Stephen Nasse No Longer Winless At The Snowball Derby; Secures Snowflake 100 Title

Story By: CHUCK CORDER / 5 FLAG SPEEDWAY – PENSACOLA, FL – Stephen Nasse body slammed the 1,000-pound gorilla.

Nasse had been snakebitten throughout his 13 years of coming down to Five Flags Speedway and competing during Snowball Derby week. In both the Snowflake 100 and the Derby itself, the decorated Late Model driver had always experienced some type of heartbreak.

Not on Saturday night at the 57th annual Snowball Derby presented by FloSports. Nasse drove his patented long-run style to perfection and captured his first career Allen Turner Hyundai Snowflake 100.

The central Florida native delivered a series of fist pumps and had a giant smile plastered across his face as he came to a stop in Victory Lane.

“They’re not taking this one away from me,” Nasse joked. “I’m glad to come home with a win for this team. I’m so proud of my dad and everybody that puts a hand on this racecar. I’ve got so many good people who work with me. I’m speechless.”

The group has been right by their driver’s side at Pensacola’s high banks when the chips didn’t fall his way. Nasse endured the pain of losing out on a Derby victory in 2019 when he was disqualified for a equipment infraction.

The next year, an apparent Snowflake 100 win was stripped from him for “avoidable contact” with Bubba Pollard as the pair raced for the checkered flag with the white flag out.

All those (and other) disappointments made Saturday night’s feat feel sweeter. Dad Jeff Nasse’s left leg was bouncing with enough nervous energy like pistons in an engine as the final laps ticked off and Nasse continued to lead.

What made the victory even more special is that Nasse started 24th in the 36-car field.

“I love to put on a show,” Nasse said. “This car is super-fast everywhere we go, but we especially love this car here.”

Matt Craig started second and finished there, but not before spending almost 50 laps as the leader during the first half of the 100-lapper.

“We were really good firing off,” Craig said. “Maybe I pushed the right front too soon. But you’ve gotta do all you can do to win this race.”

Among a slew of heavy hitters, teenager Seth Christensen impressed with a third-place finish.

“This was so much fun,” an elated Christensen said. “The guys in front of me have won more races than I’ve been in. It’s just been a dream to be a part of this.”

It was the most competitive Snowflake 100 in Derby history with six lead changes. Aggressive driving to reach Pro Late Model’s mountaintop caused a bevy of cautions. There were eight total yellows. Two of those were reds, one of which included patching up a hole on the entrance of Turn 3. A chunk of the track jostled free from the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Nasse finally pulled ahead of Craig for good on Lap 64 after the pair had a two-lap tussle for the lead. He quickly opened it up and built a nearly 1.5-second lead in the final 10 laps.

Pro Late Models

Allen Turner Allen Turner Snowflake 100 (100 Laps): 1. 51N-Stephen Nasse[24]; 2. 54C-Matt Craig[2]; 3. 45-Seth Christensen[8]; 4. 29-Spencer Davis[11]; 5. 46-Cole Williams[9]; 6. 69H-Michael Hinde[19]; 7. 33-Dustin Smith[25]; 8. 81-Carson Brown[3]; 9. 67A-Colin Allman[23]; 10. 2-John Bolen[29]; 11. 11C-Dylan Cappello[1]; 12. 47H-Kaden Honeycutt[4]; 13. 15-TJ DeCaire[12]; 14. 54N-Nick Loden[15]; 15. 67K-Zack Dixon[7]; 16. 6-Brandon Lopez[34]; 17. 54B-Jarrett Butcher[20]; 18. 69B-Travis Braden[26]; 19. 14-Chase Pinsonneault[22]; 20. 51B-Anthony Bello[33]; 21. (DNF) 62-Casey Roderick[10]; 22. (DNF) 44-Conner Jones[18]; 23. (DNF) 50-Jett Noland[31]; 24. (DNF) 7-Luke Baldwin[16]; 25. (DNF) 5M-Jeremy Miller[27]; 26. (DNF) 43-Augie Grill[5]; 27. (DNF) 00R-Jimmy Renfrew Jr[17]; 28. (DNF) 17-Hudson Bulger[30]; 29. (DNF) 25R-Sylas Ripley[32]; 30. (DNF) 55-George Phillips[36]; 31. (DNF) 16-Derek Thorn[14]; 32. (DNF) 91-Jim Wall[35]; 33. (DNF) 18-Jake Finch[6]; 34. (DNF) 5C-Vito Cancilla[21]; 35. (DNF) 407-Jason Vail[13]; 36. (DNF) 26P-Bubba Pollard[28]

Allen Tuner Snowflake Last Chance: 1. 50-Jett Noland[2]; 2. 25R-Sylas Ripley[3]; 3. 51B-Anthony Bello[4]; 4. 6-Brandon Lopez[5]; 5. 11P-James Patrick[8]; 6. 4-Elliott Massey[11]; 7. 40-Dylan Caldwell[1]; 8. 5P-Ryan Phipps[7]; 9. 22C-Dylan Courtney[13]; 10. 47S-Mamba Smith[12]; 11. 3-Chris Munson[9]; 12. (DNS) 82-Grant Thompson; 13. (DNS) 89-Jeremy Williams

