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JR Motorsports announced Tuesday that Lee Pulliam will pilot the team's No. 9 Chevrolet in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series at Martinsville Speedway on March 28.
Pulliam is recognized as one of all-time greats in Late Model Stock Car racing. He is a two-time winner at Martinsville in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, winning the crown jewel event in 2011 and 2014. Last year, Pulliam finished second to Landon Pembelton in a dramatic finish to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
He is also a four-time National Champion in the NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O'Reilly Auto Parts. Pulliam won the title in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013, as well as 2015 and 2017.
Pulliam's accomplishments also include three wins in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston, as well as victories in the Hampton Heat at Larry King Law's Langley Speedway, the Myrtle Beach 400 at Myrtle Beach Speedway and the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. He is a two-time champion of the Virginia Triple Crown.
Pulliam will be behind the wheel of the team's No. 9 Chevrolet, which competes part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. The entry won two races in 2025, with Shane van Gisbergen and Daniel Suarez taking checkered flags at the Chicago Street Circuit and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, respectively.
While those wins came on road courses, a short-track expert in Pulliam will take the car to a track where he has an incredible track record and level of success.
Pulliam's racing slate has scaled back in recent years, focusing on operation of Lee Pulliam Performance. The team won the 2024 zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock championship with Brenden Queen behind the wheel.
Despite his incredible resume, the Martinsville event will be Pulliam's first start in any of NASCAR's three National Series. He made six starts in ARCA Menards Series East in 2014. Pulliam recorded top-five finishes in the first two races of the year at New Smyrna Speedway and on the temporary short track on the backstretch of Daytona International Speedway for the UNOH Battle at the Beach.
This will not be the first time JR Motorsports has utilized its O'Reilly Auto Parts Series platform to give a successful short track racer a shot in the NASCAR National Series. finishing sixth at Richmond Raceway.
A fellow Late Model Stock Car standout, Josh Berry, won his first career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series event with JR Motorsports at Martinsville in 2021. Berry parlayed a NASCAR Local Racing Series National Championship in 2020 with JR Motorsports into a part-time O'Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule with the team the following year, propelling him up the NASCAR ladder.
The NFPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, March 28. The green flag is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on The CW Network, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
-Photo credit: Tyson Gifford
