Story by: Mason Dunn ~ [email protected]

Ridgeway, VA(October 1, 2011) — Martinsville is one of the biggest stages on the annual schedule for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car teams which as also made it one of the best places for young and relatively unknown drivers to turn heads and make names for themselves. Yearly there has been at least one and quite often more drivers who have made good use of this opportunity to do just that.

For example, lets take a look at a few drivers who turned a few heads in 2010.

Lee Pulliam
Lee came into the 2010 Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 300 with some attention already being paid to him but still wasn’t revered as a potential contender. The 2008 South Boston Limited Late Model champion went into Martinsville having earned five wins in 2010 in Late Model Stock competition at the same track.

Lee quickly made people change his status to serious threat when he took control of qualifying becoming the first pole sitter since 2006 not name Davin Scites. Then under green, Pulliam put forth a valiant effort battling eventual race winner Philip Morris before battery issues would hinder his efforts.

This year, Lee comes into this race with everyone’s attention having won 18 races at three different tracks, earning him the Motor Mile Speedway track championship as well as contending for the Virginia state and national titles. Expect him to not only once again contend for the pole, but also for the win.

Ryan Robertson
Last year Robertson surprised many in the garage area with his very impressive qualifying run that placed him fourth on the board when all was said and done. Ryan failed to make the field in 2009 and outside of Bowman Gray and his partial schedule in the UARA-STARS series, not many were all that familiar with Robertson, but with two fast laps he quickly changed all that.

Since then Ryan has kept his name on people’s minds even while only running a limited schedule around North Carolina. Qualifying his way into and running with persistence at the Denny Hamlin Showdown was a refresher for most on Robertson. At one point Robertson was second on the practice charts behind only race promoter Denny Hamlin. With a win at Ace and a win at Bowman Gray this season, look for Robertson to be strong at Martinsville once again.

Matt Bowling
Bowling was the young kid in the Sellers Racing camp that not many really knew of especially in 2010 with a lot of attention being paid to his teammate Philip Morris. But on qualifying day not only did Bowling steal some of the attention but he was able to pencil his name into the record books as the youngest driver to ever make the field for the Martinsville Late Model race.
Now mind you Bowling will probably lose that this year as rules have changed to allow drivers as young as 14 to compete but Bowling has had a better season this year then he did in 2010 and likely plans to do more than just qualify. With Sellers Racing being on top of their game look for Bowling to have a top ten car should luck fall his way.

Now that we’ve talked about last year, the question becomes who will make a name for themselves this year? Well, I’ve got a few ideas.

Wesley Falk
Yes, in case you didn’t know there is more than one Falk racing. Wesley has always been good but it has been more of a quiet good then his brother. Last year Wes was able to drive hard to earn his way into the race through a heat race in which he only had high gear thanks to a broken transmission.

May this be the year that the younger Falk shakes his bad luck gremlins and is able to not only make the race as he did in 2010, but be there at the end for a good top ten finish.

Josh Berry
JR Motorsports young prospect was one of only two drivers not named Lee Pulliam to find his way into victory lane at Motor Mile Speedway and against that stout field of cars you know he turned some heads. But now is Berry’s chance to turn a ton of heads as not only does he get to take his first shot at the historic race for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who has made his share of Late Model starts at Martinsville, but he also will be carrying the logos of legendary sponsor Hayes Jewlers.

While the pressure of a big name team owner and historic sponsor may be a lot for the young driver, look for Berry’s crew chief LW Miller to give him one heck of a setup and for Berry to get elbows up and at the very least make the field through qualifying.

Brandon Brown
The young driver from Northern Virginia has been steadily improving throughout the year. After a disqualification cost him a win at Old Dominion Speedway, Brown was able to rebound and claim three more wins before deciding to bolt for Motor Mile Speedway hoping to gain some experience against a tougher field of competitors.

Now last year during Martinsville practice it seemed like Brown’s car wanted to spin out every corner and he couldn’t focus on learning the line because he was too busy keeping the car out of the wall. At this past Wednesday’s open test, Brown came in with a new crew chief and a car with a whole new attitude. Don’t look for him to be top 22, but he could definitely be one to race his way in through a heat race.

Bottom line is there is someone out there that we aren’t thinking about right now that will not only run good next week, but will make us all stop and say, “wow, I was not expecting that.” We’ll just have to wait till the checkered flag falls to find out who that truly is.