Snowball Derby week began in earnest on Wednesday with a fairly procedural tech and qualifying pill draw day.

For the most part, there were no real issues in tech with head technical inspector Ricky Brooks praising the teams for their preparation before opening practice on Thursday.

“It’s been good, certainly nothing to write about,” Brooks said.

Another inspector said that the most common issues were related to the body, but that nothing is expected to linger into practice.

The No. 51 of Kyle Busch was the last car to get re-loaded back into the hauler after Brooks gave the team a handful of things to address before the next morning.

But the most important aspect of Wednesday night was the qualifying order pill draw. For time trials on Friday, drivers will go out to turn their two laps based on the number they randomly drew on Wednesday night.

Traditional wisdom states that the later a driver goes out, the cooler the weather is, and the faster a lap time s/he will put down.

However, Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola is unique for the humidity-based mist that films over the track in December. It makes the racing surface greasy and can come and go at any point of the night.

2016 Southern Super Series champion Donnie Wilson drew a 21, but admits he doesn’t know how that will work out for him on Friday.

“We drew a 25, which is a good number for us, we just don’t know when that mist will roll in,” Wilson said. “It’s stressful for a lot of teams because there are guys who don’t have provisionals that are sweating walking up there to draw a number.”

And that’s the thing:

There are 54 Super Late Model drivers on-site and only 30 of them will qualify into the show on Friday based on speed. Those who don’t make the show in time trials will be entered into a last chance race on Saturday, with at least four spots going to the top finishers in that race.

The other three starting spots will be determined by track and SSS championship points.

So in short, qualifying is huge, and the moment a driver pulls out for his two timed laps could make the difference, not that contender Bubba Pollard seems to mind it too much.

“Man, fast cars are going to be fast, so I don’t think too much about it,” Pollard said.

Of course, as track champion, he doesn’t have to.

The complete qualifying order, based on the pill draw can be found below. Reigning winner Christian Eckes will have the opportunity to go out last.

1. Jeremy Pate
2. Donald Crocker
3. John DeAngelis Jr.
4. Logan Bearden
5. Jerry Artuso
6. Dustin Smith
7. Raphael Lessard
8. Stephen Nasse
9. Preston Peltier
10. Kyle Busch
11. Brandon McReynolds
12. Jake Crum
13. Connor Okrzesik
14. Noah Gragson
15. Garrett Jones
16. Jeremy Doss
17. Jeff Firestine
18. Johnny Sauter
19. Ron McDonald
20. Boris Jurkovic
21. Donnie Wilson
22. Brandon Oakley
23. John Coffman
24. Dennis Schoenfield
25. Casey Roderick
26. David Rogers
27. Anthony Cataldi
28. Chase Purdy
29. Stuart Dutton
30. Michael Atwell
31. Corey LaJoie
32. Logan Boyett
33. Derek Kraus
34. Garrett Evans
35. Spencer Davis
36. Harrison Burton
37. Cassius Clark
38. Mason Mingus
39. Augie Grill
40. Joe Aramendia
41. Chandler Smith
42. Cole Rouse
43. Ty Majeski
44. Bubba Pollard
45. Jeff Choquette
46. Tyler Dippel
47. Jeff Choquette
48. Cole Butcher
49. Chris Davidson
50. Steven Davis
51. Kyle Bryant
52. Kyle Plott
53. Rich Bickle
54. Dan Fredrickson
55. Bobby Knox Jr
56. Christian Eckes

Read more Short Track Scene:

• Ty Majeski, Roush pit crew prepared for Snowball Derby
• Final Snowball Derby entry list reveals 60-plus cars
• Snowball Derby day-by-day schedule

If you like what you read here, become a Short Track Scene Patreon and support short track journalism!