The last time Lee Pulliam visited Bristol Motor Speedway, he found himself in the middle of a hard crash with Cale Conley in the 2014 PittLittle 125 for the K&N Pro Series East. Now Pulliam finds himself in a strong position to earn redemption from his last visit, as he will lead the field to the green flag in the 100-lap Late Model feature for the 2nd annual U.S. Short Track Nationals.
Pulliam started out the weekend by finishing in the Top 5 in all four CARS Response Energy Tour practices for the U.S. Short Track Nationals, and also recorded the fastest lap in two of those sessions. The speed displayed by Pulliam put himself in the fastest group in qualifying with series points leader Bobby McCarty and defending U.S. Short Track Nationals winner Myatt Snider, but the four-time Whelen All-American Series champion was able to hold off both drivers to pick up his first career CARS Response Energy Tour pole.
McCarty will start on the outside of the front row alongside Pulliam, while Snider will take the green flag from the third position. Layne Riggs, who missed the Mid-Atlantic Classic due to a broken collarbone he sustained over Easter weekend, will line up fourth, while six-time CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour winner Deac McCaskill rounded out the Top 5 starters.
2017 CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour champion Josh Berry struggled to crack the Top 5 in most of the weekend’s practice sessions, and encountered similar issues during qualifying, as he will roll off from the 8th position. Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer start in 6th and 7th in front of Berry, while Justin Crider and Bradley McCaskill complete the Top 10.
Only one major incident took place in qualifying in the first group, where both Austin Peters and Gary Trent were involved in separate incidents around the track. The accidents disrupted the other drivers who were on track for their qualifying laps, and although CARS Response Energy Tour officials granted all of the drivers another lap, the highest qualified competitor in the group was Ronald Hill, who will start 15th.
With only 24 drivers entered for the Late Model feature, the Last Chance race for the CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour has been cancelled. The green flag for the Late Model portion of the U.S. Short Track Nationals is expected to drop only minutes after the Compact B-feature ends.
Qualifying Results:
1. 5 Lee Pulliam- 15.142
2. 22m Bobby McCarty- 15.170
3. 2s Myatt Snider- 15.221
4. 99 Layne Riggs- 15.253
5. 08 Deac McCaskill- 15.256
6. 18 Ty Gibbs- 15.358
7. 9 Sam Mayer- 15.373
8. 88 Josh Berry- 15.373
9. 7 Justin Crider- 15.405
10. 07 Bradley McCaskill- 15.508
11. 2 Cody Haskins- 15.513
12. 9w Charlie Watson- 15.577
13. 61 Justin Hicks- 15.629
14. 32 Nik Williams- 15.631
15. 74 Ronald Hill- 15.647
16. 23 Terry Brooks Jr.- 15.734
17. 96 Danny O’Quinn- 15.769
18. 22 Grayson Cullather- 15.806
19. 02 Paul Nogradi Jr.- 15. 828
20. 77 Trevor Ward- 15.836
21. 7r Brandon Rogers- 16.016
22. 26 Joey Trent- 16.270
23. 66 Austin Peters- 16.364
24. 4b Mike Chambers- 16.367
