Senoia, Georgia's Bubba Pollard has had a banner year in 2011, and will be honored as the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Driver of the Year. Photo by Justin Poole
By Brandon Reed
Posted in Columns 10/21/11
2011 has been a Hall of Fame season for Bubba Pollard.
The Senoia, Georgia native has turned in a performance on the short tracks around the south that many drivers would love be able to call their entire career.
In 41 Late Model starts to date, Pollard has scored 18 victories, 30 top 5 finishes and 32 top 10 finishes.
Piloting a car for Georgia Racing Hall of Fame member Ronnie Sanders, Pollard picked up wins at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA, 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL, South Alabama Speedway in Opp, AL and Mobile International Speedway in Mobile, AL.
Those wins equated to two titles for the season, the Gulf Coast Championship and the 2011 Viper Series Championship. It also brought his career Late Model win total to 54.
But Pollard’s success hasn’t just been limited to the Late Model ranks. He’s also pulled into victory lane several times piloting Open Wheel Modifieds this year.
While the wins have been important, Pollard proved what real racing is all about in another way this year. After his friend and fellow Georgia racer Beau Slocumb passed away after a courageous battle with cancer earlier this year, Pollard piloted a car with Slocumb’s distinct paint job and trademark number 08 in several events to pay tribute to his fallen friend.
And his winning ways may not be over. He still has three major short track weekends on his radar in the coming weeks, including the North/South Shootout at Caraway Speedway on Nov. 6, both Late Model events during the World Crown 300 weekend at Gresham Motorsports Park the weekend of Nov. 12 and the Snowball Derby weekend Dec. 3-4.
But on Friday night, Oct. 21, Pollard will be awarded a different, unique kind of victory.
That’s when Bubba Pollard will be officially awarded the title of Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Driver of the Year.
The award, which is in its first year, honors a current driver that shows the poise and skill that makes them sure to be a future Hall of Fame member. Pollard will be honored during the 2011 induction ceremony at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, Georgia.
He will share the stage with racing legends such as Mike Head, Ken Ragan, and the families of George Elliott, Swayne Pritchett and Harold Kite.
With his strong runs on the track and the spirit he has shown off the track, Bubba Pollard has done much to make Georgia race fans proud of him.
And after Friday night, his stats can show something nobody else’s can. That he was the first Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Driver of the Year.
If he keeps going like this, he’s sure to be back on the big stage again some day, as an inductee in the Hall.
Brandon Reed is the editor and publisher of Georgia Racing History.com.
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