Southern Star Hungry For The 2013 Edition at Watermelon Capital
Concord, NC (January 17,
2013) - Senoia, Georgia racer Bubba Pollard has accomplished just about
everything there is to accomplish in Super Late Model and Pro Late Model racing
in Southeastern United States. Name a marquee race or a race track in any state
south of the State of Kentucky and chances are Pollard has competed at and has
won at one time or another.
Very few signature events have eluded
the 25-year-old over the years. One of those can be potentially checked off the
list January 26 and 27 - SpeedFest.
Pollard will get two opportunities to rectify his SpeedFest shutout at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia in SpeedFest 2013. Pollard will be competing in both the ARCA/CRA Super Series sanctioned 200-lap headliner as well as the 100-lap main for the companion JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance.
“We’ve been so close so many times, whether it was at Lanier or last year in Cordele,” said Pollard. “But for some reason we just can’t close the deal. We’ve been fast, we’ve been in the hunt just about every time in both divisions, but it hasn’t been enough,”
Pollard has finished second in the past two seasons in the Super Late Model portion of SpeedFest. He has garnered showings of fourth and third in his last two Pro Late Model SpeedFest runs, as well.
“We had a great run back in October too in Cordele (an ARCA/CRA Southern Series event), but it wasn’t meant to be I guess. We’re running both cars again and we’re certainly hoping that this is our year. It would be a great start to the year that’s for sure.“
A year ago, the Peach State standout started on the pole in both races, so his best shot to date at scoring one or both wins came then. However after leading the first 77 laps of what was a 150-lap race for JEGS/CRA, he could only muster a fourth place effort in the event won, for the second time in a row, by Chase Elliott. Mike Garvey and eventual 2012 JEGS/CRA Champion Daniel Hemric finished ahead of Pollard in the final rundown.
In the main event, the 200-lap showdown for the ARCA/CRA competitors, Pollard again led the field to the green flag and again paced the field for the first 43 laps before losing the point to a surprising John Hunter Nemechek. Pollard regained the lead for a single lap after passing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star and eventual winner Kyle Busch on lap 150 before relinquishing the lead back to Busch.
Pollard never gave up and battled back to reclaim the top spot on lap 172 only to lose it one last time to Busch on lap 184. Pollard stalked the NASCAR invader for the rest of the race and tried one last time to go back around, but in the end settled for a runner-up showing.
“I love racing them guys, Busch, David (Ragan) and everyone who comes down from the north. The talent level is so high down here and up north that If I ever win SpeedFest, I hope it’s against those guys head to head. It was pretty cool to race side by side with Kyle Busch for as long as we did. I hope he comes back so we can go at it again.
At SpeedFest, it’ll be one of the few times where Pollard will not only race, but also serve in a “coaching” role. He will even run against the driver he’s been coaching since the middle of the 2012 racing season, now 17-year-old Cody Coughlin, will also be taking part in the JEGS/CRA 100-lap main in Cordele, Georgia. Pollard is anxious to race against his protégé and to see how far the Delaware, Ohio teenager has come.
“I look forward to racing with him. He’s got a lot of talent and I honestly feel like this season is going to be his big break out year,” said Pollard. “It’s going to be a tough weekend for sure racing two cars and coaching Cody along as well, but it’s going to be a fun challenge and I’m willing to bet that I learn from him during the race as much as he hopefully has learned from me over the past few months.
“I owe a lot to John Coughlin and all of those guys at JEGS.com for allowing me to be able to do what we need to and want to do in 2013. The entire Coughlin family has been so good to me and I’m very fortunate to be associated with them.”
After all is said and done and when haulers are pulling out of Watermelon Capital Speedway after SpeedFest 2013, Bubba Pollard is hoping that he’s the one that everyone will be talking about after hopefully, and finally, seeing the checkered flag first in either the ARCA/CRA or JEGS/CRA versions of SpeedFest. If it’s not him, at least in the JEGS/CRA race, he still could be standing in victory lane with a teenager from Ohio.
Very few signature events have eluded
the 25-year-old over the years. One of those can be potentially checked off the
list January 26 and 27 - SpeedFest. Pollard will get two opportunities to rectify his SpeedFest shutout at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia in SpeedFest 2013. Pollard will be competing in both the ARCA/CRA Super Series sanctioned 200-lap headliner as well as the 100-lap main for the companion JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance.
“We’ve been so close so many times, whether it was at Lanier or last year in Cordele,” said Pollard. “But for some reason we just can’t close the deal. We’ve been fast, we’ve been in the hunt just about every time in both divisions, but it hasn’t been enough,”
Pollard has finished second in the past two seasons in the Super Late Model portion of SpeedFest. He has garnered showings of fourth and third in his last two Pro Late Model SpeedFest runs, as well.
“We had a great run back in October too in Cordele (an ARCA/CRA Southern Series event), but it wasn’t meant to be I guess. We’re running both cars again and we’re certainly hoping that this is our year. It would be a great start to the year that’s for sure.“
A year ago, the Peach State standout started on the pole in both races, so his best shot to date at scoring one or both wins came then. However after leading the first 77 laps of what was a 150-lap race for JEGS/CRA, he could only muster a fourth place effort in the event won, for the second time in a row, by Chase Elliott. Mike Garvey and eventual 2012 JEGS/CRA Champion Daniel Hemric finished ahead of Pollard in the final rundown.
In the main event, the 200-lap showdown for the ARCA/CRA competitors, Pollard again led the field to the green flag and again paced the field for the first 43 laps before losing the point to a surprising John Hunter Nemechek. Pollard regained the lead for a single lap after passing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star and eventual winner Kyle Busch on lap 150 before relinquishing the lead back to Busch.
Pollard never gave up and battled back to reclaim the top spot on lap 172 only to lose it one last time to Busch on lap 184. Pollard stalked the NASCAR invader for the rest of the race and tried one last time to go back around, but in the end settled for a runner-up showing.
“I love racing them guys, Busch, David (Ragan) and everyone who comes down from the north. The talent level is so high down here and up north that If I ever win SpeedFest, I hope it’s against those guys head to head. It was pretty cool to race side by side with Kyle Busch for as long as we did. I hope he comes back so we can go at it again.
At SpeedFest, it’ll be one of the few times where Pollard will not only race, but also serve in a “coaching” role. He will even run against the driver he’s been coaching since the middle of the 2012 racing season, now 17-year-old Cody Coughlin, will also be taking part in the JEGS/CRA 100-lap main in Cordele, Georgia. Pollard is anxious to race against his protégé and to see how far the Delaware, Ohio teenager has come.
“I look forward to racing with him. He’s got a lot of talent and I honestly feel like this season is going to be his big break out year,” said Pollard. “It’s going to be a tough weekend for sure racing two cars and coaching Cody along as well, but it’s going to be a fun challenge and I’m willing to bet that I learn from him during the race as much as he hopefully has learned from me over the past few months.
“I owe a lot to John Coughlin and all of those guys at JEGS.com for allowing me to be able to do what we need to and want to do in 2013. The entire Coughlin family has been so good to me and I’m very fortunate to be associated with them.”
After all is said and done and when haulers are pulling out of Watermelon Capital Speedway after SpeedFest 2013, Bubba Pollard is hoping that he’s the one that everyone will be talking about after hopefully, and finally, seeing the checkered flag first in either the ARCA/CRA or JEGS/CRA versions of SpeedFest. If it’s not him, at least in the JEGS/CRA race, he still could be standing in victory lane with a teenager from Ohio.
