---

2 Nights of Racing 4 Derby Champions

Third Time the Charm for Indiana's Nester in Super Stocks Snowball Derby Title Run
Chuck Corder

Brian Nester is a quick study.
In two previous appearances at the Snowball Derby in his Modified ride, the Indiana driver didn’t qualify well. It cost him both times and he ended with a pair of thirds.

Not this year. Nester qualified second in the 32-car field, took the lead on the first of 50 laps and never gave it up to win this edition of the Modifieds Derby.

“I’ve won a lotta races, but it doesn’t get better than this,� said Nester, who boasts two other prestigious Modifieds races on his resume.
Nester was never challenged despite several restarts throughout the evening. Two-time winner Mark Chrudimsky, who was looking to defend his championship, couldn’t even put a sweat into Nester and finished second.

Late model star Augie Grill made a surprise appearance and took home third.

“We qualified bad, and that’s on me,� said Chrudimsky, who started 16th. “I had to pass a lotta cars to get to him. I just needed a little bit more.�
Perhaps, a lot more. As cars spun, collided, beat and banged, Nester watched the asphalt in front of him.

It wasn’t always pretty throughout the 50 lapper, but the best racing all night happened in laps 30 to 35.
Grill, Chrudimsky and Donald Crocker put on a brilliant show for third place between laps 30 and 32 until a caution came out. On the restart, Grill slipped by Korey Ruble for second.
It was short-lived, however. Chrudimsky made a courageous move, passing Grill moments later on the back stretch. Grill was caught off guard and had to fall in line before yielding any more positions on the track.

As the hard racing played out to chase him down, Nester flexed his muscles out front.

“The big thing here is qualifying well,� he said. “You don’t wear your tires out and it keeps you outta the fireworks.�
Lesson learned.
Modifieds Snowball Derby 50 Lapper—1. Brian Nester, 2. Mark Chrudimsky, 3. Augie Grill, 4. John Sarppraicone, 5. Bradley Riethmeye, 6. Donald Crocker, 7. Korey Ruble, 8. Brandon Howell, 9. Nathan Davis, 10. Todd Jones, 11. Jake Moore, 12. Scooter Grice, 13. Shawn Balluzo, 14. Maverick MacDonald, 15. Mike Maddox, 16. Nathan Ingersoll, 17. Brandon Curren, 18. Robret Deal, 19. Nick Martin, 20. Billy Melvin, 21. Trevor Edwards, 22. Ian Webster, 23. Kevin Peel, 24. Jason Morman, 25. Chris Cotto, 26. Eldon Zacek Jr., 27., Jeff Letson, 28. Josh Goodwin, 29. Scott Gay, 30. Chris Brown, 31. Tim Martin, 32. David Brown

Baker Bides Time, Makes Strong Late Push to Pull Off Super Stocks Snowball Derby Title
Chuck Corder

