11/21/2013
Five Flags Speedway
2013 X-1R Pro Cup Champion Clay Rogers Ready to Continue Success at Snowball Derby
Snowball Best Way to Cap off Season for All Racers According to Rogers
By Ally Fulson, Speed51.com Correspondent - Twitter: @AllyFulson
Clay Rogers sealed his fifth CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series championship just a few weeks ago, surpassing Bobby Gill’s previous series record of four titles. Following his second series title in 2006, Rogers went on to capture his first Snowball Derby win. Since then, the prestigious post-season 300-lapper has always held a special place in Rogers’ heart.
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In the 2006 edition of the Snowball Derby, Rogers was teammates with veteran short track racer and mentor Bobby Gill. Rogers was declared the winner of the race, that saw an unheard of zero cautions in the final 80 laps, after Johnny Brazier was disqualified in post-race tech for a weight infraction.
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“Well, the greatest thing about that year was being teammates with Bobby Gill,� said Rogers. “We went down there and we took this truck and trailer. Jamie (Mosely) and those guys were kind enough to let us do that and Bill Boger owned both of the racecars. We were teammates, and to be teammates with somebody like Bobby with as much success as he’s had at Pensacola was great. We went down there running the same four springs he ran and the same four shocks and sway bar and everything, but then him having a completely different rear end under his car.
“Just being able to be down there and learn from him was good,� claimed Rogers. “Then we ran first and second probably 220 laps of the 300-lap race. So that was just an unbelievable weekend to go down there and be fast and have cars that could compete and run up front all night long.�
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In a race that seems to save the excitement for the end, the 2006 edition was a little bizarre without any cautions in the final 80 laps. It was a twist that didn’t exactly play into the hands of Rogers and Gill as they were waiting for one final opportunity to take their last set of tires.
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“I really don’t think the Johnny Brazier situation would have ever come up if we would have had a caution,� said Rogers. “That was the first time in Snowball Derby history where there had never been a caution the last 80 laps of the race. And Bobby and I both had four tires left sitting in the pits and Johnny didn’t so if the caution had come out it would have been a non-issue anyway.�
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Now looking forward to this year’s 46th Annual Snowball Derby, Rogers is looking to cap off another championship season by bringing home another special trophy, the Tom Dawson trophy. And with a crew of good friends and family, Rogers knows that is the key to getting back to what short track racing is all about.
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“In 2006 I won the championship in Pro Cup and I was able to go down there and cap an amazing season off with a win in the Snowball Derby,� said Rogers. “So I’d love to be able to do that this year. I’m going to take a couple of guys off the team here and I’ve got a couple of other friends in Mooresville that are going to go with us and we’re going to go down there and have a good time and hopefully be competitive. We’ve tested the car a couple of times and it’s been lightning-fast and drives really good so hopefully we’ve got something for them.�
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It has been said that the atmosphere leading up to and surrounding the Snowball Derby is unlike any other event in short track racing. For Rogers, it’s an annual reunion and a chance to get back to the foundation short track racing was built on.
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“My favorite part of the week besides the race is the atmosphere and being around all of the people down there,� said Rogers. “The Wednesday night at the racetrack where they have the concert, that’s when you get to see people from all over the country and all different forms of racing who converge on that racetrack that week. The conversations and the stories you get to hear from what happened throughout the year and talk to kids like Chase Elliott and Ross Kenseth and those guys to kind of see what they’ve got going on for the next year.
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“For lack of a better word, it’s just a really great BS session,� admitted Rogers. “There’s a lot of bench racing that goes on down there that week and I think it’s good for anybody, whether they’re Cup racing or whether they’re Street Stock racing, to go down there and be a part of that and it really helps keep you grounded and see what racing’s all about.�
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