Stephen Nasse surged from 32nd to capture his first Snowball Derby win after 15 years of trying.
Dominant leader Ty Majeski was penalized for two restart violations, overturning the final running order.
Nasse sealed the long-awaited victory after transferring from the LCQ, completing one of the most improbable wins in Derby history.PENSACOLA — After 15 years of trying, climbing from 32nd on the starting grid and navigating one of the most chaotic Snowball Derbies in recent memory, Stephen Nasse finally captured his first Tom Dawson Trophy on Monday afternoon at Five Flags Speedway.
The victory came after officials penalized dominant race leader Ty Majeski for two restart violations in the closing laps. This ruling reshaped the finish of the 58th annual running of the Super Late Model crown jewel.
Nasse, who transferred into the field through the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday night, took the checkered flag in what was both the most improbable and most long-awaited moment of his career.
Majeski—who had led more than half the race—ignored the black flag after being judged to have jumped two consecutive restarts with 13 laps remaining.
As a result, the No. 91 was not scored for the final six laps, handing Nasse the lead and ultimately the win.
“It feels good,” Nasse said afterward. “I’ve definitely given away a couple over some silly things. Ty (Majeski) knew I was going to be tough to beat on that restart, so he got a little antsy, and I was able to take advantage of it. We put ourselves in that position, and we capitalized.”
The win was not just a breakthrough—it was a redemption long in the making.
Nasse famously crossed the finish line first in the 2019 Derby before being disqualified in post-race inspection, and he finished second in 2024 after narrowly missing a late charge at Kaden Honeycutt.
This time, there would be no heartbreak.
Rain throughout the weekend and thick fog on Sunday night forced the prestigious 300-lap event to move to Monday afternoon. Pole-sitter Preston Peltier led the field to green shortly after 1 p.m. CT under cool, slowly drying conditions following days of poor weather.
The early laps featured a flurry of cautions that eliminated several contenders, including Hudson Bulger, Casey Roderick, and Carson Brown, before lap 100. The numerous incidents led to divergent pit strategies across the field, shuffling the running order and creating multiple temporary race leaders.
But through the turbulence, Majeski’s speed was undeniable.
After taking the lead from Peltier on lap 14, he repeatedly cycled back to the front regardless of pit timing, tire sequences or field restarts.
When Majeski regained the top spot at lap 116, he appeared to be in complete control. The No. 91 car then dominated a long, 100-lap green-flag run that spread the field out and allowed Majeski to build comfortable intervals over challengers.
Even when Kole Raz briefly pressured him at the tail end of that extended run, making a move for the lead just as a competition caution waved, Majeski reasserted his advantage once everyone returned to equal tire strategy.
Through the middle third of the race, no one seemed capable of matching his pace.
While Majeski controlled the front, Nasse embarked on a gritty, methodical climb through traffic after starting 32nd—a result of having to race his way in through Saturday night’s last-chance qualifying race.
The climb demanded patience, aggression, and survival instincts, especially in the early laps when so many cars were swept up in cautions.
“We were just taking what we could get,” Nasse said. “You try to stay out of the wrecks. I almost got caught up in one in the middle of one and two, but we were lucky to get through unscathed, and then we were able to keep marching forward. You’ve got to be there at the end to have a shot.”
The race came to him, he said, as cars dropped out, tire strategies normalized, and long green-flag stretches allowed him to gain ground cleanly rather than through attrition alone.
“The race kind of came to me as it went on,” Nasse added. “People were wrecking out and falling out, and I was able to keep chugging along and found ourselves there at the end.”
A spin involving Cole Butcher with 30 laps remaining set up a sequence of events that ultimately determined the outcome. Majeski lined up on the front row with Dustin Smith, while Nasse and Peltier battled for position behind them.
Smith spun his tires at the drop of the green, causing a three-wide bottleneck between himself, Nasse, and Peltier. Nasse opportunistically shuffled Smith aside to secure second, while an ensuing incident involving Smith and Gavan Boschele triggered another caution and set up the controversial restart with 13 laps left.
On the initial attempt, officials ruled that Majeski fired before the designated restart zone and called it off. Already warned, Majeski then appeared to jump on the second attempt slightly. Officials quickly issued the black flag.
Majeski did not acknowledge the penalty and raced to the finish anyway, but NASCAR-style scoring protocol meant he would no longer be scored from the time of the black flag onward.
After the race, Majeski formally filed an appeal, claiming he was the rightful winner of Sunday’s race. However, track officials denied that appeal.
Nasse, now the scored leader, pulled away over the final six laps to secure the most coveted win in pavement short track racing.
Behind the chaos up front, 19-year-old Dawson Sutton completed a remarkable performance of his own, finishing second in only his second Snowball Derby start. Sutton had endured a turbulent mid-race drop through the field before rebounding late.
“It was really good. My team brought me a really good car,” Sutton said. “It was a really up-and-down day. I don’t even know where we were running halfway through—maybe 20-something. To bounce back and finish second means the world to me.”
Sutton admitted he lacked just enough overall speed to challenge Nasse in the final laps.
“Just a little bit of everything,” he said when asked what more he needed. “We were just lacking a little bit of speed all day… but I’m already looking forward to next year and bouncing back in this race.”
The finish punctuated a strong year that included notable victories, such as an All-American 400 win at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and a time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
20-year-old Jake Garcia, another LCQ transfer, finished third after his team improved the car’s balance during the race.
“Decent day for us,” Garcia said. “We started in a bad spot, balance-wise. Got it better those last couple runs, just didn’t have enough time to really work on our stuff and get it in a happy spot.”
Garcia said once he lost track position to the leaders, regaining it against equal-speed cars became nearly impossible.
“I think we were as good as the 51 and the 26,” Garcia said. “Just lost some track position and never could get back in front of those guys.”
The podium completed a strong year for Garcia’s Super Late Model program, highlighted by multiple top-three finishes at Five Flags and starts in the Truck Series.
For Nasse, the emotional weight of the moment was clear.
“It’s just overflow of emotions,” he said. “From where I was a few years ago to where I am today… this is a super proud moment for me, my family and my team.”
Even as he celebrated, he acknowledged the team was already thinking ahead.
“We’ve been talking about what the car could use to be better today. It’ll always be a work in progress. Next season, we’ll come back and hopefully do it again.”
Fifteen tries, heartbreaks, LCQ pressure, and a late-race ruling that swung the Derby’s direction—this time, everything finally fell Nasse’s way.
And at last, after a decade and a half of chasing it, Stephen Nasse is a Snowball Derby champion.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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