PENSACOLA, FL – Kyle Busch turned his glitter into gold. Busch, a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series superstar, won the 50th annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway and hoisted the Tom Dawson trophy Sunday at Five Flags Speedway courtesy of a perfect game plan. After leading a handful of laps just before the midway point of the 300-lap Super Late Model, Busch timed his charge to the checkered flag when it mattered most. “Everybody dreams of winning the Snowball Derby,” said Busch, who has now twice won the Derby. “I never ran anything this big when I was coming up through the ranks. This is special. And it’s amazing the way this community supports this race.” Running third with 22 laps remaining in the country’s most prestigious short-track race, Busch passed Late Model legend Bubba Pollard for second before getting by then-leader Jeff Choquette on Lap 284. Busch pulled away, as Choquette and Pollard could only settle for runner-up and third-place finishes, respectively. Harrison Burton, son of retired NASCAR racer Jeff Burton, finished fourth and Cassius Clark wheeled Pictou, Nova Scotia’s King Racing No. 13 entry to fifth. Cole Butcher, from Porters Lake, NS started 10th and finished 15th; he spent much of the race in the top 10 before falling back after his last pit stop late in the going. A standing-room-only crowd roared with delight when Busch climbed out of the window of his No. 51 SLM and marked a historic victory with an exuberant fist pump. Official Results – 50th Annual Snowball Derby (Super Late Models/ 300 Laps) 1. 51 Kyle Busch 2. 9C Jeff Choquette 3. 26 Bubba Pollard 4. 12 Harrison Burton 5. 13 Cassius Clark 6. 18 Casey Roderick 7. 26S Chandler Smith 8. 81 Chase Purdy 9. 99 Raphael Lessard 10. 20 Brandon McReynolds 11. 32D Tyler Dippel 12. 18G Noah Gragson 13. 75 Jeremy Doss 14. 53J Boris Jurkovic 15. 53B Cole Butcher 16. 00 Anthony Cataldi 17. 91 Ty Majeski 18. 4 Kyle Plott 19. 15 Christian Eckes 20. 36 Dan Fredrickson 21. 19 Kason Plott 22. 5 Jerry Artuso 23. 55 Spencer Davis 24. 07 Corey LaJoie 25. 46 Cole Rouse 26. 11R David Rogers 27. 14 Chris Davidson 28. 01 Jake Crum 29. 112 Augie Grill 30. 14C Connor Okrzesik 31. 5M Mason Mingus 32. 48 Preston Peltier 33. 9K Derek Kraus 34. 2W Donnie Wilson 35. 11B Logan Boyett 36. 51N Stephen Nasse 37. 88 Garrett Jones source – Chuck Corder/Five Flags Speedway
