PENSACOLA, FL – The health of short track racing has fluctuated throughout the past decade. Fan support in some regions of the country for local tracks is still running strong, while other regions and tracks struggle to get by. The epidemic of streaming services has had both positive and negative effects on the sport. Fans supporting the track from home is great, but it takes away from financial gains through ticket sales, concessions and the overall attendance at weekly shows.
Of course, there have also been trickling effects to short tracks across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as tracks have shut down, lost promoters, lost fan support or had new housing developments knocking on their back door since. The ebbs and flows of the sports growth and health lead to a constant regurgitation on whether or not it can continue to survive.
Is short track racing dead?
Even amidst a dreary week of weather in Pensacola at the 58th Snowball Derby, the answer is pretty clear. No, not even close, and in fact it’s thriving. Sure, it has its flaws, but through a rainy week in Pensacola, the dedication every staff member, team member, driver and fan have shown to waiting out Mother Nature is something special. That opinion is echoed by one of the races former champions, 2018 winner and current NASCAR Cup Series driver Noah Gragson.
“This place is awesome,” Gragson told Short Track Scene. “Especially, you know all week, but on Sunday as well. It’s pretty spectacular to see the amount of people that come out for the race and just how excited they are, and all the haulers leave the infield on Sunday. You’ve got everybody bringing their pickup trucks in for the racetrack and the race, it’s just unbelievable to see.
“It reminds me almost of a 90s Cup race in a sense, just because in 2018, we won this race and I knew it was a big deal. But I didn’t really realize, it didn’t fully sink in how big a deal it was until we came back here in 2020, and I missed the race my next time here and i had to park all the way down by the McDonald’s. We got here like two, three hours before the race and we walked two miles down the road just to ger here. It’s pretty special how many people come out to this race and support short track racing.
“People say short track racing is dead, I don’t necessarily believe that. Come down here to the Snowball Derby, you have a good atmosphere, a good racetrack, good people that put on this race, … short track racing is as alive as its ever been in my opinion.
“Maybe at certain tracks it might be dead, and that might be a product of who’s running them.”
Gragson’s relationship with the fans has always been strong, especially in Pensacola. The personality is on full display each year at the Snowball Derby, away from the high profile ranks of NASCAR. From the pit bike and the camo overalls to calling someone a Dippin’ Dot, there’s always something that makes you say “only Noah.” For the record, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a Noah thing, and there’s a mutual appreciation of each other from Gragson and the fans. This is a place Gragson has always felt at home, even after reaching the Cup Series ranks of NASCAR.
“Its just a race I’ve been coming too with a lot of friends,” Gragson said. “I’ve made a lot of friends throughout the way, throughout the last 10 years here. My first Snowball Derby was 2015 and then it’s 2025, so yeah, coming down here nine, 10 years now, it’s been a journey. I’ve had some good runs here, some not good runs here. It’s a tough track, tough race but there’s a lot of good people here within the pits, a lot of people I haven’t seen for a year. So, it’s good to catch up and see all my friends and make new friends, the most important thing is making new memories.”
As a former winner of the event, Gragson’s name will always be synonymous with the Snowball Derby. No matter the direction a drivers career goes, no matter if they never win a race again or go on to be one of the greatest ever, “Snowball Derby champion” remains near, or even at the top of every winners resume. It’s a special group that get to have their name on the Tom Dawson trophy, and it’s a group Gragson is proud to be a part of.
“They can’t take it away from you, ever,” Gragson said. “It’s pretty special. Every t-shirt they print with the names on it, you’re on every single one of those t-shirts for the rest of time. I mean it’s pretty cool, it’s a special group to be a part of. The coolest part is when I won here in 2018 it was my last race at KBM, I was going over to JR Motorsports to run Xfinity cars. Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. text me and said ‘a lot of guys have run that race, including my dad, that never won’. I thought ‘man, that’s pretty special you know.’ Dale Earnhardt’s been around this racetrack, it’s pretty wild to put in perspective.
“I’m truly grateful to be down here, truly grateful to have the opportunity to have won this race and like I said, they can’t ever take that away from you.”
Yes, there are certainly some nagging issues withing the short track racing world, but the belief by some that short track racing is “dead” is disingenuous. Everything in life has issues and issues evolve from day to day, but the amount of love and support for short track racing across the nation is undeniable. The Snowball Derby is proof that short track racing is alive and kicking, and it doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
