PENSACOLA, FL – Finally, Stephen Nasse is a Snowball Derby winner.
In his 15th try at the crown jewel Super Late Model contest, Nasse took the checkered flag to win his first Tom Dawson trophy after a controversial finish at Five Flags Speedway. It’s the first late model win of the calendar year for Nasse after climbing from the 32nd starting spot.
The dominant car of the day, Ty Majeski, crossed the finish line first but was not scored over the final six laps. Majeski led the field to green on a restart with 13 laps to go, but the restart was called back after Majeski fired before the restart zone. Following the warning, Majeski was deemed to have jump a second time, leading to the black flag being displayed to the No. 91. Majeski ignored the black flag to complete the race, despite Nasse being declared the winner.
Dawson Sutton followed behind Nasse, finishing runner-up in his second Derby try. Jake Garcia, who along with Nasse needed to transfer in to the race via the Last Chance Qualifier, finished third. Kasey Kleyn and Jake Finch closed out the top five. Matt Craig and Ty Fredrickson followed in behind, with pole sitter Preston Peltier and Haeden Plybon finishing eighth and ninth as the final cars on the lead lap. Derek Thorn, the first car one lap down, completed the top 10.
In his 15th try, Stephen Nasse is a Snowball Derby winner. It’s been a tough year, but this makes up for it all.
“It feels great,” Nasse said. “I was very confident coming into the tech shed with Anthony [Campi] and them, I’m confident in what we provide and bring to the racetrack. It’s awesome to get Campi his first Derby and my first Derby, it’s something very special…”
Nasse has had his fair share of near misses in the past. After crossing the line first in 2019, Nasse was disqualified in post-race tech. In 2024, Nasse nearly tracked down Kaden Honeycutt but settled for second in the end.
“I definitely feel like it owes me a couple,” Nasse said. “It’s been repaying these last couple years and I hope it never stops repaying. This is the biggest asphalt short track race of the year, there’s so much competition. I’ve said it before, I’m fortunate enough that I’ve been in the front a few times, I’ve been able to race up there. Now I know what it feels like to take home the trophy. It’s very special for me and my family and I’m looking forward to next year already.”
After days of rain in Pensacola and a foggy Sunday evening postponed the Snowball Derby to Monday afternoon, Peltier led the field to green just past 1:00 p.m. CT. Peltier led the opening few laps before Majeski made the first move for the lead on lap 14. A rash of early cautions took multiple drivers, including Hudson Bulger, Casey Roderick and Carson Brown out of contention before the lap 100 mark.
The early cautions led to varying pit strategy and multiple different race leaders, before Majeski worked his way back to the point at lap 116. From that point on, Majeski and the No. 91 team seemed nearly untouchable, hardly ever being challenged throughout the second half of the race. Behind him, Nasse emerged as one of the contenders after charging from the tail of the field, along with Dustin Smith and Kole Raz.
A long green flag run spaced out the field through the middle portion of the race, a run that Majeski lead in its entirety. Raz ran down Majeski on newer tires at the very end of the run, making the move for the lead right as the competition caution slowed the field, thanks to green flag run of 100 consecutive laps. Once the field returned to the same tire strategy, Majeski seemed to have a step up on the field.
A spin for Cole Butcher set up a restart with 30 laps to go, with Majeski and Smith sharing the front row. Smith spun the tires on the ensuing restart, leading to a three wide bottleneck between Smith, Nasse and Peltier for second, with Peltier getting the short end of the stick. Nasse then shuffled Smith off the bottom, leading to an incident between Smith and Gavan Boschele set up the final restart sequence of the race.
On the initial attempt, Majeski fired early and the restart was called off. Having already been given a warning, Majeski seemed to slightly jump the second attempt and was given the black flag shortly after. As Majeski ignored the black flag, Nasse was scored the leader, driving away from Sutton in the final six laps to win the biggest race of his career.
It’s the first Snowball Derby win of his career after a decade and a half of trying for the Pinellas Park, Fl native, following a previously winless 2025 in both Pro and Super Late Model competition. Nasse’s last win to date had been the 2024 Snowflake 100, the night prior to finishing second in the Derby a year ago.
After finishing the race on the racetrack, Majeski attempted to protest the decision made by race officials. However, that request was denied and Nasse was declared the winner of the 58th Snowball Derby.