Allen Turner Snowflake Qualifying: 1. 11C-Dylan Cappello, 00:16.610[28]; 2. 54C-Matt Craig, 00:16.649[27]; 3. 81-Carson Brown, 00:16.657[32]; 4. 47H-Kaden Honeycutt, 00:16.686[7]; 5. 43-Augie Grill, 00:16.706[34]; 6. 18-Jake Finch, 00:16.715[14]; 7. 67K-Zack Dixon, 00:16.721[29]; 8. 45-Seth Christensen, 00:16.735[18]; 9. 46-Cole Williams, 00:16.738[22]; 10. 62-Casey Roderick, 00:16.739[15]; 11. 29-Spencer Davis, 00:16.761[17]; 12. 15-TJ DeCaire, 00:16.785[2]; 13. 407-Jason Vail, 00:16.788[11]; 14. 16-Derek Thorn, 00:16.788[39]; 15. 54N-Nick Loden, 00:16.790[41]; 16. 7-Luke Baldwin, 00:16.809[10]; 17. 00R-Jimmy Renfrew Jr, 00:16.815[21]; 18. 44-Conner Jones, 00:16.817[44]; 19. 69H-Michael Hinde, 00:16.824[20]; 20. 54B-Jarrett Butcher, 00:16.825[25]; 21. 5C-Vito Cancilla, 00:16.830[46]; 22. 14-Chase Pinsonneault, 00:16.843[38]; 23. 67A-Colin Allman, 00:16.845[26]; 24. 51N-Stephen Nasse, 00:16.858[5]; 25. 33-Dustin Smith, 00:16.883[24]; 26. 69B-Travis Braden, 00:16.885[40]; 27. 5M-Jeremy Miller, 00:16.891[16]; 28. 26P-Bubba Pollard, 00:16.894[33]; 29. 2-John Bolen, 00:16.895[45]; 30. 17-Hudson Bulger, 00:16.900[1]; 31. 40-Dylan Caldwell, 00:16.900[35]; 32. 50-Jett Noland, 00:16.901[4]; 33. 55-George Phillips, 00:16.913[30]; 34. 25R-Sylas Ripley, 00:16.932[13]; 35. 51B-Anthony Bello, 00:16.953[12]; 36. 91-Jim Wall, 00:16.985[37]; 37. 6-Brandon Lopez, 00:17.008[19]; 38. 89-Jeremy Williams, 00:17.025[6]; 39. 5P-Ryan Phipps, 00:17.057[3]; 40. 11P-James Patrick, 00:17.065[23]; 41. 3-Chris Munson, 00:17.141[8]; 42. 82-Grant Thompson, 00:17.151[42]; 43. 4-Elliott Massey, 00:17.273[9]; 44. 47S-Mamba Smith, 00:17.334[36]; 45. 22C-Dylan Courtney, 00:17.407[43]; 46. (DNS) 11M-Will Mack; 47. (DNS) 25F-Michael Faulk; 48. (DNS) 54-Clayton Green; 49. (DNS) 32-Stuart Dutton; 50. (DNS) 25H-Kirk Hennefer; 51. (DNS) 24B-Gavan Boschele

Snowflake Final Practice: 1. 81-Carson Brown, 00:16.645[7]; 2. 45-Seth Christensen, 00:16.717[13]; 3. 18-Jake Finch, 00:16.728[21]; 4. 47H-Kaden Honeycutt, 00:16.742[26]; 5. 25R-Sylas Ripley, 00:16.762[42]; 6. 29-Spencer Davis, 00:16.812[16]; 7. 11C-Dylan Cappello, 00:16.847[12]; 8. 67K-Zack Dixon, 00:16.877[18]; 9. 91-Jim Wall, 00:16.904[49]; 10. 44-Conner Jones, 00:16.906[27]; 11. 43-Augie Grill, 00:16.907[23]; 12. 7-Luke Baldwin, 00:16.909[2]; 13. 62-Casey Roderick, 00:16.913[43]; 14. 15-TJ DeCaire, 00:16.922[17]; 15. 407-Jason Vail, 00:16.929[48]; 16. 69B-Travis Braden, 00:16.930[6]; 17. 51N-Stephen Nasse, 00:16.934[34]; 18. 33-Dustin Smith, 00:16.949[44]; 19. 54C-Matt Craig, 00:16.954[15]; 20. 69H-Michael Hinde, 00:16.956[25]; 21. 16-Derek Thorn, 00:16.959[47]; 22. 00R-Jimmy Renfrew Jr, 00:16.965[41]; 23. 6-Brandon Lopez, 00:16.975[29]; 24. 5P-Ryan Phipps, 00:16.988[38]; 25. 26P-Bubba Pollard, 00:16.988[40]; 26. 67A-Colin Allman, 00:16.994[1]; 27. 5C-Vito Cancilla, 00:16.996[11]; 28. 55-George Phillips, 00:17.010[37]; 29. 14-Chase Pinsonneault, 00:17.024[39]; 30. 50-Jett Noland, 00:17.031[35]; 31. 54N-Nick Loden, 00:17.044[28]; 32. 54B-Jarrett Butcher, 00:17.052[9]; 33. 46-Cole Williams, 00:17.061[50]; 34. 51B-Anthony Bello, 00:17.070[3]; 35. 5M-Jeremy Miller, 00:17.104[32]; 36. 17-Hudson Bulger, 00:17.123[8]; 37. 2-John Bolen, 00:17.146[4]; 38. 3-Chris Munson, 00:17.192[33]; 39. 89-Jeremy Williams, 00:17.239[51]; 40. 4-Elliott Massey, 00:17.264[31]; 41. 11P-James Patrick, 00:17.264[36]; 42. 47S-Mamba Smith, 00:17.276[45]; 43. 40-Dylan Caldwell, 00:17.350[10]; 44. 82-Grant Thompson, 00:17.353[46]; 45. 11M-Will Mack, 00:17.585[30]; 46. 22C-Dylan Courtney, 00:17.629[14]; 47. (DNS) 24B-Gavan Boschele; 48. (DNS) 32-Stuart Dutton; 49. (DNS) 25F-Michael Faulk; 50. (DNS) 54-Clayton Green; 51. (DNS) 25H-Kirk Hennefer

