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Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 in Sports

Special

Senoia native Bubba Pollard, who drives on three late model series, has already won two events this season.

Senoia's Pollard tries to stay on road to success

By Chris Goltermann

The Times-Herald

Maybe the reason why race car drivers never seem to give up is because they're so used to being in constant motion, always looking ahead. At least that seems to be the case with Andrew "Bubba" Pollard.

For him, no matter what happened at the last race, another weekend of opportunity awaits.

The Senoia driver, whose family built and previously owned the New Senoia Raceway he loved to visit as a child, will be back home on Saturday night for the first run of the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour series at the track located off Ga. Hwy. 16.

First, however, comes a trip to Pensacola, Fla., tonight for a run in the Blizzard Series -- one of at least three Pollard is competing in simultaneously this year.

Back-to-back racing nights, though, have become pretty common these days for a 21-year-old who takes pride in not only driving his cars, but working on them. It can be a tireless and, at times, unrewarding lifestyle, but the driver has never been more passionate toward racing to bigger and better surroundings.

Welcome to the world of legends stock car racing in the South.

Pollard is one of a handful of local drivers sharing similar dreams. On the Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS), Pollard is joined by drivers Roger Delp of Newnan and Tony Clark of Sharpsburg, among others. Clark is currently running ninth in the GAS points standings, while Delp posted a top-10 finish in the GAS series on May 5, with Will Hannah of Newnan, a former Chargers standout at Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder Series, taking 16th.

So far in 2008, Pollard has turned in a pair of victories following a rocky start while driving Pro Late and Super Late Models. He earned a win on April 7 at the Peach State Speedway in Jefferson in a GAS Series event. The following weekend, pulling double-duty in Florida and Alabama between GAS and Blizzard series races, he won his first Blizzard event of 2008 at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway.

It's already been 10 years since Pollard won his first race at Senoia Raceway at age 11, after he borrowed a mini-cup car and raced it to victory. The love for the sport, though, runs in the family. His grandfather Hence Pollard built the then-dirt track in 1969. That passion for racing continued through his parents, Sonny and Vickie, who owned the track following Hence's death.

A love of racing has never wavered in Bubba's spirit ever since he could walk.

"I remember we'd be standing there barefoot watching them race," said Pollard. "I kept asking my dad if I could, until he finally let me."

Since being sold to Charlie Edwards in 1981, Senoia Raceway has gone through the transition to asphalt. Now named New Senoia Raceway, the track will host GAS Series races on June 14 and Aug. 16. The International Sport Compact Auto Racing Series (ISCARS) comes to Senoia on Aug. 8.

Pollard first learned the lean of the track through bicycle races at the raceway. While others raced their own store-bought bikes, Bubba built his from the ground up. The same hands-on experience later translated similarly in the garage.

Since the pair of wins, Pollard posted three straight top-five finishes before running into trouble in Mobile last weekend, finishing a disappointing 19th. Motor problems have hampered his team most of the year.

Some of the problems, like many young drivers, have been financial. While getting plenty of support from his family, Pollard knows that obtaining sponsorships is as much a key to success as aiming for that checkered flag.

Pollard is sponsored by his family's construction business in Senoia.

"I'm trying to meet the right people," said Pollard. "We definitely would love to make it to NASCAR, trucks, Busch [now Nationwide Series], something toward pro. Right now, we're stuck racing late models."

Just as frustrating, Pollard has been close to tasting that level of success. In 2005, Pollard ran in several ARCA events through top driver Frank Kimmel's team, but he had a tough time keeping sponsorships, a situation that has hampered several Georgia drivers in recent years.

Pollard was also involved in 2005's "Roush Racing: Driver X" TV program that was broadcast on The Discovery Channel's Planet Green. As the youngest of 25 drivers, the then 18-year-old competed for a chance to be hired in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Nicknamed "The Gong Show," the program has featured the likes of previous winners Kurt Busch (1999) and Carl Edwards.

The 2005 program was won by Erik Darnell, who was the 2006 Craftsman Rookie of the Year.

"To impress someone, you have to have someone watch you race. But most owners are at the racetrack on weekends doing their own thing," said Pollard of a Catch-22 situation. "It's just all about who you know. I go to the racetracks and I probably know a good amount of people in racing. All you can do is shake hands and just talk to them."

Regardless, the hope for Pollard is that these long weekends will pay off in the future.

"It's going to be tough (this weekend). We're going to be running two cars," he said. " I'm just waiting for that big break."

On the net: www.bubbapollard.com