11/26/2013
Five Flags Speedway
Augie Grill Aiming for Third Victories in Snowflake 100 and Snowball Derby
Winchester and New Smyrna Momentum Leads Two-Time Winner to Pensacola
51 Sports / Snowball Derby PR
The Grill name is a name synonymous with success in the Super Late Model ranks throughout the Southeast. His father a successful chassis builder in his own right, Augie Grill made a name for himself on track with two Snowball Derby wins among several other notable victories.
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But in recent seasons, Grill seemed to be losing his edge and it wasn’t until 2013 that Grill put the pieces back together and put his familiar No. 112 back in victory lane.
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“I never lost faith in thinking that we could do it,� said Grill. “I know we had a rough last year last year. We were trying too many different things and got a little bit behind the eight ball not getting back to basics. We kind of hit on a few things there at the end of the year last year and ran good and won the Governor’s Cup last year.
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“Then we started the year this year and had a couple of good runs,� said Grill. “Then we hit a little lull and then just kind of hit on something there at the first of the summer and then about everywhere we’ve been here lately I feel like we’ve been one of the cars to beat if not the car to beat. It feels good because, like I said, last year was tough.
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“I always know how good my car is running by how much shock business I get, how many shocks I’m selling or working on,� explained Grill. “And I’ve been really busy this year doing that so that tells me my car is running good and I’m pretty proud of that.�
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Grill has two wins in the New Smyrna Speedway (FL) Governor’s Cup, the South Alabama Speedway (AL) Rattler 250, the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 as well as the famed Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway (FL). One of the few races that has eluded Grill is the Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway (IN). The Hayden, Alabama driver finished second in his first ever Winchester 400 start in 2006 but has yet to take home the trophy.
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After making his third attempt at the event in 2013, Grill was proud of his fourth-place finish and hopes to carry that momentum into the Snowball Derby after turning his program around.
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“I went there in ’06 and ’07 and finished second the first time,� said Grill. “But we had a seventh or eighth place car. I finished fourth this year but I felt like we had the best car, maybe at different times of the race, but overall I felt like we had the best car. It feels pretty neat because that’s a completely different place than where we’re used to going and there again I’ve only been there twice myself and to really run good like that was pretty special.
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“I may not ever get another chance to run like that there so it was kind of sickening that we didn’t win it there at the end. But, again, to have a car that was capable of winning and to lead a bunch of laps like that, that was pretty cool.�
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After clearly getting his program back into fighting shape, Grill hopes to also rebound from his poor finishes in recent Snowball Derby’s as well. Grill has finished no better than 28th in the past four events, immediately after winning back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.
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“I was thinking about that the other day,� said Grill. “After Winchester actually, I was talking to the guys and I told them we’ve run good at the Derby since the last one we won but we haven’t finished one. I said that was my goal going to Winchester this year, was just to finish. Then I was upset because we didn’t win. So I guess going to the Derby this year that will be my goal, just to finish the thing. Then the cards will fall where they may and maybe we can get another one.�
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For event information, a detailed Snowball Derby weekend schedule and more, visit www.snowballderby.com.
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