In past years we’ve seen a host of drivers competing for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship take a short cut to get the title in hand. Most notably Anthony Anders and his sea of cars that took dismal car counts to full fields at Greenville Pickens Speedway en route to his 2014 National Championship.
This year we didn’t see any of that.
Lee Pulliam set a course seemingly from the beginning of the season to be at the venue that the highest car counts were anticipated. Myrtle Beach Speedway was one of those tracks and with car counts reaching the highest in the region there the veteran Late Model Stock Car driver made that his home track. He would win all but three races there this season on his way to his first Myrtle Beach Speedway track championship.
Car counts at Myrtle Beach never dipped below 18 cars. It was the perfect place for Pulliam to accumulate the points he needed without having to field additional cars himself. Pulliam added starts at many other venues throughout the season including South Boston, Motor Mile, Anderson, Southern National, Langley, Hickory, Caraway and Dominion Raceway. He also made the trek to Kingsport Speedway before a weight issue after qualifying caused the team to load up and not compete in twin events on the night. He competed at more different tracks than anyone in this region.
He just followed the car count around on a whirlwind schedule all season that included a six race four night weekend traveling from Dominion Raceway in Spotslyvania, VA on Thursday to Anderson Motor Speedway in Williamston, SC on Friday for twins, where he won his first event at the track after being unsuccessful in previous attempts. On Saturday he made the trip across the state of South Carolina to Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, SC to capture the track championship and then on Sunday to Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, NC for a final round of twins for the weekend.
Pulliam played the cards he was dealt. He competed in many races that didn’t give him the car count he needed even right up into the last couple of weekends of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series points chasing. In past years we’ve seen the start and park insanity played out but Pulliam didn’t bother with that. The veteran driver just focused on finding the most cars and getting the most points.
If you’ve followed race22.com for more than 15 minutes you know that I’ve always been critical of someone gaming the system for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship. I’ve called out Pulliam, Morris and Anders in the past decade of coverage but I’m also the first to give a guy an attaboy for doing it the right way and for doing it by working his tail off to get this championship. My hats off to Pulliam and his team they deserve all the accolades that will come to them for this championship.
Pulliam has proven that he’s among the greatest Late Model Stock Car drivers ever and this season he worked hard to get his fourth NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship. The title ties him with Philip Morris with four National titles but they both still trail Larry Phillips, a Springfield, MO racer who has five National championships.
Morris hasn’t won a National title since Pulliam won his first in 2012. Pulliam has won four of the last six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championships with only Anders and Matt Bowling claiming a title during those six seasons. Morris has stated that he intends to compete for the National title next season. It’ll be interesting to see Morris and Pulliam racing all over the region next year as they both would like to be the first driver to tie Phillips record.
The 2018 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Championship battle can’t start soon enough.
