PENSACOLA, Fla. — It took 15 previous tries and Ty Majeski jumping the final restart but Stephen Nasse has finally – unofficially – won the Snowball Derby.

In what turned out to be 300 laps of classic survival, Stephen Nasse was scored as the winner Monday. Nasse never actually took the lead and crossed the line behind Ty Majeski – but officials ruled Majeski jumped the final restart, giving Nasse his first Snowball Derby win in his 15th try.

“I told them if we can win this, it’ll make up for a winless season,” Nasse said. “We’re gonna hit up Ruby Tuesday again and have a celebration.”

Majeski dominated the race but went on defense on the restart with 13 laps to go. Officials gave him a warning for jumping the first restart attempt – and then the black flag for jumping the second attempt.

Majeski stayed out and sharply disagreed with the call after the race.

“I don’t know, I felt like I was being pretty consistent. I definitely jumped the first and the second, the rule is to pick up the pace to the line but the rule, the way it is written, is not black and white and leaves it open to balls and strikes. So, I don’t know what to say… I’d like to talk to race control and have a discussion. I feel like we won this race and we’ll try and argue of course,” Majeski said.

Nasse took the win over Dawson Sutton, who ran the fastest time in practice and showed better speed as the race went on.

“It is my dream to win this race so it sucks to finish second but I’m thankful to be here,” Sutton said. “It was a really up and down day and I’m thankful to finish second.”

TOP 10 (LAP 300): Stephen Nasse, Dawson Sutton, Jake Garcia, Kasey Kleyn, Jake Finch, Matt Craig, Ty Fredrickson, Preston Peltier, Haeden Plybon, Derek Thorn.

Snowball Derby 2025 Recap

Going into the race, Ryan Preece and Max Reaves pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.

Preston Peltier led the first 16 laps before Ty Majeski took the lead and Spencer Davis rallied around Peltier to take second.

Meanwhile, Hudson Bulger sunk from fifth to 11th in two laps before spinning off the bumper of defending race winner Kaden Honeycutt on lap 39.

During the first run of the race, possible favorite Tristan McKee fell out of the race with a mechanical issue. Kyle Busch also went a lap down 34 laps in.

Bulger’s troubles didn’t end there as a lap 52 incident with Treyten Lapcevich and Casey Roderick ended his day.

The most bizarre crash of the day happened on the restart when Richard Childress Racing development driver Carson Brown crashed while slowing for a caution for Lapcevich’s car leaking fluid. The crash buckled all the way up to the roof.

Under caution, on lap 62, Majeski and Jake Finch pitted. Davis and Peltier stayed out and took the leading spots but Peltier snagged the lead away on the lap 68 restart. 

On the restart, Stephen Nasse cracked the top 10 after starting 32nd. By lap 73, he jumped to eighth.

Busch also found himself working his way through the field with new tires, jumping to ninth immediately before Lapcevich stopped on track and brought out a caution on lap 83 that led to a restart where Busch dropped to 13th.

On the other hand, Nasse drove from eighth to fifth on the restart with Davis now out in front. It didn’t last long, however, as Majeski passed him for sixth on lap 102.

Majeski and David Gilliland chopped through the field as they took care of Nasse, then Dawson Sutton and then Jace Hansen before the next caution flew on lap 111 for Derek Kraus crashing in turn two. That left the top-10 as:

• Preston Peltier, David Gilliland, Spencer Davis, Ty Majeski, Jake Garcia, Dawson Sutton, Stephen Nasse, Jake Finch, Bubba Pollard, Kyle Busch.

Gilliland, Majeski, Garcia, Finch, Pollard, Busch and Buddy Shepherd stayed out for the lap 117 restart. A lap later, Majeski clawed the lead away a lap and Garcia followed through before Shepherd spun and destroyed his car in turn two.

“I just got turned, plain and simple,” Shepherd said. “The 33 car [of Matt Craig] has gotta be a pretty big idiot to do that on lap 120 [of 300].”

Majeski retained the lead on lap 126 but Nasse, Davis, Butcher and Peltier rallied by Garcia.

However, Davis’ day soon came to an end when smoke poured from his car on lap 144. A fitting loose on his oil pump ultimately ended his day.

Back on track, Majeski, Nasse and Peltier took the podium spots by lap 166 but Kole Raz joined them in the mix in fourth. Right after Majeski lapped Gilliland one run after passing him for the lead, Raz took third from Peltier on lap 182 and then took second on lap 192. Another 23 laps and Raz closed to Majeski’s bumper — but the final competition caution cut his bid for the lead short.

