Chase Elliott wins Snowball Derby after Christopher Bell DQ'd

By foxsports
Published

While much of the NASCAR community was recovering from its Vegas vacation, some of the most up-and-coming short track drivers hit the pavement for the 48th annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

The prestigious late model stock car race featured NASCAR young guns Chase Elliott, John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, Dalton Sargeant, William Byron, Kaz Grala and Daniel Hemric, as well as some of the best short track racers from throughout the country.

Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Christopher Bell, winner of the 2015 Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway, was fast throughout the weekend's events, but had issues clearing the technical inspection process.

Those issues would lead to a disqualification after taking the checkered flag on Sunday, handing the victory to 2014 XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott.

Bell's fast qualifying lap was also disqualified on Friday, forcing the driver of the No. 51 KBM Toyota to start from the rear of the field in Sunday's 300-lap event. Despite the deep starting spot, Bell quickly made his way through the field to lead a total of 93 laps, the most of any driver.

Taking the checkered flag over Elliott, the 2011 Snowball Derby winner, Bell turned his car around and celebrated with a backwards lap around the half-mile paved track.

Before officially earning his first Snowball Derby victory, Bell's car had to pass the stringent technical inspection process after the race. That is where Bell and his KBM team ran into trouble.

The track's technical inspector determined the left-side weight ratio on Bell's car was 58.3 percent, over the strict limit of 58.0 percent. The team was given three chances to clear the technical inspection process, but failed to do so.

As a result, Bell was disqualified and sent to the rear of the field, finishing the prestigious event 37th. Bell and the team claimed the additional weight was picked up on the left-side tires while running around the track backward celebrating. They felt the hot tires picked up a host of debris, adding five pounds of additional weight.

Despite the claim, Bell's car never cleared technical inspection and Elliott was declared the winner. Taking home his second Snowball Derby trophy, Elliott was pleased, but also felt for Bell.

During the 2013 running of the Snowball Derby, Elliott was clearly the class of the field, leading 233 of the 300 laps. However, his car failed to clear the post-race technical inspection process and was disqualified. Erik Jones, 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion, was declared the winner of that event.

With Bell's disqualification, Zane Smith finished second, followed by Ty Majeski, Sargeant, Bubba Pollard, Casey Smith, Preston Peltier, Byron, Derek Thorn and Grala.

Nemechek had a strong car throughout the weekend, winning the Snowflake 100 on Saturday evening. Starting last on the field in Sunday's Snowball Derby, Nemechek raced his way to the front and led a total of 18 laps. When the Camping World Truck Series regular hit the pits late, his car caught on fire and ended his hopes as repeating as Snowball Derby champion. The fire also injured two crew members, neither seriously.

Past winners of the Snowball Derby include NASCAR Hall of Fame member Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison, Pete Hamilton, Kyle Busch, Ted Musgrave and Rick Crawford.