10 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Gary Goodwin will tell you. There are few things in this world that give him more pleasure than captaining his charter fishing boat. Driving racecars, though, run a close second. And who could blame him? Goodwin cruised to his second consecutive and second career track championship behind seven feature victories. He did a little bit of everything and had a little bit of everything done to him in 2012, including a bounty being placed on his silver No. 23. While Goodwin lost that lucrative race, that was about the only thing that eluded him this season. He loves to break the spirits of his rivals. It’s not a Gary Goodwin win if he’s not starting near the back of the pack and leading after one or two laps. Steering that car with the same passion as when he puts clients on a school of red snapper.

11 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Alabama and Auburn. North Carolina and Duke. Red Sox vs. Yankees. Every sport, every region has a spicy rivalry that stops every conversation dead in its tracks when it’s brought up. For Five Flags Speedway, that Friday night feud belongs to Brannon Fowler and Steve Buttrick. While the pair share an extraordinary amount of respect for one another, once they get behind the wheel, the desire to win washes over them. Fowler claimed another track title, his second in a row, but it didn’t come without a fight. Buttrick won eight times, includ-ing the season finale, but his frantic rally down the stretch fell six points short.

12 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Donnie Hamrac’s season, some folks thought perhaps his career, came to an abrupt end following a horrific crash inside his late model in 2011. The head-on collision with the outside wall between turn Nos. 1 and 2 at Five Flags led to a broken back and months of rehabilitation. Miraculously, Hamrac returned in time to win the Modifieds season opener in April. He added a second victory late in the year en route to his first career Five Flags championship in 16 years of racing.

13 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Standing in Victory Lane with a fifth track championship comfortably in his hands, Randy Thompson could hardly believe his fate. If you would’ve told Thompson a year ago he’d overcome a 22-point deficit in the Super Stocks season finale to earn another sleek Hoosiers jacket, even Thompson might have laughed at you. That is if he could summon up the strength to laugh. Thompson capped a remarkable comeback season with a comeback victory to squeak by 2011 track champion Bubba Winslow. Thompson nearly was crippled last fall when he was struck down by rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that affects tissues, joints and organs. After naturally struggling early on this season, Thompson re-gained his health, his mental and physical strength, to come on and be one of the most consistent drivers late in the year.

14 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Arguably, no late model driver in the country had a more dominant season than Mike Garvey. The former Nation-wide Series regular won just about everywhere he and his Buddy’s Home Furnishings No. 1 team went. No place was that more evident than Pensacola and the famed half-mile asphalt oval. Garvey won four of the five 100 lappers en route to the Allen Turner PLM Series crown. He also added a Super Late Models victory, ending a streak of 13 consecutive wins for Grand American Race Cars in Blizzard Series races. Garvey is easily one of the favorites for both the Snowflake 100 and 45th annual Snowball Derby this week.

15 Five Flags Speedway Snowball Derby 2012

Just 25, Bubba Pollard’s chase for his first career Blizzard Series title finally ended this season. He had so many close calls in previous years that some wondered if he would ever get his arms around that elusive championship. Pollard seemed snake bitten. No longer. While the wins haven’t been as plentiful as they were in 2011 — an eye-popping 19 victories — last year’s Snowball Derby polesitter still remains one of the finest short-track hotshoes in the country. Pollard will once again be a legit contender to hoist the Tom Dawson trophy at dusk Sunday. At the 44th running last December, Pollard set the track record (16.290 seconds) in qualifying, but finished a disappointing 12th. You better believe he’s chomping at the bit to make amends this week.