The restart was no kinder to Raz who dropped behind a few drivers, including Dustin Smith, Gavan Boschele, Dawson Sutton and Stephen Nasse, as a result of spinning his tires.

Kaden Honeycutt rallied into the top 10 but had to come to pit road with less than 40 laps to go. That ended his day saying, “something broke on the left front.”

The race shaped up with 25 laps to go when Stephen Nasse took second from Dustin Smith. As contenders fell away, including Preston Peltier who had a flat tire and the pair of Smith and Boschele who crashed to bring out the final caution, it came down to a restart with 13 laps to go.

To officials, Ty Majeski jumped not only the first restart attempt but also the second attempt — warranting a black flag that handed the win to Stephen Nasse.

Snowball Derby 2025 Full Results

1. Stephen Nasse
2. Dawson Sutton
3. Jake Garcia
4. Kasey Kleyn
5. Jake Finch
6. Matt Craig
7. Ty Fredrickson
8. Preston Peltier
9. Haeden Plybon
10. Derek Thorn -1 lap
11. Michael Atwell -1
12. David Gilliland -1
13. Dylan Fetcho -2 laps
14. Dustin Smith -2
15. Cole Butcher -2
16. Gavan Boschele -2
17. Derek Kraus -2
18. Chase Pinsonneault -3
19. Kyle Busch -3
20. Brandon Lopez -3
21. Derek Griffith -4
22. Jacob Gomes -4
23. Ty Majeski -5 laps (scoring stopped with five laps to go)
24. Kole Raz -8 laps
25. Jace Hansen – OUT (Mechanical, 288 laps)
26. Kaden Honeycutt – OUT (Mechanical, 258 laps)
27. Bubba Pollard -123 laps
28. Spencer Davis – OUT (Mechanical, 155 laps)
29. Treyten Lapcevich – OUT (Mechanical, 146 laps)
30. Buddy Shepherd – OUT (Crash, 120 laps)
31. Carson Brown – OUT (Crash, 61 laps)
32. Casey Roderick – OUT (Crash, 58 laps)
33. Hudson Bulger – OUT (Crash, 51 laps)
34. Tristan McKee – OUT (Mechanical, 20 laps)
35. Max Reaves – DNS
36. Ryan Preece – DNS

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A local coalition has filed paperwork to change Nashville’s Metro Charter, which could eliminate the requirement for auto racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and open the door for affordable housing, green space, and environmental protections.

The group Restore Our Fairgrounds submitted a petition Monday to the charter revision commission seeking to remove racing as a mandated use of the property. If successful, the amendment would prioritize green space, affordable housing, workforce housing, and environmental protections for Browns Creek.

“We came together about two years ago. It’s a volunteer coalition of various groups,” said Mike Kopp with Restore Our Fairgrounds.

The coalition has expanded beyond neighborhood associations to include environmental groups, the Civic Design Center and longtime community activists. For years, the Nashville Fairgrounds has been a political battleground, with many neighbors saying racing brings noise, pollution, and limits public access to the property.

“There’s such a need in that part of town for green space, for places for kids to run and play, retail, affordable housing, and workforce housing,” Kopp said.

To move forward, the group must collect enough signatures from registered voters to get the amendment on the November 2026 ballot.

“We petitioned the charter revision commission to change that language. Then the next challenge is we’ve got to secure at least 50, 60,000 signatures of registered voters,” Kopp said.

This marks the second attempt by the same group to change the charter after trying last year.

Kopp emphasized the coalition is not anti-racing but believes there’s a better location for motorsports in Lebanon.

“There is a super speedway just a few miles down the road. They should be doing racing there,” Kopp said.

The debate centers on who gets to decide the future of one of Nashville’s largest public properties.

“It only makes sense to open it up and allow the voters and the people in those neighborhoods to weigh in on that. They should have a seat at the table,” Kopp said.

The group says timing is critical, as they fear the city and Speedway Motorsports could be working toward a NASCAR-style expansion. If the charter amendment is approved by voters, it would give residents the final say on the fairgrounds’ future as early as November 2026.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Vandy’s band of misfits turns heads with 7-1 start

This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys – young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team’s success has stolen the spotlight – what I love about Steve Layman’s story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, “we all have scuff marks.” This team proves perseverance pays off!

