The Snowball Derby has a reputation for humbling even the biggest names in racing. Talent, money, and hype don’t mean much when half the field is sliding into each other before lap fifty. The 2010 chaos at Five Flags Speedway was a perfect example.

Out of 37, only twelve saw the checkered flag, and just eight finished on the lead lap. The entry list read like a who’s who of short-track hotshots and future NASCAR stars: a fifteen-year-old Chase Elliott leading laps, Landon Cassill running up front, and plenty of other seasoned veterans with deep pockets and deeper résumés.

When the smoke cleared, the driver holding the trophy was an eighteen-year-old local girl named Johanna Long, who nobody outside Pensacola had expected to win. Let’s relive that epic race through her lens.

Johanna Long

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