“Pollard Caps Off SpeedFest 2012 With Two Top-Five Runs”
CONCORD, NC (January 30, 2012) – Bubba Pollard won 19 races in 2011, but beating NASCAR driver Kyle Busch in the closing laps of a short track race would have trumped those feats as Busch is has proven to be nearly unbeatable in Super Late Model events in recent seasons.
Pollard traded the lead with Busch several times over the 200-lap SpeedFest event at Watermelon Capital Speedway (GA). Pollard may have had more experience at Watermelon Capital than Busch, who was making his first-ever start there, but Busch wasn’t going to be denied. Busch made the final pass on lap 184 to finish ahead of Pollard at the checkered flag.
“I wish I was doing that,” said Pollard as he pointed to Busch’s burnout in victory lane.
Pollard managed to smile after finishing second to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star because he knew he had been beaten by one of the best in the business.
“Our car was real good on the short run and I could get by him on the restarts,” added Pollard. “He had a much better car on the longer runs, but I wanted to get out in front of him on that last restart and let him know I could race with him and I had a lot of fun doing it.”
Finishing second found Pollard in front of fellow Georgian and NASCAR driver David Ragan. Also in the mix were defending race winner Chase Elliott, Ross Kenseth, Erik Darnell, Johnny Sauter, Clay Rogers and several other top drivers in the Super Late Model world.
“That’s the best in the country,” said Pollard motioning to Busch. “We hung with him pretty good today and we can’t hold our heads down after a strong run like this. We made a few adjustments at halfway and we came up a little short at the end. It’s pretty fun to race against these guys.”
Pollard ran the Pro Late Model race as well and led the first 76 circuits before giving up the lead. He would end up finishing fourth after a last lap scramble cost him a podium finish.
The two top-five finishes go along with his pair from the 2011 SpeedFest events and his average finish for the last four events at SpeedFest is a 2.75 at two different venues in the state of Georgia.
Pollard’s next schedule race is the Rattler 250 and the Pro Rattler 125 at South Alabama Speedway. Pollard is the defending Viper Series Champion at the track and is looking to capture the track’s biggest events.
For more information on Bubba Pollard visit his website at www.BubbaPollard.com.
- 51 Sports Press Release