Super Late Model

Snowball Last Chance (50 Laps): 1. 24-Brent Crews[3]; 2. 25-Nicholas Naugle[1]; 3. 44J-Conner Jones[7]; 4. 32K-Caden Kvapil[4]; 5. 9-Derek Kraus[6]; 6. 30S-Kyle Steckly[2]; 7. 112-Augie Grill[12]; 8. 5-Vito Cancilla[10]; 9. 121-Joseph Meyer[11]; 10. 54S-Conner Sutton[8]; 11. 82-Michael Scott[9]; 12. (DNS) 28W-Timothy Watson

Snowball Final Practice: 1. 4-Luke Fenhaus, 00:16.691[7]; 2. 44D-Jeremy Doss, 00:16.696[6]; 3. 2S-Chandler Smith, 00:16.729[40]; 4. 51N-Stephen Nasse, 00:16.734[28]; 5. 28-Cole Butcher, 00:16.743[2]; 6. 8K-Carson Kvapil, 00:16.768[22]; 7. 24-Brent Crews, 00:16.809[5]; 8. 89-Dylan Fetcho, 00:16.813[8]; 9. 98-David Gilliland, 00:16.825[11]; 10. 91-Ty Majeski, 00:16.835[26]; 11. 69-Michael Hinde, 00:16.858[16]; 12. 22R-Gio Ruggiero, 00:16.861[35]; 13. 28W-Timothy Watson, 00:16.884[49]; 14. 55-Haeden Plybon, 00:16.954[31]; 15. 43-Nick Loden, 00:16.971[25]; 16. 9-Derek Kraus, 00:16.980[20]; 17. 32K-Caden Kvapil, 00:16.993[21]; 18. 76R-Kole Raz, 00:17.007[34]; 19. 23-Billy VanMeter, 00:17.008[48]; 20. 2B-John Bolen, 00:17.017[1]; 21. 26S-Dawson Sutton, 00:17.020[45]; 22. 35-Jake Garcia, 00:17.025[10]; 23. 33-Dustin Smith, 00:17.034[41]; 24. 7-Derek Thorn, 00:17.040[46]; 25. 32T-Treyten Lapcevich, 00:17.047[24]; 26. 51F-Jake Finch, 00:17.054[9]; 27. 62-Ryan Preece, 00:17.074[33]; 28. 30S-Kyle Steckly, 00:17.080[43]; 29. 82-Michael Scott, 00:17.098[38]; 30. 25-Nicholas Naugle, 00:17.107[29]; 31. 54C-Matt Craig, 00:17.109[4]; 32. 14-Connor Okrzesik, 00:17.115[30]; 33. 8S-Sammy Smith, 00:17.123[42]; 34. 22S-Buddy Shepherd, 00:17.126[39]; 35. 26P-Bubba Pollard, 00:17.140[32]; 36. 76C-Cayden Lapcevich, 00:17.140[23]; 37. 30G-Noah Gragson, 00:17.143[13]; 38. 44J-Conner Jones, 00:17.172[18]; 39. 21-Kaden Honeycutt, 00:17.177[17]; 40. 5-Vito Cancilla, 00:17.208[3]; 41. 08H-Jace Hansen, 00:17.238[15]; 42. 54S-Conner Sutton, 00:17.426[44]; 43. 121-Joseph Meyer, 00:17.481[27]; 44. (DNS) 16-Jacob Gomes; 45. (DNS) 12G-Derek Griffith; 46. (DNS) 53-Boris Jurkovic; 47. (DNS) 5S-Johnny Sauter; 48. (DNS) 62S-William Sawalich; 49. (DNS) 123-Ed Vanmeter