Steam billowing off a head full of perspiration, Regan Baker breathed a long sigh of relief.
So good in qualifying for the Super Stocks Snowball Derby on Friday, Baker surrendered his lead and slipped as low as fourth throughout the 50 lapper.
Turns out, he was just lying in the weeds, ready to pounce.
Baker, 45, got back out front in the final 10 laps and withstood a late rally from Bubba Winslow to write his name in the Derby record books.
“That was on purpose,� Baker said of his winning strategy. “This track is very aggressive on tires. I knew if I didn’t conserve for something at the end, my night would be done.�
Instead his night ended just as well as it began.
Baker topped his own track record in time trials with a blazing 18.733-second circuit. He was almost a full tenth of a second faster than Jessie Reid, who started second in the 23-car field.
Baker, though, yielded his position to Paul Jean and the Cordova, Ala., drive appeared to have the car to beat except for one important exception.
Jean was absolutely horrific on restarts. He eventually finished third, but spun tires and a possible clutch issue certainly cost him his shot at glory.
Jean’s woes opened the door for Baker.
“I got pretty good aggressive on the restarts,� Baker said. “That second-to-last restart, I knew I had to get to the front. I decided to put the hammer down.�
There several cautions in the final laps, including a scary sequence with 40 complete. Initially, hearts raced when a fire spread on the back straightaway, surrounding Joe Mahuron’s No. 84.
While track officials were extinguishing those flames, emergency medical personnel were called for the second consecutive night for a spectator in the infield.
After the long delay, Baker certainly seemed to be the fastest car once again on the track. With Jean’s miserable restarts, it was Baker’s recipe for Derby success.
His only problem was keeping Winslow at bay. The young, newlywed collected his second runner-up finish in as many nights. Winslow came up just short against Steve Buttrick in the Sportsmen Derby on Thursday.
“We had a really good car tonight,� Winslow said. “I gotta thank my team. If we could work on our qualifying, I might get to lead one of these things wire to wire.�
Baker paid great respect to his rival.
“That (No.) 44 was tough all night,� he said.
Fortunately, for him, though, Baker was a bit tougher.
Super Stocks Snowball Derby 50 Lapper—1. Regan Baker, 2. Bubba Winslow, 3. Paul Jean, 4. Jessie Reid, 5. Darryl Rudd, 6. Cameron Henderson, 7. Mike Moore, 8. Randy Thompson, 9. Shannon Jackson, 10. Cory Jones, 11. Dennis Thomas, 12. Steve Buttrick, 13. Johnny Greene Jr., 14. Jeremy Tassin, 15. Charlie Skipper, 16. Josh Wise, 17. Darin Matthews, 18. Joe Mahuron, 19. James Alonzo, 20. Eddie Hamrac, 21. Okie Mason, 22. Jeff Pressott, 23. Don McCay, 24. Chris Vallett

Buttrick Does it Again, Defends West Florida Coatings Sportsmen Snowball Derby Title
By Chuck Corder

The late models have Augie Grill and Bubba Pollard.
But even those two stalwarts must gawk at the accomplishments of one Steve Buttrick.
No one dominates Five Flags Speedway like the West Florida Coatings Sportsmen driver.
Buttrick successfully defended his Sportsmen Snowball Derby title, leading wire to wire late into Thursday night.
“The car was on a rail all night long,� he said. “It feels good to be able to defend this title, that’s for sure.�
There was no question Buttrick had the fast car all night. He proved that during qualifying when he not only scored the pole, but also set a new track record in the process with a 20.640-second lap.
“I didn’t realize I broke the track record by that much,� Buttrick said. “I knew it was good, but nothing like that.�
Once, the 50-lap feature began, though, Buttrick had to earn the trip back to Victory Lane. He was perfect on restarts, and he had to be because the race was marred by cautions that climbed into the double digits.
Each time Buttrick put the throttle down, runner-up Bubba Winslow was right there challenging for the lead.
Winslow made his stiffest move on the final restart with 41 laps completed.
He pinched down on Buttrick in Turn 1, but it wasn’t enough. Then over in Turn 3, Winslow banged bumpers with Buttrick. That didn’t rattled the old man’s cage either.
“I knew we had to be aggressive on the restarts,� Winslow said. “It still wasn’t enough.�
The 24-car field was whittled in half by the end of the race because of all the collisions.
A red flag was even brought at one point as emergency medical personnel attended to a track official in the grandstands.
Through it all, Buttrick’s focus wasn’t disturbed. In fact, he was as loose as he could be.
“During that red flag, I almost fell asleep,� he said. “But it’s the same thing every time: just go.�
It has been a winning formula for the last two years that’s for sure.
Sportsmen Snowball Derby 50 Lapper—1. Steve Buttrick, 2. Bubba Winslow, 3. Shanna Ard, 4. Jimmy Goodwin, 5. James Patrick, 6. Michael Couture, 7. Jared Courtney, 8. Michael Sanford, 9. Raymond Ray, 10. Johnny Greene Jr., 11. Michael Ledlow, 12. Calvin Cook, 13. Willie Kitchen, 14. Bryce Dulabhan, 15. Chad Robinson, 16. John Ward Jr., 17. Chris Nielsen, 18. Lee Reynolds, 19. Marty White, 20. Bo Resmondo, 21. Wayne Burkett, 22. Jonathan Langham, 23. Brannon Fowler, 24. Jim Pokrant

