Snowball Derby Rookie of the Year to Earn $10,000
Five Flags Speedway is aiming to showcase the strongest rookie of the year class in the Snowball Derby’s history. To support this, general manager Tim Bryant is financially backing his figurative claim.
That’s because the highest finishing driver making his first start in the Super Bowl of Short Track Racing will earn an extra $10,000 in addition to whatever else they collect by the end of the weekend. Bryant made the announcement on The Bullring on Wednesday and detailed the imitative to Racing America as well.
The formal name for the program is the Welcome to Pensacola Rookie of the Race and it will pay the bonus to the highest finishing driver making their debut in the Snowball Derby. Bryant says the impetus for the program was giving teams with rookie drivers on the fence to encouragement to make the trip south for the first week in December.
“Bryant, the 1982 Snowball Derby rookie of the year, said, “We’re giving them an additional 10,000 reasons.””
Ultimately, it’s quite demanding to anticipate a newcomer instantly outperforming seasoned racers like Ty Majeski, Derek Thorn, Chandler Smith, Bubba Pollard, or Stephen Nasse. Currently, there’s a heightened motivation for them to participate even if they lack the same level of experience at Five Flags as their more experienced peers.
A top-5 finish could potentially yield a payout almost equivalent to the winner’s earnings.
“Bryant said, ‘That’s precisely what we aim for. We want to persuade those teams with rookie drivers who are hesitating by providing them $10,000 reasons to participate in the Snowball Derby.'”
The roster of past Rookie of the Races resembles a Snowball Derby Hall of Fame. The 2022 recipient will also receive an additional 10 grand for the honor.
Rookie of the Year Recipients at Snowball Derby
1968 Wayne Niedecken Jr.
1969 Friday Hassler
1970 Dennie Rewls
1971 Dickie Davis
1972 Darrell Waltrip
1973 Russell Nelson
1974 Joe Richey
1975 Steve Britt
1976 Harry Gant
1977 Sandy Goss
1978 Rick Wilson
1979 Dick Trickle
1980 Gary Balough
1981 Carl Willford
1982 Tim Bryant
1983 Darrell Brown
1984 Butch Miller
1985 Larry Rains
1986 Bobby Gill
1987 Ted Musgrave
1988 Ernie Irvan
1989 Rich Bickle
1990 Tim Steele
1991 Jason Keller
1992 Gary St. Amant
1993 Toby Porter
1994 Frederick Moore
1995 Ron Barfield Jr.
1996 Mardy Lindley
1997 Tim Sauter
1998 Ronnie Burkett
1999 Donnie Hill
2000 Clay Rogers
2001 Travis Kittleson
2002 Jack Landis
2003 Kevin Cywinski
2004 Randy Gentry
2005 Augie Grill
2006 Shaun McWhirter
2007 Brian Campbell
2008 Shane Sieg
2009 Chase Elliott
2010 Derrick Griffin
2011 DJ Vanderley
2012 Erik Jones
2013 Paul Shafer
2014 Dalton Sargeant
2015 Zane Smith
2016 Chandler Smith
2017 Chase Purdy
2018 Tyler Ankrum
2019 Travis Braden
2020 Daniel Dye
2021 Sammy Smith
