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Reigning Snowball Champ Elliott Headlines Five Flags Season Opener on Friday

By Chuck Corder

It’s good to be king.

The crown seems to sit perfectly steady atop Chase Elliott’s 16-year-old head.

Three months after his dramatic win at the 44th annual Snowball Derby, Elliott is enjoying the spoils of being champion of short-track’s most prestigious race.

No question the teenager’s star was already bright. Any track the wunderkind’s hauler pulls into, his last name and eye-popping skills as a wheelman make him an instant celebrity.

Winning the Snowball, though, has taken his fame to unprecedented heights.

“It’s really cool,� said Elliott, the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott. “No matter where you go — even in Phoenix and Bristol — drivers and fans come up to you and say, ‘Congrats on the Snowball.’

“We were fortunate to have success there last year and it’s always cool for folks to recognize that.�

Young Elliott returns to the scene of his proudest moment in racing Friday as Five Flags Speedway opens the season with the Pepsi Next 100. It’s the first of five Buddy’s Blizzard Series races for Super Late Models.

Super Stocks, Sportsmen and Bombers also kick off their respective seasons when the grandstands open at 5 p.m. Friday. The pits open at 1 p.m. Friday

Grandstand admission is as follows: $15 adults, $14 seniors, $12 military, $12 ages 12 thru 17, $5 children ages 6 to 11 and free for kids under 6. Pit passes are $25.

Elliott and the rest of the Super Late Models will qualify at approximately 7 p.m. with an autograph session scheduled shortly after. The Pepsi Next 100 will be the first feature of the night.

Elliott, who ran two of the five Blizzard races last season, tentatively has scheduled one more regular season race at the famed half-mile asphalt oval after Friday’s 100 lapper.

He leads a familiar list of blockbuster drivers that includes two-time Snowball winner and defending Blizzard champion Augie Grill.

D.J. VanderLey made a name for himself with his door-to-door battle against Elliott in the Snowball’s waning laps to finish runner-up. He brings the Eddie Craig No. 4 back to Five Flags, adding more flavor and intrigue to Friday.

“It’s just exciting to go back because I enjoy racing at Pensacola so much,� Elliott said. “It’s a fun weekend regardless. There’s a lotta great competition, and a lotta good cars from the Augie Grills to the Bubba Pollards.

“We run really well down there and it’s cool to be a part of race.�

As Elliott did last year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver will once again compete on NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series circuit. It brought him to the Mecca of short-track racing in Bristol, Tenn., last week.

“It’s definitely what everybody talks about,� said Elliott, who finished 10th. “It’s like your inside a little dome. It was pretty sweet.�

Elliott’s sweet life has him back in Pensacola this week.

And you can believe the king is poised to defend his throne.

 

Remaining Buddy’s Blizzard Series Season Schedule

Race No. 2: April 27

Race No. 3: April 27

Race No. 4: May 25

Race No. 5: Sept. 21

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