Often lost in the shuffle of Snowball Derby week is the amount of work and sleepless nights endured by track promoter and owner Tim Bryant.
The casual fan may not even recognize the every-man Bryant, because he doesn’t look like an executive or even displays the boisterous persona of flamboyant promoters like Humpy Wheeler or Tommy Praytor.
Instead, the blue collar Bryant is often seen driving a tractor around his infield or lugging supplies back and forth from the tower to wherever they are needed. Somewhere in between, he even aids scheduling and procedure decisions.
The Snowball Derby will attract over 10,000 fans on Sunday and has seen tremendous growth since he acquired the track back in 2006. Earlier in the week, Bryant slowed down for a couple of minutes to chat with Short Track Scene about the Derby, the Southern Super Series and the state of Super Late Models in the Deep South.
Short Track Scene: Are you surprised at the amount of success you’ve had in building the Snowball Derby back into a Major League event?
Tim Bryant: Well, you know, somewhat. First and foremost, the traditions of the Snowball Derby is what draws people here. The event continues to grow. I said in recent years, that’s because the guys who have won this race have gone on to do some pretty impressive things.
If you back five years and look at all those winners and see where they are today, it’s a pretty good door-opener to have a Tom Dawson trophy on your shelf.
A lot of guys, especially the young guys, they see that and they know every car is fast and everyone here has a chace and with a little luck on your side, you know what, you could be a dark horse winner and you never know what could happen. We think that’s why the competitors continue to come.
The fans come because they like Pensacola. They enjoy the green flag party. They enjoy the festivities and the campground. We’re calling it an experience.
STS: You have the Tom Dawson Trophy, the prize money and a ring. Is there anything else you have planned to make winning the Snowball Derby a bigger deal than already is?
TB: Max Papis is offering a custom designed steering wheel this year to the winner. I think the biggest thing beyond the accolades is the prestige that goes with the event, beyond the trophy and prize money. Be able to stake that claim is big in the racing community.
STS: How much has the Speed51.com 551 bounty been a factor in drawing more drivers from the West Coast and Northeast regions this year? This entry list was phenomenal.
TB: It helps. I believe we’ve had a lot of West Coast entries over the years that’s had some real good experiences and that’s what’s drawn the others. I use Derek Thorn as an example and he flipped in his first Derby experience but he came back last year and finished third.
So he usually drags three or four of his fellow Californians, and as a result, you’re seeing this become even more of a national event.
STS: You were hesitant to broadcast this event at first. This is the second year of a PPV broadcast with 51TV. Are you pleased with how that’s turned out?
TB: I’ll admit that I was a little nervous going into the event last year. Speed 51 did a magnificent job and then they did a bunch of other major races and did a great job. Their quality has gotten even better so I think fans who choose to watch the race that way will be pleased.
STS: Any plans to grow this facility into a larger venue?
TB: Certainly, we have a vision. I think controlled growth is of the utmost importance to us. This is a bubble that could burst one day if it isn’t controlled. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We’re not about add 20,000 seats. Our supply and demand ratio is pretty good right now. We want to leave it at that. We don’t want it grow past something we can control for our fans and racers getting in and out. It’s as simple as that, and the bathrooms, and that’s important to us.
STS: On the Southern Super Series front, do you feel good about the direction it is going in Year Four?
TB: I really do. We’ve got a great lineup of competitors coming back for 2016. We’re collaborating with other series. We’re going to do a co-sanctioned race with the CRA at Nashville. We’re going to have a 12-race schedule again. We’re excited and again, it’s controlled growth on the Southern Super Series. We wish it was growing a little faster but we want to be careful.
STS: What made you initially decided to run a tour in addition to a race track and the Snowball Derby?
TB: Honestly, the Southern Super Series started as a dream realized between three southern promoters who wanted to have a true southern Super Late Model touring series. Then it evolved into something more organized.
It happened because it’s something the racers wanted.
We had our struggles. I won’t say it fell into our lap but the management side landed in here Pensacola, but we’re not trying to stake a claim to anything for ourselves. We’ve continued to promote the Southern Super Series just in the interest of keeping Super Late Model racing healthy in the Southeast.
