Casey Smith Prepared for 39th Annual Snowball Derby

[debwill]

Casey Smith Prepared for 39th Annual Snowball Derby

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS (November 27, 2006) – Twenty-one year-old Texas driving sensation, Casey Smith has spent the last few months working towards the “biggest race of the year”. The Snowball Derby is held every December at Five Flags Speedway, a ½ mile paved oval in Pensacola, Florida. The Snowball Derby is the Daytona 500, the Superbowl, of short-track stock-car racing.

 

Why is this race so big? The Snowball Derby has been running since 1968 and has been won by stock-car greats such as Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, and Rich Bickle, Jr. There are many Late Model racing series around this country, but this is an event in which many of the top drivers from those series come to hone their skills against the best-of-the-best. This race is not for a championship, there are no series points involved, but what it does award is bragging rights, your name on the winners list next to the legends….not to mention a nice $20,000 pay check.

 

The entry list for the 39th Annual Snowball Derby Super Late Model race that will take place on Sunday afternoon, December 3rd is impressive. Short Track Veterans, NASCAR drivers and even an Indy Car driver are entered in this event. With 78 total entries listed one week prior to the event, it will be a race in itself just to qualify for the main event. More than half of the entries will go home Saturday without a chance at taking the green flag.

 

Casey has three Snowball Derby starts, his first in 2001, where he qualified 14th and worked his way to the third spot early in the race but was hit by a lap car under yellow.

 

“Now that was probably the craziest thing that has happened to me in a stock car.” Casey said. “I was 16 years old, so Dad was on his toes spotting for me and telling me to stay in line with the leaders and making sure I am aware of the cars dropping down to come into the pits. All of a sudden I hear Dad screaming over the radio that this idiot just ran over the top of my car. It knocked all the electrical out, ripped the door off, and I was done for the day. According to the driver that ran over me, his hood was flopped up, and he was trying to get to the pits but couldn’t see where he was going.”

 

Casey’s second try at the Derby came in 2003. “We were on top of the speed charts from the time we unloaded,” Casey remembers. “Joe Shear, Jr. was helping me that year and when I went out to qualify I drove it off in the corner too deep, and washed up the race track. I had to go second round the next day, I had fast time in the second round and earned the 31st starting spot and ran 3rd. Charlie Bradberry won and Gary St. Amandt ran 2nd.

 

His last Derby attempt came the following year in 2004. “We were junk when we got there, in fact I was so bad that I wanted to load up and go home, but I got Joe on the phone and he talked me through things to change and finally got the car pretty good. I didn’t qualify in the top 30, we kept working on the car, then ran the last chance race and won it and again earned the 31st starting spot. I was running 3rd with eight laps to go and blew up. I didn’t have anything for Steven Wallace, who won, but we had a second or third place car.”

 

Casey has raced against many of the entrants this year, while running the Blizzard races. “We used the Blizzard events as a test to prepare for the Snowball.” In late July Casey was looking to take the checkers at Five Flags Speedway, after leading the last 27 laps of the 100-lap event, however was involved in an overtime accident, which totaled his primary car.

 

Casey Smith has dedicated continuous hours preparing for this year’s Snowball. He has been busy building a brand new car for the event and will have veteran crew chief Joe Shear, Jr. on the pit box to make the calls.

 

“We ordered a new frame from Robert Hamke, and went and picked it up in late September, since that time I have dedicated endless hours building a new car for the Derby. We took it to the track Saturday and shook it down. I am really proud of the end result.”

 

“The first goal is to just make the race. I feel like we have the equipment and Joe Shear Jr will be calling the shots. Joe is the best crew chief and coach I have ever worked with. We've got the team to qualify and run well in the race.”

 

The track opens for practice on Thursday. Time trial qualifying is at 6:00 CT Friday. The top-30 fastest times are automatically locked in. Last Chance races are run on Saturday and the race is at 2:00 CT on Sunday, December 3rd.

 

Visit www.caseysmithracing.com for more information on Casey Smith and his team.

 

 

CONTACT:

Paige Miller

Paige_miller@hotmail.com

512-589-6052