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| The Third Annual Snowball 500 was held on December 28, 2002 at Pocket Rocket Raceway in Horseheads, NY. A total of 13 drivers entered the PRR’s marquis event which featured Fray style vintage Aurora Thunderjet slot cars. BRP T-Jet Racing Parts, JB’s Thunderbrushes, Model Motoring Inc., Slugger’s Poly-Jet Magnets and Wizzard High Performance Inc supported the race. 2000 and 2001 Snowball 500 winner Frank Spena Jr. was the heavy favorite despite the strength of the driving lineup present. That lineup included former PRR class point champions Mark Burdick, Scott Walker, Larry Weaver and Rici Wood, pro T-Jet racers Jeff “Hoss” Phoenix and Tom Bowman who made the trek to PRR from Virginia Beach, as well as Buffalo area racer Joe Saccomanno. 2nd Annual Snowball 500 Entry List The pressure was on for the qualifying round with 13 drivers in a tight field fighting for 8 positions. To no one’s surprise Spena emerged on top with a 56 lap run. Mark Burdick was no surprise in 2nd, but his total was. 52 laps being lower than his average 6-minute runs over the last six months. Wood shocked the more experienced drivers and put himself into the 3rd position. Phoenix was 4th. His car was very quick but a series of mistakes cost him. John Burdick grabbed 5th. He was the third driver on 51 laps and the last man to score over 50. Tom Bowman made his PRR debut with a run to 6th in a field chock full of Bat-Jet bodies, which his company, BRP, designs and produces. Scott Walker, one of the pre-race favorites had a fraught qualifying round. His primary car failed the pre-race tech when it failed the groove pin test. This forced him into a magnet change, which slowed his car. To make matters worse a wiring problem on his controller led to inconsistent braking. He would not discover the problem until after the race. Despite all of this he was able to qualify in 7th, albeit 6 laps off his average pace. Rob Lord delivered the upset of the event. The youngster, making his first appearance in a PRR major, grabbed the 8th spot to make the cut. His margin over Jamie Antosh was a mere 4 feet. Antosh, in turn, had only a few feet in hand over Kanga Kars teammates Perry Richardson and Larry Weaver but all three were eliminated. Saccomanno struggled in only his second appearance at PRR to wind up 12th. Garrett Quigley did well to pull 38 laps in his first PRR major. Semifinal Round With qualifying complete the remaining racers were split into two groups. Once again the racers would have 6 minutes - 1 min. 30 sec., in each lane. Semi #1 was all Spena. The only man to ever win the Snowball 500 looked like a man on a mission nearly breaking the PRR 6 minute record he holds with a 57-lap run. His drive included the first ever sub 6-second lap ever recorded in a Fray race on the PRR Bonsai Buck Track - 5.99. Wood showed his consistency with another fine 51-lap drive. He didn’t know it at the time but it would be enough to put him into the final, his second in a row. John Burdick dropped two laps from his qualifying total, but still topped the struggling Walker for third. Semi #2 saw the battle between Phoenix and Mark Burdick continue just as it had in the Turkey 250 the month before. The two spent the entire race on the same lap. Phoenix clearly had the car advantage but Burdick kept the pressure on by staying in the slot more. In the end Phoenix’s outright speed was just too much. He produced his personal best 6-minute run at PRR with 53 laps and took the race. Bowman came up just short of making the final with a fine 50 lap performance making him the fist person to ever score 50 laps in their PRR debut. Rob Lord finished with 49 laps, his personal best ever as well. SNOWBALL 500 FINAL The starting grid for the Snowball 500 final was identical to that of the Turkey 250 held in November. The four drivers and their cars were prepared to run the 14.5 minute segments around the 14 turn PRR road course. At the start Phoenix used his trademark horsepower to lead the field down the main straight. Spena, however, out-braked him into turn 1 and quickly pulled away. Despite several pit stops over the course of the race to clean his tires, he would never be headed. His third consecutive Snowball 500 win made it a clean sweep for the year in major Fray rules races at PRR. Phoenix and Burdick continued their battle for second for first half of the race before Burdick’s motor began to over heat and he dropped back. Wood suffered a similar problem, only his motor problems began even earlier and he was never in contention. 3RD ANNUAL SNOWBALL 500 OVERALL RESULTS | The Drivers - Front Row L-R: Dan Hungerford Jr. (official scorekeeper;) Jamie Antosh, Rob Lord, Tom Bowman, Garrett Quigley; Joe Saccomanno, Mark Burdick, John Burdick; Back Row: Frank Spena Jr., Perry Richardson, Larry Weaver, Scott Walker, Jeff "Hoss" Phoenix, Rici Wood | |||||||||||
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| The Grid - Larry Weaver's '67 Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car leads the pack; Row 1 inside to outside: "Hoss" Phoenix GT40; Rici Wood GT40; Jamie Antosh GT40; Tom Bowman GT40; Row 2: Mark Burdick GT40; Scott Walker GT40; Perry Richardson Jaguar E-Type; Rob Lord Chrysler Crossfire GT; Row 3: Larry Weaver GT40; John Burdick Corvette; Joe Saccomanno GT40; Garrett Quigley Ferrari 360; Row 4: Frank Spena Jr. Chrysler Crossfire GT | ||||||||||||
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| The final four cars: 1st - Spena Crossfire; 2nd - Phoenix GT40; 3rd - Burdick GT40; 4th - Wood GT40 | ||||||||||||
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| The final four drivers - L-R: 3rd - Mark Burdick; 2nd - "Hoss" Phoenix; 1st - Frank Spena Jr.; 4th - Rici Wood | ||||||||||||
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| The prizes supplied by BRP, JB's Thunderbrushes, Model Motoring, Slugger and Wizzard | ||||||||||||
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