Now that Bubba Pollard has figured out his ‘new’ car, he might be unstoppable for the remainder of the World Series of Asphalt.
When he made his debut in the David Rogers No. 11 on Friday night, Pollard struggled to get his braking points down. He looked mortal, in comparative racing terms, struggling even to brak inside the top-10.
We’re talking about Bubba Pollard, the winningest Super Late Model driver of the past 15 years.
And then came the weekend’s rainouts and Pollard, with a comination of Pollard Motorsports and T.M. Ranch Racing guys, had two straight days to work on it.
That’s all, folks.
Pollard qualified seventh in time trials, but caught a lucky break when Dan Frederickson drew an eight on the invert, placing him beside Derek Kraus for the start of the race. It took just 23 laps for Pollard to stalk Kraus, make a bold move on the outside of the frontstretch, and hold off the youngster for a restart with three laps to go to win for the second time in as many days.
He was quick to point out that, ultimately, Rogers’ race car wasn’t different from his own No. 26.
“The story is that it’s just good to have Senneker Race Cars,” Pollard said in Victory Lane. “We’re able to duplicate what we do on our cars and carry it over to this one. It’s a testiment to what Terry builds.
“I know I say this every night, but to be driving this car with this group of guys is cool. These No. 11 guys are some hard-working guys and they deserve it. Our teams work together really well.”
Pollard’s move on Kraus on Lap 23 was gutsy, jumping to the bottom in Turn 4 and immediately jumping against the wall to complete the pass in Turns 1 and 2. He suggested there might have been a secret behind it.
“I can’t tell you my secrets,” Pollard said with a laugh. “I’d give something away if I did. It’s tought to pass here on the bottom, and he did a good job protecting the bottom. You got to play some games every once and awhile and have some fun. That’s what we did.”
Pollard escaped with the lead on the final restart against Kraus and Brad May, aided by contact between Kraus and Frederickson, who was none too pleased with the K&N Pro Series East winner from the night before.
“He owes me a beer or at least an apology,” Frederickson said about the contact in Turn 2 that required some sideways work to keep it off the wall.
Kraus is 17-years-old.
“Well, his dad can buy me one.”
Kraus said he was toast on the final restart from the moment Pollard chose the outside on the final green flag.
“Restarting on the bottom is just tough,” Kraus said. “In 1 and 2, you can’t really make the bottom work. There’s not enough grip and we got together, and we were both sideways. It’s a racing deal, like they say.”
By virtue of three second-place finishes, Brad May leads Pollard by 12 points in the World Series championship battle. Pollard has a ninth and two wins. Kraus is third and 20 back with a third, a sixth and a sixth.
The complete results from Tuesday night can be found below.
- Bubba Pollard
- Brad May
- Dan Fredrickson
- Derek Griffith
- Logan Seavey
- Derek Kraus
- Alex Labbe
- Travis Braden
- Gabe Sommers
- Nolan Pope
- Clay Greenfield
- Colin Garrett
- Spencer Davis
- Harold Crooms
- Jett Noland
- Carson Kvapil
- Anthony Sergi
- Sam Mayer
- Christian Rose
- Ryan Moore
- Jared Irvan
- Patrick Thomas
- Steve Weaver, Jr.
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