PENSACOLA, FL- 2014 Southern Super Series champion Bubba Pollard struck a win off his bucket list on December 6th, claiming his first ever ‘Snowflake 100’ victory at 5 Flags Speedway.
The perennial contender employed a conservative strategy through the first 50-laps, racing within the top-5 but remaining mindful to conserve his equipment.
“We were just riding early on,” explained Pollard. “It seemed like right from the green flag, the leaders really wanted to push the pace. I knew we had a good car, and didn’t want to get caught up racing them so early”
“I was comfortable with letting them go early on,” continued Pollard, “because our car felt really good and I knew we could close that gap when things really started to matter”
Pollard caught leader John Hunter Nemechek as the lead group cars began to navigate their way through lapped traffic, working his way into the top spot on lap-86.
“Pensacola is just about as tough a track on tires as you’re going to race on,” said Pollard. “If you want any chance of being around at the end, you have to save your equipment. We’ve learned that the hard way”
“When I saw there was 20 to go, that’s when we really started to get after it. We were able to catch [John Hunter] in traffic. But I truly feel that, as good as our car was, we didn’t need the lapped cars”
For Pollard’s family-run operation, the Snowflake 100 title is the culmination of seasons worth of effort and a bevy of close calls.
“We’ve been coming down here for 9 years and I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been close to winning the Snowflake,” smiled Pollard. “It’s a special win, for sure. We’ve led a lot of laps here. We’ve set fast time for this race and been wrecked late in the going. To have it all come together for us is an awesome feeling”
“I’m especially happy to be able to give this one to my team,” continued the Senoia, GA veteran. “There are a lot of people that put a lot of effort into making all of this happen. They work their hearts out so we can come out here, and I can’t possibly thank them enough.”
Though the 2014 has come to a close for Pollard, his team won’t have long to rest. The No. 26 JEGS Ford will kick off the 2015 campaign when the ARCA/CRA Super Series powered by JEGS presents SpeedFest at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, GA on January 24th and 25th.
Marketing support for Bubba Pollard is provided by JEGS, Shoemaker Transport Services, Maxima Racing Oils, Sunoco Race Fuels, Schoenfeld Headers, Racing Radios, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Sweet Manufacturing Inc., Hightower Racing Transmissions, Allstar Performance, Quarter Master, KRC Power Steering, Hamner Racing Engines and SL Promotions.
Fans can keep up to date with Bubba by following on Twitter @BubbaPollard26 or by visiting the brand new Bubba Pollard Racing page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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