Bubba Pollard Pressing the Reset Button for the New Smyrna World Series

The new year and a fresh start couldn’t come soon enough for Bubba Pollard.

When the World Series of Asphalt begins on Friday night at New Smyrna Speedway, the field will include the 2019 Speedweeks champion making just his second attempt at the full seven races in nine nights gauntlet.

The 33-year-old suddenly needs the track time.

It’s been two months since Pollard has taken a green flag and that came during the Snowball Derby in December for VanDoorn Racing Development. He was lapped twice and pulled into the infield before Lap 100.

It continued a worrisome trend for Pollard from the second half of 2020 when he was forced to retire from several marquee events including the Slinger Nationals on July 18, Dixieland 250 on August 30, the Winchester 400 on October 11 and the All-American 400 on October 31.

He didn’t withdraw due to an accident or mechanical failure, but rather because the No. 26 simply lacked the speed needed to run up front.

Pollard tried something completely different in December for the Snowball Derby. He entered the event with VanDoorn Racing Development and the No. 71 that Carson Hocevar had swept the CRA Triple Crown races with earlier in the summer.

It was the first time in years that Pollard had not raced behind the wheel of a Senneker Race Cars chassis, but the result was the same.

When Pollard unloaded on Thursday at New Smyrna, it was back in his familiar No. 26 colors, and again with Senneker Race Cars. It’s a brand-new chassis and he wanted a full week of competition to get 2021 started on improved footing.

“That’s definitely the reason we come down here, is that our program needs to be better,” Pollard said. “We know that we’re going to have to work hard for us to start the year.

“So, this is a big week for us to try some things, to get better and improve. … I feel like our cars need work and our team’s capable of going to the next level. We just got to make it happen. I know what we’re capable of doing.”

Pollard believes his recent struggles are a reflection of the changing technological landscape in short track racing.

“I think the reason we’re being challenged right now is that you can buy speed,” Pollard said. “Whether people believe it or not, we’re a small team.

“We race all the time because we have loyal sponsors and they allow me to do this, but I don’t have the resources that people think we do. I race on weekends and I’m pumping sceptic tanks Monday through Friday. We’ve been fortunate to compete with some of these big programs, and we’ve worked hard to put ourselves in position to do that, with some great people.

“The way technology is going, I wouldn’t say it’s going through a change, but you can buy speed right now.  You got people coming in with money and they can buy speed.”

It’s an argument Pollard has made before, as recently as November prior to his win in the Florida Governor’s Cup, but he’s also adamant that you can’t buy wins.

Pollard captured the 2019 Super Late Model World Series championship driving the No. 11 for Steve Holland and T.M. Ranch when the legendary David Rogers was diagnosed with cancer. Rogers lost his life in 2020 but forged a fast friendship with Pollard during that final year.

The current No. 26 crew is an amalgamation of his usual crew and the team that worked with Rogers during his final seasons.  Pollard is also racing the World Series in 2021 to continue that legacy of Holland, T.M. Ranch and Rogers during Florida Speedweeks.

It just helps that it’s the most impressive entry list in order a decade to test the current status of Pollard and his team.

“We’ve come here to gain confidence for the rest of the year,” Pollard said. “We don’t know where our program is at, so we are trying to build on something that we can take all across the country and win races this year.

“If everything goes well, we plan to race every night and win a championship. It’s something we couldn’t do without T.M. Ranch and Harrison’s Workwear. It was a tradition to see that No. 11 T.M. Ranch car out here every night in February. They were together for 35 years and I just want to keep that tradition going.”

He hopes, in the process, he can start a new tradition of winning after a miserable close to 2020.

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Read more Short Track Scene:

• Why is Bubba Pollard driving a 71 now?
• Super Late Model regional promoters have discussed a national tour
• How a ragtag group of short trackers won the Snowball Derby