Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos we find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.
First off, let’s not discount this race based on the graininess of the GIF featured above. What this video lacks in actual picture quality, it makes up for in quality of racing.
The race broadcast is from the 1995 Snowball Derby, a no-points Super Late Model race that’s only been televised a few times in its 48-year existence. Each year in the first week of December, drivers from disciplines all over load up the trailers and head down to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida for an all-out exhibition race with just bragging rights on the line.
It’s hard to see the track surface with the picture quality of the broadcast, but the half-mile asphalt oval is cracked as can be. As a result, it produces sweet, sweet tire wear:
This version of the race features recognizable names like current track owner Tim Bryant and the toughest technical inspector around, Ricky Brooks, who serves as the chief inspector for the race and will disqualify anyone and everyone.
In addition to those two, 1977 winner Ronnie Sanders—whose trophy is still in Darrell Waltrip’s possession, since he refused to give it up—and a younger version of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth participate as well. That type of mix isn’t uncommon, as Late Model drivers go up against the NASCAR guys in this event all the time.
When those drivers get together for one big showdown, the entertainment value is pretty high. The embedded video above will loop straight from one segment of the race to the next, so don’t let the “Part 1 of 17" in the title intimidate you.
It’s a fun race, and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon as we wait for most racing seasons to start back up again. Enjoy it.
Photo credit: Alanis King/Jalopnik
Contact the author at alanis.king@jalopnik.com.