PENSACOLA, FL – For the second-straight year, Erik Jones is taking the Tom Dawson trophy home to Byron, Michigan as the winner of the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL.
In 2012, Jones took his family-owned No. 4 Super Late Model to victory lane as he edged out NASCAR star Kyle Busch for the win. This year, Busch put Jones in his No. 51 and the result was the same – the now 17-year-old Jones hoisted the winner’s laurels.
Jones was declared the winner in Sunday’s 46th Annual Snowball Derby Presented by JEGS after unofficial winner Chase Elliott was disqualified for a technical infraction in post-race tech. That gave the win for a second-straight season to Jones.
“It’s racing and sometimes you’re going to have tech infractions,” said Jones. “I’m happy to get the win though, back-to-back like that. That’s amazing doing it with a whole different crew in KBM.”
Sunday’s Snowball Derby win brings a successful 365-day span full-circle. After besting Busch in last year’s event, Jones was signed to drive Busch’s entry on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway in November. In addition, Jones won another major Super Late Model race, the Winchester 400 in October, as well as an ARCA Racing Series event in 2013.
Now, a full year after his biggest win, Jones added another.
“It’s pretty awesome picking up the win in both the (Winchester) 400 and the Snowball Derby in the same year. That’s something I never would’ve dreamed of. To bring it home again, that’s pretty special.”
Elliott led a race-high 233 laps en route to the unofficial victory in a dominant performance. In post-race inspection, tungsten, which is not allowed according to the rules, was discovered in Elliott’s car.
“That’s not how you want to win a race,” added Jones, “but you’ll always take them.”
“We battled hard, fought hard all weekend all weekend since Thursday’s practice. We were always changing stuff, so it’s pretty rewarding to come and end up getting the win.”
Alabama’s Grant Enfinger finished the 300-lap Snowball Derby on just seven cylinders, but has a second-place result to show for it. Maine’s Austin Theriault was third, followed by Alabama’s Hunter Robbins and North Carolinian John Hunter Nemechek, son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joe Nemechek.
Now the Tom Dawson trophy is en route to Michigan for a second-straight season with Erik Jones. Will he be going for a third in 2014?
“Definitely,” said Jones. “It’s only 364 days away.”
For more on the 46th Annual Snowball Derby Presented by JEGS, visit www.snowballderby.com.
46th Annual Snowball Derby Presented by JEGS
Five Flags Speedway // Pensacola, Florida // Sunday, December 8, 2013
1 51J Erik Jones 300
2 90 Grant Enfinger 300
3 29T Austin Theriault 300
4 18 Hunter Robbins 300
5 8 John Hunter Nemechek 300
6 11 David Rogers 300
7 71 Kyle Benjamin 300
8 25 Ross Kenseth 300
9 12 Derek Thorn 300
10 2W Donnie Wilson 300
11 29C Landon Cassill 300
12 96 Ben Kennedy 300
13 42 Chad Finley 299
14 21 Cale Gale 299
15 99 Casey Smith 299
16 10 Johanna Long 299
17 7 Paul Shafer Jr. 299
18 22 Jeremy Pate 299
19 45 Clay Rogers 298
20 98 Daniel Hemric 298
21 51N Stephen Nasse 298
22 49 Josh Hamner 298
23 15 Mason Massey 297
24 129 Spencer Davis 295
25 29B Anderson Bowen 294
26 11 Logan Boyett 294
27 91 Zac Hausler 270
28 77 David Ragan 244
29 98 Mason Mingus 235
30 26 Bubba Pollard 224
31 74 Preston Peltier 123
32 14 Chris Davidson 40
33 41 T.J. Reaid 37
34 53 Boris Jurkovic 24
35 1 Mike Garvey 11
36 112 Augie Grill 0
DQ 9 Chase Elliott 300
From Matt Kentfield, 51 Sports
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