Why Every Position Matters at Five Flags Speedway's Night of Champions

Saturday's NIGHT of Champions at Five Flags Speedway is the last chance for Late Model teams to race at the Pensacola half-mile ahead of the 57th Annual Snowball Derby. For many of those teams, every position will matter when they take the track Saturday.

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When the Snowball Derby rolls around on December 4-8, qualifying night on Friday is one of the most stressful and dramatic in short track racing. The pressure will be on drivers and teams to earn one of the 30 spots in the lineup and avoid the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday.

There are a few reprieves available, but they are limited and based on merit. Last year's Snowball Derby winner - and last year's winner alone - can earn a provisional, so only Ty Majeski holds a guaranteed spot in the field at this time. Two more provisionals are offered, one each based on points standings for the ASA Southern Super Series and Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series.

Those provisionals are often valuable to even the biggest names in the field. In 2022, the two provisionals went to two-time Snowball Derby winner Augie Grill and 2020 Southern Super Series champion Stephen Nasse. Bubba Pollard needed a provisional to make the starting grid in 2020.

Only four drivers advance from the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday. Often, with the stature of the field trying to make the Snowball Derby, the Last Chance Qualifier boasts a lineup that would make many weekly programs envious. Drivers such as Grill, Carson Hocevar, Jake Garcia, Sammy Smith, Derek Kraus and Carson Kvapil were all in last year's Last Chance Qualifier, won by former Derby pole-sitter Preston Peltier.

A first glance at the Southern Super Series standings may not seem that dramatic, with Casey Roderick carrying an 80-point advantage into the championship race. However, every spot behind him is one more spot in the pecking order for those crucial provisionals if necessary.

For example, Pollard sits just 12 points ahead of Matt Craig for second place, meaning that position could certainly change hands on Saturday. Cole Butcher is 11 points clear of Dustin Smith for eighth in another close battle.

ASA Southern Super Series Points Standings

With fewer races on the calendar, the points battles in the Blizzard Series are tighter and could see more fluctuation. Nasse carries an 11-point lead into the race over Roderick, seeking the Blizzard Series championship

Behind them, only five points separate Michael Hinde, Jacob Gomes and Craig for third through fifth. Ten points separate Connor Okrzesik, Pollard and Billy VanMeter for eighth through 10th, and a pair of drivers - 2023 Blizzard Series champion Jeremy Doss and Dylan Fetcho - are just five points behind VanMeter for 10th.

Another important condition of the provisionals is that a driver must finish inside the top 10 of the respective series to earn the provisional.

How much does every point matter? Perhaps no one knows that better than VanMeter. One year ago, VanMeter received the Blizzard Series provisional after finishing tied with Jake Finch for 10th in points. Even one point less throughout the season would have rendered VanMeter ineligible for the spot and sent him to the Last Chance Qualifier.

Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series Points

On the Pro Late Model side, there are also two available provisionals for the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 on Saturday, December 7. Those will both for Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series competitors who finish inside the top 10 in standings.

The Allen Turner Pro Late Model championship is still up for grabs. Carson Brown leads Seth Christensen by 14 points entering the finale. Only two points separate fourth through sixth positions, as George Phillips, Jim Wall and Jason Vail are tightly bunched in the standings.

On the bubble, 15 points separate eighth-place Zack Dixon from 11th-place Augie Grill. Jake Finch and Clayton Green are ninth and 10th, also part of the battle.

Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series Points

Every position matters Saturday at Five Flags Speedway's Night of Champions, which will give fans plenty of reason to watch the action unfold. Allen Turner Pro Late Model qualifying begins at 5:30 p.m. CT, with Southern Super Series qualifying to follow.

There will also be a driver autograph session starting at 6:30 p.m. CT, with racing starting at 7:30 p.m. The Story & Bleich Roofing Crown Stocks join the Allen Turner Pro Late Models and the ASA Southern Super Series/Blizzard Series Super Late Models on Saturday's card.

Fans unable to attend Saturday's event can watch live on RacingAmerica.TV. Click here to subscribe today and watch every lap of racing on Saturday night.

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America