Oh, So Close: Derby Glory Remains Elusive For Nasse

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Coming into turn three on the final lap of Sunday’s 57th Snowball Derby, Stephen Nasse saw the dream he’d chased for 13 years just car lengths ahead of him, tantalizingly close to being realized.

But unlike the night before, when he finally shook the winless monkey off his back in the pro late model Snowflake 100 after years of futility, the Tom Dawson Trophy remained elusive for Nasse in his 14th try.

Nasse was the bridesmaid at Five Flags Speedway in the biggest super late model race in the world, finishing second despite a final-lap charge that all but got him to the bumper of eventual winner Kaden Honeycutt in turns three and four coming to the checkered flag.

“We just needed one more lap,” he lamented in the immediate aftermath. “We had a blast, though.”

Nasse surely did that Sunday at the half-mile paved oval, driving forward from 30th starting spot in the No. 51 Anthony Campi Racing Chevrolet to have a shot at the victory during the final sprint to the finish.

It was a masterful display of calculated aggression for the 29-year-old from Pinellas Park, Fla., a polarizing figure in short track racing who is either loved or hated by fans, but always puts on a show.

He caught some nose damage during a restart stack-up in the first half of the race, but remained steadfast and didn’t let it deter him.

Remarkably, Nasse didn’t even crack the top 10 until a restart with 92 laps left, just after a competition caution where his pit crew was finally able to smooth down the rough edges on the front of his race car, but once he was able to sniff the front of the field Nasse turned on the jets and found his rhythm.

He reached the top five with 54 to go and held that ranking through the race’s final caution, after Noah Gragson spun on the frontstretch at lap 273. That bunched the field up and gave Nasse the preferred inside lane for a shot at a Herculean effort.

When racing resumed for good with 21 to go, Nasse knifed his way quickly to third, dispatching both Jace Hansen and Kole Raz after Hansen got loose one row ahead, causing a shuffle among the top five as then-leader Ty Majeski and Honeycutt tried to get away out front.

Nasse then started laying down personal best times during the closing stint, turning his fastest lap of the race on lap 284 as he closed the gap on the front duo.

After Honeycutt made what turned out to be the pass for the win with 19 laps left, Nasse caught Majeski and followed suit 10 circuits later, grabbing second place with nine to go and a second-and-a-half to make up if he wanted to wrest the Snowball Derby victory away from Honeycutt.

Each lap, his deficit narrowed. First it was by a tenth of a second, then two tenths. When the two-to-go signal was displayed by chief starter Dan Spence, Nasse was inside of a half second back and seeking to become the first driver ever to sweep the Snowflake 100 and the Snowball Derby in one weekend.

At the white flag, Nasse was in Honeycutt’s mirror and setting up his shot, which he took in turn three when he drove in deeper than anyone had all day and got within a couple of inches of hitting Honeycutt’s bumper.

But those couple of inches were the difference. Instead of moving Honeycutt up the track, it was Nasse who slid wide in turn four, losing his momentum and falling a scant .413 seconds shy of a historic win.

The emotion of the near miss was evident as Nasse was interviewed following the checkered flag. His voice shook as he attempted to describe the final laps and how close he came to the win he’s wanted more than any other in his racing career.

“This one might even hurt worse than getting disqualified (in 2019),” admitted Nasse after climbing from his car. “I was so close … but the win couldn’t go to a better group of guys. Pat [Jett] and Larry [Blount] work so hard, and Kaden is a great driver and a great guy. “I’m super proud for them, but bummed for us because I really believe we had the car to win here at the end. The 08 [Jace Hansen] just jacked me up out of nowhere getting into [turn] one [on the final restart] and just ruined our chances.

“Once they got out so far ahead of me, I just couldn’t catch up, but you know … second at the Snowball [Derby] ain’t bad.”

Though it was Nasse’s best career Derby finish, Sunday marked the latest chapter of heartbreak in Nasse’s 13-year Derby tenure.

First it was 2016, where Nasse was parked 30 laps short of the finish for his involvement in a late accident with William Byron. Then there was 2019, where he took the checkered flag first only to be stripped of the win in post-race technical inspection.

The most spectacular chapter came a year ago, when Nasse and Pollard came together in turn one with seven laps left while dueling for the Derby victory. Both ended up crashing in turn two and Majeski went on to win for the second time in four years.

All of those moments and more were simmering in Nasse’s mind as the laps wound down Sunday evening. He knew how close he’s been time and time again, and he knew how badly he wanted it.

Things just didn’t quite pan out in the final half mile for a driver who has worked tirelessly to try and erase the goose-egg in his personal win column at the Derby.

“I will say, I appreciate Kaden and Ty both running me clean at the end; that’s what short track racing should be about,” Nasse noted. “I do all this for the fans that come out here to watch these races. I love putting on a show, passing race cars, and it was a great effort from this crew all week long to do what we were able to do.

“[The end result] stings bad. It’s a tough deal,” Nasse added. “I think I could have gotten to his bumper, but I drove it in so hard that I knew the speed I was carrying and how fast I’d have hit him would have sent him right around.”

Unlike a younger Nasse might have, the present-day Nasse wasn’t about to wreck a driver for the win who has always raced him fairly – as well as a team that he drove for as recently as 2021.

“I’ve got so much respect for Larry Blount and the whole Jett Motorsports team. They’re a great racing family … and I wasn’t going to do them that way,” he explained. “So even though it hurts for me personally, I’m happy for them as a group.

“Maybe a little good karma will come my way next year.”

Asked if that means he’ll be back in 2025 for his 15th Snowball Derby attempt, Nasse didn’t hesitate to offer an affirmative.

He’s not just coming back to compete. He’s coming back to win it all, hopefully, at long last.

“I’ve been so close the last two Derbys that I feel like, eventually, it’s going to happen for us,” he affirmed. “I just have to keep coming back and trying, I guess. That’s all I can do.”