Craig Claims First Blizzard Series Win, Nasse Scores Elusive Title

One driver scored an elusive victory, and another snagged an elusive championship on the final stop on the Road to the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway on Saturday night.

Matt Craig scored his first Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series victory in his 26th start with the series. The North Carolina native led wire-to-wire in a dominant performance, crossing the finish line nearly 2.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Spencer Davis.

Craig made his first Super Late Model start at Five Flags Speedway in 2016 and has been a regular part of the Blizzard Series field since 2021. He has also won three times in the Allen Turner Pro Late Models at the Pensacola, Florida half-mile, most recently in 2021.

There have been plenty of strong runs and podium finishes along the way, for the multi-time champion in both the CARS Super Late Model Tour and the PASS South Super Late Model Series, as well as four ASA Southern Super Series wins. On Saturday night, everything came together for Craig to visit victory lane at Five Flags in a Super Late Model.

"I've just got to thank the good Lord, for one," said Craig in victory lane. "My dad, family watching at home. It's taken a lot of money and a lot of effort to do this. It's been a couple of years, we've struggled, a ton of seconds, a ton of thirds. It's been hard to get this win, but we finally got it."

While Craig flexed his muscle at the front of the field, Stephen Nasse thrilled fans on his way to his first Blizzard Series championship. Nasse entered the evening with a healthy points lead over Davis, but that soon fell into jeopardy after being part of the first caution of the night, spinning on lap three.

Nasse went to the rear of the field but was in the top 10 by lap 28 and reached the top five on lap 70. The Pinellas Park, Florida driver fell to seventh in the closing laps, but it was enough to claim this year's Blizzard Series championship.

"It's been a long time coming for this one," Nasse said. "We almost had it get away from us there. We were able to come back through. Had something going on with the car there at the end. I didn't know what it was. I just wanted to finish. When it's not your night, it's not your night.

"We had too many problems too early, but that's what happens when you qualify in the back like that. That just makes for a good show when it works out. "he car had a little bit too much damage to be able to work with those guys at the front. We had a little glimmer of hope, but it just didn't work out."

With the Blizzard Series in the books, all eyes are now on the 59th Annual Snowball Derby on December 3-6. After winning last year's Snowball Derby, Nasse hopes to go for another Tom Dawson Trophy in a few months' time.

These Campi guys are the best group of guys out there. They do such a good job bringing fast race cars. We're going to come back to the Derby with a fast P1 chassis. Preston and all his guys, they work really hard on these cars and it really showed in the Pro race. I wish I could have shown off better for them in the Super race, but come December, you know we're going to go for another Tom Dawson Trophy."

Craig's win came against a stacked field, including the short-track stars that populate the Blizzard Series as well as 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and his son, Keelan.

Kevin Harvick ran as high as third in the race before falling to ninth in the final running order, driving the No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. entry in the contest. Davis battled with Harvick for several laps en route to his second-place finish, trying to maximize his points night in hopes of chasing down Nasse for the Blizzard title.

"When I fell to third, I just had to race the 25 a bit too hard and couldn't get back to the 54," said Davis. "We came out swinging, we did all we could do with 25 to go. I closed the gap all I could. They were just better. They worked real hard this weekend and had a better race car, hats off to them."

Jake Finch finished third, giving him two podium finishes on the night. Finch finished second in the Allen Turner Tuneup 100, capping off his second straight Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series title.

"Not too bad. I wish we could have fired off a little bit better on the restarts, but the long run was really good. Probably the best car, Super Late Model-wise, I've had here. I just wish we could fire off to have something on the short run for the restarts. Tweak on it a little bit, and I think we'll have something for the Derby."

Bubba Pollard finished fourth, with Keelan Harvick rounding out the top five.

The next time cars will be on track at Five Flags Speedway is the Snowball Derby Preview on November 21. The open practice will set the stage for the 59th Annual Snowball Derby on December 3-6.

-Photo credit: David Kranak

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