Race fans might have thought the 2009 racing season ended on Nov. 22 when NASCAR’s three major series competed at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But they were wrong.

Racing purists know the racing season is never complete until a champion is crowned in the Snowball Derby, the country’s most prestigious short-track race that occurs each December at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola.

The 42nd Snowball Derby is slated for Sunday, Dec. 6 and will culminate four days of exciting racing action at Northwest Florida’s halfmile gem. Several NASCAR stars, including 2009 Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch, will compete against the country’s best Super Late Model drivers, all of whom are seeking to affix their name to the coveted Tom Dawson Memorial Trophy.

NASCAR legends Pete Hamilton, Donnie Allison and Darrell Waltrip used Snowball Derby victories to springboard their careers. Others, including Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, to name a few, never found their way to Victory Lane in Pensacola.

Crew members gas up the No. 43 car driven by Dennis Schoenfeld in last year’s 41st Snowball Derby. Schoenfeld finished 8th. Hoping to earn a spot in this year’s elite 38-car field will be former Snowball Derby champion Steve Wallace and David Stremme, who race on the Nationwide Series. James Buescher and Brian Scott from the Camping World Trucks Series also hope to make the big show.

“We’ll have a handful of guys that might be seen on TV on any given weekend,” said Tim Bryant, track manager and co-owner of Five Flags Speedway. “Coupled with that is the cream of the crop in shorttrack racing, which, frankly, is what the majority of fans come here to see. Having the best of both worlds is icing on the cake. We’re going to have a stellar field of cars.”

Tim Bryant: Navarre resident is co-owner and manager of Five Flags Speedway. Busch was at the track on Nov. 16 testing his car. The Las Vegas, Nev., native captured the Nationwide Series title five days later at Homestead-Miami. Busch had four Cup, eight Nationwide and seven Truck victories in 2009 and collected winnings of more than $8 million.

Other former Snowball Derby champions expected in the race include local favorite Eddie Mercer of Pensacola, two-time defending champion Augie Grill of Hayden, Ala., Bobby Gill of Concord, N.C., and Wayne Anderson of Wildwood, Fla.

Track record-holder Grant Enfinger of Montrose, Ala., also is entered.

First place in the Snowball Derby pays $20,000. Total purse in the feature event is $109,000.

Many eyes will be trained on Pensacola’s own Johanna Long, who at age 17 captured the Blizzard Series title this summer at Five Flags Speedway to automatically lock up a spot in this year’s Derby.

Kyle Busch, the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion is a favorite in this year’s 42nd Snowball Derby. The racing always gets wild and wooly during the 300-lap Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway. Last year, Ryan Crane (10) of Panama City went for a spin in Turn 1 early in the race. He finished 37th. Long, a junior at Pine Forest High School, hopes to become only the second woman to win the Derby; Tammy Jo Kirk of Dalton, Ga., first took the checkered flag in 1994.

Long has raced on the ARCA Series this year and was featured in ‘Speedway Illustrated’ magazine.

“She’s just so personable that people warm up to her,” Bryant said. “Even if she wasn’t winning races, she’d be winning fans. We’ve got what we’ve come to know as ‘Johanna-mania’ here. People come through the gates here on Friday nights wearing their ‘Go Jo’ t-shirts, and she always gets the loudest crowd response in pre-race introductions.”

Joe Culpepper/Splash! Magazine Driver Casey Smith (left) is restrained by a track official after being involved in a Turn 3 wreck with Tim Martin in the 2008 Snowball Derby. Smith eventually threw punches at Martin. Two other potential future stars with famous last names will try to qualify for the Derby – Chase Elliott, son of former Cup champion Bill Elliott, and Ross Kenseth, son of another former Cup champ, Matt Kenseth.

Race Week begins on Wednesday, Dec. 2 with the sixth annual Cat Country/WEAR-TV Green Flag Party. Local divisions race on Thursday. WXBM Pole Qualifying Night is Friday, Dec. 4. On Saturday, Dec. 5, qualifying and running of the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 late-model race and final practice for the Snowball Derby will occur.

The green flag waves at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, in the 42nd annual Snowball Derby.

TICKET PRICES

Four-day reserved season ticket: $75 each
Snowball Derby only reserved: $45
General admission at gate: Thursday $15;
Friday $20; Saturday $30; Sunday $40