Chase Elliott wins Snowball Derby pole with record lap

Chase Elliott continued to add to his list of accomplishments behind the wheel as he won the pole for the Snowball Derby. The son of Bill Elliott won the pole with a lap of 16.133 seconds, setting a new track record.

“It felt like a good lap, but I didn’t think it was that good, but obviously glad that we could get it done,” Elliott said. “It definitely can be nerve-wracking (to be the last to qualify), and at the same time not being locked into this race this year, that can be a little nerve-wracking, too.

“But you just gotta go out and do the same thing you do and not lose track of that.”

This marks the first time that the 2011 Snowball Derby winner has sat on the pole for the event as his previous best qualifying effort was a fifth. He won the Snowflake 100 last year.

Late Model stand-out Bubba Pollard qualified second, followed by Joe Nemechek’s son John Hunter-Nemechek, Defending Southern Super Series champion Daniel Hemric and Augie Grill.

Casey Smith qualified sixth followed by Austin Theriault, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner David Ragan, Zak Hausler and ARCA competitor Grant Enfinger.

Matt Kenseth’s son Ross qualified 11th followed by defending race winner Erik Jones. Jones beat Kyle Busch last year to win the event. Jones returned this year, driving the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Late Model for Kyle Busch Racing.

With time trials completed, the top 30 are locked in the field, along with three provisionals. Donnie Wilson, Clay Rogers and Chris Davidson will make the coveted event virtue of their provisional.

The rest of the drivers will be forced to run the 50-lap last chance qualifier later tonight (Saturday) to complete the last four positions of the field. The event will be worth watching as it will include ARCA runner-up Mason Mingus, Canadian Alex Labbe, 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Rookie of the Year Cole Powell and NASCAR drivers Dakoda Armstrong and Cale Gale.

The complete Snowball Derby qualifying results can be found below.

1. Chase Elliott
2. Bubba Pollard
3. John Hunter Nemechek
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Augie Grill
6. Casey Smith
7. Austin Theriault
8. David Ragan
9. Zak Hausler
10. Grant Enfinger
11. Ross Kenseth
12. Erik Jones
13. Stephen Nasse
14. Kyle Benjamin
15. Paul Shafer Jr.
16. Ben Kennedy
17. Chad Finley
18. T.J. Reaid
19. Preston Peltier
20. Hunter Robbins
21. Mason Massey
22. Derek Thorn
23. Johanna Long
24. Spencer Davis
25. Boris Jurkovic
26. Jeremy Pate
27. Mike Garvey
28. Logan Boyett
29. Landon Cassill
30. Anderson Bowen
31. Donnie Wilson
32. Mason Mingus
33. Clay Rogers
34. D.J. VanderLey
35. David Rogers
36. Kyle Bryant
37. Brady Boswell
38. Alex Labbe
39. Dwayne Buggay
40. Mark Kraus
41. Josh Hamner
42. Dalton Grindle
43. Kyle Grissom
44. Chris Wimmer
45. Lonnie Somerville
46. Chris Davidson
47. Nathan Davis
48. D.J. Shaw
49. Jeff Fultz
50. Junior Niedecken
51. Cale Gale
52. Jerry Artuso
53. Dakoda Armstrong
54. Allen Karnes
55. Cole Powell
56. Tim Martin
57. Steve Dorer
58. Dennis Schoenfeld

About the Author

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

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