– Carrie Sharp

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — An economist testified in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust trial against NASCAR that the racing series owes a combined $364.7 million in damages to the two teams suing it over a revenue-sharing dispute.

Edward Snyder, a professor of economics who worked in the antitrust division of the Department of Justice and has testified in more than 30 cases, including “Deflategate” involving the NFL’s New England Patriots, testified on Monday. He gave three reasons NASCAR is a monopoly participating in anticompetitive business practices.

Using a complex formula applied to profits, a reduction in market revenue, and lost revenue to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports from 2021 to 2024, Snyder came up with his amount of damages owed. Snyder applied a 45% of revenue sharing he alleged Formula 1 gives to its teams in his calculations; Snyder found that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model when its charter system began in 2016 gave only 25% to the teams.

The suit is about the 2025 charter agreement, which was presented to teams on a Friday in September 2024 with a same-day deadline to sign the 112-page document. The charter offer came after more than two years of bitter negotiations between NASCAR and its teams, who have called the agreement “a take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum that they signed with “a gun to their head.”

A charter is similar to the franchise model in other sports, but in NASCAR it guarantees 36 teams spots in the 40-car field, as well as specific revenue.

Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin for 23XI, along with Front Row Motorsports and owner Bob Jenkins, were the only two teams out of 15 to refuse the new charter agreement.

Snyder’s evaluations found NASCAR was in fact violating antitrust laws in that the privately owned racing series controls all bargaining because “teams don’t have anywhere else to sell their services.” Snyder said NASCAR controls “the tracks, the teams and the cars.”

Snyder repeatedly cited exclusivity agreements NASCAR entered into with racetracks after the charter system began. The agreements prevent tracks that host NASCAR from holding events with rival racing series. Prior to the long-term agreements, NASCAR operated on one-year contracts with its host racetracks.

The Florida-based France family founded NASCAR in 1948 and, along with Speedway Motorsports, owns almost all the tracks on the top Cup Series schedule. Snyder’s belief is that NASCAR entered into exclusivity agreements with tracks to stave off any threats of a breakaway startup series. In doing so, he said it eliminated teams’ ability to race stock cars anywhere else, forced them to accept revenue-sharing agreements that are below market value, and damaged their overall evaluations.

Snyder did his calculations for both teams based on each having two charters — each purchased a third charter in late 2024 — and found 23XI is owed $215.8 million while Front Row is owed $148.9 million. Based on his calculations, Snyder determined NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021 to 2024.

Snyder noted NASCAR had $2.2 billion in assets, an equity value of $5 billion and an investment-grade credit rating — which Snyder believes positions the France family to be able to pivot and adjust to any threats of a rival series the way the PGA did in response to the LIV Golf league. The PGA, Snyder testified, “got creative” in bringing in new revenue to pay to its golfers to prevent their defections.

Snyder also testified NASCAR had $250 million in annual earnings from 2021 to 2024 and the France family took $400 million in distributions during that period.

NASCAR contends Snyder’s estimations are wrong, that the 45% F1 model he used is not correct, and its own two experts “take serious issue” with Snyder’s findings. Defense attorney Lawrence Buterman asked Snyder his opinion on NASCAR’s upcoming expert witnesses and Snyder said they were two of the best economists in the world.

Slow pace of trial

Snyder testified for most of Monday’s session — the sixth day of the trial — and will continue Tuesday. The slow pace has agitated U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who heard arguments 30 minutes early Monday morning because he was annoyed that objections had been submitted at 2:55 a.m. and 6:50 a.m.

He needed an hour to get through the rulings, and testimony resumed 30 minutes behind schedule. When the day concluded, he asked the nine-person jury if they were willing to serve an hour longer each day the rest of the week in an effort to avoid a third full week of trial. He all said all motions must be filed by 10 p.m. each evening moving forward.

Bell wants plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler to conclude his case by the end of Tuesday, but Kessler told him he still plans to call NASCAR chairman Jim France, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps and Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, who was the subject of derogatory text messages among NASCAR leadership and has said he’s considering legal action.

NASCAR has a list of 16 potential witnesses and Bell said he wanted the first one on the stand before Tuesday’s session concludes.

Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

Rick Ware Racing will compete under the Chevrolet umbrella in 2026 with a multi-year technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, the team announced Monday.

Ware consistently fielded Ford entries since 2022, however the organization previously fielded Chevrolet entries as well.

