The first look at the official entry list for the 57th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway has yet to come, but we now know of one past champion of the race that will be making his return to Pensacola, Florida on December 8 to chase another Tom Dawson Trophy. NASCAR Cup Series driver Noah Gragson, the winner of the 51st Snowball Derby, will be back once again, he confirmed to FloRacing on Tuesday. 

• What To Know About The 2024 Snowball Derby
• Subscribe To FloRacing To Watch The 2024 Snowball Derby
• Bubba Pollard First To File Entry For 2024 Snowball Derby

Gragson, who will be running his third season in the Cup Series for Front Row Motorsports in 2025, will be piloting a Super Late Model fielded by Rette-Jones Racing in this year’s Snowball Derby.

“I’m super pumped,” Gragson told FloRacing when reached by phone this week. “It’s obviously one of my favorite events of the season in any form of racing. Going down there and seeing faces I only see one time a year, or faces I see throughout the NASCAR season, you get a little mix of everything. It’s great to go down there. The competition level, everything about it. It’s just a fun week. The town of Pensacola and the race, the atmosphere, everything about it is just awesome.”

The 26-year-old driver from Las Vegas, Nevada won the Snowball Derby in 2018 driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in his fourth try. To show just how hard this race is, Gragson has either failed to qualify or finished no better than 20th in his three starts since his victory. He had a shot last year to win, but a bad restart while running fourth with less than 20 laps to go triggered a big crash that ended his day early.

That’s part of the reason why Gragson enjoys this event so much. Even though he’s experienced the highest of highs, like in 2018, he’s also experienced the lowest of lows, like in 2015 when he was caught up in a crash that resulted in a fractured wrist. Because it’s so hard, the win in 2018 means that much more.

“Man, that’s like the hardest one for sure,” Gragson said. “Just because you’ve got the best of the best. You’re not in your wheelhouse. Through those years, I raced Super Late Models a little bit growing up, but you get so used to the driving technique of whatever series or car you’re in. Just hopping in and trying to figure it out is pretty difficult. For the most part, it’s tough to just get in a Super Late Model and go fast right off the bat and run good.”

Gragson said he knew in final practice in 2018 that he had a car that could win the race the next day, but he said he still feels they got a little bit lucky.

“We got lucky with the pit stop and the way the cautions fell,” Gragson explained. “We were able to hold them off, but shoot. They don’t ask how. They just ask how many. And we’ve got one so far.”

Ever since 2018 he’s been trying recapture that Pensacola glory. He’s missed two of the races since as he continued to try to climb to the highest rung of the NASCAR ladder. But this year’s race will mark his third Snowball Derby attempt in a row and his eighth attempted start overall.

If he wins it, he joins a very exclusive list of drivers who have won the Snowball Derby more than once. In the 56 races that have been run, only 12 drivers have won it multiple times. 11 of those drivers have only won it twice, while Rich Bickle has won it five times. A second victory for Gragson would put him in company with Wayne Niedecken, Dickie Davis, Freddy Fryar, Gary Balough, Bobby Gill, Gary St. Amant, Augie Grill, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, and Ty Majeski as two-time winners of the Snowball Derby.

But Gragson said joining that list doesn’t make him feel any pressure. He said the extra pressure is already there just because of how much he loves this race.

“I put probably the most amount of pressure on myself for that race compared to other races, as silly as that sounds,” said Gragson. “It’s just a race that I want to win so bad. It’s just such a cool race. I’d love the opportunity to win it again. It’s a race that I look forward to going to every year and trying to win it, because it’s a big one.”

The 57th Annual Snowball Derby will be broadcast live on FloRacing for the first time this year, and for the first time ever the event will not be available as a pay-per-view event. The Snowball Derby is available to all FloRacing subscribers with a yearly or monthly subscription. Race fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.

The 57th Annual Snowball Derby festivities will begin on Tuesday, December 3 with the annual Kickoff Party, being held this year at The Ticket Sports Bar in Pensacola. FloRacing will broadcast the Kickoff Party live at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

Festivities at Five Flags Speedway get underway on Wednesday, December 4 with the annual parking of the haulers and pit party. Late Model teams, both Pro and Super Late Model, will draw for qualifying positions at the stage on the front stretch. 

Thursday will see the first on-track action of the busy weekend when the Super Late Models and the Pro Late Models hit the track for a full morning and afternoon of practice. Later that night the Sportsman, Pure Stocks, and Pro Trucks will take to the track for their feature events.  

Fast Friday will see more practice for the Super Late Models and the Pro Late Models leading up to time trials for the 57th Annual Snowball Derby at 6 p.m. CT. The top 30 drivers will lock themselves into the field for Sunday’s main event. The nightcap will feature the Modified of Mayhem 2024 Championship Race, plus a Crown Stock Invitational.  

Saturday is by far the busiest day at the track with practice in the morning for the Late Models before the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 cars take to the track in the mid-afternoon. Following time trials the last chance races for the Snowflake 100 and the 57th Annual Snowball Derby will occur. The 21st Annual Allen Turner Snowflake 100 will roll at 7 p.m., followed by the Outlaw Division.

It all leads up to Sunday, the 57th running of the Snowball Derby. Green flag will be at 1 p.m. CT for the 300-lap Super Late Model event.  

Fans unable to attend the 57th Annual Snowball Derby in person will be able to watch the entire week of racing live on FloRacing. If you're not already a FloRacing subscriber, click here to sign up today. 

For more information on the 57th Annual Snowball Derby go to www.snowballderby.com.