Bubba Pollard hopes to continue his string of success in Super Late Model majors after securing the pole for the Battle at Berlin 251 on Monday night at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan.
Pollard posted the fastest time in Monday time trials with a 15.757 second lap around the 0.4375-mile venue. The Georgia native has previously won majors in CRA Speedfest and the Winter Showdown respectively.
These are the races that Pollard rises to the occasion for.
He will be challenged on Monday by defending winner and NASCAR Truck Series champion Erik Jones, who posted the fourth fastest time. Other marquee names include two-time CRA Super Series champion Travis Braden, ARCA contender Dalton Sargeant and former World Series of Asphalt champion Zane Smith.
The race pays $15,000 to win and is $1,500 to start plus a $20 lap leader bonus for every lap lead. It is a 10-tire event and will count caution laps.
To discourage teams from hiring NASCAR pit crews, the Battle at Berlin will feature a five-minute break at Lap 100 and five-minute break at Lap 200 rather than the traditional live pit stops. During those breaks teams will be able to change tires, add fuel and make adjustments.
Drivers will be relined up based on how they leave pit road after servicing their car during the breaks.
The Battle at Berlin is the first event of the 2016 CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown, which could pay a driver $100,000 if he or she can win the Battle at Berlin 251, the Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway on July 16th, and the 45th Annual Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway on October 9th.
There is a $10,000 bonus if a driver can only win two of the events. If no driver wins two of the Triple Crown events, the driver who accumulates the most points during those three events will receive a $5,000 bonus and the title of Champion of the CRA Triple Crown.
The starting lineup for the Battle at Berlin (which has a live pay-per-view broadcast) can be found below.
- Bubba Pollard 15.757
- Quinnton Bear 15.781
- Erik Jones 15.801
- Dalton Sargeant 15.849
- Terry VanHaitsma 15.850
- Brian Campbell 15.860
- Johnny VanDoorn 15.869
- Thomas Woodin 15.875
- Dalton Armstrong 15.881
- Chad Finley 15.902
- Tim DeVos 15.998
- Zane Smith 16.047
- Travis Braden 16.054
- Brandon Oakley 16.058
- Jay Niewiek 16.102
- Andrew Nylaan 16.104
- Cody Coughlin 16.107
- Chris Koslek 16.114
- Phil Bozell 16.134
- Bubba Brooks 16.163
- Andy Bozell 16.259
- Jordan Dahlke 16.292
- Lauren Bush 16.308
- Steve Dorer 16.327
- Grant Quinlan 16.365
- John Neal 17.657
Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.