Wednesday was load-in day at the 57th Annual Snowball Derby, where teams were able to go through tech inspection for the first time and fans were able to get first looks at the cars that will be seen on-track over the next four days.

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Here’s a quick look at some of the headlines going into the weekend’s events.

Bubba Pollard To Field Second Car For Sammy Smith

Bubba Pollard’s 19th attempt at the Snowball Derby comes with a new challenge as a car owner.

Pollard Motorsports is fielding a second car for NASCAR Xfinity Series racer and 2022 Snowball Derby runner-up Sammy Smith for Sunday’s race.  The partnership comes with the help of Smith’s Jr Motorsports crew chief and Pollard’s cousin Philip Bell. 

The team has tested over the past two days, already proving to be a positive as official Snowball Derby activities begin Thursday.

“It definitely helps us being able to get the tire data and bounce the information because the cars are identical.  We took Sammy testing Sunday and we took a lot of what he has done and applied it to my car,” said Pollard.  “I knew the racetrack would tend tight with the rubber being left down the last couple days.  We did all the adjustments the same as we did to his car and it worked.  It’s good when you can take that information, it speeds that process up.”

Pollard has brought two brand new cars for himself and Smith for the Derby, along with a Pro Late Model for Saturday night’s Snowflake 100.  That, along with the Peach State Classic at his family-owned Senoia Raceway, has made for a busy last couple of months.

“Getting everything prepared's just tough because you want to give it 100% and this year we made it a little tougher on us because we’re bringing a second car for the Super race and we’re going to run the Snowflake, which we haven’t done in quite some time.”

Meanwhile, Sammy Smith returns to Five Flags Speedway after missing the field the year before.  A past winner of both the Winchester 400 and Redbud 400, the Snowball Derby will be his first Super Late Model start of the year.

“It’s something that we’ve kind of had going all year.  We had a really good test Sunday and Monday, so we’ll see how it goes this week,” said Smith.  “I’m excited to come back here and race again with Bubba and his group, I’m looking forward to having some fun.”

After Sunday’s test session, Smith is confident in his chances to improve his result from 2022 by one spot.

“Based off the test, I feel pretty good about the car.  I think we still have to work on a couple of things but we have a great racecar and hopefully we can qualify good and race up front all day.”

VIDEO: FloRacing spent a day with Bubba Pollard in his hometown of Senoia, GA. 

Ty Majeski Enters Derby As Defending Winner, Reigning NASCAR Truck Champion

There is always added notoriety when a driver returns to the Snowball Derby as the defending race winner, as Ty Majeski is set to do for a second time following his wins last year and in 2020.  The 2024 edition is extra special for the Wisconsin driver though, as he is one month removed from winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship for the first time in his career.

He is also fresh off a win last weekend further south in the Sunshine State, winning the Billy Bigley Memorial at Freedom Factory.  

“Coming off the Truck championship and the Bigley win, we have a lot of momentum going on both sides of my racing career,” said Majeski.  “I feel like we have a good car coming into this weekend again, our Late Model stuff’s been really good this year.  Excited to get down here and see where we stack up.”

Now in his 11th Snowball Derby appearance, Majeski’s racing career has taken off in the time since he made his debut in the race in 2014.  Now at 30 years old, he finds himself in a good spot both in NASCAR and in Super Late Model racing.

“I’ve worked a long time to get an opportunity with ThorSport.  The championship to me has always been our goal, but it’s icing on the cake.  I work with great people and we have an opportunity to win races week in and week out.  The championship is a bonus for me, I love what I’m doing now on both sides of my career, I work with some great people and I have fun doing it, that’s all that matters.”

VIDEO: Ty Majeski tells us why he loves the challenge of the Snowball Derby. 

Cole Butcher Looking To End Roller Coaster 2024 Season With Derby Win

It has been an up and down season for Cole Butcher both on and off the track.  A pair of wins with the ASA STARS National Tour and a third victory with the Southern Super Series was mixed with misfortune in races he had strong performances in.  He also missed two months after he underwent surgery to treat an irregular heartbeat.

He returned to racing in September at Five Flags and nearly won the race before a late crash took him out.  Two weeks later, he won the Winchester 400.

“That was a really big win for myself and my team.  We gave that one away the past couple of years, so to cap the end of the season off was pretty special,” said Butcher.  “We’re looking forward to the Derby, we’ve been pretty consistent the last couple years so hopefully we can keep that rolling.”

