Ty Majeski on Snowball Derby pole
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Ty Majeski has brought championship vibes to Five Flags Speedway and the 57th annual Snowball Derby presented by FloSports.
The recently crowned NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series king is looking to defend the Tom Dawson trophy he captured last year, the second Derby crown of his career (2020, 2023). Majeski checked the first box toward a repeat performance Friday night at Pensacola’s high banks.
The 30-year-old Wisconsin driver laid down a blistering qualifying lap of 16.175 seconds to swipe the pole for the 300-lap Super Late Model crown gem Sunday afternoon. Majeski also sat on the pole in 2015 when he set the current track record (16.120), which he nearly broke Friday.
“Derby qualifying is always fun,” Majeski said after. “You always love these high-pressure moments. It’s a ton of fun to go qualifying here. The track has a ton of grip and there’s excitement in the air.”
Kaden Honeycutt, who captured the Pro Trucks Derby crown on Thursday, night and will compete in four total classes this week, will start outside Majeski on Sunday with William Sawalich, Haeden Plybon and Connor Okrzesik rounding out the top-five.
Conditions were perfect for qualifying thanks to chilly temperatures Friday. All 30 drivers who made Sunday’s show had a faster time than Derek Thorn’s pole time in 2023 (16.501).
Thorn qualified easily and will start one spot ahead of Bubba Pollard in the top-10. Chandler Smith, the 2021 Derby champ and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, will start 10th. Other notable drivers who qualified on time: David Gilliland, Jake Finch, Cole Butcher, Gio Ruggiero, NASCAR driver and 2018 Derby champ Noah Gragson and Stephen Nasse qualified exactly 30th.
John Bolen and Billy VanMeter both earned their way into Sunday through Blizzard Series and Southern Super Series provisionals, respectively.
Thirteen drivers will battle for the final four remaining spots in last-chance races Saturday afternoon at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.
“You always feel pressure,” Majeski said. “Just this atmosphere. Walking down pit road, you can feel it.
“We’ve been working on this thing, getting a little bit of a feel of what we’ve been missing all week. We hit on it today. We had some raw speed.”
Drivers Locked into Snowball Derby ® Top 30 Qualifiers
1 91 Ty Majeski, Neenah, WI
2 21 Kaden Honeycutt, Huntersville, NC
3 62 William Sawalich, Mooresville, NC
4 55 Headen Plybon, Spokane, WA
5 14 Connor Okrzesik, Grand Bay, AL
6 8 Sammy Smi t h, Johnson, IA
7 7 Derek Thorn, Bakersfield, CA
8 26 Bubba Pollard, Senoia, GA
9 26 Dawson Sutton, Lebanon, TN
10 2 Chandler Smith, Talking Rock, GA
11 4 Luke Fenhaus, Wausau, WI
12 98 David Gilliland, Troutman, NC
13 32 Treyten Lapcevich, Grimsby, ONT
14 51 Jake Finch, Lynn Haven, FL
15 28 Cole Butcher, Mooresville, NC
16 54 Matt Craig, Mt. Pleasant, NC
17 35 Jake Garcia, Eatonton, GA
18 22 Buddy Shephard, Bakersfield, CA
19 76 Kole Raz. Lake Oswego, OR
20 8 Jace Hansen, Berthoud, CO
21 44 Jeremy Doss, Upper Lake, CA
22 89 Dylan Fetcho, Lebanon, TN
23 33 Dustin Smith, Mobile, AL
24 69 Michael Hinde, Hernando, FL
25 8 Carson Kvapil, Concord, NC
26 22 Gio Ruggiero, Eatonton, GA
27 76 Cayden Lapcevich, Mooresville, NC
28 30 Noah Gragson, Mooresville, NC
29 43 Nick Loden, Stanley, NC
30 51 Stephen Nasse, Pinellas Park, FL
Drivers In Last Chance Race
4 will advance to Snowball
31 25 Nicholas Naugle, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
32 30 Kyle Steckly, Milverton, ONT
33 23 Brent Crews, Cornelius, NC
34 32 Caden Kvapil, Mooresville, NC
35 28 Timothy Watson, Panama City, FL
36 9 Derek Kraus, Stratford, WI
37 44 Conner Jones, Fredricksburg,VA
38 2 John Bolen, Jasper, AL
39 1 Kasey Kleyn, Quincy, WA
40 23 Billy VanMeter, Indianapolis, IN
41 54 Conner Sutton, Pensacola, FL
42 82 Michael Scott, Cheyenne, WY
43 5 Vito Cancilla, Martinez, CA
44 121 Joseph Meyer, Mt. Juliet, TN
44 123 Ed VanMeter, Indianapolis, IN
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STICKLER MAKES IT 4 WINS IN A ROW IN MODS
Cody Stickler left a legacy Friday on Night 2 of the 57th annual Snowball Derby presented by FloSports. Stickler became the first driver in Derby history to capture four consecutive titles across all divisions when he successfully defended his Modifieds of Mayhem Derby 75 crown.
