -- The 30th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway
in Pensacola, FL continued today with the feature event being Pole
Qualifying for the cars entered in the Derby. Other action included the
WEAR Super Stock 75 and the Gulf Coast Modified 75.
Qualifying procedures for this year's Snowball were designed to
provide an even playing field for every driver and it produced some
surprising results. Tires were selected by the teams at the tire trailer
and mounted by the Goodyear Technicians from Bryant Automotive and then
impounded. Each car was given its qualifying tires back as they came
through Tech just before going on the track, and no one was allowed to
touch the tires until a final air pressure check was made just prior to the
qualifying run. The net effect of these procedures was to prevent anyone
from 'soaking' their tires for better grip during qualifying. Following
the qualifying run tires were again impounded and will be returned just
before the race Sunday.
In front of a large hometown crowd, 'Fast' Eddie Mercer set the
fast time of the 58 cars present for the race. Mercer turned a lap of
17.294 seconds at an average speed of 104.082 mph to barely edge out fellow
Pensacola driver Scott Carlson by .004 seconds for the Pole position on
Sunday. Rich Bickle was third fastest and Bobby Gill will start from
outside the second row. Freddie Query and Tim Sauter will start on row
three for the 330 lap race.
The top Twenty cars on time were locked into the field and the
remainder will have to take part in second round qualifying tomorrow to get
a spot in the starting lineup. There will also be a 'Last Chance' Race for
those cars who fail to make the field through time trials. Among those who
failed to qualify were Jeff Purvis, Tony Walls, Mike Garvey, Gary St Amant,
Jody Ridley, and Mike Harmon.
Harmon turned one of the fastest first laps of the evening, but as
he came out of turn four on his final lap he spun, thus negating what would
have been a very fast second lap. Wayne Niedeken Jr also spun on his
qualifying attempt while Canadian driver Lloyd Ritchie had problems as soon
as he pulled off pit road and returned to the pits. All will get a second
chance to make the race tomorrow. Three cars did not make qualifying runs
and will make an attempt to get themselves in the race through second round
qualifying or the Last Chance 100 lap race.
In the WEAR Super Stock 75, Greg Young led from start to finish to
capture the win. Sammy McMullen, a previous winner of the event, finished
second with Howard Penton in third.
The Gulf Coast Modified 75 saw early leader Steve Clark involved in
a melee at the halfway point that reshuffled the front four by taking out
second and third place runners Jeremy Pate and Robbie Kent. Pate and Kent
were able to continue, with Pate able to stay on the lead lap despite a pit
stop for minor repairs. Bill Campbell of Robertsdale, AL inherited the lead
during the fray and led the remaining laps to take the win. Steve Christman
of Ft Wayne, IN was second with Pensacola's Pate coming back through the
field to finish third. Tim Martin of Baton Rouge, LA took fourth and Billy
Melvin of Birmingham, AL rounded out the top five.
On tap for tomorrow is Qualifying for the Pete Moore 100 for the
'Saturday Night' Late Models, second round qualifying for the Snowball and
a 'Last Chance' race for the Pete Moore Late Models. Following that, the
8th Annual Pete Moore LM 100 will be run with a 100 lap 'Last Chance' race
for the Snowball cars as the final event of the evening.
Five Flags Speedway --
Qualifying results for the
30th Annual Snowball Derby,
Super Late Models:
Ps.No. Driver, Car Lap Time M.P.H.
-- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- -------- -------
1 72 Eddie Mercer Eddie Mercer Auto/Fast Eddies Chev 0:17.294 104.082
2 54 Scott Carlson Advance Construction/Willie Rest Chev 0:17.298 104.058
3 45 Rich Bickle Terminal Trucking Chev 0:17.360 103.687
4 5 Bobby Gill Terminal Trucking Chev 0:17.435 103.241
5 8 Freddie Query W.J. Plemons Ins/Hamner Engines Chev 0:17.452 103.140
6 3 Tim Sauter Build-A-Mold/Trimplas Chev 0:17.452 103.140
7 52 Scott Hansen AFCO/Victor Ford Ford 0:17.472 103.022
8 42 Brian Ross Ultra Tech/Royal Purple/Wade ConsChev 0:17.517 102.757
9 14 Rick Crawford Hogan Lumber/Circle bar Motel Chev 0:17.522 102.728
10 53 Robert Burroughs Burroughs Motorsports Chev 0:17.570 102.447
11 96 Greg Davidson W Side Performance/Davinci Carbs Chev 0:17.598 102.284
12 1 Tracy Goodson Lifestyle Vinyl/Southern LightninChev 0:17.602 102.261
13 F97 Red Farmer K.C. Racing/Long Lewis Ford Chev 0:17.605 102.244
14 44 Derrick Gilchrist Drinkard Litho/Emerald Coast Chev 0:17.610 102.215
15 84 Dave Mader III Hamner Engines/BRJ Racecars Chev 0:17.613 102.197
16 11 David Rogers TM Ranch/RC Dunn Chev 0:17.657 101.943
17 111 Donald Long Group III Asphalt/Sam's Seafood Chev 0:17.669 101.873
18 1Y Keith Cahela Y-Mart/Big Ed's/Boaz Tax Serv Chev 0:17.705 101.666
19 25 Scott Wimmer Lee Ceramic Tile/Kipley Perf Chev 0:17.715 101.609
20 58 Darrell Brown Gr.American Race Car/Veterans OilChev 0:17.722 101.569
21 51 Jeff Purvis Victor Ford/Phoenix Construction Ford 0:17.733 101.506
22 41 Mark Gerke Beach Bull/Coastal Chev 0:17.757 101.368
23 83 Joey Clanton Southern Linc/Racing Radios Chev 0:17.761 101.346
24 81 Tony Walls Chandeleur Homes/Walls Accessory Chev 0:17.795 101.152
25 77 Tom Hernly Sawyers Pontiac/Miller Racing Chev 0:17.795 101.152
26 40 Mike Garvey Coors Light/AFCO Chev 0:17.799 101.129
27 60 Mike Arnold Strickland Tire/AMC Trailers Chev 0:17.807 101.084
28 24 Mike Harmon Lonesome PineTimber/S&N Products Pont 0:17.820 101.010
29 0 Steven Christian Bell South/Clements Engines Chev 0:17.833 100.936
30 7 Gary St Amant Wynns/Birk Transfer Chev 0:17.860 100.784
31 124 Don Mahaffey Jr Affordable Auto Parts Chev 0:17.880 100.671
32 71 Harold Fair Jr Left Hander/VP Fuel/Lane Auto Chev 0:17.888 100.626
33 59 John Wilkinson III Quality Lube/City Auto/Hamner Chev 0:17.903 100.542
34 92 Ron McDonald Eddie mercer Auto/Phoenix Const Chev 0:17.903 100.542
35 24 Keith English Eagle Tire Serv/Matthews Roofing Chev 0:17.965 100.195
36 61 Matt Hagens Eagle Creek Aviation/Port City Chev 0:18.005 99.972
37 81 Tim Bryant Harrington Elec/P'Cola Auto BrokrChev 0:18.012 99.933
38 98 Jody Ridley El Puente/Pro Line Door Ford 0:18.038 99.789
39 23 Steve Allison Allison & Assoc/Castens Race ProdChev 0:18.060 99.668
40 65 Andy Kirby Bob Williams Auto/S&H Chrome Chev 0:18.060 99.668
41 49 Dan Ford Ford Roofing/Buddy Head Trucking Chev 0:18.075 99.585
42 15 Ricky Brooks Butler Auto/MAACO/Sunoco Chev 0:18.158 99.130
43 03 Nevin Jenkins Futronics Chev 0:18.190 98.955
44 40 Bubba Naumann NECO Trucking Chev 0:18.216 98.814
45 711 Johnny Brazier Frogg Toggs/Moody Monday's Ford 0:18.267 98.538
46 52 Ronnie Couture Pensacola Tractor/Hicks Ent. Chev 0:18.340 98.146
47 94 Brett Smith Stanley Smith Drywall Chev 0:18.500 97.297
48 17 Billy Cantey Discount Auto Parts Chev 0:18.503 97.282
49 84 Clifford Stricklin Grahams Auto Sales/R&H Whsl Chev 0:18.505 97.271
50 91h Kevin Horton Wattyl Paint/Magbee Const Chev 0:18.580 96.878
51 90 Homer Heflin Heflin Motorsports Chev 0:19.557 92.039
52 60 John Silverthorne Reher Morrison Race Engines Chev 0:19.592 91.874
Track Length : 0.5000 Miles
John Kaiser -- The Auto Channel