What hasn’t been clicking for Lee Pulliam and JRM, and why is Martinsville the place the pairing can turn the page?

What a year it has been for Lee Pulliam. 365 days ago, there was talk of a potential swansong run in the Martinsville 300, running a car honoring his first win in the event, after being all but retired for the better part of seven years.

Then, the finish between he and Landon Pembelton, where Pulliam came within inches of his third Martinsville triumph, and the post-race that followed where it became clear that Pulliam was far from done behind the wheel of a racecar.

Fast-forward a year, and he found victory lane once again at South Boston, made his NASCAR O’Riley Auto Parts Series debut with a top-five finish at Martinsville, and signed a deal to run full time in the NOAPS with Peterson Racing in 2027. Pulliam even joined forces with JR Motorsports to chase a Virginia Triple Crown title this season.

The only problem is, it hasn’t gone the way really anyone expected. The pairing struggled early in the weekend at the South Boston Speedway 200 before an early accident relegated the team to a 36th place finish, which was followed up by a quite seventh place run in the Hampton Heat 200 at Langley Speedway while teammate Caden Kvapil picked up the win. In preparation for Martinsville, Pulliam and JRM ran the CARS Tour event at Tri-County Speedway back on September 13, but only managed a 12th place finish at the end of the day.

It’s not horrible by anymeans, the results just haven’t been what was expected when pairing two of the greats of Late Model Stock racing. So what has gone wrong? According to Pulliam, he thinks they’re closer than it seems, it’s just so hard to improve with starts few and far between one another.

It’s no secret the Lee Pulliam-JR Motorsports bid at the Triple Crown hasn’t gone the way either party would have hoped. Pulliam gives his thoughts on why.

There’s no better place to right the ship, and he’s ready to chase clock No. 3 after the near miss one year ago. pic.twitter.com/sqowGfAlXu

— Short Track Scene (@ST_Scene) September 25, 2026

“I mean, it’s just tough to just jump in a car and race once in a while,” Pulliam told Short Track Scene. “It’s tough for those guys too, I mean, they got a different driver a lot and they do a great job. I’ve got full confidence in them and these races are just tough, right? When I jump in my car, I kind of know what to expect and the packages, we just do things a little bit different and nothing right or wrong about it, it’s just part of it. But, they’ve got a great track record here in Martinsville and just excited to see how we stack up.”

The key point made in there is the limited seat time, and how JRM and Lee Pulliam Performance may do things just a little bit different. Like Pulliam said, there is no right or wrong about it, but just how hard is that on a driver with limited seat time to progress through those small changes throughout a weekend? Pulliam shared his thoughts, having made three starts with JRM this season and five in his own LPP cars.

“Yeah, it can be tough,” Pulliam said. “I mean, like I said, we race so far apart a lot of times, but felt like we had good speed at Tri-County. Qualifying got rained out and that place is so hard to pass that it makes it tough. I mean, it’s a tough sport, right? Everybody’s, this whole field here, a tenth separates 30 cars, and so every little bit matters. Rolling in here, we at least have some races under our belts, we know each other, they’re running a package that they normally run here and have had success with, so I feel good about it.

Regardless of how the previous starts have gone with JRM, Pulliam JR Motorsports have a chance to each chase their third Martinsville clock this weekend, and there’s no better place to right the ship than at the 300, right?

“No, absolutely not,” Pulliam said. “I mean, grandfather clock would definitely end this Triple Crown right where we want to be. So yeah, I’m going to give it everything I got no matter what, we’re going to fight hard to the end. I tell people all the time, I got seven seconds in this race, six as a driver and one with Corey Heim. So I’ve had a lot of heartbreaking races here, but I’ve also won a couple times.

“A lot of people have never done that, so I feel blessed that it seems like every time I race here, I’ve got a shot at the end. That’s a lot to be proud of. But yeah, it was a tough way to lose it last year. I mean, I was just 15 seconds away from the white flag and it would’ve been over. But that’s just part of the sport and I’m very excited to be here. I’m always hungry to try to go to victory lane and feel good about our chances.”

As the season winds down, Pulliam will shift his focus towards his NASCAR O’Riley Series ride for 2027 with two starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Martinsville respectively to close this season, the first of those scheduled for next Saturday, October 3. As of now, this is the last Late Model Stock start planned for Pulliam this season so in a way, this may be the Late Model swansong everyone thought last year to be for the time being.

Regardless, Pulliam and JRM are confident they can right the ship on Saturday at Martinsville, and there’s no better time, or place, to be on your A-game.