Dan Shugart owes his first Snowball Derby experience to Rusty Wallace’s crew chief.

Buddy Parrott was Rusty Wallace’s longtime crew chief. Shugart was mere months into his first professional job as the weekend sports reporter for WEAR-TV, Pensacola’s ABC affiliate. The Los Angeles-born Shugart, assigned to cover Wallace’s pits during the 1981 Derby, felt like a fish out of water at short-track racing’s crown jewel.

“He was so cool and said, ‘I gotcha,’ ” Shugart fondly remembers. “It was my first race, and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, but Rusty and the team were so gracious and helped me do my job.”

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That’s exactly what Shugart did for 40-plus years at WEAR. The recently retired sports director did his job for every assignment and broadcast. To do his job, Shugart knew he needed the support of others throughout the community. Along the way, he created indelible relationships with sources and subjects, sharing their impactful stories with a Gulf Coast audience every night.

For his community efforts and his spellbinding reports on races throughout the Five Flags season, Shugart has been named the Grand Marshal of the 57th annual Snowball Derby, taking place at Five Flags from December 4 through December 8.

“It means more than I could ever express or comprehend,” he said. “I wasn’t in the auto racing community until I came here and started working. I had to teach myself and depend on the good graces of other people.

“No one, in any realm, has been more gracious to me than Tim Bryant. He helped me do the job. The Snowball is a monumental event for this town. From a personal standpoint, it’s a joy to be named Grand Marshal and from a professional standpoint, it’s an honor that’s off the charts.”

With his nightly reports during race weeks, Shugart helped tell the stories of the hard work the Friday night heroes put into their craft. He, of course, has been a staple at the Derby since his first race in ’81.

As dusk fell on that first Sunday in December, Shugart would head south on Pine Forest and hustle back to the TV studio on Mobile Hwy. to tell his audience about the race and who won that Derby.

“It has been fun to see the elevation of the event over the years,” he said. “I remember Eddie Mercer finally winning his and winning from the pole (2005) after such a long journey. Then, Johanna (Robbins) winning (2010). At that time, you started wondering if anyone from Pensacola was going to win it because it had gotten so big.

“Now, there’s just a steady stream of NASCAR stars. From Kyle Busch’s wins to Chase Elliott’s and Erik Jones’. The biggest names in racing circle this race and want to win the Derby.”

Shugart came to Pensacola in March 1980 shortly after graduating his beloved UCLA. His father, Rear Admiral Kenneth Shugart lived here and oversaw the Naval Education and Training Command program at Pensacola NAS. Dan Shugart took a part-time weekend radio job at WBSR before WEAR gave him his big break a year later. The rest became Pensacola history.

While overwhelmingly effusive with his praise of the Bryant Family and humbled to receive this unique honor, the always eloquent and polished Shugart admits nerves about fulfilling his role that first Sunday in December.

“I have to give the four most important words in racing, right?” he joked. “I’ve already been rehearsing that for weeks. I think I can do it.”

Not to worry. Dan Shugart is pretty comfortable with audiences.