Snowball Derby opening day sets qualifying orders, featured rain talk

It was a fairly uneventful opening day at the Snowball Derby on Wednesday as Super Late Model teams unloaded and went through technical inspection for the first time this week.

There were no major issues.

A couple of teams were over on left side weight, like the Carson Hocevar Development car, or body template fixes like the one mandated to Travis Braden in the Jett Motorsports with Larry Blount No. 21 but these were all things that happen every year.

Everyone knows the game of getting right up against tolerances without going over for time trials and then the race.

Meanwhile, Wednesday is also the qualifying pill draw and pit party night, with Ty Majeski earning the dubious distinction of drawing No. 1 for the second year in a row. Typically, being the first to head out on track is one of the worst places to be but Majeski is getting used to it.

“Two years in a row,” said Majeski. “It’s funny, whenever we roll the dice in Wisconsin [to determine field inverts], it’s never one, but two years in a row.”

It might not even matter as the weekend continues to look like a total washout.

Friday and Saturday, with qualifying and the last chance race scheduled for each respectively, call for 100 percent chances of rain with Sunday race day only being marginally better. The entire pit area has no idea how to play this weekend.

It’s no one’s fault either.

The current plan if the forecast holds is to keep the Super Late Models on the ground for as long as it takes to get the race weekend in. The remaining divisions, including the Pro Late Models, very well could be postponed to next weekend if the forecast doesn’t improve.

Fortunately, there are a lot of invested football fans in the pit area and don’t be surprised if the grounds just turn into an SEC championship game watch party.

Like Jake Finch.

“I’m going to watch Georgia beat Alabama on Saturday,” Finch said. “And then a few weeks later, I’ll watch us win a national championship. So Saturday, we’ll watch that. I know Kirby (Smart) will have his guys dialed in.

“If it looks like we won’t race until Wednesday, it would be cool to fly down there and watch it. It’s only in Atlanta.”

Diehard Georgia Bulldog Bubba Pollard would be right there with him.

“We’re going to put it on Alabama and make my wife upset,” Pollard said.

The Money family are notorious Roll Tiders.

Hunter Robbins lives in Pensacola so he just might go home.

“I hate it for people who will be stuck in their hotels or the sports bar the next couple of days,” Robbins said. “Hopefully we can get it in by Sunday night.”

The qualifying order for both the Super Late Model Snowball Derby and Pro Late Model Snowflake 100 can be found below. Thursday will be a full day of practice for both Late Model divisions and that starts at 10 a.m. CT.

SNOWBALL DERBY DRAW

SNOWFLAKE 100 DRAW

Continued Snowball Derby coverage is powered this week by Phoenix Water Solutions. Click the link below to learn why a water filtration system is right for you home or business. Phoenix Water Solutions is also a proud partner of Bubba Pollard and the BSing with Bubba podcast.

Phoenix Water Solutions joins Short Track Scene as Snowball Derby presenting partner