CLERMONT, Ind. — Georgia late model driver Bubba Pollard made the tow to Lucas Oil Raceway a memorable one as he blitzed the field when he needed to and staved off the star-studded competition to grab the $10,000 prize Saturday night.
A special three-segment race for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered By JEGS at the famed .686-mile oval saw tight, three-wide, close quarter racing in each of the three 25-lap segments.
Outside front row starter Brian Campbell would beat Raphael Lessard into turn one and off turn two to secure the lead on the start with the start studded cast in tow. Slowed by one yellow flag, Pollard would maneuver from fourth starting spot to scoot past Campbell at lap 15 and go on to win the first segment.
Segment two would be a complete inversion from the finish of segment one, with Pollard on the tail. Now with Austin Nason on the pole, he would blister off to the point setting pace. Eight laps into it and Harrison Burton would try his hand at the front when he sailed by Nason in turn one.
At lap 17, the one and only caution would wave with Pollard in fifth and Burton still on top. Fourth position was the key as the third and final stage would invert just the top four. Three laps from the segment’s finish Pollard breezed past Nason to secure fourth at the checkers.
Pollard would be on the front row with Casey Roderick when the green waved for the money round. Pollard was able to out-duel Roderick and got on point. Unlike the first two segments, this one would see three yellow flags, the first at lap two.
Pollard retained the lead on the restart as Roderick dropped in second with Burton third. Another yellow waved on lap 10, leading to another double-file restart. This time Roderick muscled the top spot away from Pollard. That pace lasted just one lap as Pollard drove by Roderick like he owned the place.
A lap-15 yellow flag and restart yielded the same results as Pollard muscled away. Following Pollard and Roderick across the line was Burton third, Campbell fourth and Jack Dossey III rounded out the top five.
“We really did not know what we had all day,” said Pollard. “We just didn’t know which way the car was going to go when the race started. When I got to the front I knew I had a good race car. When I could go to the front like that, I knew I had a good car, we were really free the first run. Just a great race, a great format. The car just worked its way to us, just a lot of fun. We through a little strategy and mix into it, we had to work for it. Those guys made me work for it. I knew that second segment I had to get into the top five to set myself up for a good starting spot that last segment. It was something different, I liked it, lot of fun.”
The finish:
Bubba Pollard, Casey Roderick, Harrison Burton, Brian Campbell, Jack Dossey III, Casey Johnson, Stephen Nasse, Raphael Lessard, Gus Dean, Josh Brock, Austin Nason, Brett Yackey, Matt Craig.