James Finch Reflects on Decades of Snowball Derby Memories

To say James Finch has forgotten more about the Snowball Derby than most people will know is true. The veteran car owner is in Pensacola, Florida every December looking to be a part of magic. The owner of Phoenix Construction has seen his sponsored cars and the cars he’s owned contend for the Tom Dawson trophy year after year.

We sat down with Finch to get his take on the race and the things he’s seen over the years.

“This is a hard race to win,” said Finch. “I mean you come for the party and the race is a small part of it. It’s the camaraderie you have with the best short trackers around. It took me a long time to win it and it made it special when we finally got it.”

We asked a man who had only missed a few who had most impressed him at the Derby.

“I’d have to say, Pete Hamilton,” said Finch, very matter of fact. “He sat on the pole (in 1973) and they argued with him about his car, about the motor line, and the whole deal. So anyway, he kind of fell out of the race. He'd come back the next year, sat on the pole, and wore their ass out.”

Finch liked the competitive nature of the young Hamilton who was the first driver to win the Snowball Derby and the Daytona 500. Hamilton, like Finch, would return to help others achieve Snowball glory. The Ronnie Sanders win in 1977 had a Pet Hamilton rear end in the car.

So who does Finch think was the best to never win at the Derby?

“Hands down, Bobby Allison,” said Finch. “He was good here and his brother won one of them. Bobby should have won it a few times, but he never did. That’s the thing about this race. You have to have a complete day to win the race.”

Allison led a race-high 156 laps in 1975 and failed to win the race. That record for laps led without a win stood for 16 years before Jeff Purvis led 194 and failed to win the race.

Finch had to wait for a while for his own Snowball glory.

“I finally got it with Jeff (Purvis) in 1995,” said Finch. “We were always fast and we always led the race, but we never put it all together until 95.”

When put to the question, Finch said Purvis was one of the best to ever run the Derby. Purvis is the only guy to win the Snowball Derby and the World 100.

“Purvis was fun to watch in a V6 with an open rear end,” said Finch. “He was a dirt tracker and he could get around here back in those days when you could run a V6. We just never had the luck. Jeff should have two or three of these things. If he did then Bickle would only have two or three of them.”

There were no tears when Purvis won in 1995. Fast forward 20 years later and Finch was aiding the Eddie Mercer effort with parts and equipment and the tears came from a different direction.

“I was spotting a little and I told Eddie on the Radio, ‘You are fixing to win this race,’ - I said don’t go up there and start crying. After he won I went and got the police and got Eddie’s dad who was in bad shape. That brought some tears because I knew at the time what it meant for Eddie and the family.”

What Finch says the Derby lacks today is the racer that he grew up with.

“It didn't matter if you knew you were going to run like garbage, you went to the Derby at the end of the year,” said Finch. “We don't necessarily have that anymore because of the funding. “It’s a different generation, this new generation; they don't want to drink, they don't want to party, they don't want to do anything. They want to go get a mom’s phone and call DoorDash. They don’t know the cars, they don’t work on them, they don’t push them around the pits. We need that generational race.”

Finch is now a racing daddy as his son Jake is driving both Pro and Super Late Models. He only had one piece of advice for the young driver.

“Don’t piss off your car owner.”

-Five Flags Speedway Release
-Photo credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

James Finch Snowball Win List

1995 Jeff Purvis (Owner)
2005 Eddie Mercer (Support, Funding)
2014 Erik Jones (Sponsor)
2015 Chase Elliott (Sponsor)
2017 Kyle Busch (Sponsor)
2020 Ty Majeski (Sponsor)