Brennan Poole is in contention for the series championship in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, but the 26-year-old credits his roots for his success – predominantly his success in Late Model Stock Car racing.
Poole won the championship in 2011 in the now-defunct UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Car touring series championship and had success both in Late Model Stock Cars and later in ARCA on his way to NASCAR. When asked about his career path during a press conference at Dover International Speedway on Friday, Poole said Late Model Stock Cars were integral to his success.
“I think the Late Model Stock Cars are a lot closer as far as experience you can get,” Poole said. “They’re perimeter cars so it’s closer to what we run than a Super Late Model. For me, I’m really fortunate that I feel like I was able to go down the right path that helped me be successful at each level and I’ve also been blessed that I’ve had a lot of people come on to help me get to the next level. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t change it. I would still run Late Model Stocks and moved through ARCA and XFINITY Series.”
Brennan Poole applies many of the fundamentals in Late Model Stock Car racing to racing in the XFINITY Series. However, there is one major difference – Stage racing.
Last week, in a race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, Poole finished second in the race but actually lost a position in the standings as a result of not collecting points in the second stage of the race. The game changing format, which was implemented in NASCAR’s upper echelons earlier this year, is the primary adjustment for Poole.
“I think it’s just consistency, not making mistakes and having good runs,” Poole explained. “Obviously over here, it’s a little bit different. The competition’s a lot harder. You have to collect stage points. Last week, I finished second and missed on stage points in the second round and ended up losing a spot in the points. It’s just really tight and you can’t have any mistakes.”
While the competition is tougher and the format is unique, Poole feels it’s all about fundamentals.
“You’ve got to nail your fundamentals, put a fast racecar on the track, have no mistakes and collect stage points and end up with a good finish and I think you’ll be in good shape to make it through all the rounds and be there at Homestead.”
Poole, who was a Late Model Stock Car heavyweight during his years of competition in the discipline, has six wins the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and six top-five finishes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He currently races for Chip Ganassi Racing – a team that is plenty familiar with Late Model Stock Car racing. The Ganassi racing team also employs former UARA champion Matt McCall as the crew chief for Jamie McMurray.
