Chandler Smith moved then-leader Derek Thorn with eight laps remaining and drove away from the 37-car field to win the 54th Annual Snowball Derby presented by Hooters.
The standing-room only crowd at Five Flags Speedway delivered a mixed response of cheers and boos when the 19-year-old Smith climbed out of his car and thrust his arms into the air in a Victory Lane celebration.
Thorn, the Derby polesitter for the third consecutive year, led every lap of the 300-lap Super Late Model race until Smith’s No. 26 pushed his No. 43 up the track on Lap 292 to create enough room to make the defining pass.
AND: A number of NASCAR drivers ran the event:
Ryan Preece; 4th
Carson Hocevar; 7th
Corey Heim; 9th
Erik Jones; 10th
Ty Majeski; 11th
Grant Enfinger; 19th
Derek Kraus; 20th
Wow. Snowball Derby Champions. This team has came so far in one year and I’m so proud to be able to say that I’ve been apart of it. I can’t thank everyone enough for this. pic.twitter.com/Mic3xiG1Jq
— Chandler Smith (@CSmithDrive) December 6, 2021
Snowball champ! @CSmithDrive wins the 2021 #SnowballDerby pic.twitter.com/HXbzLDL9Dv
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) December 5, 2021