By the Numbers, by Elgin Traylor, Stat Man from Speed 51

 

By Elgin “Stat Man” Traylor; Speed 51

The final stop on the Road to the Snowball Derby will take place Saturday night at Five Flags Speedway.  Both the Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series and Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series will be in action for their championship finales.  With a lot on the line this weekend, we decided to take a look at the event in this edition of “By the Numbers” on Speed51.

 

0: The number of Blizzard Series race wins for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Despite three Snowball Derby wins, the KBM team has never won a short Blizzard Series sprint race at Five Flags.

 

3: Bubba Pollard will be seeking his third Blizzard win of the season.  If he gets it, that will give him three consecutive seasons with at least three Blizzard wins. He has won a Blizzard race in each of the last 12 seasons.

 

4: Bubba Pollard has won the season finale in the Blizzard Series in each of the last four seasons.

 

4: Matt Craig has been dominating this summer in the Carolina region with his new Rowdy Manufacturing car. Craig has only one prior start at Five Flags, but we expect him to do better with a fast car that has led him to four wins this season.

 

10: Staying in the top 10 in points will be huge for one driver, as the top 10 in the Blizzard Series standings are eligible for a provisional at the Snowball Derby. Of course, the provisional goes to the champion first but if they don’t make it in on time they or the next person could be line for an automatic starting spot.

 

14: Connor Okrzesik could be the man of the night as he is chasing both the Super Late Model and the Pro Late Model title.

 

23: This has to be one of the tightest points battle in Blizzard Series history, with only 23 points separating the top six drivers. Bubba Pollard and Casey Roderick are each chasing a record fourth Blizzard Series title, while Lucas Jones, Giovanni Bromante, Connor Okrzesik and Anthony Sergi are all chasing their first. Saturday’s finale could be similar to the 1992 NASCAR Cup finale where six drivers had a shot and a cinderella story emerged.

 

51: Chandler Smith in the No. 51 car will be leading the parade for Kyle Busch Motorsports, an organization that has won the last two Snowball Derby races.

 

150: Saturday night’s main event will be 150 laps, which is half the distance of the Snowball Derby in December.

 

Past Blizzard Series Winners

Bubba Pollard 20

Augie Grill 9

Chase Elliott 5

Scott Carlson 5

Casey Roderick 4

Eddie Mercer 2

Johanna Long 2

Dave Mader, III 2

Daniel Hemric 2

Jeff Choquette 2

Charlie Bradberry 2

Cale Gale 1

Grant Enfinger 1

Hunter Robbins 1

Justin Drawdy 1

Ryan Crane 1

Josh Hamner 1

Mike Garvey 1

Kyle Benjamin 1

TJ Reaid 1

Kyle Grissom 1

Giovanni Bromante 1

 

Past Blizzard Champions

2018 Casey Roderick

2017 Bubba Pollard

2016 Casey Roderick

2015 Casey Roderick

2014 Bubba Pollard

2013 Daniel Hemric

2012 Bubba Pollard

2011 Augie Grill

2010 Chase Elliott

2009 Johanna Long

2008 Josh Hamner

2007 Scott Carlson

2006 Dave Mader, III

2005 Eddie Mercer

 

Allen Turner Tune-Up 100 

 

2: Not only did Bubba Pollard win two races in the same day at Five Flags Speedway last fall, he also won the Allen Turner Tune-Up 100 for second time in his career. Only he and Mike Garvey have won it more then once; Garvey has three wins in the event.

 

3: For the first time in many years we head into the last race of the year with no repeat winners. Bubba Pollard, Colby Howard and Kyle Plott have all won this season. Plott and Howard recorded their first career wins at Five Flags. Could we have another first-time winner on Friday night?

 

3: It’s an outside chance, but Casey Roderick is seeking a third-straight Pro Late Model championship. We truthfully are not sure he will have a Pro Late Model ride this weekend, but he is still in the thick of the points battle.

 

7: Connor Okrzesik and Jake Garcia are separated by only seven markers heading into the final race of the season.

 

8: There have been eight different winners in the race in the 11 years that it’s been run.

 

10: Remember, finishing in the top 10 will be huge as it could be the difference in making the Snowflake 100 and going home. The top 10 drivers in the Allen Turner Pro Late Model point standings are eligible for provisional positions.

 

51: Both races will be streamed live Saturday night via a pay-per-view broadcast on Speed51.com. Click here to order your video tickets today.

 

100: The race will be 100 laps.

 

2013: Chase Elliott was the only driver to win the Allen Turner Tune-Up 100 and the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 in the same year.

 

Five Flags Speedway Pro Late Model Track Champions

2018 Casey Roderick

2017 Casey Roderick

2016 Bret Holmes

2015 Ryan Luza

2014 Johanna Long

2013 Garrett Jones

2012 Mike Garvey

2011 DJ VanderLey

2010 DJ VanderLey

2009 Ronnie Smith

2008 Johanna Long

2007 Sammy McMullen

2006 Steve Davis

2005 Brandon Carlson

*Prior to 2005 the top weekly class was Super Late Models

 

Allen Turner Tune-Up 100 Winners

2018 Bubba Pollard

2017 Casey Roderick

2016 Jeff Choquette

2015 Derek Thorn

2014 Mike Garvey

2013 Chase Elliott

2012 Mike Garvey

2011 Brandon Bendele

2010 Mike Garvey

2009 Bubba Pollard

2008 Ryan Crane

 

-Story by: Elgin Traylor, Speed51.com Stat Boy