“Four in a row feels great,” the Central Florida driver said from Victory Lane. “It’s funny. Five years back, we were just trying get a win. Now, we’re getting fast racecars anywhere we go. These guys (his team) make me look good and make it easy on me.”
A hammer-down onslaught has been his modus operandi since his first win in 2021. This edition with a 31-car field was no different. Stickler won the pole (17.313 seconds) by nearly two-tenths of a second. After the redraw pushed him back to fourth, he shot to second when Billy Melvin struggled to get going from his outside Row 1 position as the opening green flag dropped.
Stickler took over P1 when then-leader Kaden Honeycutt—running his second of four races during Derby Week—experienced mechanical failures immediately following the 75-lapper’s first caution.
Stickler had challengers, beginning with Derrick Griffin and ending with Kyle Purvis. Both drew within a car’s length of Stickler each time the leaders encountered lapped traffic. Like clockwork, Stickler deftly maneuvered through his obstacles and maintained his advantage.
Purvis finished runner-up and Kevin Peel rounded out the podium. Griffin, the last driver to win the Modifieds Derby before Stickler began his streak, had a heroic fourth-place finish after an up-and-down night.
“We had a good hotrod,” Purvis said. “Just not as good as they were. We struggle to qualify down here, but we always have a good race piece.”
Stickler now has 15 career victories for the Modifieds of Mayhem, a touring series that annually compete at the southeast’s most iconic speedways. That number is one shy of Augie Grill’s 16 for the all-time mark.
MODIFIED RESULTS
1 46 Cody Stickler, Pinellas Park, FL
2 13 Kyle Purvis, Marion, OH
3 18 Kevin Peel, Chipley, FL
4 95 Derrick Griffin, Pensacola, FL
5 0 Brett Hudson, Owensboro, KY
6 96 Jarad Maupin, San Antonio, TX
7 57 Tim Moore, St. Petersburg, FL
8 16 Aaron Timmerman, Maria Stein, OH
9 6 Zach Stacy, Enon, OH
10 11 Dodge Carlbert, Palmetto, FL
11 26 Payton Burba, Germantown, OH
12 12 Donny Matteson, Clio, MI
13 8 Donnie Hamrac, Semmes, AL
14 62 Jody Anderson, Athens, AL
15 51 Jason Loveday, Huntsville, AL
16 131 Jeff Letson, Madison, AL
17 48 Hunter Evans, Jasper, AL
18 31 Brad Stell, New Market, AL
19 31 Alec Manke, Hazel Green, AL
20 2 Jaxon Bishop, Toney, AL
21 81 Jeremy Williams, Dora, AL
22 7 Parker Pugh, Madison, AL
23 148 Max Calles, Mission, TX
24 10 Todd Jones, Pace, FL
25 145 Billy Melvin, Trussville, AL
26 21 Kaden Honeycutt, Bridge City, TX
27 3 Blaine Akin, Bowling Green, KY
28 58 Cody Brake, New Market, TN
ADAM SALTER WINS CROWN INVITATIONAL 25
There’s a new Alabama Gang just north of the Conecuh National Forest.
The Bare Minimum Racing boys took the Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks division by storm in 2024 at Five Flags Speedway. The Salter Brothers from Andalusia, Ala., spearhead BMR and won three features during the regular season at Five Flags.
It seemed fitting Friday night at the 57th annual Snowball Derby presented by FloSports that the siblings could each bask in winning Story & Bleich Crown Stock Invitational.
Adam Salter, driving brother Chris Salter’s car, led nearly all 25 laps en route to the victory.
“It was hooked up,” said Adam Salter, who has now won three of the last four Crown Stocks features at Pensacola’s high banks. “We showed everybody what we’re made of tonight. We’ve had fun all week.”
Braeden Kitchen finished second and Hunter Lambert came home third.
With Adam Salter winning by more than 6 seconds, much of the attention late in the race was the battle between Kitchen and Lambert for that runner-up spot. The pair of Pensacola drivers battled door-to-door down the stretch until Kitchen was able to clear Lambert on the final lap.
“I had a blast,” Kitchen said. “Those last five laps, I thought, was the best part of the race. These Crown Vics put on a good show.”
Lambert added: “It’s always good to race somebody and race each other clean.”
STOCK CARS MAIN
1 6 Adam Salter, Andalusia, AL
2 10 Brandon Kitchen, Pensacola, FL
3 97 Hunter Lambert, Pensacola, FL
4 62 Doug Thorpe, Pensacola, FL
5 17 Ryan Maxwell, Cantonment, FL
6 48 Okie Mason, 8 Mile, AL
7 17 Ryan Bleich, Pensacola, FL
8 19 Blaise Boykin,, Pensacola, FL
9 12 Dee Davis, Walnut Hill, FL
10 4 John Taylor,
11 75 Colton Rutherford,
12 1776 Hollywood Sidner Cantonment, FL
13 22 Chris Mitchell, Mount Olive, AL
14 2 Mike Stacy,
15 19 Garrison Story, Pensacola, FL
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