Redemption Song: Faircloth Shakes Off Tough Season Finish to Capture Butler U-Pull-it Bombers Derby Crown

Chuck Corder

Racing is all about how you finish.
Curtis Faircloth embodied that old adage during the Bombers division of the 44th annual Snowball Derby on Thursday at Five Flags Speedway.
The Sportsmen Derby was not completed at press time.
In a race that saw him start toward the back of the 24-car pack, Faircloth survived great attrition among the leaders and used a late charge to capture the thrilling 30-lap adventure.
The Pace resident held off a dogged attempt from Johnathan Day in the closing laps
“(Dang), I feel like a supermodel,� Faircloth said, wearing an ear-to-ear grin as he posed for photographs with his ecstatic family.
He had every right to take his turn on the catwalk in Victory Lane.
Faircloth’s roller-coaster season saw him ride a wave of success, winning five times early on.
All those good vibes went out the window, though, following a one-race suspension cost him most of his points.
Faircloth refused to yield his motor in June when another driver put a claim on it. Forfeiting just once race forced Faircloth to regroup and miss the second half of the season almost entirely.
He erased all those frustrations with a memorable run Thursday.
“This is the biggest accomplishment because of all the work I’ve put in myself,� Faircloth said. “I’ve had some great help from friends, but I’ve spent so much time on this car. Just ask my wife. She’s glad it’s over and so am I.�
His family and team were about the only ones that excited the season had closed.
Day, who won the season championship at his track in Mobile, was in prime position early on Thursday. He took the lead around Lap 11 following a vicious crash between then-leaders Jay Jay Day, Johnathan’s cousin, and Five Flags track champ Gary Goodwin.
Jay Jay Day, the fast qualifier, was running away with the Derby before his night ended with a loud thud.
On a restart, Goodwin shot in front of him, but immediately began to swerve all across the track. Jay Jay Day tried to check up, but it was too late. Goodwin’s loose No. 23 slammed Jay Jay Day’s No. 98 into the outside wall on the back stretch before it came to a screeching halt, pinched in the inside guard rail.
The violent collision opened the door for Johnathan Day, who wasn’t pleased that he couldn’t make his lead stick to the final lap.
“I felt like I let a lotta people down, but what are you gonna do?� he said. “(Faircloth) was real good on the restarts. We were better on the long runs. Unfortunately, we ran into lapped traffic.�
Faircloth wasn’t going to let that prevent him from the trophy and the checkered flag.
On one of the three restarts with 10 laps completed, he shot a tiny gap and went from fourth to first in the blink.
Faircloth’s lead didn’t last long because it was waved off when another caution came out before a lap was finished. Still, he served notice that nothing was getting between him and a coveted Derby title.
“I don’t know what move I made. I just drove,� Faircloth said. “I don’t think when I’m out there.�
A racer’s mentality for sure.
Bombers Snowball Derby 30 Lapper—1. Curtis Faircloth, 2. Johnathan Day, 3. Kenny Bullard, 4. Leonard Craig Jr., 5. Hunter Ward, 6. Kenny Williams, 7. Tally Warrick, 8. Jayme Corry, 9. Robert Balkum, 10. Tracy Soles, 11. Bryon Reed, 12. T.J. Thompson, 13. Gary Goodwin, 14. David Johnson, 15. Kim Bishop, 16. Wesley Barnhill, 17. Courtney Rodrigues, 18. Dave Smoot, 19. Rusty Powell Sr., 20. Brandon Burks, 21. Brian Lane, 22. Jay Jay Day, 23. Rusty Powell Jr., 24. Michael T. Nelson

Back to News