Pulliam Has Best Shot At Virginia Late Model Triple Crown $10,000 Bonus

What has been an extraordinary year for Lee Pulliam could get even better Sunday afternoon … $10,000 better.

The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway Sunday is the final leg in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown, which offers a $10,000 bonus to the driver who has the best overall combined finishes in three races in the Old Dominion during the season.

Pulliam has a solid lead in the chase for the $10,000 prize. He won the first two races; the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway and the Bojangles Presents Dr. and Mrs. Maresca of St Lawrence Radiology and Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway.

“I think winning the Triple Crown would be a huge deal for our team,” said Pulliam, who recently clinched his third NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national championship. “It’s one of the only championships that we have not been able to win. But this year with running the Hampton Heat and winning the big 200-lapper at SoBo for the fifth straight year, we’re putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to win at Martinsville and complete the trifecta.”

But a couple of hungry drivers, Matt Waltz and Nick Smith, are lurking pretty close behind. Pulliam has the maximum points, 78, in the Triple Crown after the first two races. Waltz, who races out of Langley Speedway, is second with 62, while Smith, another Langley driver, is another two points back with 60.

Peyton Sellers, a former South Boston Speedway track champion and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion, claimed the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown the past two years.

If Pulliam were to win the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, which would mean the Triple Crown win also, he would have one of the largest paydays in the history of NASCAR Late Model racing.  First place in the race pays $27,000 and with the $10,000 Triple Crown bonus, he would bank $37,000 on the day.

“The national champion has never won Martinsville the same year as he won the title, so that would be a really cool stat to try and change,” said Pulliam, who had 29 wins in 51 starts this season. “So there are lots of incentives to go out and give it our all to win this race, including that record $37,000 payday.”

The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 day will start at noon Sunday, October 4 with three 25 lap heat races and one “last chance” heat to set the field, followed by the 200 lap feature, with a break at lap 150 and a “blind draw” invert.