A model of consistency over the years at the Snowball Derby, Butcher has finished in the top-ten in six of his seven starts, which includes top-five runs in four of the last five years.  He won the ASA STARS National Tour race at Five Flags in March and led laps in each of the other three Blizzard Series races in 2024, giving him confidence going into this weekend’s Derby.

“We had a really good test session last week and I feel like our Blizzard Series has been really good, other than a couple wrecks.  I’m really excited to get this weekend started.”

Canadian Phenom Makes Derby Debut

The reigning two-time APC United Late Model Series champion north of the border, Kyle Steckly concludes his rookie Super Late Model season in the United States with his Snowball Derby debut.  

He earned Rookie of the Year honors with the ASA STARS National Tour in 2024 with Rette Jones Racing, winning the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway in July and adding a third at the Winchester 400.

“Before this year I had never run a Super Late Model before.  It’s been a big learning year for me, I’ve definitely learned a ton at every race we go to and have had a ton of fun doing it,” Steckly stated.  “Just keep learning and using the experience from the ASA STARS National Tour to my advantage.”

It will not be Steckly’s first appearance at Five Flags, having competed in the previous two Snowflake 100’s and ASA STARS’s stop in Pensacola back in March.  He finished fifth in the Snowflake one year ago.

He will also have a teammate in the Rette Jones Stable for this weekend – NASCAR Cup Series regular and 2018 Derby champion Noah Gragson.

“It’s huge for sure.  He’s got so much experience in Super Late Models and a lot of success here and on all levels.  I lean on him a lot for different racetracks we go to, but also race craft in general and how he prepares for races.”

Lapcevich Brothers To Race Against Each Other

Cayden and Treyten Lapcevich could join the Allison’s (Bobby and Donnie) and the Plott’s (Kyle and Kason) as the third set of brothers to compete in the same Snowball Derby.

The elder Lapcevich is getting behind the wheel for the fourth time this year after spending the 2024 season as Toni Breidinger’s crew chief in the ARCA Menards Series.  It’s just his second Snowball Derby appearance, with the other coming back in 2020 for Indiana car owner Bobby Blount.

He joins Canada-based Holdaway Motorsports for their first Derby attempt and the American debut of a new chassis, Holdaway McWhirter Racecars 001.  The duo made a start together at Delaware Speedway in September and were dominant before an engine failure ended their race early.

“We had a pretty good test last Saturday.  We were able to take some stuff from my car and apply it to Treyten’s car.  I think both cars are really good,” said Cayden Lapcevich.  “I really like working with Shawn and Taylor and all of them.  We’ve got some good ideas that we’re going to go ahead and try during practice tomorrow.  I like my racecar so far, driver needs to do a little bit better job but we’re all learning.  I haven’t been in the seat a whole lot this year and I think it showed.  Other than that, I like my racecar and we definitely have something to work from.”

The younger Lapcevich has spent the 2024 season racing in the Late Model Stock ranks with Chad Bryant Racing.  He won his first CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in August, then followed it up with a win two weeks ago in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.

Like his older brother, Treyten is also making his second Snowball Derby attempt this weekend.  His debut came last year with Cayden as his crew chief, finishing 24th after getting caught up in a late-race incident.

“Last year was a good experience for me having Cayden there as well.  Just to be able to build a notebook for this car, we came here last year with no notebook and we had qualifying speed, but we just needed to work on our race speed.  After getting that 275 laps or whatever we got before getting into that late-race incident, it was still a good notebook we were able to put together to come back here this year and build on.”

Both brothers are former NASCAR Pinty’s Series champions, and now gets the rare opportunity to share the track together on Super Late Model’s biggest stage.

“It’s always fun to get to run with your brother.  At the end of the day we’re family, put us both in the show and we’ll handle it from there,” said Cayden.  “We’ve done it a few times, I don’t think he’s beaten me if I’m mistaken.  He’s really good, he’s progressed a ton throughout the year getting into the CARS Tour stuff with Chad Bryant.  Hopefully we can go one-two on Sunday, that would be pretty big for us and Canada.”

“It was cool when Cayden ran the Snowball Derby in 2020 and it was cool when I ran the Snowball Derby last year too.  I don’t think either of us thought we would get to the point of both of us running the Snowball Derby together,” Treyten echoed.  “It’s cool that we’re able to do this together as a family and it’s nice to have someone else to rely on for information and feedback.  Chassis are a little bit different but for the most part we’re able to try different things and provide that feedback to each other.”