Bubba Pollard continued his week-long assault on Five Flags Speedway with a victory on Saturday night in the Snowflake 100.
The 30-year-old started on the pole with Chandler Smith in second, but it was Jeff Choquette who offered Pollard his toughest challenge around the historic half-mile speedway in Pensacola, Florida.
Pollard spent the first half of the race fending off Choquette on a series of restarts, but set sail for the final 30 laps to earn his second Snowflake victory and first since 2014. Pollard typically chooses the outside for restarts, but shocked those in attendance when he selected the bottom for a pivotal late reset.
He set sail.
“I determine if I go inside or outside based on what the car behind me has done previous,” Pollard said. “I wanted to see what Choquette had, and I went to the outside. I could tell he was getting a little tight on restarts down on the bottom and he couldn’t keep it down. I knew on the last couple of restarts, that I had to take the bottom. I knew he would get tight off two and wouldn’t be able to get a run.”
COMPLETE SNOWBALL DERBY COVERAGE
Initially, Pollard took the lead and created a dominant gap, and then the first caution came after Elliot Massey hit the wall. Following the restart, Pollard and Choquette danced side-by-side for several laps, engaged in a fierce battle for first place. Choquette overtook Pollard in dramatic fashion just as Brandon Curren hit the wall, bringing out a second caution.
When the second restart happened, it was a rivalry rematch between Pollard and Choquette, which Pollard won just before yet another caution, this one involving Brandon Johnson and Eddie Fatscher.
Then, things got extra tense between the two leaders on the third restart.
With 79 laps to go, Choquette jumped the restart, and then mayhem.
Ryan Worship, Augie Grill, Cory Roper and Bobby Knox among several other drivers were caught in a chain reaction crash after the jumped restart bunched up the field.
The race was red-flagged with cars atop one another having to be dismounted with the help of multiple tow trucks on the racetrack. Everyone made it out safely.
On the fourth restart rematch between Pollard and Choquette, Pollard initially overtook Choquette but then the two traded places, with Pollard staying so close to Choquette’s rear end that a hand couldn’t fit between the two.
Then, Connor Okrzesik spun and another caution slowed the action.
And it upped the ante for the fifth restart when Choquette chose the outside lane for the restart, a habit of Pollard’s, and a move as if to say “I can get you here, too.”
Choquette initially cleared Pollard, but Pollard refused to let go and shot beside him for. more side-by-side racing. Pollard overtook Choquette with 54 to go and this time, put a gap between the pair.
The sixth caution came out because Ryan Paul hit the wall, and as if to retort “so can I” to Choqeutte’s decision to take the outside line in the last restart, Pollard selected the inside line. Pollard shot back to the front and created more of a gap between first and second.
With just one more caution, the pair tangoed briefly once more but with just 25 laps remaining, Pollard dominated the race with a 2.5 second lead at one point.
Pollard won the Snowflake 100 handily.
When asked about his battle with Choquette after their recent rivalry, he said he would have to quote his friend Chase Elliot. “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothing at all,” said Pollard.
Pollard said his newly built Pro Late Model was really fast and that he was proud of his team for their performance.
- Bubba Pollard
- Spencer Davis
- Anthony Cataldi
- Jeff Choquette
- Augie Grill
- Justin South
- Stephen Nasse
- Corey Heim
- Derrick Griffin
- Casey Roderick
- Carson Hocevar
- JR Niedecken
- Cole Williams
- Steven Davis
- Dan Leeck
- Chandler Smith
- Zachary Knowles
- Eddie Fatscher
- Brandon Curren
- Brandon Oakley
- Scotty Tomasik
- Mason Diaz
- Connor Okrzesik
- Ryan Paul
- Austin Wood
- Christopher Tullis
- Cole Anderson
- Bobby Knox Jr
- Jake Johnson
- Ryan Worsham
- Brandon Johnson
- Corey Roper
- Perry Patino
- Jordan McCallum
- Joe Graf
- Elliott Massey
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