The 14 Club: Four Drivers Hoping for 14th Snowball Derby Start

If seven is lucky, then two sevens is double the luck right? Is that how it works? Truthfully, we don’t know, but we can tell you that there are four guys on the Snowball Derby entry list this year looking to make their 14th start in the December event at Five Flags Speedway (FL). 14 is a lot of starts in this race, so you know that these guys have the experience and a win by any of them will not be a surprise.

These drivers are hoping they can tie the crafty veteran Jody Ridley who won in his 14th Snowball Derby attempt. Here are the players who are hoping that their 14th start is lucky one.

Mike Garvey

Garvey enters the Derby this year as more of an underdog than he has ever been in all his career. He’s not run the race since 2014 and without those laps it could be a challenge for him to land in victory lane. However Garvey has not been away from the track. He’s been watching and taking notes as he works on race cars ahead of the big race. He will tell you better than anyone he is due for some luck. The 1995 pole sitter has had a lot of bad luck along the way and the first thing he will be looking to do is be around at lap 200 if he makes the show on Sunday.

Casey Smith

The last time we saw Smith at the Derby he was a DNQ in 2019, but this year he comes back into the Snowball with a boost of confidence after winning his first feature at Five Flags in a Super Late Model. Smith has seen a lot of heartache over the years from leading laps to wrecks and bad pit stops. His best finish was third in 2003, but if he can get his car working right like it did in the Blizzard finale then he could be a serouis contender.

Bubba Pollard

It’s been a long time since we have seen Bubba Pollard come into a Snowball Derby with this type of season. He’s not raced much and he has one win in 2021 and that was at Five Flags back in July. However not considering him among the favorites this go around might be part of a different approach to the weekend for Pollard. Pollard has 30 wins at Five Flags between Pro and Super Late Models, not to mention Trucks and Modifieds. Coming into the Derby having run 13 years in a row is record among active drivers and one of the longest streaks in the race history behind David Rogers and Red Farmer. The only things he hasn’t won in Pensacola are the lottery and the Snowball Derby.

Grant Enfinger

A lot of people sleep on Grant Enfinger in the Snowball Derby, but he has the best stats of anyone on this list. He was twice a runner up in this race and he’s a former Pole sitter. In the six Snowball Derby he's run since 2011 he’s had six top 10’s and has completed all but two laps over that span. Enfinger will get himself into the race and he’ll find a way to be around at the end and that’s half the battle. Don’t be surprised if his name is there at the end of the day.