To say Bubba Pollard has been racing a long time is an understatement. The Senoia, Georgia driver has been around the tracks a long time, so it’s no surprise the milestones he has accomplished.
Pollard’s win at SpeedFest gives him 150 career Late Model wins since he left his weekly track days behind in 2003. Pollard’s milestone win came in his record-tying third victory at SpeedFest at Crisp Motorsports Park in his home state.
“It feels good,” said Pollard. “I am nowhere near the level of a Dick Trickle or a Mark Martin. We just don’t race as much as they used to back in the day. It feels good to do it as a family. We didn’t set out to win 150 races, and trust me, we have lost a lot more than we have won.”
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Of those 150 wins, 142 of them have been at distances of 100 laps or more, including 15 wins at 200 laps and longer. The wins have come in 16 different states and at 30 different tracks.
“It was really nice to get this win in our home state,” added Pollard. “Cordele (Crisp Motorsports Park) has been hit or miss for us in the past. We can be fast and not win and or have some bad luck, but to have an accomplishment close to home is nice with so many friends and family.”
Pollard has actually won three of his last four races at Crisp Motorsports Park. The $10,000 victory was his 35th check at $10,000 or more in his racing career.
READ MORE: Bubba Pollard Outduels Corey Heim in Speedfest Classic
The victory also marks at least one Pro or Super Late Model victory for each of the past 20 seasons. These types of records don’t seem to happen much these days because drivers tend not to stick around like Pollard.
“Wow, 20 years, I guess that means I'm old,” added Pollard. “It all starts with family. We love to race and we run a racetrack so we are in it all the time. You can’t run this long without the support and the passion to win. We still have that when we go to the track each week.”
Truth be told, the Pollard win total is much more if you calculate wins in weekly Late Models at Senoia. Throw in Legends cars, Trucks and the Modified wins he’s had over the year and the total is easily over 250 wins.
"I never dreamed we'd go get to race around the county,” admitted Pollard. “I really just wanted to get a chance to race every week around here and that led to going further away and running big races. It’s still fun when you run well and win races.”
A bonus feat happened on Saturday as well, when Augie Grill won the Pro Late Model race and Pollard the Super Late Model race. The two have raced together for years and ironically it was the fourth time they have won races at the same track on the same day. Twice it happened at the World Series in New Smyrna and once at the Rattler 250 in 2012.
“I have a lot of respect for Augie,” said Pollard. “We have had some great races together and he really helped a lot in my career when we ran Grand American Race Cars. When I talked to my mom she pointed out how cool it was that we won on the same day.”
Pollard is now gearing up for a big season on the ASA Stars National Tour as he looks to win his first National Championship.
-Story by: Elgin Traylor