Rig Parking Kicks Off Snowball Derby Track Activities

Augie Grill's hauler was the second rig to enter the speedway. (PixelatedSPEED Photo)

Rig Parking began promptly at 9 am on Wednesday morning as longtime Five Flags Speedway track announcer Dave Pavlock announced, in his famous deep voice, “Logan Boyett, Pensacola, FL… now arriving.”

This marked the traditional start of activities at the speedway during Derby Week. As each hauler is announced into the speedway’s grounds, Five Flags Speedway officials perform the ballet of parking each of these massive rigs into the spots they will call home for the next five days.

It’s a task that has gotten more and more difficult with each passing year as the not only have the car counts (and haulers by proxy) continue to grow, so has the size of the rigs. The days of the open trailer are pretty much gone, replaced by 53 foot behemoths carrying all the accoutrements of speed.

The entire process takes about two hours to complete, and afterward the dash to the “Room of Doom” was underway as teams began to unload thier haulers and make their way to the technical inspection line.

There are no on-track activies in store for the late model teams today, however for the second year in a row the local Pure Stock division will take to the speedway on Wednesday, contesting a 50 lap feature later in the evening.

The night concludes with the annual Green Flag Party, which includes the Snowball Derby Qualifying Draw.