Winter Showdown Delivers Star-Studded Entry List

Only in its second year of existence, the Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway has already started to draw comparisons to the Snowball Derby and that speaks volumes as to what this event could become.

Sanctioned by the SRL Southwest Tour, the Winter Showdown is set to draw some of the best Super Late Model teams and short track drivers from all over the country. Champions from regions as far as the Midwest and Deep South have traveled cross-country to make it to Southern California, and a big payday awaits the winner.

In all, over $180,000 will be paid out in prize money and $30,000 will be paid to the winner — one of the richest purses in the discipline.

Over 50 teams have already entered and the entry list contains each of the top-five finishers from the inaugural running. That includes defending winner Bubba Pollard, ARCA driver Dalton Sargeant, former NASCAR K&N West Champion Derek Thorn, Blaine Rocha and Preston Peltier.

Considered by many, the best driver in short track racing, Bubba Pollard is hoping to go back-to-back and remain the only guy to have won the Winter Showdown.

“Those guys are tough,” Pollard said. “There are some good racers down there by Derek Thorn and Chris Eggleston, some NASCAR champions. So we don’t underestimate them and it meant a lot to win the first one.
“So we’re going to support that race because it’s becoming a pretty big deal.”

A frequent contender in the Southern Super Series and CRA Super Series, Donnie Wilson is traveling to California for the first time this weekend, and is hoping to win this race for the same reasons he chases success in the Snowball Derby, All-American 400 and Winchester 400.

“This race is right there with the biggest races in the country,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of like the Snowball Derby of the West Coast. It’s got a good purse, brings the best drivers in the country and the track is first-class. These are the kind of races that you want to be a part of with these kind of cars.”

Only 36 teams will make the field for the main event, also making the Showdown one of the toughest races to get into. The event will be broadcast live on Speed51.com’s 51TV digital pay-per-view service. The full race weekend can be purchased for $34.99 and the race day only for $24.99.

Combining each of these elements and the Winter Showdown has become one of the premiere short track events in the country. The complete entry list for the race can be viewed below.

Number | Name | Hometown