MOBILE, AL :: The fast-rising popularity of the Southern Super Series can be attributed to a variety of circumstances, namely the storied venues, a talented roster and close finishes that have continued to define the division during its first two seasons.
But prestige is often established by legend and the championship finale from one year ago was an event that generated conversation throughout the entire Stock Car industry, cementing the Southern Super Series as a fixture in the overall short track landscape.
Associating the league and series finale with a marquee event like the All-American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville went a long way towards establishing credibility for the new tour. Combining that race with the World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park and Alabama 200 at Montgomery Motor Speedway gave the league instant appeal and national recognition.
But that alone wasn’t going to be enough.
The Southern Super Series needed an identity and it needed moments, something the inaugural season delivered in spades and right from the start. Between T.J. Reaid winning at Pensacola in May to earn redemption from his Snowball Derby defeat the December prior or Daniel Hemric out-dueling John Hunter Nemechek in one of the most excellent races in recent short track memory, the Southern Super Series established itself as the home of action and dramatics for Stock Car diehards.
Thus, it was only fitting that the first season would crown the champion by a mere single point at one of the brightest stages in short track racing in Nashville at the All-American 400.
Entering the race, it didn’t look as if the championship would go down to the wire. Following qualifying and the points that session paid, Pollard took a 54 point advantage over Hemric into the final 300 laps of the season. As a result, Pollard would automatically clinch with a finish of 18th or better in the 36-car field that also included Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Ross Kenseth, Johnny Van Doorn and a host of other superstar talents from all over the country.
The race was marred by a considerable amount of attrition during the first three quarters, making it appear as if Pollard would be able to cruise to the championship as only 23 cars remained with 25 laps and the championship leader securely in the top-10. But the entire complexion of the race and the inaugural season would change on a restart with 17 laps to go.
Elliott and Hunter Robbins led the field to green but Kyle Benjamin, riding behind Pollard at the drop of the green flag, was unable to brake entering Turn 1 and drilled right into the championship leader, destroying both cars (as well as Jones’) in the process. As a result of the accident, Pollard would finish 20th, meaning Hemric would have to finish second in order to win the championship.
The now infamous incident can be viewed below. Alternatively, the XSAN broadcast replay of the ordeal can be viewed here.
Hemric restarted sixth on a final reset with less than 10 laps remaining and quickly worked his way up to second, not knowing at the time if a runner-up would be enough the clinch the championship. Despite a hearty effort, Hemric was not able to chase down the race-dominant Elliott who led 30 laps en route to his first victory in the “Civil War on Wheels.”
His victory also made him the only driver to win all four stages of the Super Late Model Grand Slam, with career triumphs in the World Crown, Snowball Derby, Winchester 400 and at Nashville.
Meanwhile, Hemric was declared inaugural champion minutes after climbing out of the car after an official points tabulation. The video below captured his immediate reaction as he made his way to the podium at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville:
Pollard — who earlier in the day told reporters that winning the first SSS championship would be “one of the top accomplishments of my career” — was visibly dismayed in the immediate aftermath of the event. In the interview below, he expressed disappointment that the championship was decided by an incident with Benjamin rather than racing on the track.
“It wasn’t meant to be I guess,” Pollard said. “We’ve had such an up and down season. We’ve had to fight motor issues, car issues and crew chief issues. But it’s my guys that I really hate it for. They do all the hard work and they do it for free.
“They do it for me and they deserved this championship. It’s part of racing, it’s an unfortunate deal but we’ll come back from it and give it another shot next year.”
When the dust settled and after technical inspection made the accomplishment official, Hemric reflected on his achievement in the following sit-down interview. In it, he explained that the championship was most satisfying because racing is ultimately a team sport.
“To be a part of (Carswell Motorsports) and to be able to put in what I’ve been able to put in to this thing means a lot because it takes a lot of things to go right in just one race, let alone a full season of this deal,” Hemric said. “To be able to say you came out on top as the champion is huge for anyone involved.
“But it means more to me because of my background and none of that was possible without Jake and Deanna (Carswell) and everyone else who believed in me. They had a lot of faith in this deal, and that was our motto, they felt like this would work out. ”
Now one year later, the same two combatants will again decide the championship with only eight points separating the two with two races and a maximum of 230 points on the line during this weekend’s Gulf Coast doubleheader at Pensacola and Mobile respectively.
It’s not from a lack of effort from the rest of the field as both Anderson Bowen and Donnie Wilson remain mathematically eligible but unlikely to win the championship based on number of entries alone. Even two-time Snowball Derby winner Augie Grill made a valiant charge for the crown but was ultimately unable to contend due to a lack of wins and sheer inconsistency.
The moral of the story is that Hemric and Pollard have proven to be the heart of the Southern Super Series in just two years and it is only fitting that the second championship will also come back to where it started on the Coast and between the two of them. The tour has delivered moments, identity and character and it starts with these two decorated champions.
Who will survive? Race22.com will have live coverage from the Southern Super Series championship this weekend with reporter Matt Weaver. Follow him on Twitter at @MattWeaverSBN.