“Chevrolet has always set a high bar with its people, its performance and its passion for racing, and partnering with them gives us the resources and support to make real progress on the racetrack,” said team owner Rick Ware. “Teaming up with RCR and ECR provides a foundation we can build on, not just for 2026, but for the future of our race team. We’re proud to be part of the Chevrolet family. The NASCAR Cup Series is the toughest and most competitive series in motorsports, and this is an important move for the long-term growth of our company.

“We’ve won in NHRA, American Flat Track, World Supercross and the CARS Tour, and we want to elevate our NASCAR performance to the level of our other programs.”

RWR will field the No. 51 entry for Cody Ware in 2026. Richard Childress Racing fields two full-time entries for Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch.

The partnership will include the use of ECR Engines.

“Rick and his team have shown a real commitment to growing their program, and we’re proud to support that effort alongside our partners at Richard Childress Racing and ECR Engines,” said Pat Suhy, manager, NASCAR Competition for GM Motorsports. “Bringing RWR into the Chevrolet fold is a win for all of us. Their drive to keep improving aligns with our dedication to performance and innovation.”

WEST FARGO — After a turbulent 2025 season that saw his long chapter with Tony Stewart Racing

come to an end,

Donny Schatz has found a new home for 2026.

Schatz, the Minot native and West Fargo-based sprint car champion, has inked a new full-time deal with CJB Motorsports for the 2026 World of Outlaws season.

Schatz’s plans for the upcoming campaign were announced on WorldOfOutlaws.com on Monday night.

David Samson / The Forum

Owned by Chad and Ann Marie Clemens, the Pennsylvania-based CJB will make its return to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series for the first time since 2023 after the team fielded an entry for driver Brenham Crouch on the High Limit Racing Series sprint car tour last season.

CJB will return to the WoO tour with Schatz piloting his signature No. 15 for the team. The 2026 season kicks off with the four-night DIRTcar Nationals at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 4-7.

Schatz and Tony Stewart Racing split in August after a near 18-year partnership that saw the wheelman win eight WoO points championships to go with 234 wins.

In all, Schatz is a 10-time Outlaws champion and has amassed 316 feature victories. The 48-year-old currently ranks as the third-winningest driver in series history as he enters his 30th full-time season in 2026.

Following his departure from TSR, Schatz ran multiple temporary deals to finish out 2025, driving for the teams of Tod Quiring, Dave Lunstra, Kevin Kozlowski and Jason Sides.

At CJB, Schatz will team up with veteran crew chief Barry Jackson. The team has picked up 52 Outlaws victories since its founding in 2005.

David Samson / The Forum

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Every December, BMW M Motorsport invites the customer racing teams from around the world to come together for an awards banquet and to honor championship winning teams and drivers. The driver who scores the most points racing a BMW as a privateer (works drivers don’t qualify) wins the prestigious BMW Sport Trophy, which went to Turner Motorsport driver Justin Rothberg for the second year in a row.

Rothberg had a fantastic 2025 season, winning the SRO GT World Challenge America championship with Robby Foley and also winning the SRO GT America championship on his own. “Super thrilled to be winning the Sports Trophy again this year,” he said. “The BMWs are great race cars and there’s so many talented drivers so it’s an accomplishment I’m proud of. It’s a testament to the great work from all the guys at Turner Motorsport: Will Turner for running such a well-oiled machine, Robby Foley for always putting in great drives and giving me the help and advice I need – and my parents for supporting me and putting me in a position to succeed.”

The team trophy went to FK Performance Motorsport, which became the first team to win the overall standings of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) with the BMW M4 GT4. The team also had a podium finish in the Nürburgring 24-hour race and competed in the ADAC GT Masters series, where they finished second in the standings. The Turner Motorsport team, which won the team trophy last year, finished third behind FK Performance Motorsport and Schubert Motorsport.

BMW was very successful worldwide with customer teams competing in the M4 GT4 EVO and M4 GT3 EVO. In 2025, there were 56 GT3 and 88 GT4 cars competing worldwide, covering over 700,000 kilometers in racing miles and achieving around 180 wins and 250 additional podium finishes across various classes. “It is truly special to welcome our most successful customer racers to Garching, where the heart of BMW M beats,” said CEO of BMW M Franciscus van Meel. “They perfectly embody the DNA of our brand and, with their performances on racetracks around the world, serve as ideal ambassadors. While we celebrate the victories and titles of our works drivers and teams, our emotional connection to customer racing is equally profound. Without it, BMW M Motorsport would not be the same. It is a central pillar of our racing program and will remain so in the future.”

—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BMW]