DAYTONA BEACH, FL :: The defending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion is off to a fast start this season. Lee Pulliam has five NASCAR Late Model wins in nine starts before April 1.
Pulliam, 24, of Semora, N.C., took his fifth win of the year in Saturday’s Easter Bunny 150 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. Earlier in March he posted two wins and a runner-up finish to C.E. Falk III at South Boston along with taking a win and a second to Michael Rouse at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C. He also collected a victory at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., to give him five wins, eight top fives and eight top 10s in just nine starts.
All three South Boston wins came over Philip Morris, the four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion from Ruckersville, Va., who ran a limited schedule a year ago.
“Having Philip back at South Boston makes for some good hard racing,” Pulliam said of his respected rival. “I’m sure that’s drawing a lot of fan interest.”
The duo staged a 20-lap side-by-side battle for the lead midway through Saturday’s 150 laps at South Boston. Pulliam edged his way into a lead he would not relinquish on Lap 98.
“Getting a first and second at Southern National was pretty cool. That track has been a thorn in my side. I’ve struggled at that place and we still don’t have it completely figured out,” Pulliam said.
His lowest finishes of the month, fifth and 21st, came at Southern National.
Pulliam expects to compete fulltime at South Boston and Motor Mile this year. When those tracks have open dates, he’ll be picking up races where he can find the most competition.
Pulliam embarked on the season with his national championship team and equipment intact. His Chevrolet is based on a Hedgecock chassis and powered by a Kowalsky-built engine. His parents Harold and Debra are his car owners and crew chief is Winston Brooks.
The Pulliam race shop also maintains race cars for other drivers including 2012 South Boston track champion Matt Bowling. The Bowling car is for special events and will next see action in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway April 25.
Pulliam began his season in the special non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach at Daytona International Speedway in February. The event was staged on a .4-mile oval on the speedway’s backstretch. He finished seventh in the 150-lap event after starting ninth.
“I was disappointed with my finish but we had a decent run and brought it home in just about one piece,” Pulliam said.
The UNOH Battle At The Beach marked Pulliam’s first-ever visit to Daytona International Speedway.
“We came in on International Speedway Boulevard and drove right by all those grandstands named for so many great drivers,” Pulliam said. “We pulled into the pits (located behind the Daytona Superstretch grandstands), and that’s when I went to look at the track. It was mind boggling. It’s the biggest track I’ve ever seen.
“The UNOH Battle At The Beach was a great experience.”
Now in its 32nd season, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program for weekly short track auto racing. More than 50 tracks throughout the United States and Canada participate.
A NASCAR Division I driver’s best 18 results through the Sept. 15 closing date count toward their state and national point totals and the champions are decided on overall point total. Once a driver reaches 18 starts, their point total increases incrementally as they replace some poorer runs with better results.
Under the point structure for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, a race winner receives two points for every car in the event up to 20 cars. Second place receives two fewer points and so on through the field. Race winners receive an additional five points. For example, if 20 cars are in the field, the winner receives 45 points, second place 38 and third 36. If there are 15 cars, the winner receives 35 points, second 28 and third, 26.
Track operators also designate support classes as NASCAR Divisions II-V and drivers in those divisions compete for points in the NASCAR Finalist program. The program brings added recognition to support division drivers. Points are kept separately for asphalt and dirt tracks.
